3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. ~ Psalms 24:3-4
David, a man after God’s own heart, posed a question that we no longer ask today. Who can enter into the presence of the LORD? In fact, we no longer even consider this a valid question anymore because this is now seen as an offensive, hateful, and discriminatory question. But why? Could it be that we’ve become too familiar with God?
Here’s what I’m getting at, yes, God is our friend, our brother, our father, our betrothed, but He is still God. We’ve lost respect for the King of the Universe. The creator of everything. David starts this Psalm by declaring how great God is by saying,
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Psalms 24:1-2
The earth, and everything in it, was created by the LORD and still belongs to the LORD. Yet we think that we can enter into the presence of the LORD God Himself anyway we want. And if anyone dares to question that idea, we’re up in arms and offended. Why? Because we’ve lowered the greatness of God and elevated the greatness of ourselves. We have greater respect for earthly kings and rulers than the God of the universe. We revere mere men more than we do the Living God.
Imagine walking into Buckingham Palace covered in filth and rags demanding to speak with the Queen. Or walking into the White House, regardless of who’s in office, and demanding to speak with the President. We’ve become too familiar with God. Solomon introduces the book of Proverbs by explaining the importance of wisdom and knowledge, which are the foundational blocks of our relationship with God. Without the knowledge of God, we can’t accept Him. Without the instruction and wisdom of God, we cannot follow Him. After this, Solomon shares the foundation of knowledge.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
We no longer fear the LORD; we’ve become fools despising wisdom and instruction all for the sake of our own selfishness. All because we desire our own version of truth that leads to our own version of temporary happiness. Here and now, we live our lives however we please because when we sin, God doesn’t send His warring angels to crash through the sky and strike us down where we stand. No. That doesn’t happen because we live in a time of grace and a time of forgiveness. We’ve gotten so caught up in grace and forgiveness that we’ve forgotten reverence and fear.
LORD God, help us to fear You. Help us to revere You as the LORD of the universe. You are our friend, brother, and father, yet You are still our God. Never let us forget that. Help us to love wisdom and instruction. Give us the Spirit of Discernment that we might know You and the things of You. Help us to love You with more than just our empty words. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Similar Content
