1 Samuel 6:19-21 – Approaching God with reverence

Holiness is the very essence of God. He is holy and holiness is the embodiment of His being. Thus, it is important for us to approach Him with the utmost reverence. The things pertaining to God must be given careful regard and not be flippantly and casually handled. Regarding the holy objects of the Tabernacle, especially the Ark of the LORD, the specific instruction was that no one should look into it. We learn from Numbers 4:1-20,  that the Kohathites were assigned to carry those holy furnishings. God instructed that those furnishings, including the Ark, to be covered before the Kohathites carried them. Numbers 4:20 said that “…they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.” God forbade them to look at the holy objects.

First Samuel 6:19 describes how at Beth-shemesh, the Ark of the LORD that the Philistines sent back was mishandled. The people there did not follow the prescribed instructions and God’s holy Ark was not handled with due care. In other words, God’s holiness was not accorded due reverence and respect. As a result, 50,070 men were slaughtered. No doubt the judgment dealt with the people was severe. That should have signaled to them to repent before God. But obviously, they were not sensitive to God’s leading and did not do it. They, instead, responded with resignation. In their disappointment and dismay, they made a plan to detach themselves from the very presence of God represented by the Ark of the LORD. They wanted to send it away to Kiriath-jearim. So, without alerting the people there, they sent the message to them, saying  “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to you.”

What can we learn from such an incidence? There is a necessity to approach God with reverence. God wants us to relate with Him on His terms. We must not serve God with a careless, nonchalant attitude. God’s dealing should lead us to evaluate our wrong and not to detach ourselves from Him. The right thing for us to do is to accord to God the holy respect and awe due to Him. Hebrews 12:28-29 offer us this advice, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” Let’s make this a practice!