In 1967 I had been a child of God for a short while. I had been raised an Episcopalian, but I had recently become a member of a Baptist church. And then like so many other sheep, I went off to the intellectual slaughter house called “university.” I took the standard courses for a first year student, including an English course. One of the requirements of that course was to research and write a major paper. I chose to examine the historical, archeological and Biblical evidences of Noah’s Ark. We were told that we could write on a subject of our own choosing, so long as its theme was approved, and mine was not. My second choice was more in accord with my planned major – “The effect of fire on the forests of Western North America.”
I spent hours in the university library reseaching my subject, and being exposed to all the logic and illogic on the subject. One article was by a liberal environmentalist who was caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place – or with his back to a rock cliff with a raging fire running in his direction. For years he didn’t want to hurt the pristine forest, so he advocating a ban on slicing of roads into the mountains. But roads are necessary not just for logging, hunting and recreation, but also for fighting fires. That lead to another problem for the man – did he really want to save the forest or let it burn? Years later, in the summer of 1988, the environmentalists supreme test exploded upon them when Yellowstone National Park became an conflagration. Popular opinion was that the Parks Dept should use every possible means to douse the flames. But more and more people on both sides of the environmental issue were urging officials to let the fires work out their own end – even if it meant burning every stick in the forest. Forest fires are the God-designed means of maintaining a healthy forest. They clear out underbrush, rid the forest of diseased trees and cut back on dangerous bugs. Fires actually help certain species of trees to germinate and sprout. Some forests die out when fires are not permitted to work their magic. Sure, forest fires first destroy good timber which could be logged and used in industry. They kill cute little wild creatures like wolves and grizzlies – deer and bunnies. They temporarily pollute streams, and blacken the skies for hundreds, even thousands, of miles. But then at the same time they spur the growth of new life – they regenerate the forest. Forest fires are both good and bad, depending on how you look at them.
There are a great many things in life – in our lives – which have or can have this same kind of double effect. And nothing more dramatically illustrates this than what we find in our scripture for this morning. The ark of God was the Jewish symbol of the presence of the Lord in the midst of His nation. It rested for the most part in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle, and inside the ark were several other symbols and memoirs of God’s dealings with Israel. There was the second copy of the law and Aaron’s almond rod which budded and flowered long after it had been made into a walking stick. For some time, inside the Ark was a bowl of manna collected during the days of the wilderness march. Covering the ark was the mercy seat, the place of propitiation and salvation. During the days of the exodus, when the ark set forward, the people were assured of the leadership and protection of God in their journeys. When the ark was carried into the midst of the Jordan River, the water ceased and the people walked over without even mud collecting on their feet. Sometimes the Ark of the Covenant was a blessing, but, obviously, sometimes it was a curse.
Israel fell a-whoring after the idols of the heathen and were subsequently punished through their enemies. Superstitiously, the ark was taken out of the Tabernacle and sent to the site of a battle with the Philistines. It was used as a magic charm to protect a nation that had forgotten her God – a golden rabbit’s foot. But God has no sympathies or support for magicians, talismans, and superstitious foolishness. He abhors the veneration of idols – even replicas of His saints and servants. Israel’s act of stupidity failed, and the ark was captured by enemy and taken to the temple of Dagon. Ironically, the Philistines treated the Ark with a little more respect than Israel had. Nevertheless the judgment of God fell upon those people as well. And out of a desire for self-preservation the ark was sent back to it’s rightful caretakers – Israel.
But the spiritual soap-opera was not ready to come to an end. The people of the Israelite border city of Bethshemesh were too bold and curious about the ark. Contrary to the explicit laws which Moses had passed on to them, they looked inside and disaster fell. So the Bethsemeshites sent the ark to Gibeah, into the house of Abinadab at Kirjath Jearim. And there it rested undisturbed for some time, until King David decided to bring it to Jerusalem.
And that brings the history of the ark up to the time of our scripture in II Samuel 6. Here we read of the death of Uzzah, who put his hand on the Ark of God. Having not done his homework, and not knowing what to do, David found the first place he could, and ordered that the Hope Chest of Israel should be placed in the house of Obededom the Gittite. For the next three months, the family of that man was greatly – miraculously – blessed by the Almighty.
