I Am Afraid

Job 23-28

“Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;” 28:28

That word “fear” is used in the same context in Psalms 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10.  What do Job, David and Solomon mean? 

The Hebrew word is Yir’ah.  It means the fear of God and is a positive quality and acknowledges God’s good intentions.  It motivates and delights, is produced by God’s word and makes us receptive to wisdom and knowledge.  It restrains us from sin, gives us confidence, helps rulers and causes judges to act justly. (NASB, Key Word Study Bible, pg 1894)

This fear does not mean ‘to be afraid’.  Most often the first words out of God’s mouth when He meets humans are “Fear not!”  Let me put it another way that might help us understand the difference.

I am afraid that the greatest loss of contemporary culture is the fear of God.