Magdy Samuel

Serialized Articles From:
"Whom shall I fear"

Last Published Devotions

Chapter one: 1

Sources of Fear

In Psalm 27, David suffers from three sources of fear, namely:
1 – The day of evil.  He says, «For in the day of evil he will hide me in his pavilion»
2 – The approach of the wicked.  He says, «When evil-doers, mine adversaries and mine enemies, came upon me to eat up my flesh…».
3 – The rising up of war and the coming of the army, "warfare of the wicked one."  He says, « Though an army may encamp against me…Though war may rise against me…».

These are the three sources of fear: the day of evil, the approaching of the wicked, the warfare of the wicked one.  This is confirmed and explained by the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7), when he spoke of the wise man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on sand, making it clear that the two houses were exposed to three sources of fear and threat:
1 – Downpour of the rain, a reference to God's wrath.
2 - Flooding of the rivers, a reference to the troubles of the world.
3 – Blowing of the wind, a reference to the warfare of Satan.


First Fear: 

The Wrath of God
“Downpour of Rain”

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Romans 1: 18).

“But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God…”  (Romans 2:5)
 
Rain in the Bible refers to God's judgment and wrath because of human evil. As in the days of Noah, the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, His anger was kindled.  The Lord said, “The end of all flesh has come before Me.”  Then all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain and the waters flooded all humankind.

Likewise, when God's wrath came upon Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their evil and corruption, the Bible says “Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.”  (Gen. 19: 24).

We see that in both cases, the judgment of God came in the image of rain:  rain waters in the days of Noah, raining of fire in the days of Lot. In Psalm 27, the Psalmist says, «For in the day of evil he will hide me in his pavilion. »  The Pavilion protects a person from the rain falling from above.

This is the first fear: the wrath of heaven and the judgment of God.

When we see the increase of evil around us: rebellion against God and turning away from Him, endorsement of illicit sex, homosexuality, abortion, divorce, family breakdown, and the spread of drugs, violence and terrorism, experimenting with cloning, and other evils; we find that the world today is not any less evil than in the days of Noah, nor from the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Therefore the man who meditates on his reality feels fear and anxiety concerning what is going to happen to this world.  Because these evils are against God and His law, and bring God's wrath and judgment. The Bible says “It is because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6).

 


God’s Kindness and God's Wrath

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”  (Romans 2:4, 5)

The Bible explains here that the primary purpose of the kindness of God is to lead mankind to repentance.  But the hardness of mankind and his unrepentant heart collects and stores up wrath against himself for the day of God's wrath, and the revelation of the judgment.  It is as if the evil of human thought and deeds is a vapor rising and gathering and condensing like clouds and fog in the sky, to the day appointed for the wrath, when the rain and floods of judgment falls.

Christ has declared that the war and news of war, famine, epidemics and earthquakes are only just the beginning of the pains (i.e., the beginnings of God's wrath). But after this «there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.» (Matthew 24: 21)
 
And the Lord pointed to the coming judgment, when he said, « But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. » (Matthew 24: 37) This is what happened in the olden days, when the floods of judgment drowned all humankind in the days of Noah, when God reduced to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and when God permitted the complete eradication of the Amorites when their evil had reached its full measure.  This is what will soon happen, when the evil of this world has reached its full measure, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up, and the day of wrath will come, and his righteous judgment will be revealed.

 And when you think deeply about the main fears of humankind, such as the fear of disease and death and disasters and the unknown future, and the hereafter, you will find, in fact, that mankind is afraid of God as a result of his separation and distance from God.

It is a deep, hidden fear buried in the depths of mankind, as « He has set eternity in their hearts. » (Ecc.3: 11)  It is either the fear of the punishment of God in his life now, or waiting to meet God in judgment after his death, as it is written, « It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God » (Hebrews 10: 31)
 
When Cain feared, after he killed his brother and said, “Anyone who finds me will kill me,” there was no one trying to kill him. But the agony of his conscience and the terror of judgment made him run, frightened and lost and running away, because, “The wicked flee when no one pursues.”  (Pro. 28:1)

Someone said: "The one who fears God is not afraid of anything, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But how great the difference between the fear of God (love and appreciation and reverence for Him), and being afraid of God (i.e., separated from him and fleeing from Him). Being afraid of God terrifies a person, but the fear of God fills the heart with peace and certainty.

 

Magdy Samuel