Day 11 - Ex 14:13-14 & Gen 35:5

^{Do not fear
Exodus 14:13-14 - 13} And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

As the Israelites found themselves trapped with the Red Sea on one side and a host of Egyptians barreling down on the other, they were terrified and cried out to Moses in fear and the worst kind of complaining. Moses responded with such a merciful truth that it is really amazing. He says, "Fear not, Stand Firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.... The Lord will fight for you!" The only thing the Israelites had to do was be silent. Sometimes fear brings out the worst in us, and produces complaining and cursing and anxiety. God will fight for you, Moses assured, but just be quiet. That is all I ask. I will take care of it all, just don't say anything. When we fear God and not man, we will see the salvation of God. It will change our lives, our perspective and our decisions.

Fear God
Ge 35:5 - Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

I wonder what it must have been like to have the terror God fall on these towns. You have to imagine that the Egyptians experienced this in the middle of the Red Sea. What did these other towns see, or hear or experience so that they didn't pursue the Israelites. I am not sure about these towns, but I know when I fear God appropriately, I don't pursue a lot of things that I normally would. This is one of the greatest reasons for a correct fear of God. The more we know of God, the less we pursue things that are not of God.

Day 10 - Genesis 46:2-4 & Genesis 31:53

Do not fear

Genesis 46:2-4 - ² And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.” ³ Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. ⁴ I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”

Fear God

Genesis 31:53 -The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

I really love God's reassuring words here to Jacob (Israel) as he was heading back to see his son Joseph whom he thought was dead. The anxiety of moving to Egypt, the fear of the Egyptians, the worries of his health and the family dynamics must have been enough to cause him to fear. And God speaks to him during his sacrifice that evening through a vision. I don't believe it is a coincidence that God spoke in response to Jacob's sacrifice that evening, in that when we worship and seek God, he meets us their to calm our fears and speak words of comfort. Flashing back to his earlier years, Jacob refers to the fear of his father Isaac as his proof that Jacob will keep his promise with his father-in-law Laban. It is an interesting idea that we would make promises by swearing on the fear of God. I think the reason promises are broken so often is because we have no fear of God.