FBCWest 724 | Who Is Able to Stand Before the Lord
Recorded On: 08/09/2026
Bulletin
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalms 63:1 - 5
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Who Is Able to Stand Before the Lord?”
Sermon Notes
1 Samuel 6:1 & 2 Philistines ask how to get rid of the Ark
1 Samuel 6:3 They were told how to send it away
1 Samuel 6:4 – 9 They were also to prepare a guilt offering and how to send the Ark to where it belonged
1 Samuel 6:10 – 12 They did as instructed
1 Samuel 6:13 – 16 The Ark and the offerings arrived back to the people of Israel and the priests handled them
1 Samuel 6:17 & 18 Memorial stones were set
1 Samuel 6:19 – 21 The men there did not take the Lord seriously and looked inside the Ark and God struck them and a great number died. So they sent to have the Ark sent elsewhere
Hebrews 4:14 – 16 We can draw near to the throne with confidence because of Jesus
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Today we're going to take a look at a Bible passage where the Philistines have captured the ark deciding to return it, are trying to determine how to properly return the ark to its proper place. Unfortunately the Hebrews and receive the ark do not receive it correctly and God deals with them as result and so they ask a question that is even relevant today who can stand in the presence of the Lord a holy God. We're going to not only examine that question answered it as well. Look at this particular passage, where God's people tend to forget He's holy. And so if you have your Bibles and you should turn to 1 Samuel chapter 6 and we're going to be taking a look at that chapter.
And the background is is that the Hebrews that Israelites hoping to win a battle because they lost one took the ark of the covenant out and now they lost the battle worse than the first one they allowed the ark to be captured by things. The Philistines having kept the ark discovered that their idol not only bowed to it but was defeated by it by it said being cut off and sans being cut off and that they were plagued by plagues and I believe that I believe the plague that they suffered was the bubonic plague, that type of plague, you know, give an explanation in this message why that is and they decided that they need to get rid of it because God's hand was very heavy against them and now we've picked a decision but notice these you would think and it seems to be the history of the rebellion of a humankind mankind. Is it even when we know that there is a God rather than worshipping Him path and so the Philistines are very aware now that the God of the Hebrews is God but instead of repenting and seeking to follow that God they decide I know what we'll do we'll just remember since from us and so it says this now the ark of the Lord had been in the country the Philistines seven months so even though that they've been suffering this plague for a while sometimes it takes a while for people to finally do what they need to do.
Oh for the priests and the diviner saying what shall we do with the ark of the Lord tell us how we shall send it to its place so they're seeking counsel because one they want to get rid of it but they want to get rid of it in a correct fashion in a proper fashion so that God will relent in judgment of them so they want to do it properly so they don't want to just get rid of it but they want to get rid of it in such a way that God will no longer be angry with them and they said if you send away the ark of the God of the Israel do not send it but you shall surely return to him a guilt offering notice they're saying number one you need to make an offering to the Lord so don't send it empty handed so we're going to acknowledge that the God of Israel is God but notice that the offering offering their acknowledging they should have never taken it to begin with they should have defeated the Israelites but left the ark alone and so they've come to the knowledge and acknowledgement that they were guilty in what they had done and so they're going to present a to a squage that guilt by saying God we're acknowledge that we were guilty in what we did except this offering then you will be healed so they're saying we know that if you do this and you accept it and give this that the healing will come upon you and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you so in essence they're saying if we don't do this if we just send the offering we're going to continue with the play so we need to send the guilt offering because then God will judge us then they said what shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to him so they're going okay we accept that we need to give a guilt offering but what's the guilt offering what is it that we should be doing should we send a bunch of first should we send a a grain offering should what should we do and they said five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines for one plague was on all of you and all of your lords because you moved it around five times and there's five lords for each town in each lord here does do a golden tumor and a mice or a rat now notice
when the traigs were discussed it was the tumors and like I said there's one tre- translation they talked about hemorrhoids it wasn't him although the tumor to discuss is kind of in the growing area so the tumor in the growing area tells me one is the plague second it tells me because it didn't say there were and a bunch of mice or rats running around mice rats tend to have the fleas which tend to cause the balkanic plague so they're saying all of us done we had all these mice which didn't give us this plague we need to give an offering saying okay the results was we got tumors we got these mice that cause us to have the plague so we're going to acknowledge that that's what it was and so the guilt offering is a replica of the curses so that we might be healed so you shall make your tumors and the likeness of your mice that ravaged the land and you shall give glory to the god of Israel notice you're to present a guilt offering it's supposed to look like the problems that we're experiencing but are to give glory to the god of Israel every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess not only that Jesus is Lord to the glory of god the father so they're acknowledging that the offering is that enough we need to acknowledge that god is and that he deserves glory perhaps he will erase his hand I'm sorry he will ease his hand from you and your land now I know I'm a more modern person but obviously if there is a god the Lord god the god of heaven and earth and he defeats the gods that I'm worship I want to go with a winner and maybe I want to start worshipping the god of Israel because obviously he defeated our gods so either our gods are ineffective or they don't exist but they're still keeping up the that their god somehow should continue to receive some type of worship but they're acknowledging that god has checkmated them and that perhaps he will relent why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptian have hardened their hearts when he had severely dealt with them and they did not allow the people to go and they departed isn't it interesting years and years and years later after the people of Israel from Egypt people who don't serve god are aware of what god did in the past and it was just they have the harlot was aware of the god who delivered them out of Egypt and he seems to say we know our history and our history says these people god defeated the Egyptians and Egypt didn't get the hint and kept hardening their heart and wouldn't let the people go
