Fear the Holy LORD

How important it is for God's people to fear Him and walk in His ways!  In our age of grace under the New Covenant it is possible our familiarity could lead to lack of reverence.  There were occasions in scripture when people acted presumptuously and paid a heavy price for it.  The situations recounted to us in the Bible remind us of God's holiness and man's tendency to forget our unworthiness to approach Him.

After the ark of God was brought into battle by Hophni and Phinehas, it was taken by the Philistines and set in the house of their god, Dagon.  Twice the image of Dagon fell prostrate before the ark of God, and a great plague broke out among the people.  For 7 months the ark was moved through the major cities of the Philistines, and death and destruction followed it.  The ark was returned to Israel on an unmanned cart drawn by two cows who made their way straight to Beth Shemesh.  The people rejoiced to see the ark, the cart was chopped up for wood and Levites offered the cows as a sacrifice to God.

But though Levites were involved in the process, the people transgressed by looking into the ark of God.  1 Samuel 6:19-20 says, "Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ And the men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"  The people wondered who is able to stand before their holy LORD God, and the answer was clear:  no one who sins can stand before God.  The wages of sin is death, and the punishment of death was righteous and just when unsanctified people transgressed His commands and treated His presence as a common thing.

Another incident occurred when King David sought to bring the ark into the Tabernacle erected in Jerusalem.  The ark had been housed with Abinadab and his sons Uzzah and Ahio brought the ark on a cart.   2 Samuel 6:6-7 reads, "And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷ Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God."  The ark of God had no business being set on a cart when it was to be carried by the Levites, and Uzzah was struck dead for steadying the ark when the ox stumbled.  The happy procession was quickly sobered by the shock death, and after David looked into the matter he realised they had not followed the proper order.

Moments in scripture like these serve to remind Christians of the awesome God we serve and not to treat His presence or His word like a common thing.  God is unapproachable in glory, yet He has graciously taken human form in the person of Jesus and brought the hope of forgiveness and salvation to us.  As many as believe and receive Him have the right to become children of God.  Having been justified and sanctified by His grace, we should retain the fear of the LORD which is the beginning of wisdom.  God remains God, and we remain mere men.  His ways are higher than ours, and our thoughts are not God's thoughts.  Instead of being filled with pride and speaking presumptuously, we ought to be further humbled God knows us and still loves us with an everlasting love.  We have been delivered from punishment and power of sin, and thus we should repent and walk righteously.

God is not just one of many "gods" or idols worshipped by men, and Christianity is not another religion.  The Bible is not like other books, and Jesus is not like other men.  1 Peter 2:17 shows us the fear of God is central to righteous relationships with others:  "Honour all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."  We are to value all people and fear God, and we can reverse this:  we can be afraid of men and their power or opinions and this reveals we are not fearing God as our Sovereign like we ought.  When we truly fear God the honour of others is kept in the proper degree.  Solomon wrapped up his musings in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. ¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."

Instead of fear of death or punishment, Jesus emphasised the importance of our obedience to God being prompted by love of God in John 14:15:  "If you love Me, keep My commandments."  We have been given eternal life and our sins have been atoned for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus loved us first, and so we love Him in return.  God's love is not a common thing, for it is eternal and borne of God's goodness, compassion, mercy and grace.  Fear the LORD, you His saints, for He offers life and rest for all who trust in Him.  Fear of God smiting us should be replaced with the knowledge that we deserve to be, and yet He loves and accepts us as sons and daughters.

God Alone Is Worthy

A book I read recently related a concept I have heard many times before:  "Your worth is so great that if you had been the only person created upon the earth, God still would have sent His Son to die for you.  You count that much to Him."  The authors went on to say, "In your relationship with the Son of God, you are assured of worthiness." (Wright, H. Norman, and Wes Roberts. Before You Say "I Do". Harvest House Publishers, 2019. page 43.)  I cannot discern the intent of the authors, but to go from saying we have worth (value) to God to saying we have worthiness is a common error which undermines our need for God's grace.

To claim one has "worth" is different from claiming "worthiness."  Worth designates the value of something, while "worthy" means "deserving; such as merits; having worth or excellence."  A fine line we must not cross is the suggestion because God values us we are in the slightest worthy of being deemed righteous ourselves.  I have heard people espouse the worthiness of others to bolster their self-esteem, yet it is God we ought to esteem and magnify His grace toward us.  Because of our sin we are fit for damnation in the flames of hell and God still values us--not because of our worthiness but out of His goodness, grace, mercy and love.  It is being loved, pursued and accepted by God's grace that moves us to esteem Him and others as we ought.  Self-esteem is a foundation of eroding sand which only pride can hold fast.  Righteous standing with God is received by faith in God alone.

Man has been created in the image of God and because of sin we are irreparably cut off from God and doomed to destruction.  We are unworthy of forgiveness, acceptance or notice because of our rebellion, pride and self-righteousness.  We are helpless; we are hopeless.  God out of His grace and compassion took action to redeem and reconcile us to Himself.  It says in Romans 5:6-8, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Paul did not say this to pump up the self-esteem of the Romans, but so they would instead esteem God as worthy of all honour, glory and praise.

