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Preparing To Fear

Monday, September 28th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

YHWH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1

Fear – The children of Israel read the 27th Psalm in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. They do this as a matter of preparation for repentance (teshuvah from the verb shuv). Why is the 27th Psalm so important to the beginning of the Jewish year? The answer is discovered in examining how fearful our true selves really are. An enormous pain accompanies a deep and penetrating examination of what I am really like. So often I discover within me the unrelenting power of the yetzer ha’ra. I find all kinds of dark corners where God’s light is not allowed to reveal my secrets. I discover my monstrous ego, ready and willing to defend its desires and its “honor” at anyone’s expense. No matter how carefully I have tried to uphold God’s Torah, I always uncover areas where I have failed. I assert the truth of Ecclesiastes 7:20, “There is no one on earth that does only good and never sins.” John simply reiterated this Hebrew insight when he said, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). It’s a terrible and terrifying thing to look deep within, but it’s the only way to really prepare for fear. Rabbi Burnam taught, “Our great transgression is not that we commit sins: Temptation is strong and our strength is weak. No, our transgression is that at every instant we can turn to God — and yet we do not turn!” We must learn to fear the power of the yetzer ha’ra, a power which we cannot destroy but only domesticate, if we will. Fearing myself is the preparation to fearing the Lord, and fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Ah, but now you will say, “This makes me feel so unworthy. This makes me feel so rotten. Why should I dwell on these things when most of the time I do what’s right?” Most of the time the Herpes Simplex virus simply co-exists with the healthy body, causing no ill effects. It’s there, dormant and disguised. But sometimes things get out of balance and the virus comes raging to the front. Now I can’t ignore it. It’s all over me. Of course, if I pretend that I don’t carry the virus all the time, then I won’t take the steps to prevent its outbreak and I’ll be surprised and dismayed when my mouth is suddenly attacked by cold sores. The yetzer ha’ra is always there, providing passion and energy. Pretending it is not part of being human is a fool’s errand. Pretending it is controllable without the Spirit is a dangerous diversion. And when I really look, when I really peel away the onion of “goodness”, I discover there is a lot more for God to deal with than I thought. Adam was right to fear himself. He just didn’t realize how much.

Of course, David gives us hope. I can’t look into the dungeon of my soul too long without relief, but mood-altering aspirin won’t fix things. In the morning, the dungeon will still be there. God must open the dungeon door and shine the light of the Spirit on what I find in there. It will sear, but it will cure. My hope is in the Lord, not in me. He is able. I am not. But I have to look. So, even when it comes to the deepest of all fears, I can trust that He knows what to do. “Lord, take me. Burn me up on Your altar that I may live again by your Spirit. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I will look. Help me see and then blind me.”

Topical Index: fear, yare, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalm 27:1, 1 John 1:8, yetzer ha’ra

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Swampland

Sunday, September 27th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

YHWH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1

Fear – The question is rhetorical. The expected answer is “No one.” But that answer usually leaves out the one person that I really do fear. Even when no one else can bring me low because the Lord is my shepherd, there is still an echo of the Garden in this question. Whom shall I fear? Me, that’s who! I am the only one capable of wrenching myself out of the Lord’s protective cover. I am the only one able to murder myself in my desire to control my own destiny. I might not fear any other person, but when I meet God in the Garden, I might answer as Adam did. “I heard You walking and I was afraid.”

Perhaps we could use a quick refresher course on Adam’s startling response. Take another look at our exploration on June 15. In the swampland of desire, the creature I must fear is me. Put aside all those unwarranted concerns about other people and see the truth. You are the enemy of your soul. Adam knew it. David knew it (Psalm 51). Yeshua knew it (Luke 12:20) and Sha’ul knew it (Romans 7). No wonder Rav Sha’ul cried out, “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). Is there any protection against the enemy within?

Yes, thank the Lord, there is! The same God who delivers me from my outside enemies knows my internal battle as well. He knows the weakness of my frame and the destructive penchant of my animal ego. He came to deliver me from the body of this death resident in my very being in the world. Oh, by the way, that’s why conversion is dying. We don’t help by putting the emphasis of conversion on life ever lasting. We would serve the lost much better if we actually told them the answer to our deepest fear is dying. That is the only answer for this kind of fear. The enemy must die so that I might be freed from its terror. God tells me the absolutely amazing answer to my greatest torment, the fear of myself, is that I can die and still live through Him. Life in the Spirit is the only life free of this fear because “I no longer live but rather, Christ lives in me” (Romans 8: 9-11 and Galatians 2:20).

There’s not much more to say, is there? All the people of the world seek ways to stay alive. The Christian knows the answer is to die. The world fears death because it is the final loss of control. Christians know dying is the only control we have. It’s everything upside down. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Everybody who wants the presence of the Lord knows that dying is the only way to get there.

