Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 11-14
Meditation Verses: 13:11-14
Thought
David was angry with the Lord for striking Uzza dead, and he was also afraid of Him. They were doing a great thing, as far as David was concerned; they were bringing the Lord back to His people, and the people wanted Him back! Couldn't He overlook one little mistake? If the Lord was so holy that everything had to be perfect, how could someone like David or anyone be near to the Lord and live? So he dropped the ark off at Obed-edom's home. Over the course of three months, Obed-edom enjoyed such blessing from the Lord that it was obvious to all. Just by having the Lord in his house and under his watch, Obed-edom was blessed by the Lord. So David recognized that the Lord was gracious and eager to bless, but those who desired His blessing had to approach and honor Him according to His instruction. He is a holy God and does not overlook even the smallest of wrong-doings. But He is also a gracious God who gladly blesses those who honor His desire and will. And the blessing is immediately recognizable.
Application
God doesn't overlook any sin or mistake in approaching Him. He is so much more holy than we can fully appreciate. We aren't free to approach Him however we desire. He will not receive us if we do not come to Him as He directs and treat Him as holy. We should both be afraid to bring Him near and eager to bring Him near. Afraid because He is so holy and He expects us to treat Him as holy by doing things His way. Eager because He delights to bless those who honor Him, and honoring Him is not really all that difficult. He hasn't hidden His desire so that I have to guess what pleases Him; He's revealed it and made it plain so that all I have to do is read and obey it! It's not hard to please Him, but I have to take time to see what He wants and put in the effort to do things His way.