Who Do You Fear?
Bitterness needs a pliable companion to join in active expression to support and legitimize it.
“I happily served him in Egypt during the standoff with Pharaoh, but now he has no time for us.”
“You sound annoyed, Miriam.”
I am, Aaron! He looks down on us. There he goes again, with his head in a cloud. Who does he think he is? Always telling us what to do.”
“He does have the Lord’s ear.”
Her brown eyes narrowed, “Hmpf! He thinks he’s God’s gift to Israel but he can’t even talk without you!”
“I know, Sis, but like it or not, he calls the shots.”
“That’s just it. Why should he tell us what to do? We have as much right, if not more, to tell him what to do. Besides, we’ve never murdered anyone or slunk off in hiding.”
Aaron laughed derisively. “Yes! And it was me God used to do miracles before Pharaoh.”
Jealousy And The Fear Of Man
Just normal sibling rivalry, enacted since time immemorial, beginning with Cain’s jealousy of Abel. Fast forward to current rivalry within the Church. But isn’t rivalry birthed out of fear of what others think of us? If our perception is our sibling got a larger portion than we did, don’t we feel resentful? Did Aaron resent his kid brother for being chosen to be in authority over him? Was he jealous, even a little afraid of Moses? When he made the idol, was it to take power for himself? Confronted by Moses, Aaron lied and blamed the Israelites for his sin. Was that not a demonstration of fear of man?
As slaves, Israel was ruled by the fear of man, which brings a snare. Unseen, the desire for approval, acceptance, and safety gains power through lies the Deceiver uses to bait us, lure us in, and eventually to trap us.[1] Deceived, taken captive, fearful, and feeling powerless, secret rebellion grows unseen in the imagination. Rebellion feels empowering, but further blinds our eyes to truth and allows us to disrespect, dishonor, and slander those we appear to respect. Embracing lies as truth, makes us feel self-righteous and puffs us up in our imagination, but fear of man drives us to compromise our values. As thoughts of fear, anger, unforgiveness churn in our mind, unwittingly we form soul ties with those who have abused us and coming under the unclean authority in their lives, we rationalize as we do things like those we hate in others.
Bitterness Born Of Suffering
Neither Miriam, nor Aaron respected Moses. Raised in luxury, he knew nothing of their suffering. It felt like he wasted his opportunity when he committed murder and ran away to become a shepherd. After years of suffering, Miriam was actively rebellious; Aaron was passively rebellious. Disrespectful, bitter thoughts churned inside and spilled onto Moses. Blinded by rebellion, bitterness, and disrespect, they moved out from under godly authority to walk in ungodly order.
Their discontent was based in truth; God had chosen them to have an important leadership role amongst the children of Israel, as Micah testified. “For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” (Micah 6:4, NKJV).
Called Of God, Filled With Pride
Aaron was used by God to speak to Pharaoh and to do miracles. He had seen the Lord and experienced communion with Him. He knew the Lord is holy, with great intelligence and beauty. He experienced the Lord as alive, vibrant, a God who communicates, and no image, however glorious, could represent the Lord. Aaron had head knowledge and experiential knowledge of the Lord, yet secret rebellion and bitterness hid in his heart. He chose to engage in mixture as he made an idol and gave it the Lord’s name.
The fear of man does not produce humility, it produces pride. What lay hidden in their hearts began to ooze to the surface as they arranged words against Moses to undermine his authority, for their focus was self-exaltation; they desired more power, while Moses was content to serve the LORD. Signs, wonders, power, and great knowledge do not indicate a truthful heart. Nor are they proof Jehovah God is present or pleased. You can do many signs and wonders with pride hiding in your heart.
The Fear Of The Lord
The Lord calls us to move forward under godly authority birthed out of the fear or respect of Jehovah God. Respectful obedience occurs as we relinquish control in humble submission to the Lord. But to make comparisons, excuses our disrespect and allows us to move in judgment and even speak curses on another. Standing on dangerous ground, the heart is further deceived as we choose to walk in the fear of man. In rebellion, our only option when we demand control is to embrace something alien or strange. Even if done out of legitimate fear, our choice moves us to embrace strange gods, alienates us from the Lord, and brings disaster. Strange means foreign or alien, and comes from the root word calamity, which sets the stage for catastrophe.[2] To embrace even good things over the Lord is linked with a foreign woman, a harlot, whom we devote ourselves to.
Because Aaron and Miriam never dealt with their fear of man, their devotion to the Lord was polluted and brought defilement on them, and on others.
Does fear of man drive your relationship with the Lord and with others? Have you asked Him to bring any fear of man hiding in your heart into the light, where you can experience forgiveness and freedom, and with intentionality, choose to learn to walk in the fear of the Lord?
Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.
(Pro 14: 27, NLT)
[1]Snare: H4170 mowqesh masculine noun from H3369 (to lure, entice, snare, lay a snare or lure, set a trap). Bait, lure, snare (a noose). Accessed 18 Feb 15.
[2]Strange: H5237 nokriy adjective from H5235 (calamity, a strange or unhappy lot, fate, or fortune; a misfortune or disaster). Foreign, alien; foreign woman, harlot; unknown, unfamiliar. Accessed 18 Feb 15.
