Delight to Fear His Name

[This devotion is taken primarily from the third and concluding sections of the March 24 sermon. The first section of the sermon cites a number of passages in which joy in God and fear of Him are both commanded. The second examines wrong ways for us to fear God. The audio of the sermon will be available shortly at this link.

What does Nehemiah mean when he says God’s servants “delight to fear Your name” (Nehemiah 1:11)? How are God’s people rightly to fear Him and to delight in Him?

Three passages are particularly helpful in resolving this paradox: Isaiah 40, Mark 4, and Isaiah 11.

Isaiah 40

While the entire chapter is relevant, consider especially Isaiah 40:21-26:

Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. (emphasis added)

Isaiah says: Look at Who God is! It’s been clear from the beginning! He plays with planets and stars, supernovas and black holes, the way our little ones play with blocks. He knows every star and puts it exactly where He wants it. He places Mt Everest on a scale and says, “Looks like I need to add another three ounces to make this mountain the right weight.”

Consider the human beings who seem the most powerful, the most influential, as discussed in verses 23-24 – those who command armies, who influence our thinking, who lead movements, who govern countries. No matter how exalted their positions, no matter how imposing they may appear, God blows – Puff! – and they are gone, like the flame of a birthday candle. They are nothing – we are nothing – in comparison to God. He has no rivals. There is no one who approaches His importance, no one who rivals His power.

So Isaiah is telling us: Look! Open your eyes!  See Who He is! He is almighty. He is your God if you are among His people. So humble yourself before Him!

Mark 4:35-41

Jesus is in a boat with His disciples, crossing the Sea of Galilee. A great windstorm arises, far more dangerous than any these experienced fishermen have encountered previously. As waves burst over the sides, the disciples are bailing frantically, fearing for their lives.

Meanwhile, Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat.

They shake Him, crying out, “Don’t you care? Do something! At least help us bail!”

Jesus simply cries out, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind stops. The waves cease. There is a great calm.

How do the disciples react?

They were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41)

Do you see? Mark here presents the same idea as Isaiah 40. When the disciples looked at the wind and the waves and feared for their lives, they had a wrong fear – a fear of circumstances. Jesus is with them! He is in control! What evil could happen?

But the fear they experience after seeing Jesus’ power and authority is a right and proper fear. They are in awe of His power – but they know that power is with them, not against them. They can delight to have that type of fear.

Isaiah 11:3 and John 4:34

Prophesying about the coming Messiah, Isaiah tells us His “delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.”

Now, if we are united with Christ, we should become like Him; we are to take on His character. Our fear of God, therefore, as well as our delight, should be like His.

What did Jesus’ fear look like? John 4:34 helps us here. Remember the context. Jesus’ disciples have brought Him food to eat, but He doesn’t want any. They wonder – did someone else bring Him food? He says: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).

Jesus’ sustenance, Jesus’ joy, Jesus’ delight is to do the Father’s will. He knows that the Father’s will is perfect. He knows that the Father knows all, sees all, controls all. He knows no one can give the Father counsel, or correct His plans. He knows to follow Him will bring about the best outcome. So He humbles Himself before the will of His Father. He delights to do His will. He delights to obey Him in everything. He delights to fear His Name.

So you see: Fearing God is closely related to humbling ourselves before Him. This results from beholding our God (Isaiah 40:9) – that is, clearly understanding Who He is. Such fear, such humility, is the starting point for delight. We have to see His power and majesty, and our own inability and unworthiness, in order to delight in Him. If we are impressed with our own accomplishments and abilities, there is no place for fear or delight in Him. We must rejoice:

  • That He is great and we are small.
  • That He is all wise and we understand very little
  • That He is holy and righteous and we are sinful and fallen
  • That He controls the universe and we can’t even control our appetites

To rejoice in God is to rejoice in our weakness and His strength, our finitude and His infinity. And that requires a proper fear of Who He Is.

So behold our God!

  • He is able to destroy this country – or any country – with a puff of His breath.
  • He is able to destroy this planet – with a flick of His wrist.
  • He is able to take a hardened, rebellious sinner, like the Pharisee Saul, and turn him into greatest missionary and theologian of all time, the Apostle Paul.
  • He is able to take the most powerful of all earthly rulers, the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar, and cause Him to eat grass like an animal for seven years.
  • He is able to punish you horribly for eternity, and He is able to make you into His beloved child.
  • He is able to take you – weak and powerless and sinful as you are – and advance His global purposes through you.
  • He is able to take millions of individuals from all times and places, and by their starts and stops, by their faithful acts and terrible failures, to bring about His perfect plan to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea.

So know His might. Know His justice. Know His holiness.

Know your insignificance. Know your lack of power. Know your lack of holiness.

If you are not in Jesus, you should have a fearful expectation of judgment (Hebrews 10:27). As Jesus Himself says, “Fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). You cannot stand before such a holy and righteous God in your sin. Humble yourself, asking for forgiveness based on the sacrifice of His Son. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ  – and then there will be no place for fear of judgment.

