Thursday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 6:13-21
13 The people of Beth Shemesh were working in the valley. They were gathering their wheat crop. They looked up and saw the ark. When they saw it, they were filled with joy. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. It stopped there beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood the cart was made out of. They sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 Some Levites had taken the ark of the Lord off the cart. They had also taken off the chest that held the gold models. They placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings to the Lord. They also made sacrifices to him. 16 The five Philistine rulers saw everything that happened. On that same day they returned to Ekron.
17 The Philistines sent gold models of growths as a guilt offering to the Lord. There was one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 They also sent five gold models of rats. There was one for each of the Philistine towns that belonged to the five rulers. Each of those towns had high walls around it. The towns also had country villages around them. The Levites set the ark of the Lord on the large rock. To this day the rock is a witness to what happened there. It’s in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But some of the people of Beth Shemesh looked into the ark of the Lord. So he struck them down. He put 70 of them to death. The rest of the people were filled with sorrow. That’s because the Lord had killed so many of them. 20 The people of Beth Shemesh said, “The Lord is a holy God. Who can stand in front of him? Where can the ark go up to from here?”
21 Then messengers were sent to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”
13 The people of Beth Shemesh were working in the valley. They were gathering their wheat crop. They looked up and saw the ark. When they saw it, they were filled with joy. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. It stopped there beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood the cart was made out of. They sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 Some Levites had taken the ark of the Lord off the cart. They had also taken off the chest that held the gold models. They placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings to the Lord. They also made sacrifices to him. 16 The five Philistine rulers saw everything that happened. On that same day they returned to Ekron.
17 The Philistines sent gold models of growths as a guilt offering to the Lord. There was one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 They also sent five gold models of rats. There was one for each of the Philistine towns that belonged to the five rulers. Each of those towns had high walls around it. The towns also had country villages around them. The Levites set the ark of the Lord on the large rock. To this day the rock is a witness to what happened there. It’s in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But some of the people of Beth Shemesh looked into the ark of the Lord. So he struck them down. He put 70 of them to death. The rest of the people were filled with sorrow. That’s because the Lord had killed so many of them. 20 The people of Beth Shemesh said, “The Lord is a holy God. Who can stand in front of him? Where can the ark go up to from here?”
21 Then messengers were sent to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”
Commentary:
6:15 Beth-shemesh is listed among the Levitical cities in Josh. 21:16.
6:17–18 This is a formal list with a heading, details (lit., “for Ashdod one; for Gaza one; for Ashkelon one; for Gath one; for Ekron one”), and summary. Many similar lists have been discovered all over the ancient Near East. In these, the summary always encapsulates the details. This structure suggests that the gold tumors in the heading and details may be the same as the gold mice in the summary (v. 18; see also the lists in 30:26–31 and 2 Sam. 23:8–39; but see notes on 1 Sam. 6:4; 6:11). The summary is: “and [or, namely] the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” i.e., both walled forts and their surrounding unwalled villages. This phraseology was probably chosen to ensure that no part of the Philistine territory was left out. The five cities named in v. 17 would include “all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” since each of the five Philistine cities would have unwalled villages associated with it. (Note “Ashdod and its territory” in 5:6; a similar phrase refers to a political unit in Assyrian annals. In 27:5–6, Ziklag is a “country town” belonging to the “royal city” of Gath.) This list may have been put into the box with the gold items.
6:19 The Hebrew expression looked upon indicates staring, and perhaps gloating; this irreverence explains why God struck some of the men. The puzzling Hebrew text “seventy men, fifty thousand men” (ESV footnote) may possibly mean “seventy men, i.e., five people out of every thousand” (or “every clan”). If this is the correct meaning, then the population of the city would have been 14,000 people (or 14 clans).
6:20 The people of Beth-shemesh sound like the people of Ashdod (5:7–8).
6:21 Kiriath-jearim was about 10 miles (16 km) farther up the Sorek Valley toward Jerusalem. It was a strategic location, situated on a hill at the juncture of the boundaries of Judah, Dan, and Benjamin.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 501–502.
6:17–18 This is a formal list with a heading, details (lit., “for Ashdod one; for Gaza one; for Ashkelon one; for Gath one; for Ekron one”), and summary. Many similar lists have been discovered all over the ancient Near East. In these, the summary always encapsulates the details. This structure suggests that the gold tumors in the heading and details may be the same as the gold mice in the summary (v. 18; see also the lists in 30:26–31 and 2 Sam. 23:8–39; but see notes on 1 Sam. 6:4; 6:11). The summary is: “and [or, namely] the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” i.e., both walled forts and their surrounding unwalled villages. This phraseology was probably chosen to ensure that no part of the Philistine territory was left out. The five cities named in v. 17 would include “all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” since each of the five Philistine cities would have unwalled villages associated with it. (Note “Ashdod and its territory” in 5:6; a similar phrase refers to a political unit in Assyrian annals. In 27:5–6, Ziklag is a “country town” belonging to the “royal city” of Gath.) This list may have been put into the box with the gold items.
