Here is a section from The New American Bible, entitled, The Fear of God: “When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to use, or we shall die. Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and to put his fear upon you, lest you should sin.’ Still, the people remained at a distance while Moses approached the cloud where God was.”
My response: The people understandably were frightened by God’s display of power and strength when he came to meet them. Note that basically depraved mortals did not want to approach God when they finally had the exceedingly rare chance to do so. They were reluctant and pulled back because they were scared, and because being really close to God was not what they preferred to be doing. They did not enjoy being with God because their hearts were corrupt and conflicted.
Moses, by contrast was in awe of God and had a fear of God, but his faith in and affection for God, and his courage, made him see the unique encounter as a blessing, and he was eager to go closer and meet God directly and momentarily.
Note that when Moses was away from God physically, he did not forget to love, worship, serve and obey God when apart from Him. By contrast the Hebrews—and by extension all people everywhere, generally lacking courage, sufficient faith, and strong good wills to enjoy the actual presence of God, so they shied away from meeting God when they had this rare opportunity, but, when away from God physically, they lapsed into sin, pagan worship, and godless ways.
Imagine if we became a society of people of such maverized holiness and virtue, that God and the angels would freely, visibly, openly walk among us—as God did in the Garden of Eden; such a reunion on earth between that living generation and God will occur one day again.
God does not walk among us openly an visibly for at least two reasons: we are not strong enough to handle such revealed divine truth interacting with us directly in our unprepared state of mind; also, we sinners and nonindividuators do not deserve such a remarkable gift as God and De’s angels visiting us, and walking openly among us, conversing with us, stopping into our houses for a meal, or a cup of tea. God and the Good Spirits go only where they are welcome. They are not invaders and marauders going where they are not invited in with open arms, open minds, open hearts.
Here are those same Biblical lines from The Holy Bible (KJV): “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.”
My response: I am constantly amazed at how rich with implications are these few, seemingly simple Biblical lines.
First, Moses seems to suggest that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But, beyond a morally sensible fear of the Lord, excess fear is overreacting to the presence of God—it is a lack of trust in God’s benevolence, that God will be beneficent, and a guardian of immense power. Righteous people would not feel excess fear in the actual presence of God, as do these ancient Hebrews, and all humans in any age, similarly sinning and sinful, and nonindividuating.
Second, God’s display of power and strength goes with being a major, Father Sky divinity. It also is meant to, in part, awe, subdue, slightly intimidate, and overwhelm a sinful human tribe of slackers that needed to know that they were free to continue to sin, but there were and are real consequences here and in heaven for slacking, and God is keeping count. They are to go and sin no more, or consistently much less, as best as they can manage.
God’s love of the morally good human agent is something we misunderstand, and do not appreciate the seriousness of. I think Jordan Peterson is singular in his appreciation of just how virtuous God commands us and expects us to live as, for us to be welcome in heaven.
Third, sinners, unbelievers and nonindividuators require an intermediary like Moses to speak for them to God, and to deliver God’s messages back to them. If and when the Hebrew masses, or the masses anywhere, at any time in history, would sin not much, leading righteous lives both holy and virtuous, then these individuators would be able to meet with God personally and directly with no priest or Moses any longer necessary for the exchange to take place.
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