Topical Index: fear, yare, Genesis 3:10, Psalm 51, Romans 7:24, Romans 8:9-11, Luke 12:20, dying, Psalm 27:1

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But I’m Afraid

Saturday, September 26th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

YHWH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1

Fear – Maybe it helps to be the king. I can see why David doesn’t fear anyone or anything. He has God on his side and he’s the king. That’s a big advantage. But what about the rest of us? We don’t command armies, order legislation or have the power of life and death in our hands. Does this verse really apply to us? I hope it does, but if I’m really honest, I’m still afraid. I’m afraid of public humiliation. I’m afraid of economic collapse. I’m afraid of betrayal. Or cancer. Or whatever is on the top of this list for today. Funny thing is that David could easily have all those fears too, plus some big ones that go with being the king. So, what makes it possible for David to say that he’s not afraid?

If we read very carefully, we discover that David doesn’t actually say he’s not afraid. He just says there is really no one to fear. That’s not the same as feeling afraid anyway. But David has a very good point. No person should make us quake because God is sovereign over every man. David says God is his light. David sees what life is like because he looks at life from God’s point of view. That clarifies a lot. All those things that I fear start to fade away when I see what the world looks like through God’s eyes. When God shines the light on the dark, I see the truth. He’s there. There’s no monster under my bed.

David also says that YHWH is his salvation. That’s not quite the evangelical word we use. For David, salvation is yishee, deliverance and rescue. It’s very here-and-now stuff, not pie-in-the-sky get-to-heaven thinking. I’m in danger. YHWH rescues me. That’s salvation. It’s tangible and temporal. Yes, I experience rescue from everlasting death (is that an oxymoron?) but the focus of my attention is right now because I live in the right now.

God’s point of view and His tangible rescue mean that I don’t fear anyone. The Hebrew verb yare has five different senses (see TWOT, Vol. 1, p. 399). The first is the emotion of fear. David’s claim doesn’t rule this out. The second is the intellectual anticipation of evil. God’s light and rescue eliminate this, if I stop to mediate on the truth. The third sense of fear shifts toward positive expressions. “Fear the Lord” is the equivalent of showing awe and reverence. Fourth comes fear as righteous behavior. Finally, there is a use of yare in the sense of formal religious worship. So, you see that David is occupied with the distinction between the first and second sense; both negative. But one is normal emotional reaction; the other results from a failure to recognize the goodness of God.

Yeshua employs these subtle distinctions in Matthew 10:28: “and do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy soul and body in hell.” Yeshua’s comment is a word play on the multiple uses of yare. There is only one to really fear – and what “fear” means before that one is the crux of the matter.

Maybe I don’t have so much to fear after all. Maybe my emotional reaction (fear) just leads me to settled confidence in the Lord of hosts (fear). One fear becomes grounds for another fear. Right?

Topical Index: fear, yare, Matthew 10:28, Psalm 27:1

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El Comienzo de la Sabiduría

Monday, June 15th, 2009 | Author: Bessy Bendaña

15 de junio Y él respondió: “Te oí en el huerto, tuve miedo porque estaba desnudo, y me escondí.” Génesis 3:10


Miedo – Conocemos esta palabra: Solo que no la conocemos en este contexto. Es yare, el verbo que significa “temer, respetar, reverenciar y tener miedo.” Claro que su usanza más común en la Escritura es sobre la referencia y admiración ante Dios. El comienzo de la sabiduría es el yir´ah del Señor. ¿Y que se requiere para que mostremos la reverencia y admiración apropiada ante Dios? ¡Recordar!

Si notas que el idioma de la Caída tuerce muchas de las palabras asociadas con la verdadera relación con el Señor, has adquirido un conocimiento crucial El vocabulario de Dios se basa en la creación ordenada. Existe un lugar genuino y crucial para yare. Yare pertenece a la creación ordenada. Pero cuando el pecado entra al mundo, cuando se abre la puerta al caos, todo se sale de su lugar. Ahora hora yare no es una descripción del respeto apropiado a Dios. Ahora es el temor de algo más.  Es ha dislocado de su lugar en el orden creado y llevado a servir a otro dio.

Pero aun esta aplicación desordenada es suficiente para ver todo lo torcido. Aquí el objeto de yare en si ha sido desfigurado. Adán dice que tiene temor. Eso es de esperarse. A fin de cuentas, Adán y su ´ezer kenedgo han desobedecido la única prohibición que recibieron. No nos sorprende encontrarlos escondidos. Pero cuando habla Adán, nos asusta. Veras, Adán no dice que se esconde porque ha sido desobediente. Dice que se esconde ¡porque le da temor su desnudez! ¿Por qué le habría de temer estar desnudo? ¡Nunca ha estado vestido! La desnudez es la condición normal de las cosas. ¿Por qué teme de repente algo perfectamente normal? Esto no tiene sentido alguno – a menos que leas hebreo.

