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Isaiah 8:13 "But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."

 

God is instructing Isaiah not to "walk in the way" of his fellow countrymen: "Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread." (Isaiah 8:11-12). Rather, Isaiah is to fear God alone, and not worry about what everyone else is stressing about. 

 

Yesterday I was reminded of Job, and how he could never fully understand God's ways, he just had to trust. Today's reading is along the same lines. The fear, distrust, claims of conspiracy, and dread that are so prevalent now, as they apparently were in Isaiah's time, come from not having a proper "fear of the Lord." This does not mean we should be scared of God, certainly not in the way we are scared when worldly events seem to be spiraling out of control, but rather that we recognize His omnipotence and love, and are rightfully afraid of offending Him.

 

When God is doing something, especially something big, His ways can look confusing and often unfair, or even terrifying. People without a close relationship with Him don't have the trust they need to know He will see us through, and therefore they live in fear and dread of what is happening or what is coming. But if we truly regard God as holy, all powerful, and all loving, He becomes for us, as for Isaiah, "a sanctuary", while for those without this trust, He becomes "a stone of offence, a rock of stumbling" (Isaiah 8:14). Through this stumbling and fear, God is calling those people back. As the world becomes more and more inexplicable, and as they keep stumbling and falling, hopefully they will turn to Him as their sanctuary.