Do Not Fear — Genesis
I found 6 verses in the book of Genesis that tell us not to fear. There are three times that God tells a person not to fear, and three times that a person tells another person, or people, not to fear.
Genesis 15:1 (NASB20) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
The first time God says “Do not fear” in the Bible is when He is talking to Abraham. This happened right after Abraham fought to free his nephew Lot from a group of kings that took over Sodom, and then offered a tithe to Melchizedek.
Abraham, who was then named Abram, refused to take any spoils from the war because he did not want the king of Sodom to be able to say that he is the one that made Abram rich. He basically didn’t want to be indebted to the king of Sodom, but wanted to remain loyal to God.
Maybe there’s a metaphor there. Sodom was a place that was on the path to destruction, and Abram kept himself separated from its influence by refusing its riches. Instead he remained loyal to God. In fact, the king of Sodom asked Abram for the people in exchange for all the treasure, and Abram said he wanted only the people who went with him. Would he have been selling his people to Sodom if he had taken the treasure? At any rate, Abram was faithful to both God and his people.
After Abram’s display of faithfulness, God spoke to him telling him “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.” So God told Abram that He will be his shield — He will protect him. And also that he will be greatly rewarded.
When we are faithful to God, God is gracious to us — much more than the Sodoms of the world could ever be. He is our shield, and He rewards us according to his mercy and generosity.
Something else about this passage to think about — it says the WORD of the Lord came in a VISION (emphasis mine). Jesus is called the WORD in John 1. Did Jesus appear to Abram in a vision here?
Genesis 21:17 (NASB20) God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
The next time we hear God say do not fear is when Abraham was, perhaps, not so faithful to his people. And this time it is the angel of God who speaks from heaven.
Abraham got impatient while waiting for God to fulfill His promise and took matters into his own hands by having a child with his wife’s servant, instead of his wife. Well, when God finally did fulfill His promise and gave Abraham a son by Sarah, then Abraham had what he really wanted from God and was willing to cast out the fruits of his own will. That was not without consequences, though.
Even though Abraham was not willing to take care of the child that he had out of his own will, God was faithful to Hagar and Ishmael because they were still His children, created in His image.
God might have a divine plan for each of us, but we need to remember that all people are created in the image of God — even the outcasts — and God can take care of them just as He takes care of us.
We may feel like we have to be pitted against each other, finding any reason to disagree with each other, but God offers His love and hope to each of us for as long as we draw breath. Just as He assured Hagar not to fear.
Turn your fear and desperation over to God and allow Him take care of you.
Genesis 26:24 (NASB20) And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."
This passage is from the story of Isaac, during a time when He was moving around Gerar in the area of Beersheba - in what would become the southern part of Israel. He had grown wealthy and powerful and the kings around him kept asking him to leave their area — basically because he was making them nervous. He was digging wells to try to find water, and a place to settle down.
Finally, he came to a place where he could settle and the passage says that the LORD appeared to Isaac telling him not to fear and that the Lord is with him and will bless him — for the sake of his father Abraham.
Abraham’s faithfulness led not only to him receiving God’s blessings, but also to his children receiving God’s blessings. We have to remember that our walk with God is not only for our benefit and blessings, but for the benefit and blessings of the generations that come after us.
Our desire in our relationship with God should not be limited to just our own well-being, but it should be for the well being of those around us, and those that will come after us. We are all God’s children.
Genesis 35:17 (NASB20) And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son!"
This is the first passage where we hear one person telling another not to fear. In this case Jacob’s wife, Rachel, is giving birth to Benjamin, but she was having difficulties delivering him.
Her midwife probably recognized that she may not survive, and tried to comfort her — telling her not to fear because she has a son. This could be comforting because she will know that the baby is alive and well. This could also be comforting if she was hoping to have a boy.
At any rate the midwife knows that Rachel is in great distress and may not survive, so she tries to comfort her by telling her, “Do not fear.”
Genesis 43:23 (NASB20) But he said, "Peace be to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money was in my possession." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
This is the second time we hear one person telling another not to fear.
In this passage Joseph is second in command of Egypt. His brothers have returned to Egypt a second time for food, and they are afraid that Joseph will be mad at them because they found the money they paid for the food on their first trip in their sacks on their way back home.
Joseph doesn’t just tell them not to be afraid, but gave glory to God by saying that He is the one who put the treasure in their sacks.
As I think about this passage, notice that Joseph did not tell them that he “received” their money. Instead he tells them that their money was “in his possession.” He did order their money to be put back in their sacks, so it would have been a lie to say that he “received” their money. But to say that their money was in his possession — it’s as if he was saying that he paid for the food from his own money (from what he possessed).
And he gives glory to God. Perhaps because God is the one who put him in Egypt in the position he was in, and so God rightfully deserves the glory for everything that is happening to him and his family.
Genesis 46:3 (NASB20) Then He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
I this passage Jacob — now named Israel - and all his family are on their way down to Egypt to meet Joseph. He stopped in Beersheba, where God also spoke to Abraham and Isaac, and God told Jacob not to fear because He was going to make him into a great nation and bring his descendants back into the promised land. So God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not to be afraid; assuring them that they could trust in Him.
Genesis 50:19-21 (NASB20) But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. "So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
This is the third time we hear one person telling another not to fear.
In this passage the family has just buried Jacob, and the brothers are afraid that Joseph will now exact revenge on them for selling him into slavery when he was a kid. So, the brothers throw themselves down at Joseph’s feet and pledge themselves as his servants so that he might have mercy on them.
Joseph is in a completely different state of mind, though. He’s not bitter about what his brothers did to him. Instead he glorifies God by humbly recognizing that God has used him for the greater good of the whole family. If Joseph was bent on his own glory, then it would make sense that he would harbor some ill will against his brothers — because, “how could they!” This kind of thinking is actually very common in the families of kings where one brother kills all his other brothers after their father dies so that they do not have any competition for the throne (and the glory).
But Joseph has forgiven them, and turned his heart to serving God, so there is no ill will in him, only the will to keep doing God’s will and to keep taking care of his family.
Put away the notion of getting any glory for yourself. Put yourself in God’s hands. Dedicate yourself to doing God’s will. Turn your thoughts to how He is using you for the greater good of His kingdom and the lives of those around you. Be God’s servant without selfishness or fear, and have peace in Him.
με αγαπη,
BJ