Who Can Stand in the Presence of the Lord?

1 Samuel
Chapter 5-6

The Christmas season has begun. Malls have added trees and Santas, stores have created new holiday sales, and churches have began to preach about baby Jesus. This is a special time of year for family, friends, and loved ones. It is within this atmosphere that I read today about the incredible holiness of God in 1 Samuel. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, I am essentially reading the section when the Philistines ponder what to do with the ark of the Lord. They have their suspicions that God is plaguing their cities and killing their people because they have unlawfully brought the ark into their presence.

So they put this theory to the test by strapping two cows on the ark and seeing whether it will go to Beth Shemesh (the nearest territory in Israel) or anywhere else. The ark finds it way to Beth Shemesh. The inhabitants begin to rejoice and praise the Lord. The Levites set the ark of God down and offer burnt offerings and sacrifices.

However, God strikes down “some” of the inhabitants who looked into the ark of the Lord. The Bible makes no mention of the manner in which they looked inside. I can imagine many of them were curious in what they would see. Perhaps they expected to see the face of God. They wanted proof of his existence. They wanted evidence that God was really there. Are these harmful or evil motivations or intentions? Probably not. But they forgot the words in Exodus 33:20 when God said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” “네가 내 얼굴을 보지 못하리니 나를 보고 살 자가 없음이니라.”

In the wrong light, God may seem unfair or unjust. Perhaps God can even seem to be evil. So I began to wonder what God is communicating to His people with this heartbreaking action. Why would a loving God wipe out the people who perhaps had good motivations to get to know their God? Is this an example of the “bipolar God” we find when reading the Old and New Testament characteristics of God? No, there is no such God in the Bible. He is a God of love that fallen humanity fails to understand.

The inhabitants of Beth Shemesh are disturbed. They ask a key question amongst each other and to God. “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?” “이 거룩하신 하나님 여호와 앞에 누가 능히 서리요.” The rhetorical question ponders the same questions that I begin to ask. The answer is obvious. No one can stand in the presence of the Lord. God's holiness and supremeness excludes this possibility. However, is God only communicating His perfection to fallen humanity? Is He showing that He is “too cool” to be in their presence? No, God is showing the manner in which He communicates to this world. It is never on our own terms, but on the terms that God has already established. That is why humility plays a big part in experiencing God's mercy. When you humble yourself to the commands of God, you follow the terms that God has established. You admit that your ways and methods are fallible and trust in God's infallible message.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Lots. First of all, God has humbled himself as a child and taken the form of a human. Not only has He been born as a powerless baby, but He has displayed Himself to all mankind. The celebration of Christmas must focus on this glorious event. God became flesh. God took the punishment of our flesh. Thus, God delivers us from our flesh and provides a new resurrected “flesh”. This Christmas season, I hope we can appreciate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.