There are exceptions, but one reason that the hand of the Lord sometimes brings presents and sometimes carries poison is due to the condition of the heart of people involved. God doesn’t rashly and indiscriminately slaughter people; He is absolutely just. It’s quite obvious that the same God who touched some lives for good, hit others with judgment. Generally speaking, the Philistines either hated or at least ignored Jehovah. Some Israelites had no respect for the Lord, while others loved and worshiped Him. Obededom the Levite, hated idolatry, and was neither irreverent, curious, nor presumptuous. He loved the Lord, respected the things of God, and offered the proper sacrifices, just as the law proscribed. In the light of these things, out of grace, God blessed that family unlike any in Israel in his day.
I think that if we look around, we can see that God still touches lives in same ways today. Our local Philistines may think that Jehovah is a part of Jewish and Christian imagination. Other professing “Christians” may tip their hats toward the Lord on Easter and Christmas, while cavorting in their sins the rest of the year. But the truth is that no one can avoid the Lord for any great length of time. Jehovah is the unavoidable God, even if He does appear to be locked up in the home of that Christian extremist Obededom.
Let’s think about the TWO-FOLD OPERATION of all God’s outward dealings with men.
I don’t put too much stock in accidents. The good fortune of Obededom was no more serendipity than the death of Uzzah was the effect of eating greasy hamburgers for twenty years. An accident is defined as something unexpected; something unintentional. But with God there can be no such thing as the unexpected; because the Lord is omniscient. And despite the theology of some people there is nothing unintentional about what the Lord does. Every event which touches your life is either caused by, or permitted by, Jehovah. And that means that every event has some purpose in it.
I look at my own life to prove the point well enough to satisfy me. There was a purpose when I was run over by a car when I was young. I believe that today I know what that purpose was. There was a design by God in my family’s move to Nebraska and then to Denver. There was a reason in the mind of God when I joined the school band rather than basketball. There was a purpose in my one year at Colorado State University. Although we can’t always understand events immediately – we can make sense of some of them. And many times we can look back and see the long-term progress of the plan of God.
We can go on to say that different events may be designed to produce one effect. Summer and winter, which are usually considered to be opposites, have same divine purpose – harvest. One force tends to pull earth toward the sun, while others to push us from the sun. Together they keep us in an orbit around the sun which, naturally speaking, guarantees life on earth. If either the speed of the earth’s revolutions was different, or the mass of the sun was different, there would be no life on earth. And similarly, sorrow and joy, make for healthy emotional nature and faith in God. Light and darkness, make for a healthy body and trust in the Lord. When the Lord grants and then withholds, together they nurture a healthy attitude and hope in God.
But often we see people receive similar things, and they respond by turning in different directions. Cactus thrives on strong sunlight, but that same sunlight kills and dries many others kinds of plants. Poverty beats, crushes and drives some people away from the spiritual side of their lives. But another person is steadied, hardened and motivated by the same kind of poverty. One man is destroyed in the collapse of his business while another is made more resolute. Wealth can kill one person, while another learns sacrifice, laying up treasure in Heaven. Sorrow hardens and embitters one: “God, if you been here, my brother would not have died.” And another person, when God kicks his crutches away, says, “It is the Lord, let him to do me as seemeth Him good.” Temptation comes and one man is destroyed by submitting to it, while another strengthened. The ark of God overthrew Dagon and killed Uzzah, but it was a blessing to Obededom.
What does that teach us? First, it means that we should look for the Lord in every event. “Which direction are you pushing me Lord? What is it that you want me to learn?” Enoch’s wife bore him a baby, and he turned to God for the rest of his life. Abraham and Job lost their homes in different ways, and they replied with reverence. Paul was forsaken by his friends and companions, so He turned to the Lord. David’s sons turned against him, and he grew closer to his Saviour. CAN “all things work together for good to them that love Him?” Not only can they, but they do – it is guaranteed to those who love Him. But that isn’t to say that we are wise enough to understand or see the “good.”
