Just Some Friendly Advice

“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning’” (Exodus 20:20, NIV).

Bit of a contradiction, isn’t it? Don’t be afraid, but be afraid?

From the foot of Mount Sinai, the light show was terrific—and terrifying. The sound rolled over the Hebrews like a shock wave. The top of the mountain was enveloped in smoke that hovered ominously overhead. To coin a phrase, they were “scared spitless” (20:18). They had been warned to stay away from the foot of the mountain—a warning that they had no problem paying heed to!

Google Images

If this was only the overture, and God was about to speak, they were afraid of what the sound of His voice might produce.

“You deliver the message, Moses, because if God speaks to us directly we’re all dead men” (20:19, my translation).

Moses’ statement in verse 20 was both a promise and a warning. The Hebrews did not have to fear the fist of God meting out judgment. This display of might was not meant to signal that. What this was meant to emphasize was the seriousness of the covenant relationship that the nation had with her God. If nothing else kept the Israelites from breaking their promises to God, perhaps the fear of the One to Whom they had made those promises would.

Not.

We teach our children to be afraid of certain things. We teach them traffic rules so that they don’t walk out in front of a moving vehicle. We teach them household safety so that they don’t stick their fingers in a light socket or put their hands on a hot element. We teach them not to talk to strangers or to get into the car of someone they don’t know. We teach them to be afraid of what might happen if they do these things. Fear can sometimes be a good thing.

But somehow we shy away from teaching our children that the fear of the Lord really is the beginning of wisdom as Proverbs 1:7 says.

Moses had just received the Ten Commandments, the keeping of which would prevent the nation from descending into chaos. The display of the power of God was the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence: “Do this and you will be safe. Don’t do this and you will only hurt yourselves.”

There was no judgment here, only some good advice.