Nougat 17

Did you know that Heaven is equipped for war? Yes, you probably do. But it’s not necessarily the first thought we have of Heaven is it? In Today’s Holy Nougat, we reflect on God’s role as Chief of Staff.

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭8‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Fear God part 2

In one sense, our fear of God refers directly to our acts of reverence towards God. And we spoke to that yesterday. But if God is the Chief of Staff ie head of the defense force in Heaven, we ought to recognize that God ought not be trifled with. And, in that regard, fearing God is about reverence as well as recognising the awesome power of God. In such cases, fear (mora) and dread (arats) ought to be our response.

It is alleged that there are 365 Bible verses where people are told ‘do not fear’. That we are told this (rather our spiritual foreparents) not only speaks to our daily coverage by God and the heavenly army, but it also suggests that there is something about God that inspired people to fear.

Could it be the Holy ‘otherness’ that God represents? We may recall that when Isaiah experienced the Shekinah glory of God (i.e. the abiding or ‘dwelling’ presence), he was immediately confronted by his own individual and collective sin. As sin does not survive in the presence of God, Isaiah knew his fate. “Woe is me, I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and I love among a people of unclean lips’ (see Isaiah 6). It may be that he saw the power of God Who led the Children of Israel throughout the Wilderness, going ahead of them to fight their battles. That God is definitely wholly Holy Other.

We also recall the silent spiritual showdown between the philistines and Israel when the Ark of the Covenant was captured. Assuming that their victory was spiritual, the Philistines placed the Ark in their temple to Dagon (their supreme god). The next day, the victorious Philistines were in for a mighty surprise … Dagon was flat in the ground as though in worship to the Ark of God. In disbelief, they reset Dagon to uprightness; and the next day found him decapitated, hands removed, and bowing before the Ark. Then there was a plague, people began to mysteriously grow tumours and Death reigned. The Philistines recognized that they were no match for the God Who resided in the Ark of the Covenant.

They literally experienced the fear of the Lord! (See 1 Samuel 5-6).

So siblings, we realize that we do not serve a ‘fenkeh-fenkeh’ (i.e. weak and impotent) God. While we may not experience God operating in this way in our time, we also recognize that any being which can become human, defy Death, and take on our sins in the process, is not to be trifled with. Truly God of Heaven’s Armies is to be feared and worshiped by saint and sinner alike. And even as we fear God, we’re also thankful that God is in our side.

The next time we doubt God’s fearsome power, let’s observe a thunderstorm or any natural disaster. Or, should we rather a less fearsome way, let’s read Psalms 46 and 91, and contemplate is relevance in our contexts now.

Indeed, let us fear God and naught else.

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May all we seek be found in Christ