If you are in Jesus – even if you have only just now repented and believed – this mighty God is for you, not against you. He is working all things together for your good, as well as His glory. You are His precious child – and nothing can separate you from His love that is yours in Christ Jesus. You deserve punishment, but God has laid all your iniquity on Jesus. There is no retribution remaining. So delight in Him. Delight to do His will. Delight in His great plan – of which you are a part. Be overwhelmed by His majesty, by His holiness, by His grace.

And so delight to fear His Name.

To Fear God Rightly

[This devotion is a shortened and edited version of a sermon preached July 24, 2016 from Job 38:1-42:6. These ideas are especially relevant as we have a hurricane bearing down on us today. You can listen to the audio of that 2016 sermon via this link.]

Do you fear God? Should you fear God? If so: How should you fear God? What does a right fear of God look like?

The closing chapters of the book of Job help answer these questions. Recall that Job was a wealthy man who – according to God Himself – was righteous an upright. Furthermore, God tells us Job fears Him (job 1:1). But then in a matter of minutes, Job loses all his possessions and all his children. A short time later he loses his health. And his pain just continues, day after day. Friends arrive and initially are silent, mourning with him. But at long last Job speaks, cursing the day he was born. His friends begin to argue that Job is suffering because of sinfulness. Job knows that is not right – but he wrongly accuses God of being his enemy, tormenting him. He calls on God to give him the opportunity to present his case, to show that God is not right to make him suffer like this.

But in the midst of his anguish, Job does express confidence that God will vindicate him after his death. And he rightly sees that God’s ways are hidden; furthermore, he sees that wisdom requires us to fear God. Nevertheless, he still longs to present his case before God.

Elihu then appears on the scene (Job 32:1). This young man rebukes both Job and his friends. He makes three points:

  • God is not Job’s enemy, but sends affliction for his good. Indeed, God speaks to use through pain.
  • God always does what is just and right.
  • We must be overwhelmed by the greatness of God’s wondrous works.

In Job 38-42, God Himself speaks, picking up and elaborating on Elihu’s third point, while effectively building on Elihu’s first two points.

These chapters show us that while Job knew he was to fear God, and while God commended Job for fearing Him, Job did not yet fear God rightly. Through God’s speaking, however, he comes to see God for who He is – and thus fears Him rightly and trusts Him fully. We too can learn of a right fear of God through this text.

See God for Who He Is – and So Rightly Fear Him

As Elihu concludes his speech in Job 37, a storm is rolling in. Elihu comments, “God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend” (Job 37:5).

He then concludes:

The Almighty–we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.” (Job 37:23-24)

Then beginning in chapter 38, God speaks – to display His great power, His justice, His wisdom, and His righteousness, all of which should prompt a right fear in us.

In Job 38:2-3, God effectively says, “If you’re so wise, Job, if you’re so righteous, if you’re so powerful, then answer a few questions for me.”

Job has desired a mediator, so he can present his case and show that God has unjustly sent all this suffering. He wants God to be judged. But we cannot put God on trial. That’s like a two year old putting his parents on trial. God does not answer to us. We answer to Him. God is the one who rightly asks the questions. And this is what God does for most of chapters 38-41.

God’s purpose in these chapters is to show Himself to Job, so that Job might rightly see Him. We know this in part from Job’s response in 42:5: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” Seeing God for Who He is enables Job to realize that he is a dependent creature. Like a little child, he must trust, love, and delight in this great God – not put Him on trial.

What does God say to help Job see Him? He tells Job to see Him in His creative acts; then He tells him to see Him in creation itself – both in the heavens, and in the animals.

See God in His Creative Acts: Job 38:4-21

God asks, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 37:4). Echoing Genesis 1, God asks Job questions about separating light from darkness, the waters from the dry land, and day from night. He concludes this section by stating mockingly that Job should know all this, “for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!” (Job 37:21)

The point is that we can’t even begin to comprehend God’s creation – and we’re much too young to have seen it. For we’re part of it! We are His creatures, we are dependent creatures. So how can we stand in judgment over Him?

See God in His Creation: The Heavens Job 38:22-38

God knows how to control snow, wind, rain, lightning, ice, and stars. He understands what they are, where they come from; He uses each for His good and wise purposes. We can do none of that.

See God in His Creation: The Animals Job 38:39-39:30, 40:15-41:34

God speaks much of various animals for Job to look at. With one exception, all the animals mentioned are wild: Lions, ravens, mountain goats, wild donkeys, wild oxen, ostriches, the war horse, the hawk, the eagle, Behemoth, and Leviathan. God asks if Job provides food or homes for these, if he can even see all that they do. He asks if Job can make them serve him  – for they do serve God! He asks if Job can make these animals fast, or wise.

Even the war horse – the one “tame” animal – is not ours by right or even under our complete control. God asks in Job 39:19-25: Did you give the war horse his might? Did you give him his mane? Do you make him leap? The war horse was the most powerful weapon available to armies in Job’s day – but it was not created by humans, and was barely controlled by them.

The last two creatures God mentions are Behemoth and Leviathan. We’re not sure what particular animals God is talking about, but that’s really immaterial. These are powerful creatures, created by Him for His delight. They were not created by us or for us; they are not controllable by us. Indeed, God emphasizes this: “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you” (Job 40:15). Similarly, we have no hope of controlling or subduing Leviathan, a creature without fear (Job 41:33).