God’s dealing with us can touch us in different ways, but much depends on our relationship to the Lord.
We must also consider the two-fold aspects of GOD’S CHARACTER and presence.
We all understand the principles and properties of light – right? Contained in every natural beam of light are all the colors of the rainbow. The cover of my Bible is black, which indicates that it is reflecting little or no light; it is absorbing it all. But your Bible may be white, which indicates that it is reflecting nearly all the light which touches it. And those Bibles which blue are reflecting rays of the color spectrum that are blue. And some Bibles are maroon or purple. It’s all about how the light is being absorbed or reflected.
And so it is with the hearts and lives of the people of this planet. There is not one person in Post Falls, who is not being shined upon by the Lord. “Christ Jesus is the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Unfortunately, “He came unto his own, but for the most part, his own received Him not.”. Here is man steeped in atheistic education, refusing to admit there that God even exists. He’s like the proverbial ostrich, with His head in the sand. The god of this world (Satan) hath blinded his eyes to the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. Under the light and love of the same God, here is a woman whose only thoughts are earthly. She can only think along a horizontal plain: houses, bills, and the care of her children. She knows that there is a God, but she “glorifies Him not as God and changes the glory uncorruptible God” into corruptible images of her secular pursuits. And here is a man caught up in the guilt of sin – terrified by the thought of a divine Judge.
And finally, here is another who reads the Word of God, and has well-rounded picture of the Lord. He fears God, yet loves God, respects honors and worships Him. He’s not a better person by nature than any of the others. It’s just that the Lord has given him eyes to see the light of God that has been showered down upon him. Like Obededom, this man is cautious around the ark, while at the same time pleased to have it’s presence. It is the very same God in every case, but each person looks at Him differently.
The ark of the Lord may be welcomed or dreaded, as determined by the state of the person. The folk at Bethshemesh said to the people of Kirjath Jearim, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of God, come down and get it.” David at death Uzzah said, “How shall ark come to me?” But Obededom apparently said, “I’d be privileged to have the symbol of the presence of my God in my house.”
God is constantly examining hearts and blesses accordingly: What does He see in yours? Does He see that you love God – as a child born into His family? Does see a heart in accord with Him as best it can, constantly seeking to obey His will. Or does the Lord see fear and embarrassment because of rotten disobedience? Perhaps He even sees you standing there in a fictitious faith, and a make-believe Christianity.
Make sure that you reverence the ark of God as Obededom did – the source salvation and joy. And how was that? When presented to him, Obededom received the ark as a gift, by faith.
And this bring us to our last point, two-fold EFFECT of GOSPEL
I assume that every person in this auditorium heard the gospel sometime before this morning. By “the gospel” I mean, the account of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the gospel isn’t about the historical event – it is really about the good news behind the event. The first time that I heard the gospel preached as “the gospel,” I was sitting in a little Baptist church on the west side of Denver. You may have heard gospel as child or in middle life; you may have read it, or heard it on the radio. Some may heard it a hundred times or a thousand times, or only once.
Whatever the circumstances might been, no one can hear it and remain unaffected . Personally, I was horrified with a sense of guilt, and yet mysteriously drawn to it. Another may be humbled and filled with love for the one who bled and died on Calvary. And yet another may be angered that God would dare to infer he needed any salvation.
When the Word of the Lord is preached, every sinner is presented with a choice – Christ or any of a number of other things. If you accept the message of the Gospel and humbly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, it proves you to be a new creation in the Lord. If you reject that gospel, you are no more sinful than you ever were. But you have become just a bit more hardened in that sin. Your rejection of the gospel could put you into eternity bearing the wrath of God. The people of Israel faced God in the form of the ark, some responded wisely and properly and were blessed, while others responded in unbelief and sin, for which they died.
How does the presence of God affect you? Death and destruction or blessings? The key is found in Jesus Christ – “He that hath the Son hath Father.” “He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the son hath not life.”
Have you ever truly repented of your sins and by faith received the gift of Jehovah’s love?