Friday, November 9, 2007

Day 24 - Deut 28:58-60

Do Not Fear and Fear God
Deuteronomy 28:58-60 - 58 “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. 60 And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.

This verse rings with a powerful warning that if we do not fear God by His obeying His word, that which we fear, the diseases, shall cling to us. It is almost as if what we are afraid of will happen if we don't fear God and obey His word. It is not to be taken literally like this but it was for the Israelites and it is not a stretch to believe that. If something is consuming us with fear in such away that we do not obey or trust God and His will for our lives, it may not be that which we fear, but we will experience his discipline to correct us so that we have our fears rearranged for our own good. What a great reminder to fear God only, to trust in His Word and to obey and love and cherish His book. And I think the word careful is a word that I haven't seen much in our generation and in our culture. It is more about our desires and plans and feelings and thoughts and hence, fears, than it is about His will, His plans and His desires. When we disobey, our hearts become hard and we will not fear God.