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| Obed-Edom |
What would happen if God lived in the guest room of my house? Would I have to make allowances for him or would he even be welcome at all?
"The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had." 1 Chronicles 13:14. NIV. *
WHY WAS THE ARK AT THE HOUSE OF OBED-EDOM?
The ark was supposed to be carried by the Levites but they put it on a cart instead. The oxen stumbled and a man reached out his hand to keep the ark from falling. Since the ark was holy God struck the man dead, and in fear the people of Israel took the ark to the house of Obed-Edom.
The point in this verse is clear. Obed-Edom received the ark and while it was with him the Lord blessed him. We do not have the ark today, but instead...
* We have the Holy Spirit,
* We have the promises of the Lord to be with us,
* We have the Father holding us in His hand.
You might say we have something better than the Ark!
RECEIVED
Obed-Edom received the ark; it was a decision. He could have said "No, that is dangerous. I don't want it around my kids." Instead, he received the representation of the Lord and he was blessed.
The ark remained, with them. In the same way, we must allow Gods spirit to be welcome, maybe we have pushed him out the window while we do a little "sin." or we say to God, "You can live in my house on these days but on others, you stay in the garage," Or we say," You can come in but I keep the keys." Such attitudes are not allowing God to be welcome.
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| 1 Chronicles 13:14 |
FAMILY
The ark was with the "family of Obed-Edom." We need to make the Lord part of our family. Serving God was a family affair for Obed-Edom. It wasn't just Dad's priest job. We should remind family members that God is with us and to behave in a respectful way.
A DOUBLE BLESSING
The blessing was double, it was "his household and everything he had." Who would not want God's double blessing? Obed-edom had it easy, he only needed to allow the ark into his family's home and make sure no one used it for a coffee table. We have God's Spirit living in us; a living relationship that needs attention, respect, communion, and basically a lot of work. If Obed-edom was doubly blessed in that distant time, how much more will God Bless us if we allow Him to come all the way in and stay unconditionally?
* To read other translations of this verse follow this link: 1 chronicles 13:14.
© Adron 11/19/12
