DON'T LOOK INSIDE!!!!

"Don't look inside!" Indiana Jones yells this out to Marion Ravenwood, his fellow prisoner, when the Nazis open the Ark of the Covenant towards the end of Raider's Of The Lost Ark (the first and best Indiana Jones movie). When they open up the Ark, all of those who looked inside immediately die; which was everyone but Jones & Ravenwood. Indiana Jones had a reverence for God Almighty. He knew that the Ark of the Covenant was Holy and must be treated with the same respect, honor and even fear that was due to God.

The Ark of the Covenant was where God had said that He would be present among the Israelites. In a sense, to look into the Ark was to look at the face of the Most Holy & Almighty God. No one could ever stand in His holy presence (apart from Jesus and His holy sacrifice). In fact that is the question that is posed at the end of 1 Samuel 6, "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this Holy God?"

When we think about God, we think about a loving, welcoming, friendly God. But have you ever actually thought about God? How powerful He is? How mighty He is? I think we don't have enough reverence, and nor do we fear Him enough. Yes, God created us and loves us. But to think that God is soft is WAY OFF BASE. He has leveled cities, plagued nations, commanded nature and is even a master over death! He has protected people from lions, fires and great armies. Don't skip over this. Read the last couple sentences again and think about what they mean. This is God that we're talking about- GOD! He is so much more powerful than we can ever dream, and we are all at His mercy. Join us this Wednesday night as we read 1 Samuel 4-6, looking at how both the Israelites and the Philistines viewed God Almighty during that time, and how we should view God now.