By: Michael Weber
So, this week we looked at 2 Samuel 6, where David and his men were trying to move the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. As we learned, the first attempt didn’t go well, Uzzah was struck down by God for touching the Ark. I, for one, am REALLY glad God doesn’t deal with all sin this quickly, or I would have been dead a long time ago.
When you first heard this story, did you think God was being really harsh? I know that was my initial reaction. After hearing the message, you hopefully understand a little better why God punished Uzzah, but you still may be thinking God went a little overboard by killing him on the spot. I’m sure many of us feel that way, but the fact that we feel that way is just proof that we are guilty of the same sin Uzzah was. We are not fully honoring and respecting God for who he really is. This is probably because we have gotten comfy-cozy with God, just like Uzzah got used to the Ark. When we get used to God, we fail to honor his position as the all-powerful creator and ruler of the universe.
Think of it this way….The word “holy” literally means, “set apart.” You probably know that holiness is one of God’s attributes, in that he is totally set apart from sin. But I don’t think any of us really appreciate the degree to which God is “set apart” from us and our sin. In the Hebrew language, repeating a word was a way of strengthening its meaning. So, if something were “holy, holy” then it would be REALLY REALLY holy; more holy than just about anything else. In Isaiah 6, angels in heaven say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” Now that you understand a little about how the Hebrew language worked. This should make your mind EXPLODE!!! Isaiah is saying that God is a million times holier than the holiest thing that’s ever been holy! To put it in eight year old terms, he is double holy time infinity!!!
So, when Uzzah reaches out and touches the Ark of God, Uzzah is essentially bringing sin into the presence of the holy, holy, holy God. God cannot let this happen, and strikes him dead. God talks about the same thing in Exodus 19 when the Israelites are at Mt. Sanai. God says if any person, or animal, other than Moses, touches the mountain where his presence is, they have to die. It’s that same separation that exists later in the temple between the “holy of holies” where the Ark sits, and the rest of the temple.
Here comes another mind exploding thing to think about….. When you become a Christian, the Bible says the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you and you have that exact same presence living inside of you that was in the Ark or on Mt. Sinai (1 Cor 6:19). Having that relationship with God and having the Spirit living inside of you is the AMAZING thing you could ever have. But remember how big a deal it is to God when sin comes into his holy presence. If we continue to sin after accepting Christ—by the things we put into our body, the things we do with our body, or the thoughts and words that are formed within it—we are essentially doing what Uzzah did, and bringing sin into God’s presence….Scary huh? Looking at sin this way can help us get an idea of just how seriously God takes it, and why he says we should be different once we have accepted Christ (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Here are some things to think about:
How accurately do you think you see God for who he really is? (Jeremiah 9:24; John 17:3; 1 John 3:2)
In what ways do you “touch the Ark” and bring sin into God’s presence? (1 Cor. 6:19; Romans 8:9; 12:2)
How might you do a better job of living the way God calls us to live? (Romans 8; Col. 3; Heb. 10:19-39)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Just a Piece of the Bigger Picture
So this week at CSM, we were in 1 Samuel: 16 starting our series ‘Honor and Respect’. We studied how David came to be anointed as the king of Israel even though he seemed like the LAST pick to take on such a huge job. David’s brothers were all stronger, tougher, and better looking. Even Samuel, a prophet that God specifically picked to find the next king didn’t get it. When Samuel saw David’s oldest brother, Eliab, Samuel thought, “SURELY this is who God is going to pick!” But Eliab wasn’t the guy; and neither were the next six brothers.
If you back up to 1 Samuel 16:5 you will notice that when Samuel arrives he has David’s father and brothers consecrate themselves—which means “to make holy/ready”—by cleaning themselves thoroughly and washing their clothes. [See Numbers 8:21; 11:18] But as we know from later in the passage, David isn’t there when this happens. He is out in the pasture tending to the sheep. So, not only was David the youngest, weakest brother, he was also not “made ready” for the ceremony because he was dirty, sweaty, and smelled like sheep poop…. Despite ALL of this, God selected David as the next king. But WHY?!? Why would God skip past so many people that seemed so much more qualified to be the next king???
