S) "19 He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20 The men of Beth-shemesh said, 'Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?' 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, 'The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to you.'"
1 Samuel 6:19-21 (NASB)
O) A certain similarity came out of this to me. The ark of the LORD had been held hostage, essentially, and Israel lamented the loss. At this time, the presence of the LORD was still with the ark. So, effectively, the presence of the LORD had been taken from the nation Israel. In that absence, the people were longing for the day it, and He, would return. Finally, in v.13, the ark is miraculously returned to the joy of the people who received it first. They took it from the cart, used the wood of the cart to build a fire, to sacrifice the cows that brought it to them, to the LORD. All seemed well. But then, there was this very large group of people, who wrongly assumed that the return of the LORD would bode well for them, because they forgot He is holy. So, there was a tremendous judgment upon His return. The surviving people, after realizing they are also guilty, sought out instruction for redemption and salvation. That bears a remarkable resemblance to the picture of the end times, to me.
A) First and foremost, I need to remember that the LORD is every bit as holy as He has ever been, making me every bit as unworthy, guilty, and endangered as I could ever be. But by the grace of God, I have received life through my faith in Christ. Following that, I need to keep in focus, that there will be a time when the Lord returns, and I cannot be under some misguided and dangerous assumption that I am "good enough" to survive the encounter! It will only be by the cleansing of my sins, through the blood of Jesus Christ, that will sanctify and redeem me on that day (and each day between now and then). The last application, is really that I can answer the question, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?" And there really is only one answer, found in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is fairly well described in Hebrews 10:19-25, also throughout the New Testament.
P) Father, thank You again, eternally, for the grace that has been in my life, even from before I knew. May the mercy I receive each day, cause in me an overflowing thankfulness and joy. Discipline me to walk faithfully in the righteousness given to me through the work of Christ Jesus, my Savior, my Lord. In obedience, and courage, and wisdom, let me display the gospel to everyone who sees me. Let my words, actions, and life, point to the redemptive work of Your Son, so that everyone who can be saved, will be saved. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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