Delighting and Walking in the Fear of God

Fear

Ne 2:2 - And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.

Ne 6:13 - For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.

Ne 6:14 - Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

Ne 6:19 - Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

The book of Nehemiah is a great story of fearing, being told not to fear and the fear of God working together to bring glory to God. Four times in the short book there is word of either being afraid or someone else trying to make Nehemiah afraid. This is tension of fear is continually expressed and illustrated throughout the book.

Do Not Fear

Ne 4:14 - And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

I love this rallying cry from Nehemiah to the Israelites. When we fear, we do not remember the Lord who is great and awesome and will be to afraid to fight for those who are dearest to us. The motivation and the foundation of not being afraid is remembering the Lord and his mighty attributes. If we would remember long enough, I really believe that our fears would disseminate and we would fight for the lives of the vulnerable.

Fear Not

Ne 1:11 - O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Ne 5:9 - So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?

In this same story, Nehemiah begins this story with a prayer of the fear of God. I like how he describes it as those who delight to fear His name. I think too often we see fearing God as a bad thing, as something that is heavy and confusing. When we delight to fear His name, we are reveling in the holiness and dependence and humility that makes enjoying God so wonderful. This idea of delighting in the fear of God is written only one other time in Isa 11:3 “And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” He also describes fear as something you walk in. It is written about in Acts 9:31 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” What a great calling for our churches today, to walk in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit”

Fear leads faith leads to fear

2 Ch 20:1-12 - After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

This is such a great example of how to deal with fear. Jehoshaphat was afraid and instead of worrying or fretting or getting discouraged, he set his face to see the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. He prayed an amazing prayer, acknowledging God’s soveriengty, his power, his faithfulness, and his goodness. He spent time praising God which both glorifies God and puts all our problems and fears in their right perspective. I especially love the last line: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” This example of faith and fasting as a response to fear should be such an encouragement to us today.

2 Ch 20:13-17 - Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

As a result of their prayers, God speaks through Jahaziel in an amazing display of his Spirit. The tribe of Judah was to not be afraid because the battle is the Lord’s. They didn’t need to fight. All they needed to do was stand firm, hold their position and see the Lord work on their behalf because the Lord will be with them. They were commanded twice in this spirit-led exhortation: Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. I wonder how much we miss out on when we fear God, when we don’t have faith in God’s promises.

2 Ch 20:18-26 - Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

2 Ch 20:27-30 - Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

The response of Jehoshaphat and all of Judah was worship and humility. Jehoshaphat exhorts the Jews with the great words of faith, “! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” It was when they began to sign and praise that God routed the enemies completely. Judah did nothing but reap the blessing of God’s work As a result of this mighty work of God, the fear of God can on all the kingdoms. Over and over again, I have seen in scripture that fear comes on people when we fear not and trust God. This is a perfect example of that.