Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
Right at the appointed time for the promise to be fulfilled, the Israelites chose to believe the lies of ten of the twelve spies. Num. 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. Yet, in Verse 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
The rebellion began to take root because of the fear of man. Num.13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. It seemed that it was easier for the Israelites to believe in the misery of ten fearful men than to have hope in the God-given battle cry of the two brave soldiers of God. The fear of man will stop you from moving forward in the vision of the Lord, and life.
The judgment of God toward the Amalikites was pronounced and it was to be carried out by the army of Israel. 1Sam. 15:3a Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have. Saul did not do what God said, but did it his way. 1Sam:15:9a But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good.
Partial obedience is not obedience, and this heart attitude caused Saul to lose his kingdom. 1Sam. 13:26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. The fear of man stopped the destiny of Saul’s kingdom. 1Sam. 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. What have we sacrificed in life because of the fear of man or the fear of what THEY might think?
The fear of man will keep us in a place of uncertain apprehension and bitterness. Once this bitterness takes root, shame will grow in strength. Mark 14:72b Thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept. Thank God there is forgiveness on this side of the cross. Rev. 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
Why can we put our total trust in this salvation of the Lord? Num. 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? That is a real blessed assurance because this truth will cause us to believe the love God has for us. 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.
Fear crushes the spirit of man, but trust in the Lord keeps our souls safely grounded in Him who first loved us. I trust my Lord Jesus.
A timely Word for me Sir Norm. When we put our Trust in the Lord, we can rest assured He has our best interests at hand.
God Bless you and your family.
Toni:)
Good words! Galatians 1:10 comes into my mind "if I were still trying to please men …" and Job 40;8 "would you rather declare me guilty to justify yourself"
Thanks for posting!