One of the many legitimate
roles for a priest is to reassure people that they need not be afraid of
God. And at this point in the story of
the Children of Israel in the wilderness, Moses does just that. Reassuring others with the Truth is a job
given to all believers. Each of us who
has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior is a priest – I Peter 2:9 in the New
Testament tells us that.
Here in this current passage
in Exodus, Moses tells the people why God came down to them in this way. It was, he said, “to test you”. This is a common theme in Scripture and a
reality in life that many do not like – God tests us. We wish He did not. Sometimes He tests us by allowing us to go
through some very hard challenges – like the loss of our job, our spouse or
child, news of a serious and potentially fatal illness, and so on. Sometimes He tests us with opportunities that
perhaps we should not take. There is no
limit to the extent of God’s ability to test us in ways we ourselves cannot image. His way of thinking is not our way of
thinking, nor His actual ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8). When we accept God for Who He truly is, we
accept His right to test us in any way He wants. If we have trouble with that concept, then we
will have trouble living a life in close relationship with Him.
In this case, God tested the
people of Israel in order that “the fear of Him may remain in them”, not so
they can fear Him – there is a difference.
Let me try and explain it to you in the following way. I know some of you will disagree with my
illustration given your thinking with respect to, and love for, animals, but
let me take that risk anyway.
As a child, I feared
pitbull dogs and I had the fear of my father in me. It did not matter what I did or did not do, I
was terrified of pitbull dogs. The only
thing that would save me from that fear was to remove myself from being
anywhere near them. With my father on
the other hand, I knew that I did not need to fear him for if I obeyed his
instructions, I was perfectly safe and sound, and even happy to experience the
new adventures he could lead me through.
But if I went my own way, as a child, the fear of him that I had in
me, would turn into real fear of him. My dad did not change; I changed. Through my disobedience I was actualizing “my
fear of him in me” into straight “fear”.
The fear of himself that my father instilled “in me” was intended to
keep me safe – from cars, accidents, etc.
When I disobeyed, his love for me turned into my real and very present fear
“of him”. When I decode that, I realize
that this happened because my dad wanted me to stay alive and not get
hurt. And why was that? I believe it was because he loved me.
And so it is with God and the
Children of Israel here in this passage.
God wanted them to have “a fear of him in them” so that they would not
sin. And He wanted them not to sin so
that they could have an eternal relationship with Him because He loved
them. It is as simple and as complex as
that. We may not like it, but that is
how it is.
What remains is for us to
ask, “Did the people hear Moses? Did they understand and accept what was
happening?” We do not know. What is more important though is when we
consider the ways and how often God tests us – sometimes for our own
development in addition to the reason of wanting to instill some fear of Him
“in us” – do we understand? Do we accept
it? And do we act accordingly, or do we
fight it with all we have?
The Bible says in this verse
that the people continued to stand at a distance, while Moses went up to where
God was. Moses was able to go up closer
to God. He understood; he accepted. I believe in the same way we can be closer to
God if we accept His ways. And if you
think about it, it is in fact, “His way or the ‘low’-way.”
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[Are you
looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken
is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]
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