1 Samuel 6:6-9 - Why do you harden your
hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he treated
them harshly, did they not send the
Israelites out so they could go on their way? "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and
pen them up. Take
the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the
gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its
way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own
territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought
this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was
not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance."
The Philistines could no longer tolerate
the ark in their presence…so they met to discuss how to send it back to the Israelites.
They decided to form a sort of test…to see if the plague sent upon them was
because of the Israelites God…or just a crazy coincidence. I love how God
settled the matter quickly...by allowing the two recently mother cows to break
natures call to go straight to their calves….and walk straight back into
Israelite territory.
The Israelites that were fortunate to be
the eyewitnesses to the return of the ark could do nothing but shout praises to
God for its return….and they immediately killed the 2 cows…broke up the cart ….and
sacrificed them to God in praise and thanks.
It must have been a great sight to behold...for others joined them later….and
offered even more sacrifices to God.
They made one mistake…70 men died...because
they broke the rule God set down for them in Numbers 4:20…the one that told
them never to touch or look at the contents of the ark. Maybe they just got too excited and forgot
what God’s word said…..maybe they hadn’t read that part in such a long time
that it wasn’t a real fear….maybe they had just made up their own rules for so
long…they didn’t even know what the true word said. And because of the deaths of these men….they
were afraid for the ark to stay in their town too.
God is not a God that accepts our part time
worship and praise. He wants us to study
and know exactly what his word says...and then abide by it completely. He will always show up and keep his promises…whether
they be promises to bring us hope for our future…or harsh consequences because
we have not followed the directives of his word. His Bible is clear on all
matters…and we must begin to take a stance on the things he says is wrong. We
simply have to stop making our own rules and justifying the things we don’t
want to give up by pulling the words of his Bible out of context.
Father…I thank you for this story that
reminds me that you wrote down every rule I need to follow in your great
Bible. Help me Lord to read and study
and interpret it correctly. Reveal to me
the truth and wisdom you gave us to live by…and erase the false concepts I may
have thought were true in the past.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment