Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Thursday, October 27, 2022

QT 10/27/2022 1 Sam 6:10-21, Don't push God away

1 Samuel 6:13–14 (ESV) —

13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

1 Samuel 6:19–21 (ESV) —

19 And 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. 20 Then 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?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

 

NOTE: How do you understand a passage like this? First of all, it is a historical account. It is true, but not necessarily biblical. Neither the actions of the Philistines nor most of the actions of the Israelites are correct. But it is what happened. It is also after nearly three centuries of rule by judges. The word of God is no longer being taught. They lack prophets and teachers. It is  also the transition to chapter 7 where Samuel begins his ministry.

 

The sad thing about the response of Beth-shemesh is that they were no different than the Philistines. Instead of repentance and mourning over their sin, they try to get rid of the ark. And this is the response of people today, instead of confession and repentance for our sins, we have moved on and eliminated sin, guilt, and shame, to the point where we are proud of our sins. We have moved God out of our lives rather than deal with our sin problem.

 

PONDER:

  1. Is there a sin--that I have moved on--rather than repent? Have I given up on confession and repentance?
  2. Do I still invite God into every aspect of my life? The Holy Spirit resides in the heart of every true believer, but have we jailed him away somewhere in our soul?

 

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, I want you to have free reign in my life. Show me my hidden faults. Reveal my unconfessed sins to me so that I can repent. Have mercy on me.

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