Well, 1 Samuel 16: 7 tells us exactly why! When Samuel sees Eliab God tells Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV 1984)
David’s older brothers all looked better, because Samuel, or anyone else, was really only seeing a small piece of the whole picture. When we look at each other, we see an appearance, achievements, and some basic facts we know about one another. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of what God sees. God can see to the very depths of our hearts and minds. This is the reason why NONE OF US, not even a prophet like Samuel, can make an accurate judgment of someone’s true potential.
We may see someone as the “last pick”, but God may be planning on using that person in big ways because He can see their heart. Like David’s brothers, there are many people that look great on the outside, but their hearts are far from God [See Matthew 23]. It is easy to focus on how others see you and forget that God sees and judges your heart as well. [1 Thes. 2:4]
Check out Isaiah 53. This chapter is talking about the “suffering servant,” which if you read the whole chapter, is a very detailed prophecy about Jesus, hundreds of years before he was born. In verse 2-3, Isaiah writes, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men.” Again, Isaiah is writing this prophecy about how Jesus’ life was going to look. So, just like David, Jesus was also seen as the “last pick” by many. The Bible tells us that, among other things, Jesus was harassed for not living in a pretty city and for coming from a poor family. How terrible is that!? God himself actually came and lived on the Earth as Jesus Christ, and we are so caught up on the outward appearance that many missed GOD IN THE FLESH. We simply do not and cannot see the whole picture.
So, how can we, just normal human beings, ever move past the “outward appearances” that usually distract us? First, we need to remember that every person is made in the image of God, and that God has a plan for every single person he brings into the world. But, we can’t see the big picture of someone’s heart and what God has in store for them. For this reason, we need to let God be the captain and leave the “picking” up to him. Just like 1 Peter 2:17 says, all we can do is treat every person we meet with Honor and Respect, no matter how we see them from our perspective.
Post By: Michael Weber
If you back up to 1 Samuel 16:5 you will notice that when Samuel arrives he has David’s father and brothers consecrate themselves—which means “to make holy/ready”—by cleaning themselves thoroughly and washing their clothes. [See Numbers 8:21; 11:18] But as we know from later in the passage, David isn’t there when this happens. He is out in the pasture tending to the sheep. So, not only was David the youngest, weakest brother, he was also not “made ready” for the ceremony because he was dirty, sweaty, and smelled like sheep poop…. Despite ALL of this, God selected David as the next king. But WHY?!? Why would God skip past so many people that seemed so much more qualified to be the next king???
Well, 1 Samuel 16: 7 tells us exactly why! When Samuel sees Eliab God tells Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV 1984)
David’s older brothers all looked better, because Samuel, or anyone else, was really only seeing a small piece of the whole picture. When we look at each other, we see an appearance, achievements, and some basic facts we know about one another. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of what God sees. God can see to the very depths of our hearts and minds. This is the reason why NONE OF US, not even a prophet like Samuel, can make an accurate judgment of someone’s true potential.
We may see someone as the “last pick”, but God may be planning on using that person in big ways because He can see their heart. Like David’s brothers, there are many people that look great on the outside, but their hearts are far from God [See Matthew 23]. It is easy to focus on how others see you and forget that God sees and judges your heart as well. [1 Thes. 2:4]
Check out Isaiah 53. This chapter is talking about the “suffering servant,” which if you read the whole chapter, is a very detailed prophecy about Jesus, hundreds of years before he was born. In verse 2-3, Isaiah writes, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men.” Again, Isaiah is writing this prophecy about how Jesus’ life was going to look. So, just like David, Jesus was also seen as the “last pick” by many. The Bible tells us that, among other things, Jesus was harassed for not living in a pretty city and for coming from a poor family. How terrible is that!? God himself actually came and lived on the Earth as Jesus Christ, and we are so caught up on the outward appearance that many missed GOD IN THE FLESH. We simply do not and cannot see the whole picture.
So, how can we, just normal human beings, ever move past the “outward appearances” that usually distract us? First, we need to remember that every person is made in the image of God, and that God has a plan for every single person he brings into the world. But, we can’t see the big picture of someone’s heart and what God has in store for them. For this reason, we need to let God be the captain and leave the “picking” up to him. Just like 1 Peter 2:17 says, all we can do is treat every person we meet with Honor and Respect, no matter how we see them from our perspective.
Post By: Michael Weber
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