I have heard people push back against the implications man is worthy by explaining when God looks at us as born again believers, He sees Jesus and therefore we are accepted.  This deflects the fact God loves us individually and personally with full knowledge of our unworthiness.  For God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son, and this shows there is no divine nepotism at play from which we benefit.  How often has humanity, well-meaning though we are, resisted and opposed the gracious love and acceptance of God freely offered to all!  We easily fall into the trap of ascribing a degree of worthiness to ourselves, work to obtain favour by God only received by faith, or claim we could not possibly be loved because of the unrighteous wretches we truly are.  We are wretched sinners AND loved; we are unworthy yet God values us so much He sent His only Son to die in our place so we might be saved.  Let us extol God who alone is worthy and rejoice in Him who has lavished such mercy, grace and goodness upon us.

Rest and Abiding

During a drive running errands I saw a makeshift memorial by the side of the road with the familiar acronym:  "RIP" or "Rest in Peace."  After a person dies, their body is laid to rest because their lives on earth are over.  The body ceases to function and there remains no more work for them to accomplish.  My mind went to the rest Jesus promised to all who are weary and heavy laden, that He would give rest for our souls.  This is a different kind of rest because it goes beyond the physical realm we can see and we can spiritually experience it before our life on earth is over.

Hebrews 4:8-11 reads, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."  The writer of Hebrews makes it clear there was a rest for the children of Israel many fell short of entering when their carcasses fell in the wilderness, and though people eventually took possession of the land there was still a rest for them.  The fact Jesus invites people to find rest for their souls by faith in Him proves there remains a rest for God's people that extends beyond acquiring land, houses and rest from war.  The word "rest" defined in the Greek gives us a better understanding of a word which is broadly used, most often to denote a break due to fatigue.

"Rest" is defined in the Strong's Concordance as, "reposing down, i.e. (by Hebrew) abode."  It suggests an inner calm free from the turbulence of worry, fear and cares of this life.  It is pictured in the sheep that lays down in a green pasture because the presence of the shepherd brings a sense of protection and security.  Jesus alluded to this abiding rest in John 15:4-5:  "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  This abiding, this rest is a contentment realised only by faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him.  Many people labour to be accepted of God and perhaps place great emphasis on feelings of affirmation and positive emotions.  The rest God provides transcends our thoughts and feelings because it is spiritually obtained by faith in Christ alone.  Our feelings are better at conveying when we are not at rest than when we are.

A follower of Jesus Christ must be diligent to enter the rest God has promised because our abiding does not work like justification.  Our abiding in Christ is a conscious act of the will to humble ourselves and trust Jesus in our current situation, and there are many inferior substitutes to the rest God gives.  The world offers pleasures, properties, the cliche "wine, women and song," early retirement, money, power, fame, travel, holidays and luxury.  All these are full of labour and provide no rest for our souls.  Knowing who Jesus is, how He loves us, believing and receiving from Jesus by faith when we feel weary enables us to enter into the rest God provides.  The Bible exposes our thoughts, motives and reveals how far we are from experiencing the LORD's rest.  Hebrews 4:16 concludes, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

This world is full of labour and will one day pass away.  We are born into this flurry of activity which resembles a proving ground to see if we will rely upon Jesus the Son of God, upon ourselves or pursue fleeting feelings which pass for "rest" in this world.  Every day we have countless opportunities to be diligent to enter the rest of God by faith marked by obedience, and not one of us need fall short.  The branch does not choose to be connected to the vine, but we have a choice if we will abide in Christ:  that because the Good Shepherd is near we will lay down in peace and security though we hear the howling of wolves and the roaring of lions.  What can separate us from resting in Jesus and His love apart from our unbelief?

God Speaks to Us

Once a friend of mine showed me a leather strap that was used for corporal discipline in his home.  I couldn't read the writing inscribed in Afrikaans upon it, but he translated it for me:  "I'm done talking."  The idea conveyed to me was the strap was the last resort after clear communication and warnings were given.  The Bible says parents who love their children will discipline them, and the LORD also corrects His children.  I am grateful for the word of God and the Holy Spirit who communicates God's loving and redemptive purposes even when correction is needed in our lives.

This morning I read of Eli's interaction with his sons who were infamous for their wicked conduct that unbecoming of a child of Israel, much less a priest.  Eli verbally rebuked his adult sons for their sinful behaviour which led God's people to trespass, but it did not go beyond speaking.  Eli did not take any action of removing them from their posts or excommunicating them until they repented and reformed their ways.  It seems the concerned words of Eli had no impact upon them, for Hophni and Phinehas continued in their wickedness until their deaths on the same day.

Eli was provoked to action because of their sins which were widely known to question them, but God did more than speak:  God sent a prophet to tell Eli of the coming consequences for honouring themselves more than Him.  Eli and his sons abused their privileged position and were unfit to continue in their roles.  God would "cut off the arm" of Eli's father's house, and it would be confirmed with a sign as it is written in 1 Samuel 2:34-35:  "Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. ³⁵ Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever."  God did more than than merely speak, and would take decisive action to purge His people of leaders who lightly esteemed Him.

What I love about this sobering example is the death of Hophni and Phinehas was a sign God would cut off Eli's house from the priesthood for their sin, but also a promise God would raise up for Himself a faithful priest who would do according to God's heart and mind.  This was fulfilled in 1 Kings 2 when Zadok was made priest, and ultimately will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ who is both KING OF KINGS and great High Priest.  This is explained in Hebrews 5 in greater detail, that Jesus is high priest of the order of Melchizedec.  God disciplines us not because He is done talking but because He wants us to hear and obey what He has said and has yet to say.

Praise God who created all things speaks to us as it says in Hebrews 1:1-4:  "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."  No matter how old we grow to be, God will continue to speak and take action to uphold His glorious will.  How blessed we are to hear the voice of our King and High Priest Jesus Christ the Son of God!