The Presence of God

In the Old Testament the presence of God was symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant. Picture the Ark in the middle of the camp surrounded by the twelve tribes. This was a statement that Israel was a people, called out by God, among whom He lived. It was a beautiful image!

But it must be remembered that having God in your midst is not something with which to trifle. You'll remember when the Ark was captured by the Philistines how it became a curse to them. Each city that took the Ark experienced such hardship that they couldn't wait to pass it on to the next city. Our God's presence can be a thing of terror.

These facts may help us understand the events in 2 Samuel 6. David has just been made king by all of Israel. It took over 7 years, but now the promise of God for David to be shepherd of Israel has come to pass.

Now, in a wise act David seeks to bring the Ark into the City of David. By this David is saying that God's presence is central to his being blessed as a king, and to the people being blessed as well. But along the way, something tragic occurs. One of the men, Uzzah, who is bringing the Ark up to the City of David, extends his hand to settle the Ark, and for this he is taken out by God. Here again is the message that the presence of God though potentially a blessing to His people, can also be a thing of terror. There needs to be much respect for the presence of God Almighty.

That respect was lacking during the days of Eli. When Israel was confronted by the Philistines and things weren't going well, they decided to bring the Ark up, hoping that the presence of the Ark would turn the tide of the war. But it was not to be, for treating the presence of God as a rabbit's foot to get what one wants is never a respectful way to treat the divine presence. In fact, we ought to think about the presence of God not as something that can get us what we want (ie: blessing, etc,...), but rather as something that enables us to be and do all that the Lord desires for us.

In our day, the people of God no longer carry around an Ark to symbolize God's presence. Something far more amazing has happened! God's presence now dwells in human hearts through the Spirit. That fact, ought fill us with reverence - the Holy One of Israel dwells in our hearts. Oh, how we must want to carry that presence carefully.

We should also realize that that presence, though a great blessing to us, is not first designed to "get us what we want". It is first designed to enable us to live according to God's will. In a sense we coudl say it is designed to get God what "He wants" - ultimately His glory.

Fellow Christian, we are enormously blessed in our day. As those who have placed our trust in Christ, we are indwelt by the very presence of God. We need to let this sobering reality sink in to our hearts. But not only that - we must realize that that presence is an enabling presence that will give us the power to live in such a way that brings God's blessing to the nations, and thereby extends His glory. When we live in this way we will find in the end that we are as well most blessed.