April 1, Day 91 – He Who Fears God …
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
From our readings today, we can see that special emphasis is given to the Feast of Tabernacles in Numbers 29:12-40. For example, we note the amount of text given to this feast and to the diminishing number of bulls to be sacrificed with the daily progression of the feast. Beginning with the “fifteenth day of the seventh month,” thirteen bulls were to be sacrificed on the first day, twelve on the second day, and so forth – down to one bull – sacrificed on the eighth day (cf., Numbers 29:12-38). This feast points forward to Israel’s place in the Kingdom Age – anticipating a finished redemption – and a future time when such sacrifices will no longer be necessary. With His death on the cross, Jesus became the One perfect Sacrifice Who abolished the need for continued and future sacrifices (cf., Hebrews 9:13-10:18). In Numbers 30, we see the regulations that govern vows. A man “must not break his word” (verse 2). People are known to be careless about their words, and this is certainly true in our own day and age. Nevertheless, God is not pleased when we don’t keep our word, so He established specific laws to govern our promises. In this section, we notice that particular emphasis is given to women, young women, wives, widows, and divorced women. Once again, we reiterate that this attention reflects God’s special concern and protection for women, who, from the very beginning (i.e., in the Garden of Eden) experienced the abuse of deception. These laws were designed to protect women.
In Psalm 39, David says “I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence” (verse 1). This is a good principle for a prudent person to practice. We have already seen in the book of Numbers – even in today’s reading – that our tongues can quickly get us into trouble, especially when we are in the presence of unbelievers. In such a situation, like David, we are reminded how “fleeting” our lives are; even if we think we are “secure,” we are still “but a breath” (verse 11), and a breath is short-lived. Like David, we should call upon “the LORD to hear our prayer and to listen to our cry for help” (verse 12).
Charles Spurgeon is known to have said, “He who fears God has nothing else to fear.” In Luke 8:19-39, we see the disciples’ fear for their lives in the storm, but actually they are secure and safe in this storm with nothing to fear as surely as Jesus is God. God wants us to fear (i.e., to revere) Him, but He also wants us to trust Him, which implies that our faith – rightly directed in Him – should set aside our natural fears of anything less than God. If we set ourselves properly under God’s authority, care, and protection, then nothing else can harm us. At first, the disciples didn’t see this, but in the presence of the demoniac (verses 26-39), they saw it immediately. Of course, I personally realize how difficult it is for us to apply this truth to our daily lives – deep down inside – we all struggle with fears. May we rightly direct our faith in Christ.
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