The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
Hebrews 12:21
It was the summer before I started school. So, I was doing what I did best as a six-year-old. I was bothering and bugging my mom. You can bet the farm that if I had been a child in today’s world, I’d be on at least one of the 39 available ADHD drugs[1].
With all the love in my heart for my mom, I’m telling you that I’m beyond sure that I frustrated her. I had the attention span of a gnat. I couldn’t sit still for five seconds. Five minutes was way out of my league. When she gave me something to do, I threw myself into it for all of 30 seconds before crying out that I was bored.
So, to get me out of the house for a while, she gave me a dollar and told me to go to the movies. The Colony Theater was an easy one mile walk straight down Harford Road. I could get myself there in a half hour and still have time to buy some popcorn before the next show began.
Yes, I’m that old. Back then, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, it was safe for a six-year-old kid to walk someplace and go to the movies by themselves. There was no line of cars dropping kids off and picking them up at the door. If you didn’t get yourself there, you just didn’t get there.
Anyway, I arrived at The Colony and got in line. After paying for my ticket, I got a large popcorn and soda before going to the center seat on the front row. It makes my neck hurt to just think about looking straight up for so long.
When the lights started to go down, I was happy and excited. Everything was great. I was in my favorite seat and a couple of cartoons were about to start. Yes, I had to sit through those boring “coming attractions” but they would soon fade, making way for the feature presentation.
Little did I know it then, but I was about to see a very important motion picture. In the history of Hollywood, this movie would be remembered. Of his 31 movies, this was the first that Steve McQueen, the king of cool, starred in as the leading man. And it’s title was, “The Blob[2].”
I don’t remember the movie because of Steve’s performance or that of any other character. The dialogue and music weren’t all that great. It wasn’t the story or even the special effects. The reason I remember that day so well is that it terrified me.
You have no idea how frightened I was. Seeing the Blob grow while eating everyone in its path. I still have the memory of the Blob squirting out of the holes[3] in the back wall of the movie theater. I screamed and ran all the way to the back of The Colony. I then peaked through a curtain to see what happened next. While this might not be your example of terrifying, it’s mine.
When we’re terrified, logic just runs away. We start trembling. Without thinking, we’re shaking. We’re not terrified just because of what’s happened, but because of what’s going to happen next. Something uncontrollable is going to do something, and there’s not a thing we can do to stop it.
And that’s exactly where Moses was. He knew how holy God. And when he saw how the people had so quickly turned from God, he knew what kind of punishment they deserved.
Funny thing though, Moses didn’t blame God for his anger. He didn’t question God’s right and responsibility to punish everyone who turned away from him. He didn’t even try to excuse their sin. After all, Moses hadn’t been with them for a while. Wasn’t this a good excuse to just let this tiny sin slide?
Moses knew better. God is absolutely holy and righteous. There’s not even a hint of anything that’s not good and pure in him. He has all knowledge. All Power. All wisdom. He has no beginning, and he has no end. He’s not someone you mess around with. He’s not the kind of person that we just ignore.
He had given so much to the Israelites. He never forgot them. He did all those signs and wonders. He brought them through Passover. He led them through the Red Sea. He destroyed all of the Egyptian armies. He gave them food and water in the wilderness.
And how did they repay God? The exact same way we have. This is why there’s no chance for us to somehow make it up to God. There’s no gift or sacrifice that we can make that will fully restore our relationship. This is why God had to take the responsibility of paying for our sins.
We don’t think of our sins as something we should be terrified of. After all, no one’s perfect. But God is and made the perfect sacrifice for us. Through Jesus, all our sins were perfectly covered and paid for. Now, we don’t have to be terrified of God anymore. We can run to him as our loving, Heavenly Father, knowing that he’ll always receive us.
Noodling Questions
What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever saw? Why?
How do you act when you’re really scared?
Explain how and why sin makes us afraid.
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