“All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?” (Isaiah 14:10)
Isaiah prophesies the end of the kingdom of Babylon, specifically Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon who was slain in the Persian invasion. He reigned cruelly. His condemnation is found in Daniel 5. In revelry, feasting and drinking out of the vessels brought from the temple in Jerusalem, a hand appears and writes on the wall the end of the Babylonian kingdom, Belshazzar’s condemnation, and the names of the conquerors of Babylon. “And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:25-28) And he who had reigned with such power was now met in hell by other rulers who now also have no power.
He was overcome with fear, but his fear is multiplied when he sees his end. In hell there is no power and no pride. There is nothing left but fear. All the pride against God is brought to nothing. Jesus said, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The Greek word fear that was used not only means fright and alarm, but awe and reverence also. Traditional teaching has said that our fear of God is reverence not fright. But unless there is some alarm over the consequence of rebellion against the Lord God, there is no awe of Who God is and there is no reverence for His majesty. The Lord asked Israel in Jeremiah’s prophecy, “Fear ye not Me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?” (Jeremiah 5:22) That’s what sin is. It’s a disregard for the majesty of God.
This fear of God is what compelled Daniel to obey God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to disobey the king’s command to worship an idol under threat of being sent to the fiery furnace and Stephen to continue to preach the Gospel while being stoned. The fear of God continues to strengthen the brethren who are martyred for the Lord even now in hostile and restrictive countries. May the fear of God compel us to righteous living.
It may seem counter Biblical since we cannot be righteous or do righteousness on our own account and in our own strength. But the choice is still up to us. I just don’t believe that anyone with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can live in unrighteousness unless they have made a conscious choice to continue in sin regardless of any consequences. One cannot fear God and love the Lord and continue to sin. If there is even a smidge of sorrow, regret and repentance over our sin, the Lord Himself will help us out of it. If we not only enjoy our sin and want to continue in it, the choice is also obvious not for righteousness. Then, there is no fear of God, neither fright and alarm nor awe and reverence. Jesus took the wrath of God so with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit we can choose righteousness and live in righteousness which was impossible before as unbelievers. Sinners have no choice but to sin. They cannot be righteous. They cannot live in righteousness.
There is the issue of our salvation. Jesus bore all of our sin, past, present and future on His body. He took the wrath of God for our sin. His sacrifice was brutal and final. John said He took all the sin of the whole world. (1John 2:2) Yes! The sin of sinners, past, present and future. The issue is no longer sin. Sin is the fruit of unrighteousness, not being connected to God through the work of Jesus on the cross. He is the way and the only way to righteousness and right living. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John14:6) Salvation rests in the awe and reverence of the Lord, the fear of God, which comes from our realization and acknowledgement of our dependence on the Lord for our salvation from the devil, from us, from our sinful nature and ultimately from the world. Righteous living comes from making Jesus Lord of our lives and with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us.
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