176. You will not Die
Judges 6:23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Gideon had just seen the Angel of the Lord appear to him. Naturally, he was frightened at seeing the Angel of the Lord face to face. Everyone knew that no human being could come face to face with God in His Glory without being fearful of being consumed by such Holiness confronting the sinner. This appearance of God to a human happened several times in Scripture, and each time fear and dread takes hold of the person to whom God appears.
This will always be our immediate response. The next words of God are always the same in some form: “Fear not.” Here the Lord also says, “Peace be to you.” This is God’s gracious response to our natural fear: Grace and Peace. There is nothing to be afraid of. I love you. Then the human’s response is worship and thanksgiving.
God promise us settling peace, courage in the presence of troubles, and confidence in the face of death. “You will not die.” This means you will not die when you are confronted with the presence of God Almighty (which you should, because of sin). The power, glory, might and holiness of God is overwhelming. However, the glorious Good News is that the Love of God, His grace and mercy, His peace and assurance, is even more overwhelming. The overwhelming and awesome power of God’s Love is so much more wonderful than we can believe. And we certainly cannot feel it in its fullness. Thankfully, we get glimpses, as through a glass darkly.
But by God’s miraculous working through the Holy Spirit coming on the Gospel we are able to believe it. When we believe it we are changed. We are given superhuman courage to face any danger or obstacle, like Gideon with only 300 men. No one would believe what Gideon ended up doing, unless he had a “God meeting.”
The “Angel of the Lord” is a technical term signifying most likely the preincarnate Son of God (the Second Person) taking on a visible form to grant courage and faith. “You will not die,” said Jesus, as a promise to us regarding those who believe in Him as the Resurrection and the Life. “Everyone who believes in me shall never die.” This Holy God, with overwhelming Love, appears to us every time we hear the Gospel, remember our Baptism, receive the Lord’s Supper, or repent and believe.