Fear Not

Deut. 31:1 ¶ And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.

4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

The phrase "fear not" appears 63 times in the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. That is an average of almost 1 time per book considering there are 66 books in the Bible. I think that is significant, indicating 2 things. (1) It is something that is common and (2) Something God cares deeply about.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

In the text in Deut. the Israelites were fearful of the unknown. Hmmm, doesn't that sound familiar. That covers most of our fears as well, doesn't it?

In the absense of trained engineers and building materials to build a bridge, they feared crossing the swollen Jorday river. Then there was still the giants on the other side that their forefathers had feared 40 years before.

However, God's message to the individual Israelites (verse 6) and their new leader, Joshua (verse 8) was the same. "Fear not." But he doesn't just command them to abolish their fears without giving them reason. I like that. I used to hate it when my parents used to say, "Just because I said so."

He gives them three (3) reasons to not be afraid:

          1. He would go with them.
          2. He wouldn't fail them.
          3. He wouldn't desert them.

Does those promises apply to us today? Sure! He is no respecter of persons, Acts 10:34. and For I am the LORD, I change not, Malachi 3:6.

So when (not if) fear rears its frightful head, trust God to go with you, never to fail you and never to desert you.