NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

As I was reading my Bible this morning, I came across the seventh plague in Egypt, a mighty and terrible hailstorm. God gave Egypt plenty of forewarning, and it records, “Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field” (Exodus 9.20–21).

Meditating on this, two truths spring to my mind.

Fearing the LORD Is Good

When we fear the One True and Living God, the thrice-holy God, the Holiest of Holies, we listen to Him! His word is not frivolous nor simply suggestive but rather emphatic and commanding. Just as balls of solid ice fell upon those dismissive Egyptians, so God’s word does not fall to the ground void—it always accomplishes what He intends with irresistible power.

When God said He would harden Pharaoh’s heart, there was no way his heart could not have been hardened. When God said He would deliver His people from Egypt, there should have been no question He was able to accomplish His purpose; Israel could trust His word. So many accounts are recorded in Scripture in which God proves Himself; we should be ashamed to ever doubt His faithfulness. Let God be true and every man a liar.

Fearing the LORD Means Acting in Faith

Also, in the text above, I saw Egyptians who acted upon God’s word because they feared His wrath and power. They believed. After all, this was the seventh plague! They had seen terrible things over the past few months, and even if their Pharaoh wouldn’t budge, some of them were convinced. They pulled their animals and their slaves out of the field and sheltered them because God had warned.

This is what it means to fear the LORD. Solomon said the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (Eccl. 12.13), and in the next verse he explained we should fear God because God will bring every matter (everything we say, do, and think) out into the open in the Judgment. Do you believe it? Does your daily walk show it?

Fearing Man Is Bad

A few days ago, I read Luke 12, and Jesus there taught His disciples, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12.4–5)

Jesus’ disciples are frequently faced with enemies who push us to go against the word of the Lord, and we must decide whether we fear them or God. This choice comes before us more often than we would care to admit. Someone pushes the perspective of the enemy, preaches falsehoods in our face, argues for some corrupt cause, and we have a choice. Do we remain silent? Do we walk away? Do we go along to get along? We find champions of faith who we should imitate, like Daniel and David, Ruth and Rahab, who faced lies, temptations, and demands from God’s enemies and replied in word and deed: “We must obey God rather than man.”

Fear can be good, and fear can be bad. It depends upon the context. It depends upon the object of our fear.

Whom do you fear?