Fearsome holiness
Series: Holy – Holy – Holy | Bible text: Genesis 28:17
We cannot force encounters with the holy God. But when we do encounter him, it can sometimes be terrifying. Nevertheless, we do not have to be afraid of this God. For if we use this fear properly, it leads us into fear of God. This in turn leads us to worship in reverence, as befits a holy God.
I recently had a conversation with a person about this year’s teaser for the annual theme. This person was basically positive about the teaser, but at least the two previous ones suited her better. When I asked why, this answer came. They were less scary!
I cannot force encounters with God
Holy, holy, holy – encountering the very other. This is our theme for this year. When something is holy, it is also very different. Today we want to enter together into a story in which an encounter with God turned an entire life upside down. It is one of the first encounters with God. We find it in the first book of Moses in chapter 28. It is the story of Jacob. Jacob lives in the third generation of the family that God has chosen for his history on this earth. God did not choose this family because they were holy. He did not choose this family because everything always went well or they always did everything the way they were supposed to. He chose this family because they always put their trust in God. This is the only way to understand why Jacob does not only come off positively in the biblical stories, but sometimes also very badly. The stories tell of the deepest depths of human life.
Jacob had a twin brother named Esau. At that time, it was important to be the first-born son. For he was entitled to the majority of the inheritance and was particularly favoured by his father. Jacob was the second-born. But he did a lot to turn this situation around. After all, he too could have been the first-born. In a favourable situation, he blackmailed his brother for his birthright. That is, for the majority of the inheritance. But that was not enough. When his father wanted to bless Esau, Jacob obtained the blessing of his blind father. Even with the help of his mother. Understandably, his brother Esau was furious and sought his life. Jacob therefore flees to his mother’s country. On the way, he goes to sleep and takes a stone as a pillow. Today’s sermon revolves around this event there at this sleeping place.
As Jacob slept there, he began to dream. In this dream he saw a ladder going up from the ground to heaven. On this ladder the angels of God went up and down. At the top of the ladder in heaven, God stood and spoke: «I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. They shall spread out eastward, westward, northward, and southward. Through you and your descendants all the clans of the earth shall be blessed. More than that, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will never abandon you and I will stand by the promises I have made to you». (Genesis 28:13–15 NLB).
This encounter with God is exemplary for God’s work and his speaking. For God meets Jacob in what is probably his weakest hour. Jacob meets God in his weakness. This is still often the case today. When everything that supposedly gave man support breaks away, he is more open to encounters with the divine. As long as everything runs smoothly, one trusts in other things, such as financial independence, family and friends, one’s health or other things. Only when everything falls away do you often realise how important they were to you. And how fleeting the whole thing is. The accusation often comes that people are only interested in God because they are weak. But perhaps one could rather say that people are interested in God when they realise that in the end they cannot take anything with them once they die.
I would like to add a brief digression here on the blessings that God bestows on people. God meets Jacob in his weakness, but promises him many things. In the Old Testament, blessings are always connected with earthly things. But this focus is different in the New Testament. The earthly family, partners and children, as well as earthly possessions are no longer seen as the centre of divine blessings. This is particularly evident in Paul. He was the greatest founder of the church of his time and was decisive for theology. He himself lived single and propagated this as the most desirable state as a follower of Jesus Christ. This is quickly forgotten today. After all, it is indirectly part of the picture that followers of Jesus Christ are married and have at least three children. But Paul paints a very different picture. For instead of the promise of many children and much property, Paul calls for the renunciation of family and children for the sake of the Kingdom of God. For Jesus said: «[…] Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? […] These people here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother». (Mark 3:33–35 NLB). Renouncing an earthly partner does not mean renouncing a family. For we as a church are a family. For this attitude of Paul is based on the fact that the kingdom of God is to be our most important matter (Matthew 6:33). So now, if you are married and have children, this can be lost sight of more quickly than if you remain alone for the Kingdom of God.
The encounter with the God of the Bible is terrifying!
Are you ready to meet God this year? The God who is completely different? But the story of Jacob also shows us one thing. The encounter with God is unavailable, we cannot force it. It is the same with every worship service. It is a gathering of the followers of Jesus Christ, with the firm confidence that God will show himself to the gathered community. But the encounter of God is something he has to give us. But we may come with great expectation that he wants to meet us.
