I remember the very first time I experienced the night sea. I spent my teen years in Virginia near Virginia Beach. On a whim, a couple of friends and I drove to Virginia Beach in the middle of the night (About a 45 minutes drive). Although I’ve gone to that same beach during the day time, it was the first time I’ve gone at night. And it was shear terror! In the darkness, I couldn’t make out where the water began and the sky ended. With the roar of the waves, I felt as if the darkness would swallow me. I couldn’t go near the water for fear that I would perish! It was paralyzing! (Also hard to admit for a teenage boy!)

Perhaps, this is what God is referring to when He tells the Israelites to fear Him. Look at nature and its awesomeness and trace back to the God who created this nature!

“Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though they roar, they cannot pass over it.”
Jeremiah 5:22

This means, when we look at the majestic Mt. Rainier covered in snow, we are to be in awe of God. When we see that the earth is being pelted by sleet and then the next hour, the sun comes out, we are to be in awe of God. When we hear the sound of the roar of the ocean, we are to be in awe of God.

Yet, how often do we forget that there is even a God?

“But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain…”
Jeremiah 5:23-24

And what happened to those Israelites? Carried away to foreign nations to die as slaves….

Fear the Lord. Be aware of Him. Make your decisions with Him in mind. Stay away from sin for He lives. Do not die. Live! Fear Him!

PH