Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

This passage brings out the two elements of fear of the LORD that we are looking at. One is the fright that is inspired by the physical manifestations of the power of the LORD. The other is trust in the LORD that accompanies His forgiveness.

It is a misconception that we completely understand the mechanisms used by God. It is also a misconception that our limited understanding means that we understand His purposes. We think that our limited understanding of how eliminates the need to understand why. For example, our current weather forecasting does a fair job of predicting when and where a hurricane is going to make landfall, and we never question why God directs that weather system in that direction. Random chance is all the answer we need.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 59

Mid-day: 119:121-128

Evening: Psalm 135

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