1 Samuel 4:20 (NASB20) And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or pay attention.
This passage is about the daughter-in-law of Eli who was the priest/prophet of Israel before Samuel. She was pregnant and when she heard the news that her husband and father-in-law had died, and the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, she went into labor. She gave birth fine, but she was in shock from the news and couldn’t celebrate the birth of her son. Instead she named him Ichabod — which translates to “no glory.”
This is another passage where we hear the midwife tell a woman that has just given birth not to fear. Phinehas’ wife did go into labor in a way that might have caused some concern about her health or the health of her child, so it makes sense that the midwife would assure her that her child was healthy.
The striking thing is that she is not so much in fear about her baby as she is about losing her family. And her distress resembles the distress of everyone in Israel because their national symbol of God’s presence with them has just been captured and taken away by the Philistines.
It’s a striking story that symbolized that Israel had lost its relationship with God. Yet, even in the midst of their distress we hear God say — “do not fear.”
1 Samuel 12:20 (NASB20) Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
At this point Saul had been crowned king over Israel. As a judgment against Israel, Samuel told them that the Lord will send thunder and rain on them during a harvest day (probably meaning it is not the rainy season), and when the thunder and rain came the people were afraid of the Lord and asked Samuel to pray for them that the Lord would have mercy on them and forgive them for asking for a king.
Samuel’s response to them is “do not fear, …but serve the Lord with all your heart.”
Even though we sin, and maybe even fear that we have ruined our relationship with God, we should not give up on God. He is faithful to forgive us, even if we make Him mad sometimes. He is our Good Father, and our Good Father never stops loving His kids — no matter how they might test His patience.
Pursue the Lord in faith, and do not let the devil deceive you into thinking that God has stopped loving you. God will never stop loving you, because God is love. Therefore, do not fear, but trust in God.
1 Samuel 22:23 (NASB20) "Stay with me; do not be afraid, even though he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me."
This passage is from the story where David was on the run from Saul and had visited a priest of Nob, named Ahimelech, who gave David the show bread and the sword of Goliath. Then Saul found out and was angry so he had all the priests of Nob executed, and then went and killed all the people and livestock that lived in Nob.
Ahimelech’s son Abiathar escaped and went to David, and David told him that he does not need to be afraid because he will be safe with David.
Ahimelech’s faithfulness to David — even giving him the show bread, which David was not legally allowed to eat — resulted in his son finding favor with David, and ultimately coming under David’s protection.
When we do the right thing we may very well offend powerful people, and with great consequences, but the blessings from righteousness will long outlive the temper-tantrum thrown by evil people — even passing throughout our generations. Do not be afraid, but trust in the Lord.
1 Samuel 23:17 (NASB20) He said to him, "Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second in command to you; and Saul my father knows that as well."
At this point David has been on the run from Saul for quite a while, and has even fought a battle against the Philistines to save a city of Judah from them. But Saul was relentless in trying to get others to hand David over to him.
Jonathan was a true friend to David. He was someone who David could trust. Jonathan, even though he was the rightful heir to Saul’s throne, even pledged to succeed the throne to David and serve him as second in command.
This relationship had to be one of very deep trust, because being heir to the king was usually one of the most dangerous positions to be in, and you never hear of one heir saying to the other, “take the throne, I don’t want it.”
This passage brings to mind the innocence of children. Israel had not yet known the lust for power that would come to it after David, and David and Jonathan are displaying the fearless innocence that still remained among the ruling class.
Does your lust for power inspire fear in you like it did for Saul, or do you fearlessly guard your relationships with those who are most important to you like Jonathan?
1 Samuel 28:13 (NASB20) But the king said to her, "Do not be afraid; but what do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a divine being coming up from the earth."
In this passage Saul is acting in sin, and visiting a medium. She is afraid of him because she knows that she is not allowed to practice spiritual divination, but Saul tells her not to be afraid - because he also is willing to do what he is not supposed to.
Be careful who you hang around. People who are willing to practice corruption will tell you that you are safe in their presence if you do evil things, but they are usually only saying that because they know that they too are doing evil. It doesn’t mean that they won’t harm you — they are willing to do evil — it just means that they won’t reject your presence.
Instead of doing the right thing and inquiring of God, Saul did what he knew he should not do, and went to a medium to summon the spirit of Samuel instead. Saul’s heart was so far from God that he turned to a ghost for advice and guidance instead of going to God in prayer.
He did not get any peace from his wrongdoing. In fact it says he was so distressed afterwards that he could not eat. Do not let yourself get so far from God that you see evil as the only source of comfort. It happens more often than you think it does. Whatever you are afraid of, if it is pushing you to compromise with evil then you should immediately repent and seek to restore your relationship with God. When you are with God you never need to fear.
2 Samuel 9:7 (NASB20) Then David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you yourself shall eat at my table regularly."
In this passage David is talking to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. He’s staying true to his trusted friend Jonathan by providing for his son and giving him the inheritance of his father. David assured him that he meant him no harm. Contrast that with the tendency of most kings to kill anyone who might have a claim to their throne.
You can really see why God said David was a man after His own heart. David had earthly power, but he never lusted for it, and he never feared losing it. He trusted God, and that trust meant that fear either never occurred to him, or just never had any power over him. He was willing to share his blessings rather than hoard them because he didn’t fear losing them.
2 Samuel 13:28 (NASB20) Then Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "See now, when Amnon's heart is cheerful with wine, and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon,' then put him to death. Do not fear; have I not commanded you myself? Be courageous and be valiant."
In this passage Absalom is set on getting revenge against his brother Amnon for what Amnon did to his sister Tamar. Absalom took Amnon with him to have his sheep sheared. And then ordered the sheep-shearers to kill Amnon.
He used his position of authority to order other people to commit a crime. His servants would have certainly feared killing a son of the king, but they were being ordered by the heir-apparent to do the crime. They were in a tough spot. If they did the right thing and refused Absalom’s order they might have lost their jobs and even their lives, so they listened to him. Instead of being afraid of the consequences of their actions they were afraid of the consequences of disobeying their unjust leader.
It’s not easy to disobey a direct order — especially one that is impressed upon you in the moment. But we have to keep things in perspective. Should we disobey God to obey the person screaming in our face, or should we offend God just to make the lunatic happy?
The answer is obvious, but actually doing the right thing can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. And for that reason we must train ourselves to put our fear in the right place — in fearing the Lord — so that when those challenging moments pop up we can respond appropriately.
Our lives are always in God’s hands, therefore we never need to be afraid, but only to trust in Him.
με αγαπη,
BJ