No Peeking!

Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. 1 Samuel 6:19

I read in the notes for this verse that another translation states that 70 men and 50 oxen were slaughtered that day. Certainly 50 oxen dying is more palatable to me than 50 thousand persons, but I hesitate to change the word of the Lord to make it easier for me to bear. The ark of the Lord carries with it a serious penalty when a peek inside brings death! But that isn't quite the point is it? The penalty came from disobedience of the law of Moses, and when the ark was set within the tabernacle, even to gaze upon it was to invite death. When we read of the deaths we tend to focus on the ark, but it was the disobedience of the law that brought the penalty.

That a large container covered in gold would invite a peek inside to the mortal flesh we understand. Would you or I be able to resist even today? Perhaps under the threat of that penalty, but we would feel the urge from curiosity if nothing else. The great work of the law of sin and death is that it highlights our need for a savior. That a holy object of the Lord should become a temptation to disobey Him shows the first birth and our need for a rebirth in Christ.

All our faith must be in Christ alone!

Bucky