What other biblical instances show fear leading to conflict with God's people? The ripple effect of Moab’s fear “So Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites.” (Numbers 22:3) Balak’s anxiety over Israel’s size drives him to hire Balaam. Fear is the spark; conflict is the fire. Fear-driven clashes that echo the Moab story • Egypt’s new Pharaoh Exodus 1:8-10 – “Look, the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us… Come, let us deal shrewdly with them.” Result: centuries of slavery, the slaughter of infant boys, and eventually the Exodus showdown. • Amalek at Rephidim Exodus 17:8 – “After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.” Why attack a weary, newly freed people? Fear of losing regional dominance and trade routes. • Canaanites and Jericho Joshua 2:9-11 – “The terror of you has fallen upon us.” Joshua 6:1 – “Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites; no one went out and no one came in.” Walls go up; war soon follows. • Midianite oppression in Gideon’s day Judges 6:2 – “Because of Midian the Israelites made for themselves the dens in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.” Midianite fear of Israel’s harvests triggers raids and seven bitter years of conflict. • King Saul versus David 1 Samuel 18:12 – “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David.” 1 Samuel 18:29 – “Saul became even more afraid of David… David’s enemy for the rest of his days.” Personal fear blossoms into royal persecution. • Herod the Great and the Bethlehem massacre Matthew 2:3 – “When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed.” Matthew 2:16 – Herod’s fear of a rival king leads to the slaughter of innocent boys. • Religious leaders plotting against Jesus John 11:48 – “If we let Him go on like this… the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” Fear of Rome’s reaction propels them toward the cross. • Demetrius and the Ephesian riot Acts 19:27 – “There is danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute.” Economic fear stirs a city-wide uproar against Paul and the believers. Threads that tie the stories together • Fear fixes eyes on self-preservation rather than God’s purposes. • When rulers let fear rule them, they often weaponize power against the faithful. • God’s people may look vulnerable, yet the LORD steadily protects, delivers, or vindicates them. • Each conflict born of fear becomes a stage for God’s sovereignty—whether in the Exodus plagues, Jericho’s collapse, Gideon’s victory, David’s ascension, or Christ’s resurrection. |
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