I love the Old Testament because there are so many things about these stories that foretell about something greater to come. It was like God was giving clues and hints about what His ultimate plan was. I’m sure it was really hard to see and interpret for those in that time, but we get to look back and connect the dots. The readings this week were super cool to dive into.
Back in the time of King David, the Ark of the Covenant represented God’s presence. Even more, the Ark of the Covenant was God’s manifested presence on earth. God wanted his presence to be visible for His people to see. When they saw the ark, they essentially saw God’s presence. It may sound weird to us that God would want to live in a box and have that to represent His presence, but He was teaching very valuable lessons about who He was. And what He was going to do.
The presence of God is powerful. The presence of God changes people. The presence of God stirs up emotions and causes worship. The presence of God is a force to be reckoned with. God’s presence is also not something to be taken lightly. People died by just touching the ark. But God ultimately wanted His people to know that He desired for His presence to be among His people. God wanted people to know that He was not distant but very near. And He was willing to put His presence “in a box” for His people to know that He desired a relationship. What a humble and loving thing to do for the almighty powerful God of the universe!
This should start to sound familiar. This same God did the same thing for us. God chose to leave heaven and put himself in something earthly again. He decided to put Himself in a “human box” with all its limitations and deficiencies. For those who had the chance to see and interact with Jesus, at first glance they simply saw a human. There was nothing striking about his appearance, just a regular joe. But what was inside was something powerful, something that stirred up emotions and worship, something that caused people to either love (like David did) or hate (like David’s wife did) something that wasn't human. God humbled himself and took on human form just like God humbled Himself and put His presence in the ark. What kind of God is this?!
First, God’s presence was in a box called the Ark of the Covenant. Later He would dwell in a bigger box called the temple. Then God would dwell in human form in the person of Jesus. And now? God’s presence dwells not in walls made by man, but in our hearts in the form of the Holy Spirit. God’s presence is now in us. What an incomprehensible idea. To think that this great and powerful God would care to interact, love and be intimately involved with us lowly humans is a staggering and inspiring reality. This causes me to worship. Not out of fear, not out of obligation, but willingly and joyfully. This God is worthy of worship and praise. And like David, our hearts should be overwhelmed by His presence. The presence of God has the power to change people and we as God’s people get to be the presence of God to a world that desperately needs it. Wherever we go, we bring with us a power that has the potential to change the world by telling the wonderful things this God has done for us.
