The fear of God is not a popular topic. Fear is considered a negative thing and doesn’t fit with our positive, prosperity-type Christianity. The trouble with losing fear is you also lose respect. We talk and sing more about Jesus as our old buddy, pal than we do about Him as the almighty God. We have befriended God to the point He is no longer our Maker but some kind of genie that appears at our demand ready to grant our every selfish wish.
The realisation of who God is replaces that sort of familiarity with respect and awe. This area of respect is something God will not remain forever silent about. If we continue to tell Him what to do and treat Him like an old chum, He may step in and do something about it. The Bible has some sobering examples.
2nd Samuel chapter 6 is the story of the Ark of God and its relocation to Jerusalem. (The Ark was not just a fancy gold box. The Real Presence resided there.) King David and his people were wheeling it through the countryside making a big song and dance, when one of the oxen unbalanced this precious cargo. The Ark was about to fall to the ground so a man Uzzah came to the rescue. Verse 7, ‘… And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence and he died there by the Ark of God’ (italics mine). The Uzzah incident upset David and the trip to Jerusalem was halted. David left the scene that day with this question, ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’
The death of Uzzah was the result of people who took ‘the friend thing’ too far and lost fear and respect. David did some soul searching and research after the Uzzah incident. He rediscovered all the do’s and don’ts regarding the Ark. He found out the rules were in place to help them see God and respect Him for who He is, the great I AM and sovereign Lord of everything.
We know David worked out what was missing because of what he did when he returned to continue the Ark on its journey to Jerusalem. Unlike last time when they threw the Ark on a wooden cart with some beasts pulling it with everyone jumping around and shouting Hallelujahs. David had learnt respect for an awesome powerful God. He had the ‘bearers of the Ark’ to carry it and every six paces he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. What a change! ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’… with fear and respect.
A lot of people judge God as being unreasonable for ‘zapping’ Uzzah. The truth is God couldn’t help but zap him. Think of the Ark as a billion volt transformer buzzing with the presence of God. God had procedures to be followed in handling His presence safely, just like we have with electricity. We don’t get mad at electricity for being what it is so why get mad at God for being who He is. It seems we respect electrical power more than the God who made it!
Some are probably thinking, ‘That was Old Testament times. God is not like that anymore’. Don’t be so sure – go to Acts 5:1-11. This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. These people sold a block of land and told the church they were donating all of it to God’s work. But they kept back some for themselves and for this God struck them both dead.
Why were they treated so harshly? What was the sin that caused their death? Was it the obvious one, lying? But we’ve all lied. There wouldn’t be a single person alive if that were the case. Or was it trying to look good, winning respect in the church. After all, it must have still been quite an offering even if they did keep a little back. Or was it again the issue of fear and respect and whom they lied to?
After the death of Ananias and Sapphira verse 11 says, ‘Great fear came upon the whole church’ (italics mine). The people started to respect God for Who He is and the results were immediate, and astonishing. There were ‘many signs and wonders’, multitudes converted, sick healed in the streets, demon possessed delivered, and best of all, there was unity among the people (see verses 12-16).
We need the fear of God back in our churches, in the songs we sing, in the lives we live. Jesus is our friend, our best friend, but the order must be right. He was first the sovereign ruler and Maker of the universe before He was our friend and Saviour. When we see Him first as the almighty God it makes friendship with Him so much more meaningful. Seeing things from this perspective produces awe and respect. Let’s not test God on this issue. People have died for getting the order wrong. God will get respect. He deserves it because of who He is.
(All quotes NAS Bible)