6:19 The Hebrew expression looked upon indicates staring, and perhaps gloating; this irreverence explains why God struck some of the men. The puzzling Hebrew text “seventy men, fifty thousand men” (ESV footnote) may possibly mean “seventy men, i.e., five people out of every thousand” (or “every clan”). If this is the correct meaning, then the population of the city would have been 14,000 people (or 14 clans).
6:20 The people of Beth-shemesh sound like the people of Ashdod (5:7–8).
6:21 Kiriath-jearim was about 10 miles (16 km) farther up the Sorek Valley toward Jerusalem. It was a strategic location, situated on a hill at the juncture of the boundaries of Judah, Dan, and Benjamin.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 501–502.
Questions:
Sometimes we spend so much time around the things of God that we stop being amazed by Him. We hear the same truths, sing the same songs, and read the same Scriptures until what should leave us in wonder begins to feel familiar. We can know the words of the gospel without being moved by the greatness of the God who has revealed Himself to us.
When the Ark returned to Israel, the people of Beth-shemesh rejoiced. But their celebration took a tragic turn when some of the men looked inside the Ark, disregarding God's commands concerning His holiness. The Lord struck them down, and the people were left asking, "Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?" God is not like us. His holiness is not simply one of His many attributes. It speaks to His absolute purity, His perfection, and His complete separation from sin. The people of Beth-shemesh had encountered the reality of standing before a God who is utterly holy, and they realized they could not approach Him on their own terms.
We lose sight of God's holiness, his set apartness when we become overly familiar with the things of God. We may speak of Jesus as our friend and forget that He is also our Lord. We approach worship as another part of our weekly routine rather than an opportunity to respond to the greatness of God. We can read Scripture looking only for something useful to take away, missing the wonder of hearing from the God who created us and knows us completely.
But recovering our awe doesn't mean we have to choose between loving Jesus and revering Him. The same Jesus who welcomes sinners is the holy Son of God. His tenderness does not diminish His majesty, and His holiness does not diminish His love. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made a way for us to draw near to the Father, because Christ has dealt with our sin and made us right with God. We have been given the incredible privilege of knowing the holy God of the universe through Jesus Christ. May we never become so familiar with that privilege that we lose our wonder.
When the Ark returned to Israel, the people of Beth-shemesh rejoiced. But their celebration took a tragic turn when some of the men looked inside the Ark, disregarding God's commands concerning His holiness. The Lord struck them down, and the people were left asking, "Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?" God is not like us. His holiness is not simply one of His many attributes. It speaks to His absolute purity, His perfection, and His complete separation from sin. The people of Beth-shemesh had encountered the reality of standing before a God who is utterly holy, and they realized they could not approach Him on their own terms.
We lose sight of God's holiness, his set apartness when we become overly familiar with the things of God. We may speak of Jesus as our friend and forget that He is also our Lord. We approach worship as another part of our weekly routine rather than an opportunity to respond to the greatness of God. We can read Scripture looking only for something useful to take away, missing the wonder of hearing from the God who created us and knows us completely.
But recovering our awe doesn't mean we have to choose between loving Jesus and revering Him. The same Jesus who welcomes sinners is the holy Son of God. His tenderness does not diminish His majesty, and His holiness does not diminish His love. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made a way for us to draw near to the Father, because Christ has dealt with our sin and made us right with God. We have been given the incredible privilege of knowing the holy God of the universe through Jesus Christ. May we never become so familiar with that privilege that we lose our wonder.
- When you come before God, do you approach Him with a sense of His holiness, or have you become more focused on what you hope He will do for you? Think about your prayers this week. How often have you ask for God's help without stopping to consider the greatness of the One you're asking?
- The people of Beth-shemesh were confronted with the reality that they could not stand before a holy God on their own. When you become aware of your own sin, where does your confidence before God come from? Do you find yourself pointing to your good works, comparing yourself to others, or minimizing what you've done? How does the holiness of God expose those false sources of confidence, and how does Jesus give you a reason to draw near anyway?
- You can know the truth that Jesus died for your sins and still lose sight of the wonder of that grace. When was the last time the reality of what Jesus has done for you genuinely moved your heart? What has become so familiar in your walk with God that you rarely stop to consider its significance?
Prayer Topics:
- Ask God to renew your understanding of His holiness and the seriousness of sin.
- Confess the ways familiarity has caused you to approach God carelessly or take the privilege of knowing Him for granted.
- Thank God for providing access to His holy presence through Jesus Christ.
- Praise Jesus for the grace that allows sinners to draw near to Him with confidence.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your reverence for God and renew your wonder at His character.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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