Title: To fear or not to fear?
Read: Exodus 19-20 / Psalm 42
Verses chosen for meditation: Exodus 20:18-20
Exodus 20:18-21 “18 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 19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin."
Reflect
The context to these verses is that God had just given Israel the Ten Commandments. After this, the people saw “thunder and the flashes of lightning” and heard “the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking”. So they were afraid and trembled. They assumed that God would come and speak to them. If He was going to do that; they might be destroyed by His glory.
Then, Moses told the people not to fear but at the same breath, told them to have the fear of God so that they may not sin.
So, was the people to fear or not to fear God?
Obviously, the people were fearful of what they saw as manifestations of the power and sovereignty of God. It probably reminded them of what happened to Egypt; where the 10 plagues caused great destruction to the once mighty kingdom. They were probably fearful that if God came near to them, they could be destroyed.
Moses, knowing the thoughts of his people, told them not to have fear in such a sense. He told the people that God had come to “test them” so that the "fear of God" can be in them.
This means that God had not intended to destroy Israel. If He were to do so, He would not have brought them out of Egypt and in such a dramatic fashion. God had wanted to show them who He is, so that they can cultivate godly fear and the whole purpose was so that “you may not sin”.
This means that the fear of God that Moses spoke of is the reverence that the people need to have for God so that they stay away from what is evil. They need to understand that the Lord is their God. He is the Almighty and He hates what is evil. If the people truly worship God as their Lord, they will stay away from evil and keep the Ten Commandments.
As we shall see later, this “fear of God” was not quite established in the people. For in Chapter 32, they crafted the golden calf, in the attempt to replace God as their Lord.
Relate
While such a fear of God to stay away from sin was relevant to the people of Israel; is it still relevant to Christians today?
We need to be sure that our salvation is based on having faith to what Jesus had done on the Cross. What Jesus had done on the Cross is based on the grace of God and nothing to do with what we have done or what we can do. It is also not based on a kind of fear that God will destroy us if we fail to follow certain rules and regulations. In other words, we do not believe because we fear that God will smite us; we believe because we are convicted that Jesus had died for our sins.
That being said, our faith in Jesus should propel us to have a fear of God to stay away from sin. This is because being a believer also means that we are committed to following the ways of Christ. And the ways of Christ definitely point to holiness. And holiness is about loving and worshipping God with our lives. This involves a kind of “fear of God” that seeks to please our Father in heaven.
In other words, being in Christ does not contradict the need to cultivate a sense of reverence for God. So much so that we hate what He hates and loves what He loves. After all, God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Furthermore, we are now given the Holy Spirit to help us stay away from sin. As we appeal to the Holy Spirit to guide us in times of temptation, it is all part of having godly fear in holiness. Such a kind of fear is spiritually healthy. Even as we now have direct access to the Father, He is still the Almighty.
These days, there is a kind of teaching which seems to suggest that godly fear is not Christian. The argument is that since we are living under grace, there shouldn’t be any kind of “fear of God”. Such an argument stems from a misunderstanding that our reconciliation with God through Christ also means not needing to revere God; or worse there is no longer a need for the commandments.
Yet, Jesus had said that He had come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it. And one of His last words for the apostles were to make disciples of all nations. This means that obedience to the teachings and ways of Christ is to be the life of the Christian.
Hence, having godly fear to stay away from sin is relevant to us today. It is a most healthy kind of reverence to the King of all Kings. After all, Jesus will be back one day to judge whether we have been faithful with the salvation He had given to us. Not just in name only, but also in deed.
Rest
Lord my God, teach me godly fear so as to stay away from sin. Give me a sense of great reverence for You for You are the Almighty. In times when I am like the Israelites, tempted to build the golden calves of our lives, remind me that You are God and all we can do is to bow down before your grace and truth in worship. This we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Jason Phua
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