Daily Thoughts from Deuteronomy 2:25: Fear and Dread of You (Pachd’kah veYirat’kah)

4. Fear and Dread of You (Pachd’kah veYirat’kah)

Today I will start putting the fear and dread of you into all the peoples under heaven, so that the mere mention of your name will make them quake and tremble before you.

(D’varim 2:25)

The reading this morning had sparked a concern in his heart.  How would Yahweh make his message heard in Yisrael?  How would He go before him?  At his baptism he had seen how God signaled that he was His son.  Would He continue speaking out loud and sending visions of doves?

Though, as Yisrael prepared to enter the land, Yahweh put the fear and dread of Yisrael on all the nations, this did not preclude them waging war as they came into conflict with those Yahweh meant to punish.  They still needed to gear up, ready their weapons, march to the foe, and engage in battle.

He could not expect any different.  He was not going to march into Jerusalem and see all the leaders bow before him.  They were not going to hand over the reins of his father David’s kingdom and say, “Rule us!”  They weren’t all going to recognize the wisdom of his teaching and acclaim him Messiach.  He expected just the opposite.

And yet he knew Yahweh wanted to give him many souls, those whose hearts had been prepared to receive the Messiach.  He trusted Yahweh’s power to accomplish this.  If He could put fear of YIsrael in the hearts of all the nations of the land He could certainly turn the hearts of His people to him when he came proclaiming the kingdom of God.

He would trust his Father to make it clear how He went before him to make the path straight.

As darkness settled over the yeshimon the issue seemed settled for him, but a disquieting feeling came over him.  He felt he was being watched.  Then from the edge of his eyesight he thought he saw movement.  Was some wild animal out there, looking at him, sizing him up for dinner?

He knew there were occasional great cats seen in this part of the land, though he could not put together what they would survive on.  Were there enough ibex with their stately horns and proud stance to feed upon?  He had noticed no tracks but had admittedly stayed within a relatively small area.

Maybe the diet of these fierce cats with their sharp teeth and claws and swift movements was supplemented by the occasional visitor to their territory.  How would he fend off such an attacker?  Would it be afraid of fire?  He hastily built a small fire with the limited brush he had left and determined to make sure he had enough from now on.  His body was on high alert and it did not feel safe to go to sleep.  But as the night progressed he found himself nodding and coming to with the realization that time had passed and he was still being watched.

He stoked the fire and asked his Father to protect him and he finally fell into deep sleep, hoping that he would not be a victim of something else’s hunger, one ready to break its fast.  Fear and dread of this beast was overcome by sleep.