Book Review: Rejoice & Tremble
In his book Rejoice & Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord, Michael Reeves explores the often-cited yet often-misunderstood concept of the “ fear of the Lord.” Reeves approaches the topic in a way that is both profound yet understandable, so that readers can grasp what he’s talking about and apply it to their daily life.
Building on the great works of the spiritual fathers who came before us, like Calvin, Bunyan, Luther and Spurgeon, Michael Reeves explains the fear of God as Creator and the fear of God as Redeemer in Christ, and the implications of those fears on our life, our faith, and our church.
He examines what sinful fear in our culture looks like, that is afraid of God in a way that is at odds with the love of God. In contrast, there are multiple facets of righteous fear that we see in Scripture - fear of God as Creator, and fear of God as Redeemer in Christ.
Fear of God as Creator is the overwhelming, trembling awe of our beautiful God, reminiscent of standing at the base of a powerful waterfall, the rumble of an intense thunderstorm, or standing at the top of a magnificent mountain as the sun rises.
But this fear in itself is not complete - without knowing Jesus our Redeemer, this fear of God as Creator does not fully lead us to a knowledge of the personal character of God in Christ. It is through this fear of God as Redeemer that we experience the heart change of regeneration and sanctification. With our fear rightly placed in God, we are able to turn from fear of man and from the sinful fear that plagues our world; we can enjoy God and humbly yet boldly share Him with others.
A right fear of God leads to deeper communion with Jesus and His Church, as well as knowledge and wisdom (“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” says Solomon in Proverbs 1). In this fear, God gives us a new heart, redeeming our affections from a desire to sin to a love of God. And even now, worship of God today is just a taste of the wonderful ecstasy that a rightly expressed fear of the Lord will produce as we live out our adoration of the Lord in Heaven.
It is my hope that reading this book will revitalize your understanding of the fear of the Lord and in doing so draw you deeper into the knowledge and experience of His tremendous love.