February 15
Original Entry: October 13, 2008
McMinnville, OR
If the God
of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been
with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of
my hands, and last night he rebuked you. Genesis 31:42
May the
God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.
So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. Genesis 31:53
I have
many fears: The fear of jumping off of high places, the fear of deep water, the
fear of failure, the fear of taking irresponsible risks, the fear of being seen
as weak or wimpy, the fear of wasting my life for God, the fear of God, the
fear of a loved one dying.
These are
my most basic of fears.
Some of
them have very little place in my life, others loom as remote possibilities
beyond my control. Still others have the potential to stifle God’s call on my
life.
Do you
have an ultimate fear? Do you have a
fear of all fears, a fear so great that it literally drives your life?
Without
going into the details of the context of this passage we see something that is
not seen in all other mentions of “fear” in the Bible. Above are the only two
times in scripture the word “fear” is actually capitalized in a verse. So what was the author of Genesis trying to
convey calling God “the Fear of Isaac?”
I believe
this was to emphasize that this was the God that Isaac feared. At this point Isaac is old, blind, and facing
death. By Genesis 35: 29 we read, “Isaac breathed his last and died, and was
gathered to his people.” As a man
ages death becomes a reality. Men of faith have an expectancy to see their God
but a latent fear of how he will die and the details of the other side. Fear
and God in this passage are interchangeable. The God of Isaac was literally the
Fear of Isaac.
Oh, to
have men of faith with such a strong understand of who God is today!
In this
modern day of grace and love we have spent far too many sermons over
emphasizing the softer qualities of God and not enough teaching the hard truth
of God’s holiness and wrath. Jesus knew
this, “I will show you who to fear: Fear
him, who after killing the body has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell
you, fear him. (Luke 12:5)” Did you know that was in the Bible?
Isaac had
the fear and it drove him to his knees.
It drove him to the end of his race.
