The throne room scenes in “The Wizard of Oz” are probably my favorite. After many twists and turns on “The Yellow Brick Road,” Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion finally arrive in the Emerald City. After much ado, they are granted an audience with the Wizard of Oz in his throne room. As they approach the specter before them, they huddle together in great fear. There are fire and smoke, and an image of an emerald green disembodied head. Then there is a booming voice that really rattles them, “I am Oz, the Great and Powerful. Who are you, and why do you seek me?” They shrink back in fear and trembling.

This is reminiscent of God’s people at Mount Sinai, shaking with fear and shrinking back when God’s voice booms from the mountain. The instruction they are given from Moses is that they are not to fear but to fear the Lord so that they may not sin. They are not to fear their destruction, but to fully respect God’s power and promises, and so live lives that are unique and holy, separated from sin.

Meanwhile, back in the Emerald City, the wheels begin to come off “The Great and Powerful Oz.” When Dorothy and her friends return to the throne room, having done what was required of them, the wizard reneges on His promises. “Why have you come back? Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz.”

In contrast, the people of Israel were told not to fear God’s wrath, and neither should we. We have been delivered from the fear of God’s wrath:
“By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:17-18).

God’s wrath has been satisfied by Christ’s death on the cross for us. Therefore, we do not fear judgment. Instead, His love draws us close in fellowship. But still, we are to live in a proper fear and respect of God as we work out our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Not because we fear judgment, but because we fully respect the high power and holiness of God.

Now Dorothy’s response is to the wizard is, “If you were really great and powerful, you would keep your promises.” Indeed, only one who is truly great and powerful, and worthy of fear, will keep his promises. That One, of course, is the Lord who appeared to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. He is the same God who has called us into fellowship with Him through His son, Jesus Christ. His promise to us is that we will not come into judgment. Instead, He will be our Advocate and Protector.

When Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulls back the curtain on the great wizard, he bellows into the microphone, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” The great wizard is finally revealed for what He is—a mere man. He’s just some guy pretending to have a power that he does not have. In the end, he was not worthy of fear. He was just a man, and when they realized that, their fear of him vanished like a wisp of smoke.

So whom do we fear—God or man? Unfortunately, we often fear people instead of God. But there is no future in it. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 118:6-9,
6 The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.

“What can man do to me?”—The psalmist asks in verse 6. The expected answer is nothing. God alone is to be feared. People have no power over us to do anything that is apart from God’s sovereign will. Fear results in obedience, and in the words of the apostle Peter, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). God is for us. He is our refuge and strength.

So pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. The only one worthy of awe, reverence, worship, obedience, and fear, is the only Great and Powerful God.