Surprised

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 6 (day three)

The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.”

There is compelling scholarship suggesting that Obed-Edom was actually a Philistine—his byname “the Gittite” perhaps deriving from the name of the Philistine town of Gath. What if God is close to and has quite a vibrant life with the people you have concluded don’t know about, think about, or care about God the way you do? The old joke is that Baptists and Church of Christ folks will be surprised to find each other in heaven. If anything, God’s astonishing accessibility to people can, if we will let it, lead us to preach repentance like Jesus did when he proclaimed that the kingdom of God is near.

Author: Bryan Richardson

Bryan Richardson is the Associate Pastor for Counseling and Pastoral Ministries at FBCSA.

2 thoughts on “Surprised”

  1. Amen! “What if God is close to and has quite a vibrant life with the people you have concluded don’t know about, think about, or care about God the way you do?”

    Insightful and thought provoking . . . “What if”?
    Humility is the mountain we must climb to become like Jesus.

  2. It is hard to imagine what would be like for everyone in Obed’s house to carry out their daily activities or routines. Our daily routines would be disrupted even with a short visit from a visitor for sure but what would be like if the visitor is God with a 3-month stay in our house. It is disruptive for sure!

    One thing we learned is that those three months with God’s presence changed the life of everyone in Obed’s house. Their lives were transformed forever!! It is evident that when the presence of the Lord is in a house, the blessing of God is abundant.

    This would encourage us to make a place for Him in our house. I am convinced that there will be a transformation of our hearts and lives whenever God is present and is with us! I am not surprised to know that God is and has been a transformative leader!

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