20/20 inSight!

Devotional

“Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” Exodus 20:20

On Sunday, I spoke about the origin of fear, which naturally raises the question of what the Bible means by “the fear of the Lord.” Let me clarify: the fear of the Lord is not the problem that sin created. It is the gracious solution God provided. And the ultimate solution, His perfect love in Christ, does not discard this healing reverence but completes it. It allows us to serve God without terror, yet never without reverence.

In the beginning, God’s design for humanity was unbroken fellowship. It was a relationship of intimate love and transparent trust, free from the cringing, servile fear that sin would later introduce. But the Fall shattered that. Sin was not a small mistake. It was a declaration of rebellion that created enmity between man and God (Romans 5:10). Humanity formed an alliance with the adversary, and that enmity instantly corrupted what was once pure companionship. The presence of God, once a source of joy, became a source of dread (Genesis 3:10). The “fear” born there was the disease. It was the dread of a guilty creature before its holy Creator.

Yet God, in His mercy, did not leave us in that state of corrosive terror. He prescribed a cure, the fear of the Lord. This is not a reinforcement of the old, slavish fear. It is its antidote. It is a spiritual discipline that reorients the heart from trembling before punishment to bowing in reverent awe. It restores the right posture of the creature before the Creator. It is a posture of humility, respect, and wonder that leads to life (Proverbs 1:7).

At the cross, this remedy reaches its fullness. The love of God in Christ deals with the root cause of our terror, the guilt of sin and its punishment. His love does not remove reverent wonder. It redeems it. We now stand before the consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28–29) not with dread, but with grateful reverence for the immense power of God harnessed by covenant love.

Through justification, we are freed from dread. We no longer serve to escape wrath. Through sanctification, we are filled with awe and regard for the Holy One. We learn to walk with reverence. Through glorification, gratitude becomes our motive. The love of Christ compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Our obedience is no longer fear-based calculation. It is love’s joyful response.

From that moment of the man fell two paths of fear emerged, the fear of the Lord and the fear of man or circumstances.

The fear of the Lord is completely different from every other kind of fear in its source, object, and effect. Ordinary fear, whether of people, outcomes, or punishment, arises from the uncertainty of a fallen world. It feeds on threat and insecurity. But the fear of the Lord flows from who God is, His nature, His Word, and His mighty acts.

All other fears focus on created things. The fear of the Lord alone looks to the uncreated, eternal God. Because the object is different, the effects are completely opposite. General fear paralyses. It drives us into hiding and compromise. The fear of the Lord produces obedience, courage, and wisdom. It leads us into holiness. One fear traps us in anxiety and bondage. The other anchors us in confidence and freedom.

The direction of each fear reveals its fruit. The wrong fear drives us away from God, as Adam hid in the garden. The right fear draws us closer, like the prodigal who came to himself and returned home.

So when Moses said, “Fear not, for God has come to prove you,” he was not contradicting himself. He was calling the people out of terror and into reverence. Fear not as slaves. Fear God as sons.