but guess what they went anyway instead of being like the Egyptians let's be more reasonable and let them go return the art we don't want to be hardened like the Egyptians who ultimately lose all their firstborn in a number of other truth now therefore take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows now milk cow is a cow that's been bred specifically provide milk which is kind of unusual in the Middle East they have goats and provide milk they're not a lot of cows but the phillicine is apparently going you know milk and that's a good thing so they have so they're saying take milk cows because milk cows aren't used as beasts of burden they're used to produce milk so that will be for sure that they will be this first time that they will be hooked up to oxen and so on which there's never been a yolk because again a milk cow's purpose is not to pull a plow or a wagon it's to produce milk so that's a way we know that it's this is the first time it'll have done it and head to the cart and take their calves home away from them they don't want the mother cows to be concerned about their babies so separate them so that they don't start wondering for their babies they will do what they're supposed to do so they've got this plan out and take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put the articles of gold which you return to him as a guilt offering in a box by its side then send it away that it may go so that's the plan we're going to use milk cows we're going to do a brand new cart we're going to put the ark of the covenant on this cart we're going to take the offerings these five golden tumors and these five won't mine and we're going to put them in a box next to it and we're going to send it off watch it if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth Chimich interesting Beth Chimich means temple or house of the sun god israel this place by its name to another god then he has done us this great evil but if not then we shall know that it was not his hand that struck us it just happened to us by chance so saying things and these two cows had in the right direction and it ended up where they're supposed to go we'll know that god had a hand in all this and if it didn't it doesn't you know they wander off and do something other crazy
well it would it just happened that luck on our part didn't have anything to do with dog so it's kind of their their fleece they're they're setting out we'll know one way or the other if god has judged us then the men did so so that was the plan there's an okay we're going to follow the plan they took two milk hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home did they put the ark of the lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the likeness of their tumors and the cows took the straight way to the direction of Beth Chimich they went along the highway blowing as they went and they did not assert let's turn aside to the right or to the left and the lords of the philistines followed them to the border of Beth Chimich so they're saying they're watching this and they determine that it is god who has dealt them these plague because they're returning of the ark the returning of the guilt offering and the cows doing exactly what everything is supposed to do they acknowledge it's god let us how seriously they take god i want to give him glory to give him a guilt offering and they're returning what rightfully belongs not to them but to the children of god other side now the people of Beth Chimich were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and we're glad to see it it's been seven months now it's coming home it's coming back to where belongs in the territory that is controlled by Israel the ark was at chilo this is north of chilo but it's now in the borders of the of the land the cart came into the field of joshua the best Chimichite and stood there where there was a large stone and they split the and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord
so they they acknowledge and they're happy to see that god has caused the ark to be returned to them they placed it on a memorial stone if you will place it there and then they are for a burnt offering and which cost them anything because they use the cows that didn't use their own animals and they presented a burnt offering to the Lord acknowledging the gratitude of what's happened and the levi took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was in it in which there was the articles of gold and footstone and the two men of Beth Chimich and the men of Beth Chimich offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord so they're up to this point doing things acknowledging that the ark is returned and they're giving burnt offerings which is in essence think we acknowledge that we were wrong and that we're offering to God these things because we are grateful that the symbol of his presence is back with us and when the five lords of the village and saw it they returned to eckron that day satisfied israel is happy with receiving the ark god apparently is happy because all of these things have taken place according to their test and so they're going back home all as well as far as their concern these are the golden tumors which the for a guilt offering to the Lord one for ash dot one for gaza one for escalon and one for gath and one for eckron and the golden mice recorded in the number of all the cities of the villacanes belonging to the five lords both the fortified cities and the country villages large stone which they set the ark of the lord is a witness to this day in the field of joshua the best Chimich so they're saying just like when israel crossed over the jordan they set up stones to as a remembrance they said this day i'd return the ark to us and
