Throughout the Old Testament we hear about God's wrath on mankind and how God continuously unleashes his anger (Sodom and Gommorah- Genesis 19 and the book of Job, just to name a few). Unfortunately this image of God is reinforced throughout society and people begin to fear God out of intimidation.
...but wait. Doesn't scripture tell us to fear God? Should we be afraid of him? Answer: No! This biblical reference of fear is different from how you would fear the monsters under your bed as a child. This fear of the Lord should come out of reverence and respect for him. My favorite example of this type of fear is found in Genesis 22. In this story, God orders Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering for the Lord. Abraham obeys the Lord without question, not even showing grief for losing his son. This does not mean that Abraham does not love his son or felt anguish at all. Abraham loved his son, but he loved his Lord more. He knew that God's plan was more important for his, and therefore doesn't even question God's judgement to sacrifice his son. As Abraham puts Isaac upon the altar to sacrifice, God speaks out and tells him to stop, for God sees that Abraham fears the Lord (v. 12). This fear is not out of intimidation, but deep respect, reverence, trust, and love.
The happy ending to this story reminds me of what John Piper discusses in the first chapter of The Pleasures of God. This book revolves around how we do not serve an angry, upset, and repulsive God, but an happy, jubliant, and glorious God. The first chapter revolves around how God delights himself in his Son. The story from Genesis 22 ends with God providing a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. This is clear foreshadowing of how God provided HIS only Son for us so that we may live and that He may receive Glory. If He loves His Son that much, just think about how much He loves us. Therefore, we must press on to grow in love and knowledge of God so that we may gain reverent fear of Him who loves us.
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