War and Fear
In Genesis 15:1, God speaks words of comfort directly to fearful Abram.
“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’”
The words” “after this” are similar to the word, “therefore.” They alert us to remember the context. What happened previously in Abram’s life in Genesis 14 that might prompt a response of fear?
Genesis 14 is a warfare text. First, Kedorlaomer the king of Elamand, and the three kings allied with him, conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites. Then we witness a battle between nine kings—four on Kedorlaomer’s side, and five on the other side. Kedorlaomer and his allies win. In doing so, they take captive Abram’s nephew, Lot (Genesis 14:11-12).
Abram hears that his relative has been enslaved, calls up his own army, attacks the four kings, and rescues Lot (Genesis 14:14-17).
We might assume that with victory won, it is now war and peace. Not so. Gill, in his commentary on Genesis 15:1, aptly explains the legitimate reason for Abram’s fear.
“…lest the nations that belonged to the four kings he had conquered and slain should recruit their armies, and come against him with greater force; and the brethren and relations of those he had slain should avenge themselves on him…”
Similarly, Ellicott notes that Abram had “made for himself powerful enemies.” Calvin describes both the reason for fear and the normalcy of such anxiety.
“Abram had so provoked them [the four kings], that they might with fresh troops, and with renewed strength, again attack…. It is therefore not strange, that he should have been troubled, and should anxiously have ruminated about many things.”
PTSD and CTSD
To use modern terminology, Abram might have been experiencing the fears, anxiety, and constant high alert status related to post-traumatic stress. Abram was not a “professional soldier.” However, in order to rescue his nephew, Abram had to fight a bloody battle against four professional armies. Abram would have witnessed killing, death, maiming, blood, slaughter. The trauma of war is real.
But it was even more than this. As Gill, Ellicott, and Calvin noted, Abram was experiencing very real CTSD—current-traumatic stress over current danger. Abram grasped the very real possibility that he had put at risk his own life, the life of his wife, and the life of all who journeyed with him. Four armies could attack at any moment to avenge themselves and to assault Abram and his extended family.
Abram had to remain on constant high alert, ever-vigilant every second. Imagine it. Abram, at night in his tent, body tense, trying unsuccessfully to sleep. He hears a rustling sound. His heart races, as does his mind.
“What!? Is that a spy? A foot soldier? Are we about to be attacked!?”
Abram’s fear makes perfect sense. His alarm is normal. In fact, one commentator speaking of this passage, and of life in our fallen world, explains that it is ridiculous not to be fearful.
“There is abundant reason for fear in the facts of life. There are so many certain evils, and so many possible evils, that any man who is not a feather-brained fool must sometimes quail” (MacLaren, Commentary of Genesis 15:1).
Though MacLaren’s language is antiquated (“a feather-brained fool”), his meaning is ever-relevant. We might paraphrase MacLaren like this:
“Our world is fallen and it often falls on us. There are so many certain evils and so many possible evils, that only those who are naïve, childish, simple, foolish, in denial, and inexperienced in real life fail to fear. All who face the facts of our fallen world will quail, quake, tremble, and fear. Fear is a natural response to our unnatural, dangerous, evil world.”
Calvin, commenting on fear in Matthew 8:26, comes to a conclusion similar to McLaren. Calvin interprets the passage to teach that a lack of fear means we are “insensible” (oblivious, anesthetized, numb, lacking all feeling), and that fear itself is not faulty.
“If we fear nothing, an indolent and carnal security steals upon us; and thus faith languishes, the desire to pray becomes sluggish, and the remembrance of God is at length extinguished. Besides, those who are not affected by a sense of calamities, so as to fear, are rather insensible than firm. Thus we see that fear, which awakens faith, is not in itself faulty.”
Proverbs 27:12 validates the interpretations of MacLaren and Calvin that it is unwise not to fear. “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (see also Proverbs 22:3; Ecclesiastes 2:14; Matthew 10:16). Fear is our God-given danger-detector designed to warn the wise to take refuge.
“Fear Not”: Words of Comfort, Consolation, and Encouragement
Into this fearful setting, God speaks to Abram, and to us—speaking into our fears.
“Fear not.”
These are Yahweh’s personal words of comfort, consolation, and encouragement.
- Gill explains that God speaks these words not to confront Abram, but “the more to encourage him.”
- Likewise, Calvin notes that “fear not” communicates that “God would soothe his sorrowing and anxious servant with some consolation.”
- The Cambridge Commentary describes “fear not” as “this particular encouragement.”
- Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown write, “To dispel his fear, he was favored with this gracious announcement.”
- Keil and Delitzsch combine an understanding of the warfare context of Genesis 14 with a description of God’s comfort in Genesis 15:1. “In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind. To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, ‘Fear not.’”
For…
Yahweh did not say, “Fear not and repent.” He did not say, “Fear not, for fear is sin.”
In His comforting words of reassurance, Yahweh says,
“Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Calvin insists that we must insert “because” or “for” into our translation. “Therefore, to make the sense of the words more clear, the causal particle is to be inserted. ‘Fear not, Abram, because I am thy shield.’”
