Fear of God – "Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God"

A Tale of Two Fears

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
Exodus 20:18–19

The people’s distance from Sinai was already the plan: Moses and Aaron going up the mountain to hear from God and bring the words back, while the people remained at a safe distance (Ex 19:23–25).

So perhaps we should think this is a rare glimpse of the Israelites wholeheartedly agreeing with God’s means of dealing with them?

Nope. What they’re asking for is not quite aligned with what God was doing.

“Moses, when you speak, it’s not fire and thunder and earthquakes. What you have to say is manageable. We like hearing from you.”

[Except for all the times they didn’t.]

“But God…if he speaks to us, we’ll die. So you go talk to him and then just tell us what he said. We’ll listen to you. We can’t listen to God. His words are terrifying.”

They trembled in fear and kept their distance, from God and his words. They expected the words to be different, safer coming from Moses.

How do we know this fear wasn’t righteous? Moses responds, “Do not fear.”

Wait…I thought fear was the point of the boundary around the mountain and the earth-shaking trumpets and the lightning and all. So why does Moses now tell them not to be afraid?

This fear was unrighteous, because it would keep them from hearing God’s words. They think they’ll be safe if they can just get Moses to be the one who speaks to them. They’re missing the point, so Moses spells it out:

“Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you…”

Wait… “Don’t fear…because God is doing this so you will fear him…”? How does that make sense?

Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.
Exodus 20:20

The point is not to be afraid and turn from hearing the words of God. The point is to be afraid and turn from sinning.

Fear functions as a defensive measure: we are afraid when we identify a threat, and we engage to avoid it.

The Israelites’ fear identified God and his words as the threat. Their solution was to avoid hearing from him.

Righteous fear identifies God’s holiness as the most foreboding threat that sinners face, but the solution is not to avoid God. The solution is to avoid sin.

What does this story have to do with us? The God who revealed himself to Israel in fire and storm on Sinai reveals himself to all nations in flesh and blood on Calvary.

The nature of God has not changed since Sinai. He is still holy, and he still judges sin.

Our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:29

But in Christ, God has provided a way that sinners can be made righteous and so come near to him without being consumed: faith in Jesus, whose self-sacrifice absorbed divine judgment and offers forgiveness for all who trust him.

You have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. . . . But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, . . . and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.
Hebrews 12:18–19, 22, 24

God is to be feared. He is holy and punishes sin. And awareness of his holiness should evoke fear: there is a threat to be avoided. Like the Israelites, though, we often think we can handle the threat by hiding from God, coming up with a solution that will keep us safe.

It will never work. When all is said and done, “our God is a consuming fire.” You don’t hide from fire. It finds you.

The fear of God identifies sin as the thing to avoid and runs to Christ as the refuge. So don’t be afraid and run from the words of God. Be afraid and run from sin, to God, who himself has provided safety.

Yes, God’s wrath on sin is fierce and fearful. And God’s mercy for sinners is abundant in Christ.

The Better Inheritance

“And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”
2 Chronicles 10:19

The days of division descend upon Israel. To fulfill the word of the Lord instating Jeroboam as a king, ten tribes rebel against Rehoboam.

What is a king to do? Rally an army, of course, and fight to restore unity. Rehoboam does exactly that. He gathers 180,000 warriors to bring the kingdom back. However, the word of the Lord intervenes.

“Go home, Rehoboam, you and all your warriors. Do not fight your brothers of the north. This division is My doing.”

Rehoboam, though foolish in his choice of counsel, has the good sense to obey God’s command. So the army disbands, and the southern tribes turn their attention to fortifying their cities.

And what of the north? Jeroboam’s first act as king is of terribly tragic consequence. Ironically, he fears losing what he did nothing to gain. He worries that the hearts of his new subjects will turn away from him if they must travel south to Jerusalem to worship God – the God Who gave him the throne.

Jeroboam accepts counsel, even more foolish than Rehoboam’s (1 Kings 12:28). He thinks he will protect his authority by establishing a new religion, so he fashions his own idols and altars. Knowing that the consecrated sons of Levi will never consent to practice demon worship, Jeroboam removes them from office and replaces them with anyone who can cut an animal’s throat and kindle a fire (v. 31).

What is a priest to do?

“…the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 11:14

They pack up and leave. They go to the place where they can faithfully fulfill their priestly work.

What do they leave? Their cities. Their pasture lands. Their possession. They hadn’t been allotted large tracts of land as the other tribes. All they had were these cities and small adjacent pastures where they could tend their cattle and raise their families, as they served God and His people (Numbers 35:1-5).

