1 Samuel 6:19-21 (NLT) But the Lord killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the Lord. And the people mourned greatly because of what the Lord had done. “Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?” So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them, “The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord. Come here and get it!”

The Israelites had lost the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines during a battle that they thought they would win. They thought that they would win because they had taken the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them. It was as if they thought that they could compel God to help them by making their own decision to carry it into battle without consulting with Him. The problem was that no one had a relationship with God because they were living sinful lives and worshipping other gods. It seemed as if they considered the Ark to be some type of good-luck charm. Of course, their plan didn't work, they lost the battle, Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed and the Ark was captured.

As soon as the Ark was taken into Philistine territory, trouble began for the Philistines. The Lord caused rats and deadly tumors to appear among the people of Ashdod, which was the first place they had taken the Ark. When that happened, the people of Ashdod sent the Ark to another town. The same thing happened there. They finally realized that they were suffering because God had brought judgement on them for taking the Ark, so they sent it back on a cart pulled by two cows that had just given birth. The cows went straight into Israeli territory and arrived at Beth-shemesh. The people of the town began to celebrate but then, they made a fatal mistake. Some of them had the temerity to not only touch the Ark, but also to look inside. Because of that, seventy men died that day. The people began to mourn but instead of admitting to their irreverence, they blamed God. "Who is able to stand in the presence of this Holy God," they cried, as if it was God's presence that was the problem and not their irreverence. Then they did something that was utterly foolish. They sent word for another town to come and take the Ark to keep it with them. In other words, they wanted the presence of God to leave them.

The Ark would up in Kiriath-jearim where it stayed for twenty years at the house of a man named Abinadab. As you can imagine, Abinadab and his family were blessed abundantly during that time. The people of Beth-shemesh lost an amazing opportunity to live with God's presence among them but they found His presence to be too constricting. They would rather continue in their behavior instead of repenting before the Lord and experiencing the awesome blessing of God with them.

Let's learn a lesson from this sinful town who lost the chance of a lifetime to be blessed by God's presence. God's presence is to be coveted, not rejected. Yes, having God's presence with you will change things...for the better. You won't be free to engage in sin and to do whatever you want to do. But that's how we get into major trouble in life. When we look for God's presence to move away from us, it's only for one reason: so that we can live how we want and do what we feel like doing. That leads to a very bad end. Don't ever ask God to leave you. Even though you may not verbally ask Him to leave, you may very well be asking Him to leave by living a life of sin and disobedience. Instead, look to be with Him and He will be because He is present where He is wanted and desired. There is joy in His presence and everything else that your soul truly longs for. Covet God's presence and you will enjoy the awesome results of having God with you always, just as He has promised!

Pastor Joey Vazquez