Exodus 20:19-20, “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And 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.”
We find a very interesting passage of Scripture in Exodus 20:19-20. Of
course, Exodus chapter 20 is the Great passage of the Ten Commandments.
Moses had gone up Mount Sinai to meet with God. The Bible says that the
Israelites wanted to meet God. So God instructed Moses in detail what the
people needed to do, including bathing and preparing themselves to meet
their Lord...
Exodus 19:17, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.”
Albeit, God told Moses not to allow the people to come up the mountain, nor even touch it, lest they die (for no man could look upon the Lord's face and live). Humanity cannot grasp the holiness of God. The Bible teaches that God is so holy and righteous that we would die by even viewing His face. In Exodus 33:11 Moses met with the angel of the Lord, which was God's messenger. Exodus 33:20 warns that no man can see God's face and live. Yet, Exodus 33:11 says Moses met with God face to face. We read in Acts 7:38, “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” So Moses spoke face to face with an angel, God's representative.
While the people were excited about meeting God, they were spooked by the things they saw, including an earth quake and smoke rising like a furnace off the mountain...
Exodus 19:18, “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”
Then they saw thundering and lightning, and the noise of a loud trumpet. The Jews became scared and finally told Moses that they no longer wanted to meet God...
Exodus 20:18-19, “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
Moses then attempts to calm the people, telling them that they have nothing to fear. Moses teaches the people that God shows His power to make them fear living in sin, which God hates and punishes...
Exodus 20:19-20, “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And 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.”
It's no different than a loving parent who disciplines a child of understanding age. A parent spanks a child for playing by the street. If the child continues to play by the street, the parent may spank the child for a longer period of time, making sure that the child is crying and visibly shaken by the ordeal, knowing that it's for the child's own good. Yet the parent doesn't want the child to be afraid of the parent, scared to come to them with problems or questions.
It is very important that parents not just lash the belt against a child. That is child abuse. A child should be set down and talked to prior to any discipline. A parent who grabs a belt and starts hitting is a monster. The ideal situation is when a child begins to cry prior to any discipline, because they're sad that they've broken mom and dad's heart. They let mom and dad down. A child should share in a loving relationship with the parents so that even the thought of making the parents sad causes the child to be sad. Discipline is love!
No child should ever be spanked (even if it requires a few days for the child to come around) until that child admits what they did was wrong. Otherwise, the child will think you are being unfair, and then they won't come to you when they are having problems or concerns.
The Israelites were afraid of God, but Moses told them only to fear God's judgment against sin. Most people in modern times do not fear God at all. It's interesting to me that these Jews in Exodus 20 were so afraid to even meet with God, and yet they took their clothes off, commit adultery, and danced around a golden calf to Rock music in Exodus 32. It is quite obvious that the reason why the Jews feared God in Exodus 20 is because their hearts weren't perfect towards God. If they were living righteously by faith, then they would have had the confidence as Moses did to be in the presence of the Lord. Oh, how sin keeps us from serving and walking with our God.
My friend, the fear of God is a good thing. Certainly, there is something wrong with a person who doesn't feel comfortable around the fear of God. I've noticed all my life that some people who are living in sin, get very nervous in the presence of a man of God. Hebrews 12:29 says, “For our God is a consuming fire.” When a Christian walks with God, that is, walks in the Spirit of Christ Who lives within him (Romans 8:9), it causes others to feel nervous because of God's presence in that believer. I've seen it again and again. The Jews cried out to Moses to speak to them for God. They feared the things they saw.
My friend, when I behold the magnificence of the universe—the power of the sun, and the eloquence of the moon, and His handiwork in nature, the majesty of His creation, and God's wisdom in the sciences—I am humbled and know that God is a good God, and an all-powerful (omnipotent) God; and yet He is greatly to be feared as much as awed to those who refuse to obey His Commandments in the Bible.
I published this article to bring this Biblical truth to light. It is good to fear the Lord. If you are nervous about God, or fear to serve God; then it's either because you're not saved, are living in sin or don't know what to do. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith and love cast out fear. There is no need to fear God if you love Him and obey His Commandments (Romans 8:28). Don't be afraid to fear God, and to draw near unto Him, for He is a reasonable, loving, fair and sensible God. Think of the most understanding, caring, cordial and helpful person who know, and then realize that God is far more superior in all those ways and much more.
If it would have been me there at Sinai with the Jews, I would have told Moses that I want to please the Lord in every way... what do I do next? It's very important that we focus on what Moses said in Exodus 20:20, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” God came to test the Israelites, the very reason for which God deliberately sent them into a desert wilderness of stinging scorpions, biting snakes, draught, scorching heat and hunger. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 says God wanted to see
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
SOURCE: Deuteronomy 8:2-3 — King James Bible
Notice again in Deuteronomy 8:2 the same challenge from God... TO PROVE THEE, to know what was sin thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his Commandments, or no. It's all a test my friend. In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus teaches concerning persistent prayer. Jesus says in Luke 18:1 that the purpose of the parable is “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” The Lord's incredible words spark attention, captivate the soul and amaze the reader when you truly understand what is being taught in this passage:
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The stated purpose of this Scripture passage in Luke 18:1-8 is that MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY, AND NOT TO FAITH.
