Daily Verse | Exodus 40:35
Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Wednesday’s Reading: Leviticus 1-3

The following is adapted from a Facebook post I wrote on January 29, 2017

It’s Wednesday, and if you’re reading through the Bible with me this year, we recently read Exodus 20:18-21. The Israelites are standing at the foot of Mount Sinai and are trembling with fear because of the trumpet blast, the shaking and smoking mountain, the thunder and the lightning—all manifestations of God’s presence—and they are terrified.

It reminds me of the disciples in the presence of Jesus when he calmed the storm on the lake: “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'” (Mark 4:41). It must be overwhelming to be confronted with a manifestation of transcendent, supra-human power.

What struck me most is Moses’ response: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Don’t be afraid, yet fear God? What’s going on?

Believers debate what it means to fear the Lord. Some suggest that fear means reverential awe and deferential respect. Others say that doesn’t go far enough, that it literally means to be scared of God, to be frightened of Him. I think, perhaps, the truth is closer to a combination of both.

We must accept that God is the Supreme Being, the One who spoke everything into existence, the great I AM, with no beginning and no end. Nothing—neither man, beast, nor nature—can successfully oppose his authority or will. God has the power to raise up and to put down, to reward and condemn, to create and destroy.

Remember God’s challenge to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” (40:2). Or Isaiah 29:16, “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘You did not make me’? Can the pot say to the potter, ‘You know nothing’?”

We don’t have words to describe the perfect power, wrath and justice of God. The writer of Hebrews says, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31) and Paul said, “God cannot be mocked” (Ephesians 6:7). This is why we must have “the fear of God” in us. 

But we don’t need to be afraid. Why?

Because God is love (1 John 4:8). We don’t have the words to describe the immense love and benevolence that God has toward us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

So we find these two properties held in tension: God’s unimpeachable and invincible authority on one side and his “great love for us” (Ephesians 2:4) on the other.

That is why Moses can say to the Israelites, “Don’t be afraid.” Don’t faint under the demonstration of God’s power; he doesn’t intend to destroy you. You will not die as you fear. But it’s also why he can follow that with “the fear of God will be with you” for the express purpose of keeping the Israelites from sin.

Perhaps the best explanation of this tension is found in C.S. Lewis’s novel, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. In one scene, Susan and Lucy ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver if Aslan is a man. Mr. Beaver tells them that, no, Aslan is not a man, but a lion, “the great Lion.” Here is the rest of the conversation:

“’Ooh!’ said Susan. ‘I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.’

“’That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,’ said Mrs. Beaver, ‘if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.’

“’Then he isn’t safe?’ said Lucy.

“’Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver. ‘Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’”

There it is: “‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” God isn’t safe. Not by a long shot. But he’s good.

Just don’t take His goodness for granted.