To Encourage You

2 Samuel 6:11 “And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.”

There are many things about the Christian life that are almost too awesome to put into words.  Listen to this prayer of the apostle Paul as he asks God to open our eyes to such things: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:16-22).  

Notice the language he uses, words like “riches,” “glorious,” “immeasurable greatness,” and “the fullness of him who fills all in all.”  He’s using these words to describe the blessings that are the possession of each and every believer, but things that often take a lifetime to understand.  We are so oriented to the mundane as we live our lives in this imperfect world. We are so often beset with the problems and lowly responsibilities of maintaining our homes, cars, and other possessions that are prone to break and wear out. Day after day we have to take out the trash, brush our teeth, fix our meals, wash our clothes, help our kids, rush off to work, and everything else that consumes our time. It is in so doing that we can so easily fail to consider the majestic, the sublime, the things that describe the life of a Christian that we are so often distracted and too busy to see.  

In the passage above we have a picture of this in the account of the ark of the covenant as it was being brought by David to be placed in Jerusalem.  The ark of the covenant was a symbol that God had established as the focal point of His presence among his people.  It was his royal throne, if you will, upon the earth. It was a holy thing, a sublime thing. When it was in the tabernacle in Israel’s wilderness journeys, it was located in the “inner place behind the curtain” (Hebrews 6:19).  The cloud that was the overwhelming glory of God filled this most holy place (Exodus 40:34-35).  The ark was to be handled carefully with great reverence. Just before the account above, a man named Uzzah had touched the ark with his hand and was struck dead by the Lord for his presumption.  It was because of this that David was afraid to transport the ark any further, and thus it was placed in the home of Obed-edom for three months.  The result?  We are told that the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.  

So, what does this have you do with you and me?  Well, the New Testament reveals to us that the temple, the place that was to be the dwelling place of the presence of God, is a type of the body of each believer individually as well as the church as a whole. Paul asks us the rhetorical question, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).   He also tells us that “you are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).  As such, like the house and family of Obed-edom, our lives are a place where God’s incredible blessings dwell.  Our lives are a reflection of the ark’s mercy seat, for we have received God’s rich mercy through the blood of God’s Son as it was poured out for us on the cross.  It is because of this that we have been eternally forgiven for all our sins and God’s life, eternal life, fills our souls.  It is the gratitude that should fill us as a result of these incredible truths that should affect everyone our lives touch, be it those in our household, our church, our neighborhood, or anywhere else this “temple” goes. 

So, do you realize that if you are a believer, your body is a dwelling place of the very presence of God?  As you bend over the sink doing the dishes each day, do such thoughts ever come to your mind? Or are you stuck in the mundane? Are your eyes fixed only on the things of this world? If so, the God Who dwells within you would have you lift your eyes to see Him. You see, He is dwelling in your temple. His glory lives with you in your house. And He greatly desires to bless you and to bless others in and through your life.  His blessings are available for you everywhere you go and on everything you touch.  But do we comprehend this reality? Does it often come to mind?  If not, may God enlighten our eyes to such glorious truth, a treasure that is too immeasurable to ever fully put into words.