And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Fear of the Lord
There is an obvious and significant decline in the number of people who believe or even have knowledge about the God of the Old Testament. Today’s era, the fear of the Lord is rare. This generation has embraced the combination of the mysticism of the east and “love is love” religion of the west. Moreover, we have redefined, in our terms, the God of Scriptures. Almost 70 years ago, C.S. Lewis talked about it in his book Mere Christianity. He wrote, The Life Source is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want, but it will not bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost (Ch. 4 pg. 27). But the Israelites witnessed the true God, they have beheld His glory at Mt. Sinai. Furthermore, they knew that God is powerful and they trembled and were afraid of His glory. And it was evident when they asked Moses to intercede for them (v. 19 ESV). However, Moses explained to them they need to have fear of the Lord in order not to sin (v. 20 ESV). The late R.C. Sproul explained the fear as a filial fear, meaning the fear of not honoring and glorifying God.
Therefore, if you are a believer, reflect on this and evaluate yourself if you fear the Lord. And if you are a non-believer, what are the reasons why you do not fear, or even believe in the God of the Bible? Assess yourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in understanding the fear of the Lord before it is too late to call on to Him.
Prayer
Our Father in heaven whose name is holy, full of grace and mercy. O, Holy Spirit, enlighten our minds to fear you and seek after you as we journey in this life. Grant us, Lord Jesus, the strength to walk by the examples you have set before us. Humbling ourselves and submitting to the will of the Father. May the fear of the Lord dominate in our hearts and obliterate the other worldly fears that we have. We ask these through Jesus Christ’s saving name. Amen.
