Respect

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

RESPECT

1 Sam 5:6-12

6 The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors.   7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?" They answered, "Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. 9 But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.   10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people." 11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy upon it. 12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

NIV

This is how it shall be if you disrespect the LORD, the God of Israel, who established this ark of God for the people of Israel. However, because the Philistines worship other gods, idols made by their own hands, when they captured this ark of the Israelites' God, they did not give the ark or God the due respect he should have, so he inflicted the people of Ashdod and its vicinity with tumors. The Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate read as He inflected them with tumors, and rats appeared in their land, and death and destruction were throughout the city. The same thing happened to Gath and Ekron after they moved the ark of God to each of those cities. It was so devastating that they wanted the ark of God to return to Israel. Disrespecting the Lord can bring destruction upon people and we see that throughout our current culture. People of the world have made so many things their god, unless they come to their senses and return to their creator, they are doomed to destruction. Some disrespect him so much that they developed an alternate beginning of the universe and life, one of their own desire to fit their own narrative, so they need no authority in their lives. Their hearts are bent toward evil all the time. We can understand why they think and act like that, and although we should be concerned about their destruction, we also should ponder whether we in the household of faith show any disrespect to our God. We know when we visit some of the great Basilicas throughout Europe, we enter with a reverence of silence, perhaps a whisper of awe at the greatness of it, but we also see it as a place built to worship the Lord God Almighty, with all the respect that is due him. There are some of the older catholic churches in this country that have that same sense of those old Basilicas, and the people enter in silence with reverence, and even in their more modern sanctuaries, it is the same. However, in many of our evangelical and fundamental churches, we may have lost that awe and respect for God. We enter our sanctuaries with visiting with each other, even some laughter and loudness. It may be true, it is just a building where we meet together to sing a few songs about God, and hear a message from the scriptures, but are we really being respectful to the almighty God who formed us from the dust and breathed life into us, and who came to die for us, so that we would not experience destruction, but have everlasting life, when we come into his house to gather in his name and worship him? Do we really believe this sanctuary we come into is holy ground that we are standing on? Do we truly believe that surely the presence of the Lord is in this place? Do we honestly believe we bring the sacrifice of praise within the sanctuary of God? Jesus called the temple a house of prayer when he cast out the merchants, those who made it a den of robbers. Maybe we should be entering our sanctuary with more respect for our God. It may be fine to greet one another in quietness, then maybe we should reflect in prayer before our worship begins. Just a thought to ponder about respect.