But how did Jacob react to this encounter? When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, «Truly the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid, and said, How holy is this place! Here is nothing but God’s house, and here is the gate of heaven». (Genesis 28:16–17 LUT). Jacob was quite amazed that God was in that place. I think that it was his first encounter with God and that he only knew him from hearsay and from his father’s piety. The practice of faith was more of a tradition for him so far. It was not an expression of a deep relationship and conviction. But from now on he decides to put his trust completely in him. What about you? Do you know God like Jacob only from hearsay or the piety around you? Have you ever considered that the God of your friends, parents or whatever could be your God and that you have to decide for or against him yourself? Because nowhere in the Bible does it say that God has grandchildren. He only has children. But maybe you are also one of those who base their distance to God on hearsay from other people. Because, as you often hear, there is no reason to believe in a God nowadays. Why don’t you believe? From your own conviction or from hearsay?
When we picture Jacob’s reaction in our minds, it has little to do with our reaction to the service. For Jacob shuddered in the face of God’s presence and his dream. In the original Hebrew text, the word holy is actually not holy. There is the word «yr» ». Which means to be afraid. So in most translations it says fear instead of holy. But the translation with holy is just as correct. Thus the Hebrew word is rendered holy a total of five times. Holy and fearful are close to each other. This also becomes clear in our teaser when the words are rendered which Moses heard at the burning bush. The sacred, as something separate, not of this world, has something terrifying about it. This is evident throughout the Bible, when God shows Himself to people, it is not for the faint of heart.
Fear of God leads to worship in reverence
In theology, this is called the fear of God. This refers to the attitude towards God and his will. But fear of God has nothing to do with fear in the sense of terror or intimidation. «The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. […]» (Proverbs 1:7 LUT). The fear of God, in my opinion, can be seen as the realisation that God and we humans are not the same. God is greater, stronger, more exalted and therefore I stand in awe of Him.
But how did Jacob deal with this realisation? Early in the morning he got up and put up his stone pillow as a reminder. He poured oil over it and called the place Bethel. That means house of God. Then he promised God that if he would keep him on the way, give him food and clothing, then he would give him the tenth part of everything he had. This he gives in thanks for his care. Jacob does not say that he gives God a part of everything when he has the land and the family. But he gives him everything if God keeps him and he has enough to eat and clothes – nothing more. Through the encounter with the holy God, Jacob is satisfied with much less. Just a few moments before, he had betrayed his brother in order to be blessed.
Later in the story of Jacob, it will be shown that God is faithful and keeps his promise to Jacob. So he also keeps his promise. God is still the same today. He also keeps his promises today. But just as the focus of blessing has shifted away from earthly things, the promises Jesus Christ makes to us are different. For Jesus Christ does not promise his followers that faith will always make them happy, rich, beautiful and that everything will always be easy. After all, Jacob’s life was not straightforward at all. This is what Jesus Christ promises us: «[…] If one of you wants to walk with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross anew every day and follow me». (Luke 9:23 NLB). We also find the fear of God in Jesus. For in the face of God, even death loses its scary power. «Do not be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; your soul is beyond their reach. Fear God alone, who can destroy both body and soul in hell». (Matthew 10:28 NLB).
But the fear of God should still lead us today into a worship of God in reverence. Just as was the case with Jacob. Jacob was afraid of God and set up a stone as a reminder of his encounter. But the fear of God did not lead Jacob to distance from God, rather it led to a great closeness. When Jacob had a family a few years later, he kept his promise. He sacrificed to this God who had met him before returning to his homeland (Genesis 31:54). When he reached this place of his encounter with God, he erected a proper altar, thereby expressing his attachment to God (Genesis 35:7).
In this place of Bethel, Jacob experienced both. On the one hand, a deep intimacy with God and, on the other, a great fear of God. Both ultimately lead to reverence for God. Reverence means a fear that goes hand in hand with veneration. The addressee before whom someone has reverence is always a superior addressee. As a follower of Jesus Christ, this addressee is God. It is God – the very other. Yet we can never fully fathom him. So dealing with him is on the one hand pleasant, on the other hand terrifying. The teaser for our theme for the year shows this very clearly. Therefore, we should reverently come before him and worship him.
Possible questions for the small group
Reading the Bible text: Genesis 28:10–22
- Think about the story of Jacob again. What do you notice that is new?
- Have you already met God? What did this look like? What was your response to this encounter? If this is not the case. Do you know God only by hearsay? What does this «knowing» look like?
- Do you understand the upholding of celibacy – of living as a single person for the glory of God? What is the gain of such a life? But how can we contribute to the seetal chile becoming more and more like a family?
- How do you interpret the proximity of «holy» and «fear»?
- Do you know the fear of God in your life? What does it look like for you?
- What might it look like to live a personal worship out of the fear of God that flows into reverence?
