The Fear of God

Chapter 6 of 1 Samuel seems to be all about the fear of God.

The Philistines have experienced the wrath of God and are desperate to give the Chest back. They even make expensive (but odd) gifts of golden rats and tumors for the Israelites to try and appease the whole situation.

Seventy of the men of Beth Shemesh, who look into the Chest out of curiosity, die! The whole town is put into mourning and is questioning, “who can stand before God, this holy God?” “And who can we get to take this Chest off our hands?”

For the next twenty years the Chest came to rest in Kiriath Jearim and there was a widespread, fearful movement toward God. I can only imagine the stories that were told from parents to children during that time!

And then, finally, Samuel comes on the scene and says… “If you are truly serious about coming back to God, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in God, worship him and him alone, and he’ll save you from Philistine oppression.” And the people did it! They gave their exclusive attention and service to God.

Blessed relief...finally. It’s so good to hear wise counsel from Samuel, to hear the word of the Lord, which brings life to the people. Why did it take this long? And why did such foolishness have to occur to bring the people to this realization?

And how different are we today? I wonder.

The people end up fasting and praying and declaring, “We have sinned against God.” That’s where it must start. We must acknowledge our sin and feel grief about it, enough to want to make a change. And then...Samuel prepares the Israelites for holy war.

In reading about the fear of God, and what it means, I came across this paragraph and feel like it’s something I want to pass on to you to think about, talk about, and ponder.

So how does fear of God, who is perfect love, take away fear? William D. Eisenhower puts it this way in his article “Fearing God" in Christianity Today: 

“Unfortunately, many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world. When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal… As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion.”

-Ruth Spencer