Hear and Fear
Deuteronomy 13:11
Introduction.
One of the common phrases you might notice while reading the book of Deuteronomy is to “hear and fear.”
This is a concept found throughout Scripture.
In man’s part in the Plan of Salvation, the first step is to “hear” (Rom. 10:17).
The idea goes as far back as it does here in Deuteronomy (definitely earlier as well).
In order to obey the will of God, it logically follows that you must first know it.
In order to know it, you must first learn it.
You learn by hearing or reading—that is the idea here.
Fearing God covers the rest—belief and obedience.
Definitions.
Hear (שמע – shama’) – to hear, listen to, obey. This Hebrew word carries the idea of simply perceiving something by the ear, but also understanding, paying attention to, and obeying.
Fear (ירא – yarē’) – to fear, revere, be afraid. This can mean to be scared, but it also carries with it the idea of awe and respect. For example, we are not afraid of electricity all the time, but we respect its power. When there is a downed power line, we stay far away from it. Only people trained in how to handle it with the right equipment are to go near it and work on it.
In many of these instances, corporal punishment is involved.
The idea is corporal punishment was used as a deterrent.
These executions were very public.
People would see the perpetrator violently dying.
This would, ideally, cause them to fear to keep the rest in line.
This reminded them of the deadly consequences of sin.
Preview – Hear and Fear:
The Right God.
The Right Judgments.
The Right Testimony.
The Right Parental Authority.
The Right Word.
Body.
Hear and Fear the Right God (Deut. 13:6-11).
Context—if someone tried to persuade you to serve other gods.
This was a violation of the first and second commandments (Deut. 5:7-10).
It didn’t matter who was trying to persuade you.
It could be your closest relatives or best friend.
The sentence was death, and if you turned them in, your hand was the first to throw the stone.
This was a deterrent to false accusations.
If the Israelites were more diligent in following this, their history would not have been so chaotic.
Let us hear and fear the right God.
Thankfully, these earthly penalties do not follow us into the NT age.
But the command to serve the Lord only is found in the NT.
And the ultimate penalty still remains—though God grants us a chance to repent.
While we may not be stoned to death, we will spend an eternity in hell if we serve a false god and continue to do so.
This is stressed so much in the OT because it was easy to be an idolater back then.
For us, it is easy to put God out of our minds and focus on things other than Him.
While we do need to concentrate on our jobs and other things, the whole purpose of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (Eccl. 12:13).
He should be behind everything we do—if He is, He will have the right place in our lives.
We often look at Colossians 3:17 in terms of what we do religiously, but it also applies to everything else.
Everything we do needs to be done by His authority! From how we dress to what we eat to what we say!
I don’t mean we all need to wear the same thing, but that our dress is modest and appropriate (1 Tim. 2:9-10).
I don’t mean we all need to eat the same thing or that we should keep to the OT dietary restrictions, but that we don’t offend by what we eat and drink and that we keep sober (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8; 1 Pet. 5:8).
I don’t mean we all must say the same thing, but that our speech should always be with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6).
Hear and Fear the Right Judgments (Deut. 17:8-13).
Context—listen to the judgments given by the priest or judge.
This shows a respect for the authority of God’s Word.
The priests and judges made judgments based on God’s Word.
They knew the Law, and were able to make such determinations based on the Law.
When the judgment required more information, the priest would consult the Lord via the Urim and Thummim and prayer.
One acts presumptuously when he does not abide by the judgments of the priest, judge, or even the king.
The sentence of not abiding by these judgments is, once again, death.
The purpose is to put away the evil from Israel.
Let us hear and fear the right judgments.
As before, the death penalty is not practiced in the NT age.
But we see how serious these things are.
The earthly religious authority we find in Scripture is the eldership over a local congregation.
They are “those who rule over you,” and they “watch out for your souls” (Heb. 13:17).
If there is a dispute or civil disagreement between you and another member of the church, we are not to take it to court (1 Cor. 6:4-6).
Such wise men are respected, considered a leader, and are used as a judge—he could very well be an elder.
We are to abide by the decisions of such elders and judges.
We could also apply this to civil government.
Paul calls the civil authorities ministers of God (Rom. 13:4).
We still shouldn’t sue our brethren, but our problems don’t always stem from fellow Christians.
Governments are meant to protect and defend the innocent and to punish the evildoer—when they fail in this, they fail to obey God.
Whatever the case, let us make sure we abide by the judgments of our religious and civil leaders.
Hear and Fear the Right Testimony (Deut. 19:15-21).
Context—this is concerning one who testifies falsely.
This would be a violation of the ninth commandment (Deut. 5:20).
Again, this shows how serious lying is, especially to get someone else punished.
One witness was not enough to convict someone, but required two at least—three was better.
The judge was to make careful inquiry—he was to investigate the matter.
If he caught the witness in a lie, he was a false witness, and he shall be punished in the same way he wanted the accused (defendant) punished.
The implication is that the original punishment carried a death penalty: “you shall put away the evil from among you.”
Let us be honest in all our dealings.
When the name of the devil is translated, we find that he is the Accuser.
He is the one who issues railing accusations against us—and you know, many of them are true.
But because we have been bought by the blood of Christ, those accusations no longer carry any weight—we are free.
This section in Deuteronomy was completely disregarded when our Lord was on trial.
