Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 6; 1 Samuel 7; Psalm 72; 2 Corinthians 9
Scripture: 1 Samuel 6:19-21
…God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked unto the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them, and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?" Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to your place."
Observation: As a child I never understood the phrase "the fear of the Lord." To me, "fear" was a bad thing. So how could "the fear of the Lord" be anything other than bad? Well, this story demonstrates the truth that the right kind of "the fear of the Lord" is a very important thing and the lack of it is deadly. Here, the men of Beth Shemesh have received the ark of the Lord back from the Philistines with rejoicing and even the offering of sacrifices. But they do something that reveals that something is missing inside of them. They lift the cover and peek into the ark. Seventy of them are dead as a result. Why did they die? Because they lacked "the fear of the Lord." They thought that the ark could be treated as a toy or a trinket. (Just like a person who doesn't fear the power of electricity could be killed by opening a transformer box and looking inside.) They forgot about God's awesome power. But the reaction of the rest of the people is what really gets me. They are now fearful of God -- but not in the right way. Rather than repenting of their careless attitude toward God, they just get spooked and want to get rid of Him. "Send the ark away!" is their answer. It would be like a person who sees someone get electrocuted deciding that they want nothing to do with electricity so they have all the wiring removed from their house.
Application: We need a healthy fear of God. He holds the power of life and death in His mighty hands. He is not our buddy or pal or the man upstairs. He is God Almighty and is not to be trifled with. (I think that sometimes our emphasis on having a personal relationship with God can foster a too-casual idea about relating to God.) Now it also seems that too many people walk in fear -- afraid of God. This is also not right. Absense of fear is wrong and the wrong kind of fear is also wrong. We can have a high degree of reverence and respect for God, and a love and appreciation for Him based on an understanding of His character of love. This is not unlike how a highly qualified electrician thinks about electricity. He knows it can kill if not handled with respect, but he is trained on all the good it can do when its potential is properly released. Let's work to get that balance into our lives and to help others to get it as well.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your awesome power which created the universe and holds it together. And I thank You for Your amazing love that reaches out to sinful human beings with mercy and forgiveness. Thank You for calling people to a love relationship with You. And help us, Lord, to hold You in high regard and reverence. May we have the fear of the Lord in our lives as You would have us to. Thank You for Your patience with us as we learn to walk in Your ways.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen
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