To protect us from a deadly virus, social distancing policies have been implemented across the globe. The affect these rules have had on us has me a tad worried. Harmful germs and deadly pathogens have been with us for eons and will not be eradicated any time soon. Has this “fear train” we’ve been forced to ride left the station, never to return?
In a way, though, it’s an old problem, not a new one. As wise Solomon wrote so long ago, “There is nothing new under the sun.” The danger of social distancing has been around at least since Moses’ day.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about the necessity of taking precautionary measures during a pandemic and staying clear of sick people until they are well. I’m speaking directly to the danger of allowing someone or something to instill damaging fear within us. After a year of this, many have stopped living in order to be saved from death.
Who would have thought this new, all-pervasive idea, “social distancing,” was in the Bible? But, as I studied Exodus 20, it popped out of the text like a blinking neon sign. When we notice things like this, pay close attention to what God is communicating. Easily skipped over, this four-verse-story of the people’s reaction to receiving the ten commandments reveals the great power the fear of death has over us all. Here is the real danger of standing at a distance:
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard
the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they
trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses,
“Speak to us yourself and we will listen.
But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
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.”
The people remained at a distance, while Moses
approached the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:18-21
Why did the Israelites believe they would die if they heard the life-giving voice of God? It could be they thought experiencing God’s voice the way Moses did was too far out of reach. Personally, when I began praying and studying God’s word, I thought the same way. And I didn’t have special rules and an ominous mountain covered with black clouds, lightning and thunder in front of me. I erroneously thought hearing God was reserved for preachers, prophets, and gifted Bible teachers. This false belief magnified the apprehension to tackle the over 2000-page book of thees and thous. Add to that the reality of how much easier it is to listen to what God speaks through pastors and teachers than opening the Bible and hearing for myself.
Ever since disobedient Adam fled after hearing God’s voice in the garden, sinful man has not been able to bear either speaking to God or hearing from him. Later, God chose Moses for the mission of not only to save his people from slavery, but also to begin to pave the way back to God through the sharing of His law. Some, however, quickly leave the path by believing the answer to our problem is working hard to keep the law, but it’s not. The purpose of the law is to show us our desperate need of a Savior and to point us in His direction. The protection His law provides is priceless, but it cannot save us.
As the eloquent Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, states:
“This law, which is so extensive that we cannot measure it, so spiritual
that we cannot evade it, and so reasonable that we cannot find fault with it,
will be the rule of the future judgment of God, as it is for the present
conduct of man. If tried by this rule, we shall find our lives have
been passed in transgressions. And with this holy law and an awful
judgment before us, who can despise the gospel of Christ? And the
knowledge of the law shows our need of repentance. In every believer’s
heart sin is dethroned and crucified, the law of God is written, and the
image of God renewed. The Holy Spirit enables him to hate sin and flee
from it, to love and keep his law in sincerity and truth, nor will he
cease to repent.”
Amen, Mr. Henry.
That said, when Moses tells the people “Do not be afraid,” he didn’t expect them to generate their own power to be courageous. He reveals where courage comes from by adding: God came to test them (to prove they could hear him) and instill a deep and reverential awe within them to free them from the slavery to fear and sin. It is no different for us. God’s great power is infused in us the moment we are saved and set free.
Today, maybe that thundering mountain looks like a microscopic, crowned virus or whatever else we may dread. Fear of the unknown is opportunistic. It invades our lives in all areas, causing us to forget the power God has endowed us with.
Whatever the case may be, fear must be sacrificed on the altar of faith. God alone will replace it with reverential awe and provide us with the courage we need to approach the darkness where God is, the same way he did for Moses all of those centuries ago! I trust He wants our anthem to be: I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God. *
*chorus from Bethel Music, No Longer Slaves