“Fear not” is not an exhortation never to fear. It is not a command that all fear, this side of heaven, will (or even should) be banished. No. This is an encouragement to trust in Yahweh when circumstances are legitimately frightening, and feelings are legitimately troubling.
In this verse, God is giving specific reasons why, in the midst of normal human fears, Abram (and you and I) can experience peace that passes understanding. These reasons relate to God Himself.
“Fear not, for I am your shield.”
“Fear not, for I am your exceedingly abundant reward.”
“I Am Your Shield”: “Shields Up!”
If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, then you know I am a Star Trek fan. And if you know anything about Star Trek, then you know what happens on Star Trek when an enemy attacks. The person in command yells, “Red Alert! “Shields Up!”
Yahweh speaks personally to Abram, calling him by name, acknowledging his reasons for a fear response, and offering Abram Himself as the reason for supernatural peace in the midst of natural fear.
“Fear not. I am your shield.”
Or, to paraphrase, using Star Trek lingo,
“There’s a red alert in your situation and in your soul. Your natural response is to put up your own finite human shields. Instead, recognize that I have put up My shields over you. More than that, I am your shield.”
Fear is a signal emotion. It signals us that danger is imminent. Spiritually, fear alerts us to the reality that we are dependent, weak, needy creatures who are desperate for our all-powerful, all-caring Creator-Father.
When fear strikes, our minds need to have a mental image of God as our Shield and Defender.
Of course, we know that in this life, God does sovereignly allow some darts, some bullets, some wounds, some dangers, through His shields. In Paul’s life, God allowed a thorn in the flesh through the shields of protection—to teach Paul his need for God’s all-sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) and his need to rely not on himself, but on Christ’s resurrection power (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).
When God allows gaps in His shielding of us, we face a faith-point.
Do we trust in His affectionate sovereignty?
Or, do we doubt His goodness and power?
This is where our response to dangerous circumstances and fearful feelings can turn from natural to sinful—when we fail to entrust ourselves to God our shield.
R. C. Ryle explains God’s sovereignty and our suffering like this:
“Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer without God’s ordering and permission. There is not such thing as ‘chance,’ ‘luck,’ or ‘accident’ in the Christian’s journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are ‘working together’ for the believer’s good.”
God protects us from every harm which His affectionate sovereignty knows is best for us to avoid. He allows, “through His shields,” only that suffering, pain, danger, or harm that He knows is best for us to experience.
“I Am Your Exceedingly Abundant Reward”
Pulpit Commentary insists that Genesis 15:1 is not simply saying, “I give you a great reward.” Instead, they translate the Hebrew as, “I am thy reward exceedingly great.” They go on to say, “The patriarch’s reward was to be the all-sufficient Jehovah himself.”
In our suffering, God is not getting back at us. He is drawing us back to Himself.
Our suffering, our fears, our troubles, our dangers—they are all opportunities for us to draw near to Him and to His thrown of grace to find help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Talk to anyone who has experienced great fear, pain, anxiety, suffering, trauma, and trouble—and who has walked through it with God—and they will tell you that they are closer to God than ever before.
Trouble + Trust = Intimacy.
God Himself is our reward, our joy, our desire. In our fear, God gives us Himself.
In our fears, we worship Him, even when we can’t find relief from our fearful feelings and crushing circumstances.
What Do We Do When We Experience Fear?: Repent or Lament?
When fear strikes—and it will in this fallen world—what do we do? I detect that we tend to pursue two primary options.
- We seek to repent our way out of our troubling feelings.
- We lament our way into facing our feelings face-to-face with Christ.
Sometimes we try to “repent our fears away.” We think, “If I repent enough of my fearfulness, then my fears will disappear.” Actually, we may need to repent of repenting! For repenting of emotions may be a way we seek to gain control and find emotional relief. We think, “If I am really spiritual; do a ton of daily devotions; pray a lot; and repent constantly, then perhaps God, like a Genie in a Bottle, will grant me my wish of freedom from unpleasant emotions.” Of course, if we sinfully respond to our feelings, then it is biblical to confess our sin, receive God’s gracious forgiveness, and avail ourselves of God’s power to progressively reflect the emotional life of Christ.
Instead of repenting our way out of troubling feelings, God calls us to lament our way into facing our feelings face-to-face with Him. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 42, we practice biblical candor, complaint, crying out, and comfort:
- Candor: We are candid and honest with ourselves, facing what our soul is feeling, acknowledging our feelings, labeling them. “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalm 42:5).
- Complaint/Lament: We are honest with God, lamenting to Him. “My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember You” (Psalm 42:6). “I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’” (Psalm 42:9).
- Crying Out to God: We cling to God as our only hope. “Put your hope in God, For I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5).
- Comfort in God: We find our only comfort in God, our Father of compassion and God of all comfort. Our comfort is not found in relief from emotions like fear and anxiety. Our comfort is found in God who is our exceedingly abundant reward even as we feel and face fear and anxiety. “By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8).
As we respond to our fears, we put our hope in God. He does not promise to remove our emotions—for they are part of how He designed us. Instead, He promises to never leave us or forsake.
Our fears draw us near.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).