Were there false accusations brought up against Him? Oh yes.
Did the priests and judges make careful inquiry? Oh, they made a show of it, but not really (Mark 14:55-60).
The false witnesses did not agree, then finally some (Matthew says two) accused Him of the same thing, but Mark says they didn’t even agree.
Since they didn’t agree, what should they have done? Thrown it out, set Him free, and executed the false witnesses! But in their hatred and envy, they pressed on, ignoring the Law they claimed to love.
Solomon wrote, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies shall perish” (Prov. 19:9).
While these men who accused Jesus were not punished immediately, we see the result in a.d. 70 when the Romans besieged Jerusalem—it was a slaughter.
The Lord punished them, and will punished us, too, if we continue (Rev. 21:8).
Let us not be like Satan or the Pharisees of Christ’s day, but seek Truth with an honest and pure heart.
Hear and Fear the Right Parental Authority (Deut. 21:18-21).
Context—here we consider a stubborn and rebellious son.
This was a violation of the fifth commandment (Deut. 5:16).
Here the parents must have chastened or punished the child first.
Even so, he did not listen to them.
The implication is that this rebellion is in the realm of gluttony and drunkenness.
The boy was being wasteful with his parents’ things.
The boy was to be taken to the elders and stoned.
We see a blatant disregard of this Law by Eli when his sons were being rebellious—recall the wicked things they did (1 Sam. 3:13; cf. 1 Sam. 2:22).
Perhaps if this law were followed more closely, the Israelites would not have been so rebellious themselves.
Let us honor our parents.
This stubborn and rebellious son reminds me of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
He asked for his inheritance early and “wasted his possessions on prodigal living” (Luke 15:13).
KJV says “riotous living,” carries with it the idea of being wasteful, as a glutton or a drunkard would be.
And yet, after he came to his sense and returned home, how did his father treat him? He was happy to have his son back!
When we leave the Lord, He is so happy to have us back just like that father was.
Still, this young man had to swallow his pride to return, and many are unwilling.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: “We are only one generation away from apostasy.”
We can see that through Israelite history, that even after a great king like Hezekiah, Manasseh, the worst king of Judah, followed directly after him.
While the church as a whole will not fall (it is an eternal kingdom – Dan. 2:44), we see that in many places in this country, individual congregations are falling away or closing their doors.
Many young people aren’t interested in church, so they fall away, interested more in their own selfish desires (e.g. gluttony and drunkenness).
Many times we have failed as parents to discipline our children, we “did not restrain them” as Eli failed to do.
At the same time, we as children bear personal responsibility—let us honor our parents, not succumbing to such wantonness, but also living in a manner that honors them and their legacy.
If your parents were not faithful Christians, what better way to honor their legacy than to be one yourself and to raise your children in a godly manner?
Hear and Learn to Fear the Right Word (Deut. 31:9-13).
Context – the adults review while the children learn anew.
This is the only one of the “hear and fear” passages that someone is not executed.
The others taught the Law by negative example.
The people were to hear and fear upon the death of one who violated the Law.
Here they were taught the Law in the first place so as not to violate it later.
This practice was accomplished every seven years at the annual Feast of Tabernacles (Booths).
This was one of three feasts that all the males in Israel were required to attend.
Children were already meant to be learning the Law at home (Deut. 6:6-9), but this provided a public venue where the Law was read together.
The next time it’s mentioned directly is in 2 Chron. 8:13 after Solomon builds the temple.
While Ezra rebuilds the temple, it is mentioned again (Ezra 3:4), so we know it was kept, but we can surmise that it was not kept diligently throughout the years.
Nehemiah, however, reveals that the feast was not kept properly since the days of Joshua (Neh. 8:17).
Ezra himself read from the Law daily during this feast (Neh. 8:18).
The purpose was to hear and learn to fear the Lord so they may carefully observe what He has commanded.
Let us also hear and learn the fear.
We do not have corporal punishment in the church today.
But we do have the Scriptures that we read.
It was so important that the Scriptures be read back then to keep the Law on the people’s minds so as not to forget it.
Even so today, we are to “give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:13).
On Wednesday, Dan mentioned reading the Bible daily—something I wholeheartedly recommend.
While we can do that at home, there is something to be said for gathering together and hearing it in this corporate worship setting.
While we are hearing it, it will help us learn to fear the One who wrote it, our Lord, and to carefully observe it.
What was Timothy told to do? (1 Tim. 4:6).
He was to carefully follow the good doctrine/teaching of our Lord.
That is to be the result of hearing and fearing.
Taking heed to that doctrine will save our souls (1 Tim. 4:16).
Conclusion.
Hearing and fearing is a common theme throughout Scripture.
John writes, however, that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
While a fiery torment does await those who do not hear and fear, we have a greater motivation.
Our greater motivation ought to be love.
We ought to love the Lord our God because He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us.
He has taken the penalty for our sins—we have been bought at a price.
Simply because we no longer have that penalty does not mean we can go around and sin (Rom. 6:1-2).
I thank God He has taken my penalty, and because I love Him so, I will hear and fear, and I hope you do, too.
Will you show your love for God by making things right with Him today?
He’s done so much for us, will you become a Christian today?
Especially amid this pandemic, what better time than to study God’s Word and get right with Him?