1 Samuel 6:19 Great Blow!

”And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.“

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

a. Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD: The ark of the covenant was only to be touched and handled by specific Levites from the family of Kohath, and even they were commanded to not touch the ark itself (Numbers 4:15). The men of Beth Shemesh sinned by not only touching the ark, but also looking into it inappropriately.

i. We again notice God dealt with the Israelites more strictly than He dealt with the Philistines, who just transported the ark by a cart. God did this because the Israelites, who had His law, should have and did know better. It is sad to consider that the Philistines showed more honor to the holiness of God than the Israelites.

b. Because they had looked into the ark of the LORD: Because of the honor and glory of God there are things which He chooses to keep hidden, and it is wrong for men to pry into these secrets of God.

i. Isaiah 55:8-9 shows this thought: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” We need to respect the fact that God is God and we are not, and there are some things we just will not, and should not, know.

c. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people: The manuscript evidence is pretty clear that the number recorded originally in the text was seventy, not fifty thousand and seventy. Seventy men dead in such an incident is still a great slaughter.

i. Basically, the Hebrew grammar can mean that out of fifty thousand men, God struck seventy of them. “We cannot come to any other conclusion than that the number 50,000 is neither correct nor genuine, but a gloss [marginal note] which has crept into the text through some oversight.” (Keil and Delitzsch)

(Guzik)

Great Blow

We have a loving God!

”The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.“

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

But there will come a day when He says enough and will deal with the ungodly with a great blow!

How will you be dealt with?

Blessings