1 Samuel chapter 6 details the return of the ark of the Lord to Israel. The chapter reminds me of how mankind foolishly tries to attain some level of holiness through good behavior in order to ‘buy off’ God. Every futile attempt to attain holiness through our good works falls short, confirming Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God“. The Philistines, after suffering months of painful results from their rebellion, ask the question of the ages, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord?” Remember the ark was the very place where the Lord Himself made His presence known to man, a forerunner to the coming Messiah. The Philistine holy men advise, “Do not send it away empty, but by all means send a guilt offering… Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country“. Even when made out of gold, models of rats and tumors seem like a ridiculous way to “pay honor to Israel’s God“. Yet what do we offer to God today when we feel guilty? Our donations and charitable deeds are equally foolish as a way to buy favor with God. The prophet Isaiah said our very best efforts to do “righteous deeds are as filthy rags” compared to God’s righteousness (Isaiah 64:6).
The Philistines sent the ark of God back to Israel on a cart pulled by cows along with their gold guilt offering. The Israelites in Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley when they looked up and saw the ark come to rest in the field of Joshua. “The people chopped up the wood from the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord“. Remember the burnt offering was for atonement for sin and was performed first. The priests were to “burn all of it on the altar“, symbolizing our need to give our whole life to God. We cannot have intimacy with God until the debt of our sins is paid. Remember, according to Leviticus chapter 3, the fellowship offering came ONLY AFTER the burnt offering. In other words, nothing we ‘do for God’ has any worth until we deal with the sin that separates us.
Sadly, we also read, “God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh… because they had looked into the ark of the Lord“. We must never treat the righteousness of God as casual. God is completely holy and we are not. The Israelites ask, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this Holy God?” The good news for us today is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God“. All of the work necessary for reconciliation with God was completed on the cross of Christ. And more amazingly, we receive it by simply believing God’s Word. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith… it is a gift from God not by works that any man might boast” (Ephesians 2:8). We can’t buy it, we can’t earn it, all we can do is receive it as a gift that is given without restraint. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace that He lavished on us“. Hebrews 4:19 even says with Jesus as our Lord, “Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we might receive mercy“. Forget the guilt, trust Jesus.