Last year in PNG, I gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of a family’s land. People will fight with frightening fervor over their ground. Their land is their heritage, their livelihood, and their children’s inheritance. Their identity – past, present, and future – is deeply rooted in that dirt they call home.

What would it mean to leave that and relocate? You’d be accepting unknowns about survival. How would you even find a new place to live? You couldn’t empty your bank account and go: your bank account has to walk along with you, needing fodder and pasture both during travel and at your destination. If you left your land, how would you provide for your family?

Yet these people made the decision. They left their possession. Why?

“Better to abandon our homes than to apostatize. Better that we risk our children suffering hunger, than that we risk our children worshiping idols.”

They truly believed that the LORD was their inheritance (Deut. 10:9). They feared God more than they feared financial instability. They loved God more than they loved the stuff He’d given them. So they walked away, rather than be led astray by the idolatry of popular culture.

May we so love the Lord our God that our life decisions are culturally radical but Biblically normal. May we seek God supremely, refusing to bow to the idols. May we prove our profession, that the better inheritance worth clinging to is God Himself.

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot…Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:5, 11

Costly Obedience?

I sat across the table from him, crunching chips loaded with salsa. It was our bi-annual fajita lunch date. While teaching in Kentucky, I got to go see my family for Christmas and at some point during the summer. Dad and I always make it to Dos Chiles when I’m in Texas, for some awesome fajitas and even better conversation.

This time was a bit different. In four weeks I’d be getting on a plane to leave for a whole year in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. I didn’t think much of it. I’ve been overseas for school years before…but this time seemed different to him.

I’d just finished my EMT training. My plan had been to use that to serve in a creative access nation (we’d discussed that over fajitas the preceding Christmas). I’d talked with both my parents about working as an EMT in the Middle East for a year or two, with hopes of eventually being useful to some friends in their ministry in Central Asia. Then, some dear friends invited me to work with them in PNG for a year, and plans changed. (Are you dizzy yet? I still am…)

“So Dad…what do you think about all this? I mean, I’m committed for a year in PNG. We’ll see what happens with that. I could stay there longer, but I’d also love to help our friends in translation. There are so many things I want to do. And you know, Central Asia couldn’t get any more risky than my EMT-in-the-Middle-East idea…”

Dad nodded slowly. “Well,” (long pause), “I have to say I’m happier about your going to PNG than your last plan. I can’t say I wouldn’t have worried about your safety.” (My dad often communicates in either hyperbole or understatement.)

“But…well, you know…since you and your brother were born…your mom and I…we just…”

Eat more chips. He’ll finish the thought when he finds the words he wants.

“If there’s something you believe the Lord wants you to do, I would never want to say or even imply anything that would hinder you from doing that, whether that’s in the Middle East, or really, anywhere else.”

I forgot about the chips.

“There is nothing more important than obedience to the Lord’s leading. I’d sure love to have you closer to home, and know that you’re living somewhere that seems safer, but I’d rather you be doing what the Lord would have you do. That’s real safety. I trust the Lord.”

Wow. My dad fears God more than he fears harm to his children.

How many fathers would look at their daughters and say what he said? He would give his blessing to send me to work as an EMT in a dangerous place, because He trusts God to care for me…and because the risk of my disobeying God is more dangerous to him than the risk of my living in a volatile part of the world.

To fear God is to recognize that obedience is never actually risky. Obeying the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations necessitates that Christians live among all nations. Some of those nations are vehemently opposed to His message, and they kill His messengers. But Jesus (sending forth His disciples as “sheep in the midst of wolves”) said this:

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:16-28

I would rather obey His leading than risk correction for disobeying to maintain my idea of comfort or safety. And so would my parents.

It seems like this is a place where people expect to hear, “Now, of course, we have to act with wisdom and caution. Follow Jesus, but don’t be foolish.”

Of course – we must be wise. And how do we begin to grow in wisdom? Fear God.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10

I don’t know that the American church needs more caution. We are cautious enough, or perhaps just lazy and disobedient under a veneer of so-called caution.

What we need is an accurate view of our God, exalted above the heavens, the sovereign Ruler Whose favor is life and Whose displeasure is destruction. He liberates us from the bondage of self-protection, and propels us to proclaim His gospel fearlessly. Who or what can do us harm outside the purposes of Him Who reigns over all things? (Romans 8:28-39)

Do we fear God? If the cost of obedience seems too great, our view of God is too small.

Thanks, Dad, for the liberty and encouragement to go wherever He would lead. May fruit abound to your account from the life you both trained and freed me to live, following Jesus in the fear of God.