Good Morning.
When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles. (Numbers 4:5-6)
How we are to handle the things of God, i.e. holy things, is very important. In this case we see that, before the Kohathites were allowed to transport the ark, it had to be covered by Aaron. This meant that, though they transported it, they were not allowed to touch it or gaze upon it. By the time it was entrusted to them, it was covered by the veil with staves inserted into the rings that were affixed to the corners. This detail not only accentuates the sanctity of these things but alludes to the preparations that had to be made to insure the Kohathites did not die. Remember, touching the Ark is how Uzzah met his demise.
So again how we treat the things of God — those things that are holy — is very important. When Belshazzar took the holy vessels taken from the Temple by his father, Nebuchadnezzar, and drank wine from them as he praised the gods of Babylon, he desecrated the things of God. The result was a mysterious hand spelling out his destruction with the words, “Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsin.” That which is holy should never be treated with disrespect or flippant behavior but with reverence and Godly fear.
I would argue that this is especially important when it comes to how we treat His Word. By that I mean, we should never regard His Word as something that can be mishandled or used for reasons other than advancing His Kingdom. Regrettably, throughout the centuries, men have twisted and contorted the Word of God to advance their own personal agendas and goals and, consequently, misled many and entangled them in man-made theological bondage. In my view, this is the epitome of mingling the holy with the profane.
Therefore, how we embrace His Word and how we present His message to others is very important. In fact, one day we will have to give an account of how we managed that which He entrusted to us. So then, let’s remember that “no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” but the Word is given by God for a holy purpose. It is our responsibility to be diligent and be workers who do not “need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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