Something Good

Someone asked me yesterday to blog about something good, as it seemed like I had been pointing out negative things a little much in recent days. I don't know if I agree with that (someone's got to do it, right? ), but I am happy to oblige. So here goes....

This morning I was reading in Genesis chapter 31 and came across a reference to God that is quite intriguing. It comes at a point in the chapter where Jacob is ready to leave his father-in-law's home and head back to Canaan to his own family. God has blessed him in the north country, but now is the time to return. How does he know this? Because the God of his father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac has told him it is time (Genesis 31:42). Later, in establishing a peace-treaty with his uncle Laban, Jacob swore to uphold the covenant by the "Fear of his father Isaac" (Genesis 31:53).

Why would Jacob give God the name Fear, and why would he attach that name to his own father? To make matters more difficult, this is the only time in Scripture that God is called Fear. There are many times when people are commanded to fear Him, but never again is He simply called Fear.

Intriguing, no?

The Hebrew word used by Jacob is one that means "dread," or to "be in dread," and in some cases, "in awe of." It is found 48 times in the Old Testament, and most often means to be so afraid that your knees are knocking together (obviously, that is my own paraphrase!).

To fully understand what is happening here in these statements will require a couple of posts (in case you didn't know, I do have other things to do ), but for today I will seek to address the relationship of the Fear to Jacob's father Isaac.

Main Question: What reasons were there for Isaac be afraid of or dread Yahweh?

Possible Answers:

1. As a teenager, Isaac was bound, laid upon an alter, and was about to have his life cut short by his own father -- all at the direction of Yahweh. Is this a reason to dread the work of God in your life? You bet -- at least from a human perspective. I for one would be wondering what God was going to do next! You have to wonder if that one instance didn't affect Isaac's relationship with God for the rest of his life.

2. God was at work in Isaac to make him realize that worship was a priority, that recognizing the hand of God upon his life was key. Chapter 26 of Genesis relates how Isaac was essentially driven from place to place until he learned this lesson. No one enjoys being driven by God--it is a painful way to learn.

3. When Jacob and Esau were conceived, God promised that Esau would end up serving his younger brother. The problem in this situation is that Isaac loved Esau, not Jacob, essentially driving a wedge between Isaac and Yahweh. Isaac was always seeking to change the plan of God (to no avail, obviously).

It is apparent that Isaac's dread of God moved into the realm of righteous, believing awe; he is included in the "hall of fame of faith," after all (see Hebrews 11). However, it is also apparent that for most of his years Isaac lived his own life, the way he thought he should live, but in a way that was a little (or a lot!) afraid of what God might require him to do. If that is the case (and I believe it is), then this "fear" that Isaac had was an unhealthy fear of God -- one that was the result of an unyielded life. Isaac was trying to live out his faith according to his desires, not God's.

That kind of thinking will always make a person dread God's plan, and perhaps even God Himself. Did Isaac pass on this same sense of dread to Jacob? Perhaps so. Did Jacob ever learn, as we are to learn, that "all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose?"