257. As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream stood up in a heap: The Lord did this so that all the peoples of the earth might always fear the Lord.

8 March 2022

The Ark of the Lord.

1 Samuel 6:1-2

When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 

the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

Joshua 3:13; 4:24

“And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

“For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.” Joshua 4:23

The hand of the Lord was heavy on the Philistines.

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 

Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. 

When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 

But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.

The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. 

When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” 

So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?” 1 Samuel 5:1-4, 6-8

The fear of God. The Fear of Isaac.

In Genesis 31:42 and 31:53 respectively, Jacob addressed God as the Fear of Isaac, and Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. These are the only passages in the Bible with such attribute to God.

It must be that when Jacob was growing up, he heard Isaac recount his personal encounter with God especially when he was bound by his father Abraham as burnt offering when God tested Abraham (Genesis 22).

"Isaac knew God expected His followers to obey His voice. When his dad, Abraham, held a knife over him, Isaac discovered that the fear of God leads to complete obedience.

Isaac learned about God’s mercy when God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac and supplied a ram to sacrifice instead.

Isaac found out what God’s sovereignty means. Though Isaac favoured Esau, Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. Yet, God had decided beforehand that Jacob would rule over Esau when He told Rebekah, “the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).

Isaac knew that fearing God meant revering God’s greatness, obeying His commands, and submitting to His authority. His fear of the Almighty became his defining characteristic.

God longs for us to fear Him — to rightly understand His authority and power — so that we will always obey Him. Then, like Isaac, we will experience His goodness.

Go Deeper — What would it take for the people around you to know God as “the Fear of _______ (fill in your name)? Do you doubt God’s power, authority, provision, or mercy? Ask God to reveal Himself to you that you might better understand who He is." - From thelife website /devotionals/the-fear-of-isaac

I know a man who was falsely accused of corruption more than 5 years ago. Later, administrative and criminal complaints were filed against him. He lost social security benefits; the complaints have been dismissed more than a year ago. Since then, he has been appealing for restoration of such benefits and favorable development is forthcoming.

For the fear of God, he cannot commit such accusation attributed to him. He was in serious financial trouble years ago, having no stable employment for a long period when his children were to start college. He learned to cry out to the Lord. The Lord provided for the college expenses of his child forren. Then how can he commit such a moral blunder, that would make him an ingrate.

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Ecclesiastes 12:13

""Let all the earth fear the Lord;

    let all the people of the world revere him" (Psalm 33:8), in Jesus' name. Amen.

28 March 2018"

May you blessed with God's Word.

Maraming salamat.