1 Samuel 6: 20 "...and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, 'Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?'"
The Philistines had beat up on the Israelites and captured the ark of the covenant. In each Philistine city the ark was kept, God sent a plague of tumors on the people and killed many of them. Having enough with that, the Philistines sent the ark back to a town called Beth Shemesh. In Beth Shemesh, a few folks got a bit curious, looked inside the ark, and died.
It seems the ark of the covenant, the very essence and presence of God, was a death trap! The men of Beth Shemesh even asked in verse 20, "who can stand in the presence of the Lord?" I don't totally understand what this was all about back then, but I know today we can stand in the presence of God thanks to Jesus. Jesus is our high priest and on the cross demolished everything that separates us from the love of God. I can be confident today knowing I am in a right relationship with God.
Dear Jesus, thank you for your redeeming work on the cross. Amen.
