Readings for today: Isaiah 8-9, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Psalms 55, Proverbs 23:4-5
“But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary…” (Is. 8:13-14)
I have always loved the juxtaposition of these verses. Fear. Dread. Sanctuary. How in the world does all this work? It seems like God is asking for mutually exclusive things. On the one hand, he wants us to fear him to the point of dread. Let that sink in for a moment. God is asking us to be afraid of him. Afraid of the one who can cast our souls into hell. Afraid of the one who rightfully and righteously acts as our supreme judge. Afraid of the one who brought us into this world and certainly can take us out. We should be afraid of God. He is holy and we are not. He is perfect and we are not. He is all-powerful. All-knowing. Always present. Nothing is hidden from his sight. Nothing escapes his notice. Nothing is too insignificant or beneath him. He is in all and through all and in him all things hold together. He reigns and rules from a throne established outside time and space. He is the Lord of glory and the Lord of hosts. Legions of angels serve at his command. His will is immutable. His character is unchangeable. His kingdom is unshakeable. He is wholly other. Awesome in might and majesty. We enter into his presence with our faces pressed to the ground. Fear is completely appropriate when we consider the gulf that exists between us and God.
At the same time, God promises to be our sanctuary. Those who honestly fear the Lord. Who honor God as holy with their lives. Who offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. God extends an invitation to dwell with him. To come under his protection. To be supplied by his provision. To receive grace and mercy instead of judgment and wrath. To those who enter into his presence by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in the one whom God sent to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. Faith in the one who lived in perfect submission and perfect obedience to his Father’s will. Faith in the one who not only died but rose again bodily from the grave. To these he gives the gift of adoption. They become sons and daughters of God. They become part of God’s family. They are set apart as God’s chosen people. God himself becomes their sanctuary.
Such people have no need of fear for the perfect love of God revealed in Jesus Christ casts out all fear. Fear has to do with punishment. Fear has to do with God’s righteous judgment on human sin. But Christ Jesus has taken our place. He has endured the punishment we deserved. He has endured the wrath of God on our behalf and turned it away. Perfectly satisfying God’s judgment. Perfectly meeting all the demands of justice. He completes the work. He serves the full sentence. He endures what we could not and opens the door to forgiveness and grace. His blood makes perfect atonement for our sin and all those who believe in him are now invited to make God their sanctuary. To run into his arms. To enter into his presence with thanksgiving and praise. The way to the holy of holies is now wide open for any and all who call on the name of the Lord and are saved.
Do you believe this? Does your life reflect this reality? Do you fear God and honor him as holy? Have you placed your faith in Christ? Do you believe the death he died, he died for you? Do you believe the blood he shed, he shed for you? Do you believe the victory he won, he won for you? If so, you have nothing to fear. You are a child of God. Accepted. Beloved. Chosen by God before the foundations of the world.
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 10-11, 2 Corinthians 12:11-21, Psalms 56, Proverbs 23:6-8