Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians 5:11

Fear – Exodus, Part 3

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The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Release my people so that they may serve me!”’”[1]  This is the seventh plague on Egypt.  You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them, the Lord continued.  I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.  So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place.  Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house – the hail will come down on them, and they will die![2]

Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared (yârêʼ)[3] the word of the Lord hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, but those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.[4]  The rabbis who translated the Septuagint used φοβούμενος (a form of φοβέω).[5]  Jesus told a parable about a judge who neither feared (φοβούμενος) God nor respected people.[6]  But even this judge could be persuaded by a widow’s persistence.  I will give her justice, the judge said, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.[7]  But even after six other plagues happened as prophesied by Moses there were still those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously.  The rabbis used προσέσχεν[8] (hold to), they did not hold to the word of the Lord.

It caused me to consider that those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously were actually hardened.  The judge did not fear God but could be persuaded by his own inconvenience.  To lose one’s animals and slaves is a major inconvenience.  Six out of six plagues would seemingly convince one that the seventh was possible if not likely.  Reason alone would persuade one to take precautions at least at the time of day prophesied simply to avoid the greater inconvenience of losing everything.  But only those who feared the word of the Lord acted rationally.  It gave me the impression that the others believed (though did not fear) that the word was the Lord’s, and acted contrary to his word because it was his word.  They were hardened.

The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt.  The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces.  Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.  So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time!  The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty.  Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much!  I will release you and you will stay no longer.”[9]

Moses promised to pray that the hail cease.  But as for you, He said to Pharaoh, and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear (yârêʼ) the Lord God.[10]  In the Septuagint the rabbis used πεφόβησθε,[11] (afraid).  This form was not used in the New Testament.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: both he and his servants hardened their hearts.  So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he did not release the Israelites, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.[12]  Pharaoh certainly believed the word was the Lord’s as a fact, but he did not fear that word.  Here I begin to grasp the fear of the Lord as something that is combined with factual acceptance to become New Testament faith, as opposed to dead faith or faith alone.

This fear is obviously not a flight of terror but a conviction to act in accordance with the word (Septuagint: ῥῆμα) of the Lord.  In New Testament terms it would be equivalent to the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.[13]  And this is because it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.[14]  In a similar sense the New Testament meaning of the fear of the Lord is equivalent to the love of God: Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments.  The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.  But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected.[15]

Luke used the phrase fear of the Lord in this association with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace and thus was strengthened.   Living[16] in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in numbers.[17]  At first glance Paul seemed to use fear of the Lord in a more fearful sense: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.  Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people…[18]

If I expand the context, however, Paul spoke first of faith: For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.[19]  While the natural person clings to this earthly tent for dear life we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.[20]  Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose, Paul continued (including by the way appearing before the judgment seat of Christ) is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.[21]  So is any of this a cause to be fearful?

Paul continued (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 NET):

Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord – for we live by faith, not by sight.  Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.

And what is this ambition to please him but the fear of the Lord?  Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.[22]  For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died.  And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.[23]

And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”  God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.[24]

So before Christ was crucified, rose again, ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit was given to provide this love, this desire and this effort, the Lord cultivated fear to motivate his people:  The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”[25]  Perhaps more to the point was Moses’ response to Israel’s fear when God spoke the law at Sinai: Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.[26]

[1] Exodus 9:13 (NET)

[2] Exodus 9:17-19 (NET)

[4] Exodus 9:20, 21 (NET)

[6] Luke 18:2 (NET)

[7] Luke 18:5 (NET)

[9] Exodus 9:25-28 (NET)

[10] Exodus 9:30 (NET)

[12] Exodus 9:34, 35 (NET)

[13] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

[14] Romans 9:16 (NET)

[15] 1 John 2:3-5a (NET)

[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the singular πορευομένη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural πορευομεναι (KJV: walking).

[17] Acts 9:31 (NET) [Table] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the singular ἐπληθύνετο here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural επληθυνοντο (KJV: were multiplied).

[18] 2 Corinthians 5:10, 11 (NET)

[19] 2 Corinthians 5:1 (NET)

[20] 2 Corinthians 5:4 (NET)

[21] 2 Corinthians 5:5 (NET)

[22] 2 Corinthians 5:11 (NET)

[23] 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 (NET)

[24] 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NET)

[25] Exodus 10:1, 2 (NET)

[26] Exodus 20:20 (NET)

Fear – Genesis, Part 1

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Paul was not the only one to write about the end of fear.  John also wrote, There is no fear (φόβος) in love, but perfect love drives out fear (φόβον, a form of φόβος), because fear (φόβος) has to do with punishment (κόλασιν, a form of κόλασις).  The one who fears (φοβούμενος, a form of φοβέω) punishment has not been perfected in love.1  This is as good to hear as Paul’s statement, For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear (φόβον, a form of φόβος).2  But I wonder about the fear of the Lord since the concept continued into the New Testament.

Therefore, because we know the fear (φόβον, a form of φόβος) of the Lord, Paul wrote the Corinthians, we try to persuade people…3  And to slaves in Colossae he wrote, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching4 – like those who are strictly people-pleasers – but with a sincere heart, fearing (φοβούμενοι, a form of φοβέω) the Lord.5  I have begun to track fear through the Old Testament to attempt to understand this better.

The first occurrence was from the mouth of Adam after he ate the forbidden fruit, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid (yārē’, וָֽאִירָ֛א) because I was naked, so I hid,”6 he said to the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day.7  The rabbis who translated the Septuagint used the Greek word ἐφοβήθην for the Hebrew word, the passive form of φοβέω the root of φόβος.8  This form does not occur in the New Testament but is close to, For I was afraid (ἐφοβούμην, a form of φοβέω) of you, because you are a severe man.9  This is apparently the middle voice of φέβομαι.