So God asks Job questions, pointing out His creative powers, His rights over His creation, His wise governing of creation, and our smallness. What point is God making through these illustrations?

The Point of Creation

God’s point is not, “I’m mighty so do whatever I say!” In the midst of enabling Job to see Him for Who He is, God does emphasize His power – for it is great! Indeed, He makes clear:

“All is Mine to Do with as I Please”

God created everything; He created us. We don’t exist apart from Him. We are dependent creatures, contingent creatures. God’s delight in His creation is evident in this text. All creation, including these creatures man cannot control, is doing what He planned – except the humans in the story. And God intervenes in order to get them in alignment with His purposes.

And what are His purposes?

“I Please to Display My Glory”

Clearly God’s glory is displayed in the heavens and in the animals He has described. But God also speaks of how His glory is displayed among mankind. He does this in part by humbling the proud and bringing down the wicked. Note what God tells Job to do if he can:

Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. (Job 40:11-14)

God says: The world needs a ruler. Mankind needs a ruler – or the proud, the wicked will dominate, harm, destroy, and thrive. So God is not only saying He is mighty; He is also saying that He is the moral authority in the universe. He is the ruler mankind needs. For He destroys the pride of men – and pride before God is our fundamental sin.

So in this section God destroys Job’s pride – to his good.

But He does more than destroy pride. He also leads His people to delight in Him and in His works.

God doesn’t humble us just to bring us low. He humbles us so we can delight in what is truly the source of joy – Himself! When we are so impressed with ourselves, we can’t delight in our dependence on God; we can’t stare in wonder and joy at the greatness of Who He is and what He has done. Job does finally have such wonder and joy in the end:

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)

So Job is not simply humiliated. Rather, he sees God and delights in Him, saying, “Wow! Here is majestic joy! Here is overwhelming beauty! Here is overpowering magnificence. I now see You, Lord, for Who You are – why would I rejoice in anything else?”

The Right Fear of God

Look at Job’s responses more fully:

“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:4-5)

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” (Job 42:2-3)

Do you see how Job’s fear of God has changed? Previously, he saw God as his enemy, his adversary, harming him. He feared an arbitrary, capricious God. While he knew that was a wrong understanding of God, his inability to understand what God was doing led him to fear what that mysterious God might do next.

But now he sees God for Who He is: In his glory, in his majesty, in his purposes. God is exalting what should be exalted – Himself! God is humbling what should be humbled – proud men! And so this new fear, this right fear, is not the result of Job anticipating harm from God, but rather an overwhelming sense of God’s grandeur combined with a confidence that God, in His mysterious ways, is working for good purposes.

This is what a right fear of God brings about: A humbling of self, and a deep delight and trust in God.

Furthermore, in consequence we fear nothing else. Indeed, this is why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is seeing who God is, seeing how He rules world, seeing who we are, and responding rightly. Job now has that wisdom. He has seen God. He has seen Himself. He repents. And He trusts God.

What about you?

Does your suffering seem pointless, harsh, far beyond what you deserve – like Job’s?

  • Do you want to put God on trial?
  • Do you think God needs to explain Himself?
  • Do you think you have a good case against God?
  • Do you question His wisdom, His power, His authority, His love?

God tells you what He told Job: “See Me for Who I am!”

See Him in His revelation in His Word – in Job

See Him as the Creator – and thus as the One who can do what He likes with what is His

See Him as the One who sees all, sustains all, controls all, and delights in all His works

See Him in the heavens, in hurricanes, in the animals

And today see Him most clearly in Jesus Himself – with all authority, all compassion, all power, all humility; see Him risen and reigning, and see Him suffering and dying; see Him overcoming all powers, and see Him washing His disciples feet;  see Him riding on the white horse to conquer, and see Him holding children in His arms.

This majestic, all-powerful God became man, lived in humble circumstances, and died horribly so that you might be reconciled to God, so that you, fearing God, might be embraced by God.

See God for Who He is, and so come to fear God rightly. And having feared God rightly, trust God fully.

Don’t Be Cowards; Fear!

Should Christians fear? Or should they not fear?

In our passage for last Sunday’s sermon, Paul and Barnabas show great boldness in the face of fearful circumstances. Paul tells the young believers “It is necessary for us to enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations” (Acts 14:22). That is, don’t fear such tribulations; they are the passageway to an eternity with our loving God. Similarly, Jesus says that we will always have such tribulations in the world. “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Because He is sovereign over all that happens, we can have peace in Him even now, even when we face frightening circumstances. For we know that God is working all things together for good for those who love Him, for those whom He has called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). When nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God, then we need not fear even those who are putting us to death (Romans 8:35-39).

Consider the story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, told in Mark 4:35-41. While out on the lake, a great windstorm arises – so great that the waves are breaking over the sides of the boat. Though the disciples bail and bail, the water in the boat rises higher and higher. It looks certain to sink in a few minutes. And the wind continues to howl; the waves continue to pound. (more…)