Ignorance is no excuse
1Samuel 6:8-9,19-20 “8And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
19And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the LORD. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great blow. 20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?
This chapter tells about interacting with the Lord God almighty in ignorance. The Philistines took the ark and God caused great harm to the people and they wanted the troubles to stop. So they sent it away and their troubles did stop. Therefore they knew that the God of Israel was the true God of all. The Israelites saw the art and rejoiced in seeing it, made sacrifices and looked at it and were struck down. They had more knowledge but not enough to keep God’s wrath from falling upon them. So a logical question why is God so harsh to ignorant people? What is the Lord teaching us in this chapter? I believe he tells us in the verse that says who can stand before the LORD, this holy God? The answer is no one, unless you come to him by his leading! Jesus requires complete obedience to come to him. All that Moses told Israel to do in and through the temple was to be followed perfectly. We as sinners can only shutter and fall to the ground in utter terror in the presence of the Lord God of the universe if not for the blood sacrifice of our Savior Jesus. Never take your relationship with Jesus for granted! It is our only hope for eternal life with and in him. We worship you and praise you Lord Jesus. Amen
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