¿Recuerdas arom y arum (vea La Palabra de Hoy del 10 de agosto, 2008)? Génesis 3:1 describe a la serpiente como ´arum (astuta), un juego con la palabra ´arom (desnuda) del versículo anterior. En ese estudio notamos cuanto ayuda el pictógrafo: “ver a la persona y caos.” En otras palabras, la desnudez ahora es un símbolo de la existencia desordenada. Hubo un tiempo cuando la carencia de la máscara del vestido era el alineamiento perfecto con el Santo. Hubo un tiempo cuando la desnudez reflejaba las relaciones ordenadas y honorables. Entonces la serpiente convirtió la desnudez contra sí misma, utilizando su vulnerabilidad para provocar la destrucción de la relación divina. Se torció la desnudez. De repente solo somos capaces de ver lo perdido que no podemos recuperar. No fue la inocencia. Fue el orden. Adán se ha movido de ´arom hacia ´arum. Se hizo como la serpiente. Un dia no tuvo nada que esconder. Plenamente desnudo, sin agenda escondida. Ahora es como la serpiente. Hay algo en el que le exige que se esconda de Dios. Adán no teme a Dios (aunque debería). Se teme a sí mismo. Ya no es transparente. La voz interna del deseo lo  ha enajenado de su propio ser. Ya no está cómodo en su propia piel. Sus temores han sido expuestos.

El relato de la Caída en Génesis revela algunas de las lecciones más importantes de la Escritura. Prestar atención a los detalles descubre verdades sobre quienes somos que nos ayudan a comprender por qué huimos del Dios de compasión. El detalle también nos dice lo que significa estar torcido y temeroso. Para Adán, el mundo se desmoronaba.

¿Y que de ti? ¿Te temes a ti mismo? ¿Tienes temor de ese poder dentro de ti que busca desordenar tu existencia? ¿O vives la experiencia de temor ordenado que emana de pararse ante el Señor?

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The Beginning of Wisdom

Monday, June 15th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

and he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”  Genesis 3:10

Afraid – We know this word.  We just don’t know it in this context.  It is yare, the verb that means “to fear, to respect, to reverence and to be afraid.”  Of course, its most common use in Scripture is about reverence and awe before God.  The beginning of wisdom is the yir’ah of the Lord.  And what is required in order that we show proper awe and reverence before God?  Remembering! 

If you noticed that the language of the Fall twists many of the words associated with real relationship with the Lord, you have gained a valuable insight.  God’s vocabulary is based on the ordered creation.  There is a genuine and crucial place for yare.  yare belongs to the ordered creation.  But when sin enters the world, when the door to chaos is opened, everything falls out of place.  Now yare is no longer a description of proper respect for God.  Now it is fear about something else.  It is dislodged from its place in the created order and made to serve another god.

But even this disordered application isn’t enough to see all that is twisted.  Here the object of yare itself is twisted.  Adam says that he is afraid.  We expect that.  After all, Adam and the ‘ezer kenedgo have just disobeyed the only prohibition they were given.  We aren’t surprised to find them hiding.  But when Adam speaks, we are startled.  You see, Adam doesn’t say that he is hiding because he has been disobedient.  He says that he is hiding because he is afraid of being naked!  Why would Adam be afraid of being naked?  He has never been clothed!  Naked is his normal state of affairs.  Why is he suddenly afraid of what was perfectly normal?  This doesn’t make any sense at all – unless you read it in Hebrew.

Do you remember arom and arum (see Today’s Word August 10, 2008)?  Genesis 3:1 describes the serpent as ‘arum (cunning), a play on the word ‘arom (naked) from the previous verse.  In that study we noticed that the Hebrew pictograph helps: “to see a person and chaos.”  In other words, nakedness is now a symbol of disordered existence.  There was a time when being without the mask of clothing was perfect alignment with the Holy One.  There was a time when nakedness reflected ordered, honorable relationships.  Then the serpent turned nakedness against itself, using its vulnerability to bring about the destruction of the divine relationship.  Nakedness was twisted.  Suddenly we could see what we lost and were not able to recover.  It was not innocence.  It was order.  Adam has moved from ‘arom to ‘arum.  He has become like the naked snake.  Once he had nothing to hide.  He was truly naked, without a hidden agenda.  Now he is like the snake.  There is something in him that demands to be hidden from God.  Adam is not afraid of God (although he should be).  He is afraid of himself!   He is no longer transparent.  This inner voice of desire has alienated himself from his own being.  He is no longer comfortable in his own skin.  He fears being exposed.

The Genesis account of the Fall reveals some of the most important lessons in Scripture.  Paying attention to the detail uncovers truths about who we are that can help us understand why we flee from the God of compassion.  The detail also tells us what it means to be twisted and afraid.  For Adam, the world is coming apart. 

What about you?  Are you afraid of yourself?  Are you afraid of that power within that seeks to disorder your existence?  Or do you experience the ordered fear that accompanies standing before the Lord?

Topical Index:  fear, yare, naked, arum, arom, order, chaos, Genesis 3:10

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