1 Samuel Chapter 6

Please read the whole chapter and feel free to post a reply even before you read my thoughts.

Whenever I read a passage like, "God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy to death because they had looked into the ark of the Lord" my first reaction is to think "what was so bad about that?" From our perspective it is easy to see some of God's judgments as arbitrary. Of course we cheer Him on when we agree with His justice. In either case we are placing ourselves in positions of judgment over God, never a good idea. God has no need to answer to us and we deserve no explanation for His actions. Knowing this will undoubtedly cause us to fear Him. And like the men in our passage we will ask, "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?" What they lacked in their curiosity they were given in God's judgment, a healthy fear of God.

Their question can lead us to two answers: the first is that no one can stand in God's presence because no one is worthy; the second is that we can stand in God's presence because we have been made worthy by the blood of Jesus. This is why Luther begins each explanation of the Ten Commandments with the words, "we should fear and love God." It is in short a recognition of God's mightiness and our smallness, coupled with the knowledge that we are dearly loved on account of Christ.