i photograph, therefore i am

The fear of God

Exodus 20 : 20
And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."

I was reading John Bevere's 'Drawing near' and what i read impacted me. So i'm here to share what God have spoken to me, that through this, God may speak to you too.

This verse seems like an contradiction because of the word fear. First, moses said 'do not fear', then later he says that 'His fear may be..'

According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; Fear have various meaning.
1a)A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
1b)A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
2) Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.

When Moses told the children of israel, 'do not fear' it was actually refering to the first meaning of fear. And later, 'His fear may be..' refers to the second meaning of fear.

lucifer, the chief Arch angel, known for beauty and splendor, was in charge of leading the multitude of angels in worshiping God. To be able to lead the people into the presense of God, firstly you must have a relationship with God; how can you lead someone to a place when you haven't been before? And definitely, God place trust upon lucifer too. How? He place lucifer as a worship leader who leads every angels in worship to God. If you don't call that trust, i don't know what you can call that.

Now we all know lucifer fell due to his pride. he believed that he can be just like God. But the thing that actually cause lucifer's downfall is the absense of the fear of God (Extreme reverence or awe).

The children were fearful(A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger) because they knew that the glory of God would have exposed their darkness and they might end up dead because of their sins in lives.

But the children of Israel were all imperfect people, who have faults, weaknesses and mistakes; who wouldn't be fearful?

Consider moses. Don't tell me he's perfect. For we know none is perfect except God. What's the difference, then between moses and the children of Israel? Moses had the fear of the Lord in his live. He esteemed, honours and have an extreme reverence for God! Whereas, the children had not that( consider the complains that had against God when God continual provided for them in the wilderness). When we fear the Lord, we ain't afraid that any secrets of ours be exposed in His light because our hearts are open before Him. Our lives we live are an open book to God; we have nothing to hide. But when you don't have the fear of the Lord, you would naturally be afraid that His glorious light will exposes all your sins. That explains why the children of Israel did not dare to draw near to God.

Exodus 20:21
"So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was."

Live, therefore everyday of your live with the fear of the Lord!

posted by Alvin Lim @ 11:32 PM