2 Sam. 6-7
Holiness is not a negotiable thing. It is what it is, and it is pure. Part of the reason God gave many of the rules and laws that He gave to His people was for their protection, because God is holy and they were not. When God created Adam and Eve, they were without sin, so they were holy and God was able to dwell with them. But sin changed things. So in order for God to be able to dwell among His people, there had to be rules,. Because when Sin interacts with Holiness, Sin dies.
That is what happened in this passage in 2 Samuel 6, when Uzzah was struck down by God for reaching out to steady the ark. The ark was holy…Uzzah was not. It’s not that Uzzah’s intentions were bad for trying to steady the ark, it’s just what happens when Sin interacts with Holiness. Which is why God had rules in place for how the ark was to be moved. He had poles made for that very purpose, with rings built onto the ark, so that the ark could be carried without touching it. God designed it this way for the people’s protection. Those involved with moving the ark in this instance did not adhere to those rules, and Uzzah suffered the consequences.
Ps. 30
“O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit” (vs 3). David’s words are the song of every one of us who has believed on the name of Jesus Christ. Truly God has lifted us out of the pit of death and given us life everlasting!
John 1:29-51
John the Baptist was a prophet indeed, and he knew his mission. Somehow, he knew that he was the fulfillment of prophecy and that he was there to proclaim the coming of God’s Kingdom in Christ. And he says here that he did not even know of whom he was speaking until God revealed it to him at Jesus’ baptism. John and Jesus were cousins, but I wonder if they had ever met before this moment? This is so typical, though, of how God asks us to act with only part of the picture. Remember His command to Abram, to “get up and go…” with no “where” on that statement?. So John, like Abram, acted on faith, proclaiming that the kingdom of God was near without having confirmation of it. God asks us to do the same. I pray that I can obey with the confidence and enthusiasm of John!
One other little interesting note in this passage concerns Jesus’ words in John 1:51, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” In Genesis 28:12, Jacob stopped for the night on his way to Haran, when he was fleeing his brother Esau. Thhis was the first time he saw God. Verse 12 says that he was dreaming, “and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” And that is exactly what Jesus is – He is the ladder that connects earth to Heaven. He bridges the gap between us and God. This is what Jacob saw that night and this is what was fulfilled with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Pretty cool.