God Struck the People

 When I was a child I received a very good spanking from my father one Sunday when I refused to go to the worship service, and instead I walked home. That was one of the worst mistakes I made in my life. Dad "whooped" me good and took me back to church. I never forgot that whipping, and it did me a lot of good. Sometimes, God has to strike us for our own good.

Israel fought against the Philistines. and they were defeated sounded. Thousands died, and the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines. God struck them with tumors, and they returned the ark. Then, God struck the men of Beth Shemesh in Israel because they looked into the ark. (I Samuel 6:19) The people lamented because over 50,000 people died. However, they learned a huge lesson that we all need to learn.

God is Lord. Whatever He says goes. He does not compromise on His laws and commands. When God makes a rule, He does it for our good. If we keep His laws and commands, He will bless us for our obedience, but of we break them, we will be punished. God doesn't hesitate to strike us, because He knows our human nature, our flesh.

God knows that we will try to get away with as much as possible, until we really learn this lesson. Then, once we know He is Lord, and He will act severely when necessary, we develop the fear of the Lord. That helps us do the right things and stay away from the wrong things for the rest of our lives. That fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom for us, so we listen to the Lord and do His will for our good. 

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 7-11.