Splendor, Majesty, Strength, and Joy

All four are characteristics of our God as David points out in 1 Chr 16.27. I especially like strength and joy juxtaposed together because we do not normally associate the two. Strong people are not normally marked with joy, and joyful people are not normally renowned for their strength. Our God is both.

WYSIWYG

More politically incorrect behavior from the Lord in 1 Chronicles 13.9-12. I'm struck once again at how little the authors of Scripture (and therefore the Holy Spirit) care about our sensitivities. The ark is being transported incorrectly; it gets upset; Uzzah reaches out to steady it and is struck down because he was not supposed to touch the ark. The Chronicler specifically tells us that the Lord struck him down, thereby making the Lord look capricious and vindictive.

I take from this that the Lord is more concerned about his holiness than he is about how he looks to us; his holiness is more important. That is breathtaking to me. We, humans, before we read this passage do not take his holiness that strongly. Yes, the Lord is holy, but is it that important? We read this passage and see that it is; radically.

May we take from this story, that God is holy. He will not have his holiness impugned. Even at the cost of how he appears to us. His holiness is more important than that.