Fear Not! But If You Do...

“But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:” (Mt 2:22 AV)

Almost all are familiar enough to remember the events surrounding this verse.  When Jesus was born, Herod declared that all male children two years and younger were to be slain in all the land of Bethlehem.  This action required Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt.  When Herod was dead, they were told of the Holy Spirit to return to Israel.  However, when they learned Herod’s son, Archelaus, was installed in his father’s place, they feared for the life of their son.  So, the LORD warned them in a dream to head north and settle in the despised land of Nazareth in the territory of Galilee.  There are a few facts which we need to remember here before we can make an application.  First, the fact Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt or they avoided the center of the Jewish population and escaped to the outskirts is no reflection of God’s ability to handle a threat.  The LORD could have just as easily dispensed with Herod and Archelaus without any threat to Jesus or His extended family.  Second, the fact they fled into Egypt and settled in Nazareth was prophesied in the Old Testament.  Third, because it was prophesied tells us God knew this was going to happen before it happened and made allowances for it.  Here is the application:  rather than instruct Joseph and Mary to show a little bit of faith here, He allowed them an alternative based on the simple fact they were concerned.  In other words, we should not fear because God is greater than anything we can face.  However, if we do, the LORD may relieve those fears by another alternative so that we don’t have to be subject to our emotions.

I have a son who takes after his father when it comes to amusement park rides.  In particular, roller coasters.  I realize they are perfectly safe.  I realize hundreds of millions of people ride them every year almost without serious incident.  It is the reality of experiencing that is extreme and totally out of your control is the feeling I try to avoid.  At all costs.  I do not need to be a thrill-seeker.  Every day of normal life is a thrill for me!  However, I am also the type of person that believes we should face our fears.  Reason would dictate the majority of our fears are unfounded.  I don’t like the ‘taking off’ and ‘landing’ part of flying.  But I do like the view above the clouds.  To get back to my son: his two brothers would often give him a hard time about his fear of rollercoasters.  Particularly his younger brother.  We had gone to Six Flags – Chicago and they started in on him again.  So, his mother and I had to bribe him to ride.  We bribed him with a gaming system the three boys had their eye on.  To this day they will tell you that wasn’t fair.  However, their memory does not serve them well.  The encouraged him more than his parents because they wanted to play with the gaming system, too.  What we did not do was force him to face and overcome his fear of the rollercoaster.  We reasoned with him.  We encouraged him.  We even offered a reward.  But we didn’t force him.  This was not always the case.  In things necessary for life, we forced our children to face their fears.  In things which another option could be had, we did not.

There are times in the word of God we learn that sometimes the LORD acquiesces to the fears of an individual.  There are times when this works out.  There are other times when it would have been better to trust the LORD.  Gideon is an example when the LORD alleviated the fears of an individual and it worked out.  Hezekiah is someone who feared not having an heir to his throne and the LORD gave him fifteen more years.  Unfortunately, his son Manasseh would be the king that brought God’s judgment on his nation.  Perhaps the most dramatic would be Lot.  The LORD gave in to Lot’s fears twice and it resulted in the birth of two nations that would plague Israel for time immortal.  Here, we see the LORD giving Joseph another option so he didn’t have to live in fear for his life.  The option would not be the best.  He would have to raise his family in relative poverty and in a territory, most would consider demeaning.  But the LORD did respond to Joseph’s fear.  That is the encouragement we can take away here.  For the most part, the LORD does not allow us to live in fear.  It is an affront to His omnipotence.  He asks for our trust.  That is the bases of our walk with Him.  However, on rare occasions, He may offer us an alternative because He is also compassionate.  The key is to know the wisdom in asking for relief rather than to ask for faith for the trial at hand.