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The parable teaches that God ignores believers to TEST our faith, just as God led the Jews into the Wilderness to test their faith. 2nd Chronicles 32:31, “God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.”
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The key to receiving answers to prayer is to CONTINUE ASKING and don't quit.
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In Luke 18:8 Jesus asks if He'll find faith when He returns one day to earth. The Lord specifically identifies this faith in relation to the continuing prayers of the saints. Interesting indeed! If you don't get anything else out of this parable, get this... The Lord wants you to continue praying when the Father doesn't seem to be answering. He may be answering in a way you don't understand, or He may not be answering in the way you want, or He's making you wait. Who knows! The important thing to do, and it's our only job here, is to continue praying and pleasing the Lord by our continued asking (WHICH IS FAITH, FAITH, FAITH!!!). God loves faith! God is very pleased when we keep praying to Him, when every indication suggests God's never going to answer. Let God be God!
Stop and think about Noah and his generation. (By the way a generation is about 25 years. The length of a generation is determined by the average age at which young men and women bear children, which I'd say to be about 25.) From creation at 4,004 BC to the flood in 2,348 BC[1] was approximately 1,500 years. So if we figure 25 years per generation and divide that into 1500 years, we get 60 generation from creation to Noah's flood. Wow, that's a lot of people!
I've always said that the hallmark quality trait of a Christian ought to be CARING; but prayer is synonymous with caring about spiritual matters. To not pray is akin to being an atheist.
The Salvation Army cares enough to pull up hot chocolate wagons for firefighter during cold weather at 911 responses to fires (and that's admirable); but what's about rescuing the perishing from the fires of eternal Hell? They care about the wrong things! I'm leery of so-called Christian charities that only do charity and let the world go to Hell to burn forever. The problem is that people are superficial, having a form of godliness as 2nd Timothy 3:5 says, but they don't have the power of THE GOSPEL that saves men's souls through faith in the blood of Jesus (Romans 1:16).
My friend, the fear of God is a
good and necessary thing. Hebrews 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. There's no peace like knowing in your
souls that you're saved and safe in Jesus Christ. I have great peace in my
soul knowing that Jesus died, was buried and rose up from the dead. Read
Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.” What a beautiful Scripture. There is no fear for
the Christian who loves the Lord and is right with God. God's wrath is
reserved for the wicked. Only criminals run when the police show up. If
you're a born again Christian, and you've confessed and forsaken personal
sins, then you have nothing to fear when the Lord returns.
Christ-Rejecters Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
For the unsaved, God will cast them into the Lake of Fire. For backslidden and unrepentant believers, God will CHASTEN them as told in 1st Corinthians 11:31-32 and Hebrews 12:6-8. Willful sinners need to fear God. The Jews wanted to meet with God until they saw the power of God, then they got scared because of the sins in their life. My friend, if you have a pure heart and desire to please God, then you need not fear. God's Law is for lawbreakers! God's wrath is for rebels and the wicked. God's judgment is for unrepentant sinners. God has promised to give us “all things” to make us happy when we get to Heaven (Romans 8:32). For now, Jesus said we will have problems in the flesh.
Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” We can have peace now, by resting in the promises of God. We can have joy by rejoicing that our name is written in Heaven. We can be happy by trusting upon the Lord. The world offers fake happiness. I just heard in the news that Sylvester Stallone's 36-year-old son died of a drug overdose. Hollywood and drug related deaths are commonplace. The world seeks happiness through wealth, fame and pleasures. This life is very short and nothing that the world holds as important will matter 100-years from now. I was sad to read that the entire Stallone family is devour Roman Catholic. They will all learn in the next century that there is no salvation in the Catholic religion. Jesus said, Ye must be born again! (John 3:5-7).
You have much to fear if you are Roman Catholic, because God will not let anyone into Heaven who trusts in the sacraments to save them. The Roman Catholic Church maintains historical prestige in the Italian community, but Hell hath enlarged herself with the Italian community and all others who trust in the arm of manmade traditions to save them (Isaiah 5:14; Ephesians 2:8-9). I am sad to hear about Sage Stallone, but I will not go along with all the bullcrap liars who say everybody that dies goes to Heaven. That is simply not true! Matthew 7:13-14 says that most people die and go straight to Hell to burn forever. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Jesus' blood, and the Virgin Mary of Catholicism cannot help you appease the wrath of God. Mary was a filthy sinner, just as Romans 3:23 says. Mary needed to get saved, just like anyone else. Mary did NOT remain a virgin. Mary died a sinner's death, just like everyone else (Romans 6:23).
Jesus died, was buried and rose again. That's the Gospel. If you receive the Gospel as payment for your sins, then you are saved. If you ADD anything, then you are not saved. So if you think you're going to Heaven because you're not that bad of a person, you're going to Hell in your self-righteousness. Most people cannot fathom the freeness of the Gospel, so they pervert the plan of salvation and add various requirements. Water baptism is a road to Hell. Only faith alone in Christ alone brings salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith PLUS NOTHING!!!
