Terrifying

I grew up with Bible stories. I loved them ... still do. Stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, oh, and Jacob and Esau. On and on. Jacob stole his brother's birthright and is sent to Laban. On the way, he sleeps and dreams. The famous "Jacob's ladder." God promises him blessings and he wakes up excited ... well ... not quite. "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know it.' And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven'" (Gen 28:16-17). (Note: That "awesome" is literally "fearful.") Jacob wasn't delighted; he was terrified.

It's a running theme. Think of Isaiah, God's chosen mouthpiece, one of God's prophets. A "major" prophet. He encountered God like no one else. Seraphim cry, "Holy, holy, holy!" and Isaiah is wonderfully enthralled. But ... no. Isaiah is terrified ... because of his mouth "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, YHWH of hosts" (Isa 6:5). Isaiah wasn't excited. He was ... damah in Hebrew. Cut off, ended, destroyed. Not, "Wow! Cool!" Terror. Or, Peter (Luke 5:1-10). Jesus "borrowed" Peter's boat as a platform for teaching. When He was done, He told them to drop their nets. Peter protested, but ... did it ... and caught enough fish to start to rip the nets. Being Jewish, he pulled out a contract to have Jesus visit once a week. No! He "fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!'" (Luke 5:8). Terror. One of my favorites is the one where they're crossing the Sea of Galilee and a storm hits (Mark 4:35-41). Jesus is asleep in the boat. They're in trouble. They're afraid. So they wake Him. "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" (Mark 4:38). Jesus simply said, "Hush, be still," and the storm instantly stopped. And the text says, "They became very much afraid and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'" (Mar 4:41). Terror.

It has been said the most offensive verse in the Bible is this one: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). Natural humans are, by nature, hostile to God (Rom 8:7). We have, as a race, suppressed the truth of God (Rom 1:18) and "exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (Rom 1:25). As a result, when we, clothed in our sin and rebellion, actually encounter God up close and personal, it has to be ... terrifying. Not pleasant. When we get comfortable in our sin and come face to face with Him, it has to be the most terrifying thing we can encounter. Not the warm "Big Man Upstairs" kind of experience. The "beginning of wisdom" kind of thing (Psa 111:10).