You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.(Deuteronomy 7:21)
When Moses spoke these words, it was to a generation born of those who did not heed the message. By that I mean Israel traversed a vast wilderness for forty years because they feared man more than they feared God. When they refused to enter the land of Canaan for fear of the giants, they committed themselves to a lifetime of wandering. Consequently, Moses reminded them not to fear those they were about to face because “the great and awesome God is among you.” Moreover, this statement hinted that being fearful of the Canaanites while God was in your midst might prove to be troublesome. In short, trust and depend upon God to fight for you.
In Jewish commentary it is said that, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven other than the fear of Heaven.” God can demonstrate His power and give us reasons to fear Him but, in the end, the individual has to develop that quality within themselves. We have to be the ones to determine within ourselves that we will place our fear and respect for God above all others. Furthermore, if we fear Him as we should, we will be provoked to keep His commands in spite of what the world may demand of us. To do such is the evidence of wisdom from on High for it is written, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments (Psalm 111:10).
I might add that genuine humility goes hand in glove with Godly fear. I do not find it coincidental that God gave understanding of His instructions to one the Bible describes as “the meekest man alive.” It took one such as Moses to teach the people what these instructions really mean. Thus we are to understand that, “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life (Proverbs 22:4). Our humility and fear of God will affect how we think — e.g. who we fear most — and how we act, that is to say, who we will obey. In the end, how we act will demonstrate to all who and what is most important to us. May it be that we always revere the great and awesome God that is among us.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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