when we see this we're going to remember this day i think that's a good idea a lot of times we will have some difficulty in life where we need god's help the race and he does it then the next time we're in having problems or whatever and we're concerned that we need god's help we're kind of concerned that will god help us maybe if we had not necessarily a stone but something that causes us to remember the gracious and faithful in the past we can go get i remember that or when our kids or others say why do you have that well let me tell you what god has done for me remembering what god does sometimes we have to become to faith yeah god bail me out yesterday but i forget about today some some stones of remembrance of or whatever to cause us to remember the power of god but there was a problem he struck around some of the men of beshamish because they had looked into the ark of the lord now there's some split a lot of rabbis thought that what the people did at beshamish but they opened up the ark and looked into it says that they looked into it others say no they didn't do that but they gazed upon the ark as if it weren't holy is an interesting relic and that they were you know fixated it on it but they didn't treat it as holy i'm not sure which one it is other than obviously they didn't treat the ark as being holy that it represented the of god the ark isn't god but it represented the presence of god it was to be in the holy of holies and the only time anyone was to see it was the high priest twice once a year to go in and offer the offering of atonement to it but it was to be in place and somehow it seems that these people were they looked inside or who gazed upon it did not treat it as holy and he struck down of all the people 50,070 men and the people mourned because
the lord has struck the slaughter now again there's argument and discussion whether it was actually 50,070 men and there's some argument that there was 70 plus whatever and that no way there could be that many people in this around and areas until told differently i'm going to assume it's 50,070 whatever the number of what i find particularly interesting since it's told us when israel lost the first battle to the billissteins they lost like 3000 lost the second battle to the billissteins when they lost the ark they lost like 30,000 god strikes down more people whatever the number is than the two battles that they fought god takes him holiness leap what a friend we have in jesus this true you don't want to be gods in him because he will tell you a worse than any other enemy the venom bestsha miss said who is able to stand before the lord gets holy this holy god an excellent question a question that is worth today again we don't like to think about god as being holy we think about him as being love and being love it means to be cuddly and all one foot fall and whatever and it's like he's my best buddy boyfriend jesus kind of thing he's holy when i say i saw the lord high and lifted up and the angels saying holy holy holy is the lord of host new he was a sinner when he saw holy god he goes and as an i'm a sinner and the people hang out with the people of god or sinners i am undone oh that fallen short of the glory of god but what happens next in angel comes and touches his lips from the altar and it is stated your sins have been forgiven that you stand in the presence of the holy god not because you're holy not because you're righteous but because he makes us by his forgiveness of us and how does he forgive us and on the cross that jesus's death burial and resurrection if we believe that and we accept that and and follow him in our a disciple of his we now become worthy to stand and since that's how we can stand in the presence of a holy god but all too often you hear people who don't know god or even believe that there is a god who will say well if there is a god and i go up there then he phone him and say well i did more good things than bad things and you let me into your heaven
if that's your plan i'm going to tell you now you're going to remember this that was a bad plan because you just even Isaiah who I suspect was full year than you was unable to speak and needed his mouth since all you'll be able to say is for you judge is right and you'll bow the knee and confess and then god will send you wherever god decides to send you so they sent messengers for the jiram saying the philistines have brought back the ark of the lord come take come down and take it up to you notice they're doing exactly what the philistines did god wasn't happy with us move the ark somewhere else let them deal with it and that's kind of how we deal with god's holiness we just won't think about it we just won't go to church will we hear about god's love and his will just let somebody else deal with it and that's what they do rather than saying god we we repent we should have treated you holy we should have understand who you are and we confess our sins and we'll offer a no burnt offering in which this time we'll actually use our animals and seek for your forgiveness and we represent a guilt offering because we were wrong no let's send the ark somewhere else the people of the like the people who aren't of god but I want you to understand that you are because of Jesus not only entitled to stand before god in the holy s not the one on earth with the one in heaven
Hebrews chapter 4 verse 14 and through 16 says this therefore since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the son of god so he's telling Jesus is our high priest he let us hold fast our commitment let's hold on to it not a profession but a confession Jesus is the son of god I confess it because it's true you don't confess you don't confess to a crime you did in do have done it but that's not a confession but we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness but one has been tempted at all things as we are yet without sin we have a perfect high priest therefore let us draw near with on a grace let us draw near not a far off not intimidated by the fact that we are standing in the presence holy holy god but because of what he has done has made us holy and righteous there is now therefore no condemnation to those for in Christ Jesus so we can draw near with this to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy see this this statement is confirming we aren't there yet we ain't perfect we may be holding we may be simply ain't perfect so we still now need mercy and to find grace unmerited favor to help in time of me you see the scriptures that say near to god who is holy when you're perfect he says because of our high priest because of his sacrifice because of what he has done we can therefore have righteousness and holiness and to stand there with confidence who can stand in the presence of the holy god the answer is you and me when Jesus is our Lord and save them and all God's people said so um