Read the Instructions
It is not good enough to be sincere and to have good intentions, we must do things according to God’s Holy Word. Especially if we are to please Him and to receive His blessing on our lives and the lives of our loved ones.
How often do we purchase a new fridge, stove or some other appliance, and not read the instruction book which explains to us how to set it up? Then it doesn't work properly or simply burns out, all because we thought we knew how to operate it - but because of the lack of time, we took a shortcut and ruined the machine.
This is exactly what happened to King David. He meant well by wanting to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but failed to follow the exact procedure of transporting it as laid out clearly in God’s Holy Word - the Bible. 2 Samuel 6:6-7
First of all, the Lord stipulated that the Ark was to be carried on poles by the Priests. Secondly, no common person was to touch the Ark.
As a result, Uzzah, who tried to steady the Ark by holding it upright when it was about to fall off the cart, was instantly struck dead by God!
The Ark should never have been transported by an ox-cart in the first place, even though it was a brand new one. It wouldn’t have started falling and the man who tried to hold it would not have died - A good idea is not always a God idea.
We have got to start reading God’s Holy Word much more seriously and taking it literally, as it is written. If we do so diligently, we shall find that things in life are much more straightforward and easier to handle.
A few weeks ago after preaching a message in my home church on the farm, a young man and his father asked to speak to me.
When they came into the office I could see they were seriously disturbed and very emotional. They told me that they had a meeting the next night with one of the leaders of a mainline church they were attending. They asked me to pray for them for the courage to confront the Minister with a very serious issue. Their denomination was teaching the Bible students at university that they should not take the Bible word for word, but to rather just use it as a general guideline. Needless to say, I was horrified!
As soon as we fail to follow God’s specific instructions, as laid out in the Bible, we are inviting all kinds of chaos and disaster upon ourselves and our loved ones. Jesus says very clearly that heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will by no means pass away - Luke 21:33.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
In this day and age, where it appears that anything goes, like never before, we need to stand firmly on God’s written instructions if we want to avoid bringing pain and confusion to the people.
God Bless,
Angus and Jill Buchan.