Daily Devotion - We Are So Back

The Ark returns to Israel.

“There is a remedy revealed for man’s need, as wide and broad and deep as man’s disease. We need not be afraid to look at sin, and study its nature, origin, power, extent, and vileness, if we only look at the same time at the almighty medicine provided for us in the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Though sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded.” - J.C. Ryle

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Morning Prayer: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 6

Summary: After consulting their “priests” and diviners (pagan magicians), the Philistines decide to return the captured Ark of the Covenant to Israel, sending it to Beth-Shemesh on a cow-drawn cart along with a guilt offering in a feeble attempt to pacify Israel’s God. Upon seeing the Ark returning on the cart, the people of Beth-Shemesh rejoice. Some of the men, however, defy God’s instruction and look inside the Ark, and are struck down for their disobedience and irreverence. The people of Beth-Shemesh fear the terrifying holiness of God and send messengers to Kiriath-jearim, a neighboring town, asking them to come and take the Ark away.

Quick Hits For Those Short on Time

• Sin Must Be Dealt With Swiftly - The Ark was kept in the land of the Philistines for seven months, even as they endured a painful plague of sores and tumors. Like Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness toward Moses and God’s people amidst the ten plagues in Egypt, the Philistines failed to consider the resolution that only repentance would bring, thereby prolonging their suffering and misery. We must not make the same mistake; God has given us the solution to our sin, and we must take hold of His gracious offer and deal with it immediately.

• We May Only Approach God Through Christ - The men of Beth-Shemesh acted disobediently and looked into the Ark in defiance of God’s clear instructions and warning for how He was to be worshipped. As His creatures, we may only interact with and worship God in the ways that He has prescribed. Straying outside of the boundaries He has established is to try and make ourselves gods. The only way we can stand before His infinite holiness and not be undone is through our appointed mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.