I Samuel 6:19
“He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.”
This is a difficult passage to grasp. The Ark of the Covenant is returned from captivity. Some in the town treat it as an object of curiosity and peak within. Others partake join in for a look. This is not treating it with reverence. Thus many were struck down.
In our age of sensitivity, it seems heavy handed. Our culture would judge God for this. Many would be offended and use this as an excuse to dismiss God.
However, He is much too big for us to understand. Part of this we put in the category of mystery. The bigger point is that God is holy and seeks to relate to us on His terms. We need to respect that.
Jesus noticed that many were following Him for the food He provided and for the miracles. So, He began to talk about how He was the bread of life. The religious leaders were offended. He pushed the point even further and said, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves'”, (John 6:53). Many left Him. He turned to His disciples and asked if they would also leave. Peter said, “…Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life”, (John 6:68).
We might not like many things in the Bible, but we trust that God knows what He’s doing. We don’t criticize Him or the areas we don’t like. We trust Him. God nor the bible need to be scrutinized by our culture. It shifts and changes yearly. God stays the same.
He calls us to have the faith of a child. He’s given us enough understanding to believe. There will always be areas to question. Some are addicted to the pursuit of more questions. They don’t really want to find. Matthew 11:6, “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Lord, thank You that You can be trusted. Help us not obsess over our doubts.