Proverbs 28:14

"Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."

Fear is usually a healthy thing. It is fear that makes us run away from dangers that we encounter. Sometimes fear causes us to not do things that we really should. Then it is not a good thing. This verse declares the man that always fears to be happy.

In Deuteronomy 33:29 this same word is used. "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! ..." Notice that Israel is declared to be happy because it is the LORD that fights for them. Psalm 33 says, "Blessed (happy) is the nation whose God is the LORD ..." True happiness, blessedness, can only be found in a right relationship with the God who created heaven and earth. If God be for us, who can be against us? And one thing that characterizes a right relationship with Him is fear. It is not what you fear, but Whom.

We spend a lot of time trying to get our hands around what is this fear. "It is not craven fear that is being referred to", some would say, "but respect." This is probably true up to a point. For in Christ we are counted as children. We are even encouraged to call God "Abba", which is the Greek equivalent of "father." From that we logically conclude that the kind of fear that we should have for God is equivalent to that which we have for our fathers. At the same time there are many occasions recorded in scripture where, upon glimpsing God's glory, men of God fell on their faces as dead. It is such a universal response that it seems to be involuntary. Moses was told by God that nobody can see His face and live. This fear at meeting God in His glory goes much deeper than respect, approaching craven fear. Upon seeing God Isaiah said, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Hebrews 10:31 declares, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Where is the happiness that is mentioned in Proverbs 28? Not too long after saying "Woe is me." Isaiah heard a word from God. He told him, "Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." The thing that made Isaiah fear, his sinfulness, was dealt with by God, the one against whom he had sinned! In Psalm 32:1, 2 David says, "Blessed (happy) is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed (happy) is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Here is something about which we can truly be happy. We all know that we have sinned against God. He knows it, too. What is to be done about our rebellion? God punished His Son, Jesus, for it. Through Him our "... iniquity is taken away, and (our) sin purged ..." So now, in Christ, our relationship with God can be one of respect, as was discussed earlier. Without Christ we ourselves will be punished for our sin.

What is the opposite of fear? This verse also tells us about that. Hardening our heart characterizes a lack of fear. By way of example of this hardness of heart, Pharaoh, when confronted by Moses in Exodus 5:2, asks, "... Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." Having been given a command from God through Moses, Pharaoh refuses to obey. This is hardening the heart; knowing what God requires and refusing to obey. And what is the end of this kind of response to God? Proverbs 28 tells us the end is mischief. The Hebrew word that is translated "mischief" is the same word that is translated "evil" when referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2:9. It is calamity, ruin, the opposite of good. This is what awaits the person that refuses to fear God. And, it is eternal.

Through Jesus' death and resurrection we are forgiven for all our sin. He waits for us to turn to Him for the forgiveness that He offers. "... Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart ...", but fear Him.

HJK