How fear not leads to Fear Him, Part I

1 Ch 22:11-13 - “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

This passage is God heavy. We learn a great thing in this passage. But, first, some background. David is commission and exhorting his Solomon to carry on the plans for building the temple. David desired to build it, but God did not let him. And now, it is up to Solomon to carry out this great task. These are David’s last words and the passion of David pour s out. There are some great lessons for us to learn from this. We learn first that there are works for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 confirms this, that we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Second, we learn that as we do these works for God, that for us to succeed we need Him to be with us. We need his indwelling presence to do that which he has planned for us to do. Third, we need God to grant us discretion and understanding so that we can obey the law of God. We are to be careful to keep the rules that God has commanded. It is for God and through God and to God that all things exist. We are dependent on God from first to last. It is fitting then, that after we are clear that everything is from and to and through God that we are commanded to Fear not. What is there to fear?

2 Ch 6:32-33 - “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

This is a fitting passage because Solomon is praying at the dedication of the now completed temple. The prayer is long and amazing but in particular the above passage includes a prayer for the fear of God. He asks that God may hear the prayer of the foreigner who comes and prays to this temple so that the peoples of the earth may know His name and that they may fear Him as Israel does. This is an amazing before and after look at how when we do not fear it leads us to do works so that people may fear to one, true God.

When your reputation becomes His glory

1 Ch 14:13-17 - And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.

The pivotal part of this passage is when that which could bring fear hits the Israel’s doorstep, David immediately inquires of the Lord. After he inquires, David get the answer for what He is to do. David trusts God and does exactly what he is supposed to do and God brings the victory. Something interesting happens here. Instead of saying “Do not Fear” to David, he puts the fear of David upon all the nations. The same people, the Philistines, had the same result as they did in the days of Goliath, because David feared God more than he feared people. And and interesting thing happens, the Lord brings the fear of David upon all the nations. Not only was David not fearful, but because of his unwavering trust in the most powerful one, God puts the fear of David upon all the nations. When the glory of God becomes our priority, God will bring his honor, and in this case, fear to all the nations. Read these words that David sang as they came victoriously home:

1 Ch 16:23-26 - Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

We are to declare his glory among the nations, by trusting Him and holding him in awe only. He is the true God who made the heavens and the earth and his people. Fear Him only!!!!

Fear leads to blessing

2 Ki 19:5-7 - When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’ ”

Here is another example that of the difference that the words of the Lord can make in a situation. If God says something, we can have confidence in his faithfulness to do what he has said and his power to enable the situation to go as He has planned. The promises of God are sure and we can rest assured that what He has said, he will do. Therefore, we do not need to be afraid. In this situation, the king of Assyria was make false claims and trying to deceive the people of Israel. King Hezekiah was very distressed by this ordeal and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. The prophet Isaiah came in and spoke the best words one can speak to a person who trusts in God, “Thus says the Lord.” If God says it, whatever is to follow can be considered done. Perhaps this is why Paul writes Col 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. We need to remind one another of truths of what God has said, to show us reality in difficult situations.

Dt 5:29 - Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

If we fear God, we will keep his commands. If we keep his commands, things will go well with us and our children. Quite simply, when we obey God’s word and turn from sin, there is blessing. If only we could grasp this fully and understand the importance of obeying God’s word. It provides us with confidence, assurance and joy.

Open your eyes

2 Ki 6:15-20 - When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria. As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

This is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. Elisha saw what the young man didn’t which was a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. For the fear to be removed, Elisha first needed to pray. This is a great reminder. For our eyes to be open to the reality of the situation, we first need to pray. Prayer gives peace and comfort and power and joy. Elisha prayed for the servant to have his eyes open to see the spiritual reality of the situation. What a great prayer. If only we would pray that every time we feared, so that we could see God’s hand and His power present in a situation. The other prayer was to shut the eyes of the enemies. And then, in an amazing display he walked them a long distance to Samaria. May this be a reminder to us that when we are afraid, we ask that God would open our eyes and close the eyes of the enemy?

Do not Fear

Dt 10:21 - He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

Just as the servant had his eyes opened, we too have seen God perform great and awesome deeds. May we remember often and make Him our praise. Is He our praise today? May your prayer be today that He would open your eyes to see the great and awesome wonders He is performing daily in your midst to both remove fear and cause you to fear Him only.

Finding your courage in the Word

Do not Fear

2 Ki 1:15-17 - Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

When God speaks, or an angel speaks, or His word speaks, we have confidence and courage to act according to what has been said. In this occasion, an angel speaks to Elijah and tells him to go tell the king a very difficult message. There is nothing fun about this message, and yet Elijah obeys even though it could cost him his life. It is interesting the question that Elijah asks of the King, “Is it because there is no God in Isarael to inquire of His word?” God is still in Israel and His words stands both supreme and sovereign. It is His word that fills us with confidence to act courageously. It was the downfall of this king that He didn't seek the word of God and it was the courage of Elijah to hear and obey the word of God. The word gives us the confidence to act in obedience.

Fear God

Dt 4:10 - Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

The beginning of revering or fearing God is hearing His words. Our courage comes from His words because we know that He is faithful and true. So, when we hear his words, we need to be careful to fear Him more in obedience than fear the situation we are in. In addition, we are commanded to pass them onto our children and the next generation.

Faith in God's promises removes Fear

1 Sa 23:15-18 - David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

Le 25:43 - Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.

This message from Jonathan to David is significant. It isn’t the Lord speaking, but at the same time, it is. Jonathan is reminding David of what God has already told him, which is that He will be the king, he will not be found and that Jonathan will be with him. He also let him know that Saul knows this. Sometimes, we need to hear from people what God has already promised and made clear. It will fill us with courage and faith. We need to speak these words to each other and fill each other with the faith that will enable us to persevere and conquer fear. As it went, the only thing that did not happen in what Jonathan said here was that Jonathan would be next to him. Jonathan died in battle. But, truly, it was never promised that Jonathan would be there next to him, but the other things were. It does not have matter how much faith you have, but what you have your faith in.

Fear God

This is another great reminder in the book of Leviticus that when we fear God correctly, it will change how we live our lives. In this case, the Israelites are commanded to treat their countrymen, the Israelties as workers and not as slaves. We are to treat them well in the fear of God because they are servants of God. This is a great illustration of how fear God relates directly to how we should treat the children of God and those created in His image. As we fear and respect God, we will treat His people with a godliness that comes from this fear

Giants fall when fear is rightsized.

1 Sa 17:11 - When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

1 Sa 17:24 - All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

1 Sa 17:31-37 - When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

What a great contrast in their respective responses to fear. Where Saul and the men of Israel responded with fear, David responded with courage and faith in his fear of God. He was more concerned with the glory of God than he was with the fear of man. Though this story is very familiar, there are some great principles to be gleaned from this story. First, remembering is important. David remembered how God came through for him in killing lions and bears, but Saul the men of Israel seemed to forget all that God had done. When we remember the character of God and how he acted and acts on our behalf, it will change our response to difficult and fearful situations. God is both good and in control, He is all powerful and intimately sovereign. Second, it is does matter the size or age or skill to act courageously. God delights in bringing Himself glory and does it more often through weak vessels so there is no question who get the glory. Third, when we fear our heart fails. Fear destroys courage and joy and peace. Fear defeats a person before the thing we fear ever does. When we fight for the glory of God, whether things that directly oppose God or even as simple as doing everything as unto God, we can be confident and courageous in the fear of God.