1 Samuel 6:13-21 – God Still Rules…. Over his People
The ark is gladly received by the Israelites of Beth-shemesh after its 7 month exile in the land of the Philistines. But it soon turns sour as 70 men are struck down. During his “exile” Yahweh has shown that he rules over false gods, over the nations, and over his cause, But his people have still not grasped what that means for them.
Their God was a holy God. That meant he was to be treated with reverence. That meant the Ark of the Covenant was not to be touched (Numbers 4:15-20). Certainly not by ordinary folk. There was a whole class of priests set apart for handling the ark. It was not to be looked into. Perhaps it was not even to be looked upon. Numbers 4:4-6 states that it was to be covered when it was moved. The High Priest only saw it through a cloud of smoke. Perhaps thats why the lengthy “boring” descriptions in Exodus are so detailed – they were only to see it in their mind’s eye, like us. Yet the men of Beth-shemesh look upon it. It’s hard to know what exactly they did, as the details of the passage are a bit obscure. But at it’s root is this – they did not treat God as holy: “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God” (6:20).
God is holy. He is wonderfully separate from us, ‘other-ly’. He is separately sinless. And the fact that he is our God does not mean we can be flippant and careless. How does our approach to worship each week reflect his holiness? Do we approach Sundays thinking: here is a whole day set apart (kept holy) to him? Do we approach worship reminding ourselves that we are coming into the presence of God? He rules over us. We come to praise our King. We come to listen to our King. We come to serve our king.
Questions
- This incident underlines the holiness of God and his justice. Where do you see his grace in it?
Prayer Points
- Ask God for a sense of his holiness that impacts how you approach him in worship, public and private.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.