Reverencing The Lord
One thing I noticed about the book of Exodus is that it emphasizes how we must come to the Kingdom of God, in reverence of Him. See, everything that The Lord did to get the Israelites out of bondage not only freed them, but produced a faith that they were to tell their children about (Exodus 10:1-2).The Bible says that Moses knew His ways of righteousness and justice but the Israelites knew His acts (Psalm 103:7).
Saints, everything that The Lord does is indicative of His character and who He is. As Jesus reconciled us back to The Lord (Luke 23:44-47,2 Corinthians 5:16-19), we now have the opportunity to experience both; His nature and His ways which gives us every reason to admire Him. As we look throughout Scripture, we see that having a divine understanding and revelation of who The Lord is leads us to reverence, which in turn, begins our life with Christ.
We serve a Holy God. So much so that, we can not see His face and live (Exodus 33:22). So much so, that seeing His presence and glory humbled the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5). So much so, that Moses could not get close to the burning bush and had to take off his shoes while standing there (Exodus 3:4-6). So much so, that under the old covenant, for a priest to atone for the sins of the people, they had to wash themselves and wear holy garments, lest they die themselves (Leviticus 16, side note: although we are under the new covenant, the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever Hebrews 13:8). So much so, that the Lord struck Uzzah with death for touching the Ark of the Covenant where His presence dwelled among His people (2 Samuel 6:6-11). Everything with the Lord is Holy. We can not, in our sinful nature (as we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity) (Psalm 51:5), think we can approach the Lord in any other way than reverencing Him. The only way that we are acceptable is through receiving the gift of His Son who took on our sin making us righteous in God’s eyes and making His presence available to us (Romans 5:1-2).
Hearing these stories should not make you fear and tremble, but instead realize the nature of The Lord and to praise Him for it. The Lord is a God of purpose, so fearing Him is not without reason (Proverbs 16:4). Fearing Him will lead you right to salvation. Everytime in Scripture, reverencing The Lord is followed by an action that produces faith. Check out the endings of the examples I’ve mentioned above, or better yet, let's look at a story that everyone knows!
Read Exodus 14 for background of Moses parting the Red Sea, but let's look at how it ended:
30 The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians [lying] dead on the [d]seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.
Parting the Red Sea showed the Israelites His nature which caused them to fear AND believe in The Lord! The Israelites were in slavery, depressed, and felt as if they had no hope. As soon as they realized how the Lord wiped out the Egyptians that were after them, they realized His power and sovereignty was fearful, yet admirable. Their fear was rooted in them not wanting to face the same demise as the Egyptians, which provoked them to action. This fear was not a quaking fear that forced them to believe, but an amazement that encouraged them to believe.
The Purpose of Fearing The Lord
Later on in Exodus when The Lord actually allowed His Presence to cover Mount Sinai, where they received the commands of the Lord, Moses revisited the purpose of reverence.
Exodus 20:18-21 reads: 18 Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him [that is, a profound reverence for Him] will remain with you, so that you do not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a [safe] distance, but Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Here are other Scriptures that coincides with Moses’ exhortation:
Psalm 111:9: He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
Proverbs 9:10a: The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence],
Proverbs 19:8: He who gains wisdom and good sense loves (preserves) his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good and prosper.
Proverbs 3:7: Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil.
Healthy fear of the Lord keeps us from falling. It protects us from our flesh that seeks to engage in sin every chance it gets (Romans 7:15-22). Reverencing The Lord provides us with the wisdom that is needed to live for Him. Reverencing The Lord humbles us and keeps us away from pride which The Lord hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). And most importantly, reverencing The Lord will allow you to accept everything that there is to offer from Jesus’ sacrifice.
The End Result of Reverencing The Lord
Exodus does a good job of explaining to us the process of reverencing The Lord. One can think about it like this:
Reverence → Obedience → Reconciliation
Let's look at the beginning verse of Exodus 24:
Just for context, chapter 24 was after The Lord’s presence was manifested on Mount Sinai to give the Israelites His commands and decrees. The Israelites were startled by His presence but were also instructed to keep their distance due to The Lord’s Holiness and their sinfulness.
1 Then God said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s older sons), and seventy of Israel’s elders, and you shall worship at a [safe] distance. 2 Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”3 Then Moses came and told the people everything that the Lord had said and all the ordinances. And all the people answered with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar [for worship] at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars (memorial stones) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in large basins, and [the other] half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people; and they said, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will be obedient.”
Now look at what happened after the Israelites proclaimed their obedience:
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [the mountainside], 10 and they saw [a manifestation of] the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, just as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the Israelites; and they saw [the manifestation of the presence of] God, and ate and drank.
In previous chapters, Exodus 19 specifically, the Lord gives instructions on what the people were to do to prepare for His presence to be at Mount Sinai. The Lord told Moses to inform the Israelites to stay within the set boundaries because outside of them The Lord could strike them down in judgment of their sinfulness. It was not until the latter part of Exodus 24 where people other than Moses would be in the presence of God without undergoing judgment. It was not until their obedience that The Lord withheld His hand (judgment) and allowed the elders and nobles to eat and drink while seeing the manifestation of His presence.
This was Moses’ explanation coming to pass. He shared previously that the Lord appearing was not to scare them away but to show them His desire for us to not sin, allowing us to please God. However, not submitting to sin requires obedience to His Word and His commands which are antithetical to sin.
Once we are obedient and submitted to the will of the Father, we are then acceptable in His sight because we are no longer controlled by sin but controlled by His Spirit in us. Reverence takes our eyes off of ourselves and places them on the very nature of The Lord which deserves to be admired and praised. We were created to worship Him and live out His plan and His will which starts with saying “Everything you say I will do, I will be obedient” - just as the Israelites said.
If you are ready to gain intimacy with Christ, say the following prayer with me!
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your awesomeness and how holy You are. I thank You Lord that You did not lower Your standard but You give us every opportunity to reach it and become righteous in Your eyes through Jesus Christ. I thank You that the Blood of the Lamb wipes my sins away, giving me a clean slate and a transformed mind to know You. I repent of any disobedience and pride and ask that You come into my heart and give me a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. Purify me so that I can see Your majesty and worship You for it. I pray to revere you solely for who You are and all that You have done. I cover myself under the Blood of Jesus and ask that You send Your Holy Spirit to bring back these Scriptures to my remembrance at their time of need.
In Jesus Name ,
Amen