The Awful Presence of God
The Hebrew word for "awful" means dreadful, fearsome, great— awesome! We normally give this word a negative connotation, but that is not at all the biblical meaning.
In the Old Testament, Jacob was touched by a holy dread. During his journey to Haran he lay down and slept, and in the middle of the night he awoke and saw a ladder of angels reaching into heaven. At the top of the ladder the Lord appeared, and He revealed Himself to Jacob, declaring, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac" (Genesis 28:13).