Next God spoke what would become the most common divine greeting to those born of Adam, “Fear (yârêʼ, תִּירָ֣א) not, Abram!  I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”10  In the Septuagint the rabbis chose the Greek word φοβοῦ.  The first usage of this form in the New Testament was in Mark’s account of the synagogue ruler Jairus.  He fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “My little daughter is near death.  Come and lay your hands on her so that11 she may be healed and live.”12  But, people came from the synagogue ruler’s house saying, “Your daughter has died.  Why trouble the teacher any longer?”  But Jesus, paying no attention13 to what was said, told the synagogue ruler, “Do not be afraid (φοβοῦ, a form of φοβέω); just believe (πίστευε, a form of πιστεύω).”14

And here by faith in the revelation of Scripture I can begin to analyze the beginning of fear from its end.  Jesus offered faith to Jairus as an antidote, or a preoccupation, to his fear of the revealed facts.  (Jesus apparently raised his daughter from death.)  This is the faith Adam lacked.   Though he had unimaginable experience of God’s generous provision, Adam’s faith was in his own efforts to keep God’s commandment.  Once that commandment was broken he feared punishment.  Whatever sonship he experienced was forfeit and he was given over to a spirit of slavery leading to fear.

Sarah didn’t believe the word of the Lord when it was said, I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son,15 but trusted in her long experience of barrenness.  She laughed to herself, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?”16  The Lord confronted Abraham about her.  Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid (yârêʼ, יָרֵ֑אָה).  But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.”17  While Adam’s fear prompted him to hide from the all-seeing God, Sarah’s fear persuaded her to lie to the all-knowing God.

The Hebrew word translated afraid above was the Greek word ἐφοβήθη in the Septuagint.  This form of φοβέω was first used in Matthew’s narrative of Joseph’s, Mary’s and Jesus’ return from Egypt.  After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”  So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned18 to the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over19 Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid (ἐφοβήθη, another form of φοβέω) to go there.  After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee.20  Joseph’s fear of Archelaus was apparently warranted since God warned him in a dream.

I get an image of the nature of Lot’s faith in the Lord from the next occurrence of fear (Genesis 19:15-17).

At dawn the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going!  Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!”  When Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.  They led them away and placed them outside the city [Table].  When they had brought them outside, they said, “Run for your lives!  Don’t look behind you or stop anywhere in the valley!  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!” [Table]

Lot apparently sensed the anxiousness in the angels’ tone of voice, but misunderstood its significance.  “No, please, Lord!” [Table] he said.  Your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life.  But I am not able to escape to the mountains because this disaster will overtake me and I’ll die” [Table].21  Lot assumed that the angels’ anxiety was provoked by Lot’s relative slowness.  He reasoned that he should seek closer shelter.  “Look, this town over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one.  Let me go there.  It’s just a little place, isn’t it?  Then I’ll survive.”[23]

“Very well,” he replied, “I will grant this request too and will not overthrow the town you mentioned.”[24]  Then the angel revealed that he was anxious to fulfill the will of the Lord.  “Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”[25]  Lot made it safely to Zoar, and Zoar was spared from destruction when the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.[26]  But, Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid (yârêʼ) to live in Zoar.  So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.[27]  This, too, was ἐφοβήθη in the Septuagint.

The second usage of this form in the New Testament was, Although Herod wanted to kill John [because John had repeatedly told him, “It is not lawful for you to have {Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife}[28].”],[29] he feared (ἐφοβήθη) the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet.[30]  In other words, Herod did not believe the Lord that he should not have taken his brother’s wife.  He feared the wrath of his people if he killed one they considered a prophet.  Similarly, Lot did not believe that he would make it safely to the mountains and asked for Zoar to be spared as a place of refuge.  When that request was granted he did not believe that Zoar would continue to be spared from destruction and fled to the mountains.

There is a pattern of sorts here.  Those born of Adam fear God, but not in a good way.  It is not a fear that leads to faith in Him.  It prompts them to hide or lie or flee from his protection.  It is a fear of punishment.  They are not perfected in love.  And I take this to mean they are not led by the Spirit, they do not experience that continuous stream of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control[31] that flows from Him.

1 1 John 4:18 (NET)

2 Romans 8:15a (NET)

3 2 Corinthians 5:11a (NET)

5 Colossians 3:22 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had κύριον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θεον (KJV: God).

6 Genesis 3:10 (NET) Table

7 Genesis 3:8 (NET) Table

8 Addendum 11/03/2024: In Strong’s Concordance online φέβομαι is listed as the root of φόβος. The Koine Greek Lexicon online doesn’t have a listing for φέβομαι.

9 Luke 19:21a (NET)

10 Genesis 15:1 (NET) Table

11 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἵνα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οπως (KJV: that).

12 Mark 5:23 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ζήσῃ here, a form of ζάω in the aorist tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ζησεται (KJV: she shall live), in the future tense.

14 Mark 5:35, 36 (NET)

15 Genesis 18:10 (NET)

16 Genesis 18:12 (NET)

17 Genesis 18:15 (NET)

19 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επι (KJV: in) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

20 Matthew 2:19-22 (NET)

21 Genesis 19:18, 19 (NET)

[23] Genesis 19:20 (NET)

[24] Genesis 19:21 (NET)

[25] Genesis 19:22a (NET)

[26] Genesis 19:24a (NET)

[27] Genesis 19:30 (NET)

[28] Matthew 14:3 (NET)

[29] Matthew 14:4 (NET)

[30] Matthew 14:5 (NET)