Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction:
I want to start today by saying, I tried.
I tried really hard to finish out chapter 20 today.
As I was writing yesterday it became apparent that I was writing two different sermons.
It’s not that the text aren’t related, but rather the Holy Spirit was telling me to slow down.
So, we are going to pick up in verse 18 and go to verse 21 in Exodus 20.
When we left the narrative in Exodus 19, we were learning that God is using us to prepare people to know Him.
Now since this was two months ago, let me take a moment to recap.
In that message we talked about the importance of us being authentic and vulnerable with the people God has placed us around.
We saw that God gave Moses very specific instructions on how to prepare those people to come near to Him.
Because God uses us to reveal Himself to those people in our lives, we have to make sure that we are spending the time that is necessary for us to know Him.
By doing so we are allowing God to shape us into the people He needs to reach those people.
We considered what our motivation is for spending that time and that we must always be motivated by the love of God.
Not because we have to, but because we can’t help but do other wise.
We ended with acknowledging that God has us doing this study because their are people in our lives that need hope, freedom, and love.
We are the vessels that God wants to use to bring those things to the people in our communities.
As we pick back up in the narrative today, we are going to see that idea continued.
We are going to see God revealing Himself to Israel, their response to God, and Moses’ response to Israel.
Isreal had a reaction to God that is not uncommon, but the way they responded is not what God was wanting.
Today we are going to talk about an aspect of God that is not often talked about, or at least I haven't heard many speak on while growing up in the church.
Fear of God
Israel is afraid of what they are experiencing.
They are seeing, feeling, and hearing God in a way that they never have before.
This new experience causes Israel to fear God.
If you put yourself in their place and think about what they have seen God do to Egypt, there is a good reason for them to fear.
They are not the only ones to respond to God's revelation in this way.
We don't use the word "Woe."
Ever.
It's not part of our regular vocabulary.
It is used to express grief, regret, or distress.
Isaiah is afraid because of what he is experiencing.
We see the same reaction here from Israel.
Because of what they are experiencing, they are afraid.
Their fear causes them to back away from God and to tell Moses that they don't want God speaking to them.
Moses' response made me double-take.
So let's talk about fear.
There are two different words for fear used in verse 20.
The difference between the words is subtle but relevant for our understanding of the passage.
1. Fear of God because we do not know Him, and we are afraid of what we don't know.
2. Fear, as a result of knowing God, of not believing, not having faith, or running from God because we do know Him.
"There is a fear that is slavish and drives us away from God, and there is a fear that is sweet and draws us to God.
Moses warned against the one and called for the other in the very same verse, Exodus 20:20" - John Piper
yārē - verb - an emotional reaction of fear, terror, or apprehension.
As I look at the uses of this word, it seems to have the feeling of impending doom.
This fear is a result of a lack of understanding or uncertainty.
Examples of this kind of fear are:
Israel was afraid when they saw Pharoah and his army coming after them.
David fears for his life before the King of Gath.
Nehemiah was afraid when King Artaxerxes questioned him.
People fear God because they do not know Him.
They had an irrational fear of God because they still did now fully know Him.
Even though God had shown Himself to be loving and compassionate, we as people, tend to focus and remember the negative things that happen rather than the good.
People fear or are turned off by God because they do know him.
They think they know Him, but they have an incomplete concept of God.
Think about how much we have learned about who God is as we have studied the Ten Commandments.
Our understanding of the intent of the ten commandments has changed, and therefore our perception of who God is has been increased because of the new knowledge He has given us.
We understand the truth about who God.
He has set us free, and that same truth is what sets others free.
We have been set free from our small understanding of the Ten Commandments.
Think about how freeing it will be for others when they realize that God isn't just trying to make them act a certain way or conform to a pattern of behavior.
There are people in our communities responding as we have and as Israel did.
The people that God has called us too are running from Him because of a lack of knowledge.
So we must ask ourselves, do I fear the wrath and punishment of God?
If our answer is no, it is because we are in a relationship and we know Him.
We understand that we are all sinners, separated from God by that sin, but redeemed and forgiven by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
There has been a transformation of our understanding of who God is and what a relationship with Him means.
Because we know Him, we want more of Him and it is our call as a body to share that knowledge with others.
Moses wanted what Israel dreaded.
Moses wanted more of God because he knew God.
Once you know God, you worship what you have found.
yirʾâ - emotion, feeling, or state of being afraid, terrified, or in awe.
The majority of the time, this noun appears concerning the fear of God, either in the sense of proper reverence for God or in the sense of fear at the awesome power of God.
This fear is a result of knowledge.
Examples of yira:
Because David knew God’s steadfast love, he was drawn to bow before Him.
David is contemplating the course of our lives and the frailty of it if we do not know the Lord.
He is saying that our fear of God is paramount if we are to live in a way that has lasting value.
This is the kind of fear that Moses and we share.
Because we know the nature and character of God, we find ourselves being drawn to Him.
This is what we see happening in Ex 20.21
Moses has had so much time and interaction with God that he fully knows that there is no need for him to fear for his life.
He knows that God revealing Himself isn't going to cause him any harm.
Listen, we know this, but I'm going to give some examples for the sake of clarity.
We fear what we don't know, but if we try it, we either love it and want more or hate it and don't want to try it again.
There are some exceptions, but generally, this is true.
Dogs - if you are a dog person and you get one, what happens?
You want another one.
Chickens are the same.
Cats - no one likes cats unless they are insane.
All the dog people are laughing, and the cat people are offended and/or triggered.
Time will tell.
Here's the point.
If you take the time to know God and move beyond preconceived or ill-informed ideas, you see Him as a loving God that wants to be in a relationship with you.
He is a God who loves His people and gave up His Son so that He could restore the relationship that we broke.
If you are here today and you understand that God has redeemed you and you live under grace, you know him in a way that most don’t.
Now, you no longer fear God, but instead, you fear to lose what you now know.
Do you know how I know that?
Because I fear it.
I am so careful about what authors I read, what podcast I listen to, who I follow on social media and all because I know the freedom that I have found in understanding the grace of God.
I want to protect it.
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