God's Presence isn't Always Comfy
I taught the Bible study at Crossroads last Wednesday.
I think Christians often think of “being in God’s presence” as comforting and peaceful by definition. It isn’t always. If we expect Him to guide us, and change us, we’ll experience Him more deeply and avoid a lot of angst.
Here’s the audio.
| God’s Presence Isn’t Always Comfy (.mp3 | .m4a) |
Below is the lesson as written.
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We spend a lot of time talking about the presence of God. Seeking it. We know it’s important. But what does it really mean to be in the presence of God?
What do you think?
We may think of it as a feeling of peace. An attitude of worship. Maybe being able to hear His leading or correction. All those things are good signs that you’re in His presence.
When someone is present, what does that mean? They’re right there. They’re in your immediate area. When we talk about God’s presence, we’re usually speaking in spiritual and emotional terms. There was a time in the Old Testament when they spoke of God’s presence in physical terms.
I’m talking about the Ark of the Covenant. It was a symbol of God’s presence on Earth, and Israel took it very literally. God took it seriously, too.
We read a story this last week about a man named Uzzah. Do you remember the story? The short version is this: he touched the Ark, and God got angry with him and struck him dead. That passage confused me when I first read it. I didn’t understand why God was mad, and why he reacted so harshly.
We’ll look at Uzzah’s story and the events leading up to it. And as we do, we’ll see what happens when we’re in God’s presence. We’ll see how God asserts His authority in our lives, reveals His plan, corrects us, and draws us toward holiness.
Let’s pray.
At the beginning of Uzzah’s story, the Ark is at the house of a guy named Abinadab. How did it get there?
It all started when the enemies of Israel captured the Ark.
[How could they capture the Ark? See Judges 21:25.]
The Philistines thought this was a total coup. They routed their enemies and stole their gods. So, they take the Ark home as a prize, and…
Eventually, they can’t take it anymore, and they send the Ark back.
What is God doing here?
He asserts Himself as God. This is an overall theme we see when people enter the presence of God, from Philistines to prophets. Whether He’s delivering a message, blessing or cursing, God reminds us that He is God when we’re in His presence. He does it in a variety of ways, which we will see this as the story continues.
He knocks down idols. God made it abundantly clear that He and Dagon were not on the same level.
What has He told you to give up? What do you consider as important as God?
You can’t manhandle God unless He lets you. This is a crucial truth that Uzzah misses, as we will soon see. In the case of the Philistines, they thought they could put God wherever they wanted. They learned that they were dealing with more than a fancy gold box.
Do you try to bring God to places He doesn’t want to go? Does He fight back?
I say “unless He lets you.” This time, God wasn’t having it. He got the Philistines to send back the Ark and made a point about His power in the meantime. Later, He had other goals.
God reveals His agenda. His plan. His purpose. It wasn’t just Israel fighting against the Philistines: God declared them His enemy. When they brought His presence into their midst, He continued the fight.
Has God revealed His plan to you as you’ve spent time in His presence? How has He spoken to you? How has He moved you?
Finally, the Philistines send the Ark back home. It arrives in what must have seemed like a miraculous fashion to the Israelites. But then…
The Israelites disrespect the Ark, and pay a dear price. What was so bad about what they did?
Nobody but the high priest gets to touch the Ark, and only the Kohathites are supposed to carry it. They broke the law.
Remember these two scriptures as we watch what happens with Uzzah.
Twenty years later, David had a really good idea: bring the Ark to Jerusalem.
So, what was the problem? No one but the high priest gets to touch the Ark. That was Uzzah’s act of irreverence. God’s direct command supersedes everything else. The men of Beth Shemesh were similarly punished for touching the Ark.
Why such a strong reaction? Perhaps because it was such a high-profile event that everyone approved of. And perhaps because they should have known better, not least of whom David and the priests.
Note also that the men of Beth Shemesh and David have the same reaction: they’re afraid. They’re disheartened.
Sometimes, we will have to endure correction in God’s presence. That’s hard. It’s always hard. But correction isn’t rejection.
If we take correction as rejection, we’ll be tempted to run from God’s presence. But remember, it’s always good when it comes from God. He corrects us so that we can draw nearer to Him. In the end, David learned the point.
When you’re in God’s presence, He will remind you that He’s God. Embrace it. Take the opportunity to humbly worship Him and listen for His guidance. Accept what He brings to you. If He corrects your behavior, remember that it’s because He loves you.