Have you ever wanted to trip a blind person? I can honestly say I haven’t. Leviticus 19-25 is full of laws like “don’t trip a blind person” and “don’t curse a deaf person,” and they end with, “but you shall fear your God.”
Is the Bible saying that because we fear God, we won’t cheat our neighbor or rule ruthlessly? Is fear the motivator for good behavior? That didn’t seem right, so I kept pressing in.
I broke it down into 4 stages: Knowledge, Fear, Call, and Response.
Knowledge
Let’s consider the Mountain where God gave the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. There’s thunder, smoke, lightning, and booming sounds. The Israelites are receiving knowledge of God: His power, His force, His voice, His authority. We all have a moment when we know about God and we believe He exists.
Fear
This causes us to fear! If there’s an all-knowing Creator who is powerful and just, we know we are in trouble! Who can stand in the presence of an omniscient, righteous being? We fall to our faces in fear.
Call
In that moment, God calls out to us. God called to Adam. God called out to the Israelites. We are invited to hear His voice and follow Him, as His chosen people.
Response #1
Now is the time for decision. We have two options. Adam hid. The Israelites said, “This is too much! Moses, you talk to Him!” It is humbling to have our egos placed against someone Great. It requires trust and submission to walk cautiously close to the Mighty.
What do we do instead? We turn away to feigned safety, where we can be kings and queens of our smaller territories. We can make our own private gods that we can control and manage. In our pride, we rule ourselves, rather than humbly stepping up to the Mountain. And the fear is real. We fear God. But we use that fear to keep us away.
We harden, hurt, lie, deny, deceive, ignore, and rebel.
We become hardened, self-protecting, and self-centered.
Response #2
The second option? Moses obeyed and drew close to the mountain where he was covered in the “abounding, steadfast love of God.” We humble ourselves and stand before the throne, hear His voice, and receive forgiveness and adoption and grace.
Then, we are changed.
His generosity makes us generous.
His graces makes us gracious.
His love makes us loving.
His joy makes us happy.
We are thankful, at rest, and full of peace.
We still see the power and might of God, but it fills us with faith, not fear. Perfect love casts away the fear, and we walk in courage because that powerful God is on our side.
No fear, but faith!
Fear might produce limited obedience, but it’s faith and time in the presence of God that changes hearts.
It was never about fearful obedience. We’ve been called to the mountain to hear the voice of God. Will we go?
