We have meditated on Jeremiah 5:1-13 reminding us that none is righteous. Today, we shall continue with Jeremiah 5:14-30, telling us one of the causes of sins and transgressions, and that is the lack of the fear of the LORD.
God commanded Jeremiah to ask His people of Judah, "Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" (Jeremiah 5:22). The answer is that they did not fear the LORD nor tremble at His presence, and this led them to sins, transgressions, and idolatry. What about us?
Human Sinful, Deceitful, Wicked, and Rebellious Nature Does Not Fear God
When we hear loud thunders and see lightning near us, all of us are surely full of fear and trembling. However, we do not really fear God and tremble at the presence of God, the Creator of thunders and lightning!
When God descended upon Mount Sinai with loud thunders and lightning to speak directly to His people of Israel, they were filled with fear and trembling, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled" (Exodus 19:16). After God had spoken to them His ten commandments, the people said to Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:19). They could not stand the direct voice of God, full of power, majesty and reverence! However, when God commanded Moses to go up into Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights to receive the two tablets of stone, on which God Himself wrote His commandments with His finger (Exodus 24:12, 18; 31:18). The people could not wait for Moses, and they asked Aaron to make a golden calf to worship it, breaking the first and second commandments, which not many days before they had heard directly from God with fear and trembling! God spoke to Moses, "Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:7-8). Why? They did not have the fear of the Lord in their hearts!
The failure of Israel shows that human sinful nature from Adam and Eve is totally depraved, corrupt, "revolting, rebellious" (Jer 5:23) "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). That is why the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah were chastised so many times with natural disasters, pestilences, defeats before the enemies, and in the end they were taken in captivity to Assyria and to Babylon respectively. They did not fear God, nor listen to God's Word of warnings and God's call of repentance through His true prophets, but listened to false prophets, forsook their God, and turned to idolatry! Exactly in our days, many do not fear God and His warnings of the coming judgement, but listen to lying words of men, religious leaders, men-pleasing speakers, and refuse to repent of their sins and refuse to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour! Knowing this truth, we should not be contented when we see our children go to church every Lord's Day. That is good, but not good enough. We must pray for them until we know that they are truly born again and have the fear of God in their hearts.
The Fear of the LORD in Human Heart Is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit
God knows that sinful human beings cannot change their corrupt and totally depraved nature, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer 13:23). Thus, God has promised to put the fear of the Lord in them, "And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me" (Jer 32:40). This everlasting covenant is the new covenant in Christ, who came to die for mankind and rose again to save those who repent and receive Him as their Lord and Saviour. This new covenant has been fulfilled in the Lord's invisible Church, including both born-again individual Jews and born-again Gentiles. For the nation of Israel, that promise will be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus comes again visibly, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27).
Then, how can God put the fear of the Lord in born again believers? That is through the control of the Holy Spirit, "And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (Isaiah 11:2). The Holy Spirit helps us know the LORD our God and produce the fear of the LORD in our hearts. He opens our spiritual eyes to see the glory and holiness of the LORD as well as our corrupt sinful nature so that we may humble ourselves in repentance. The more we are filled with or controlled by the Holy Spirit, the more we know the LORD and fear Him. Sadly, many nowadays think that they are filled with the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues, but they really do not know how holy and righteous the LORD is, nor truly fear Him, nor humble themselves before the LORD in repentance like Job and Isaiah:
Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Sadly, the people of Judah did not fear God, nor know Him, nor see Him because without the Holy Spirit, they were a "foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not" (Jer 5:21).
The Fruit of the Fear of the LORD
1. To fear God is to obey His Word and commandments with trembling
Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
The people of Judah did not fear the LORD nor listen to God's Word, nor obey God's Word, nor come back to the LORD in repentance (Jer 6:10; 7:13). On the contrary, they rebelled against the LORD and His Word. What about us? When the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and moves us to pray, to mediate on God's Word, and to do God's will and Word, we should not quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 5:19), but obey Him with fear and trembling, knowing that it is His good work in us.
Philippians1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
2. To fear God is to worship God and serve Him alone with trembling
Psalm 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
The people of Judah did not fear the LORD, nor worship and serve Him alone with trembling. They forsook the LORD, and then worshipped and served false gods and idols.
Jeremiah 5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
Many nowadays do not worship nor serve the LORD with fear, reverence and trembling! What about us?
3. To fear God is to trust in God alone
Psalm 115:11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
The people of Judah did not fear the LORD, nor trusted in Him alone. They trusted in themselves and worldly powers like Egypt and Assyria, who were later also defeated before the Babylonians. Many professing believers nowadays say that they trust in the Lord, but they do not seek Him nor patiently wait upon Him. The Lord Himself is not enough for them, so they think that they must have a stage, a music band with drums and electric guitars, popular speakers and singers, and so forth. They also trust in themselves, their capacity, talents, skills, means, resources, and so on. What about us?
Jeremiah 5:17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
Jeremiah 2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
4. To fear God is to depart from sins and evil in repentance and sanctification
Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Many nowadays think that they love God and fear Him, whereas they still love the world, enjoy living in sins, and love to do whatever they like, and worship any way they like! They just deceive themselves! When we truly fear the holy and righteous God, who hates sins, we must also hate sins and evil because they separate us from our God and from His blessings.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
The people of Judah did not fear the LORD nor departed from sins and evil in repentance, so they were judged and chastised by the holy and righteous God. What about us?
Jeremiah 5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. 25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
Jeremiah 5:28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
May the Lord continue His good work in us and fill us with His Holy Spirit and the fear of the LORD with godly fear (Heb 12:28) so that we may fear Him, worship and serve Him alone, humbly trust and obey Him alone. Amen. HN.
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