Fearing God

As I continue reading through the Exodus I am meeting a people (Israel) who are just getting to know God.  Although they have cried out to the God of their fathers for freedom from their slavery, they really didn't know God at all.  What I find very interesting is that the closer they get to God, the more afraid of God they become.  The more they saw God, the more physical distance they kept between God and themselves.  They were so afraid they asked Moses to speak to them instead of God because they were afraid if God spoke they would die.  They saw a picture of a big God.

Moses did let them know that God wanted to "test" them so that the fear they have of God will keep them from sinning. (20:20)  This test I think was giving them the understanding of how large God actually was.  God had the ability to not only fight for them to defeat their enemies, but also fight against them when they disobeyed.  This was not some sort of God who could be manipulated into doing what Israel wanted.  This was not a God who could only be followed when they needed something.  They could not pick and choose what they obeyed based on convenience or time and desire.  God was the Lord Almighty!  And a healthy fear of God both protected them from their own desires to sin and give them confidence that God can do anything for them. 

And yet they had so much more to learn.  This fear didn't keep them from sinning, as they did build the golden calf.  This fear did not keep them from being afraid of their enemies, as they were so afraid of the enemies in the promised land they didn't do as God told them and the whole generation was kept from the promised land.

I think a healthy fear of God needs to go along with a commitment TO God.  That is something that it took Israel 40 years to figure out.  If fear is the only part of your relationship with God, you are lacking a wonderful opportunity to also be committed to God.  With that, you gain confidence IN God to fight for you when you stand firm.