Day 15 - Deut1:19-25 & Ex 1:17

Do Not Fear

Deuteronomy 1:19-25 - ¹⁹ “Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. ²⁰ And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ ²² Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ ²³ The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴ And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. ²⁵ And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’

This is an instant reply of sorts of the account that took place in Numbers where the Israelite sent out 12 people to spy on the land and 10 came back with a report of fear and 2 came back with a report of courage. Moses is now speaking to them reminding them of their sin of unbelief It is easy to notice a few things: one, it was clear to Moses and to everyone else, before they went to spy on the land that they were supposed to go up and take the land that was given to them. But, instead of moving forward and trusting God, they asked Moses to send out twelve people to spy the land. The idea, it seemed good to Moses, but he never paused for a moment to ask if it seemed good to God. I wonder in retrospect if he would have stopped long enough, if God would have commanded him not to. But, Moses didn't, and the rest is an unfortunate history of wandering and death and discouragement. When confronted with possibilities and problems, we always must go to God first, to seek his wisdom and counsel and strength so that when the time comes, we can live confidently, without fear, as we move forward in faith.

Fear God

Exodus 1:17 -But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

It is interesting as we progress canonically through the Bible how these verse relate in such unique ways. If the midwives did not fear God, Moses would never have been born. And the verse above shows Moses not fearing God, but fearing the people which ends up in turmoil. Fear of God must override our fear of men. Period. When our fear of men overcomes our fear of God we wander and waste our lives. Praise God for those courageous midwives.

Day 14 - Nu 14:8-11 & Genesis 50:19

Numbers 14:8-11 -
8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

I studied this last week and this is such a crucial moment in the history of the Israelites. The 12 spies just returned from searching out the land, and when they return, 10 have a bad report and 2 have a good report. The 10 rile up the Israelites with such fear that they are wishing the could be back in Egypt. This moment is the last hope for Caleb and Joshua and Moses to convince the people that indeed God is with them, they do not need to fear and they were promised this land long ago. But, the people would listen, they would not remember God's provision and miracles, and they set out to stone they faith-filled fearless men. God showed up and protected them, but as for the rest of the Israelites, 40 years of wandering in the desert was the result of their fear of God. Such a great reminder to trust God where he leads us so that we don't waste our lives wandering.

Fear God

Genesis 50:19 - But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?

Joseph comforts his brothers who are now fearing for their lives because their father Jacob is now dead. Joseph does not lose this fear of God which in turn he uses to reassure his brothers. Joseph fears God and because of this respect and trust that comes out of this fear, Joseph is able to have the proper perspective of God's will which overcomes any motivation of revenge. Can we say this today? Are other confident of our fear of God that they will not fear revenge or mistreatment on our parts?

Day 13 - Lev 26:6-7 & Gen 42:18

Do not Fear
Leviticus 26:6-7 -

6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. 7 You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

This is a great verse of the encouragement that comes when we fear God only and obey Him with our life. There is no need to fear anything when we fear God only.

Fear God
Genesis 42:18 -¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:

Joseph clarifies to his brothers, before they know that He is their brother and think that He is pagan-serving Egyptian, that He fears God. By the mere mention of this idea of fearing God, assumes that it is both normal and comforting to hear someone say this. The fear of God is not talked about much anymore, but in this verse, Joseph in an effort to reassure these brothers, helps them trust Joseph that He won't mistreat them unfairly because of his fear of God. Fearing God restrains our will and our commands our obedience.

Day 12 - Ex 20:18-21

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.” ²¹ The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

God had just finished giving the Israelites the 10 commandments. As His people came up to the mountain and with the conclusion of this important message, God helped the Israelites understand the importance of obedience to his commands by having thunder and lightning and a sound of trumpets accompany this great declaration. The response was a shaking of fear of God in such a way that they were terrified to listen directly God, but wanted Moses to be the mediator. But Moses assured 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." It is a play on the same word. Essentially what he is saying is, Don't be afraid of God, but be afraid of sinning against God. Let this fear of His holiness and His might be the basis from which you avoid sin and obey Him. Fear God, but do no be afraid of God. Reverence Him, and be afraid of anything that is contrary to Him. This is a test we certainly do not want to fail.

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.

Day 9 - Genesis 26:23-24 & Genesis 31:42

<sup>Do not Fear
Genesis 26:23-24 -

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

Fear God</sup>

Genesis 31:42 -If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

^{God speaks to Issac in this Do not Fear passage, encouraging him that he will keep his promise to bless Issac and multiply his offspring for Abraham's sake. Because of some issues with water wells and some of the mistreatment he is experiencing, he must have wondered what was going on. God speaks to him at night and encourages him with this promise. What an encouragement that God didn't forget him and yet what an honor to have a promise hanging on your dad. But what I love is how Isaac responded in this next verse.So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well. He worshipped God. How these verses should encourage us and lead us to worship our Father in Heaven who cares so intimately and knows when we need his help. With this same emphasis, the next passage of scripture, shows that Issac retained this understanding of fear in the right context, so much so that, it is called the Fear of Issac. May our fears be so transformed in the light of Christ that we become people who could be described as ones who fear God.}