1 Chronicles 25-26 Keeping People OUT?

I found myself taking issue with something I read this morning, and I knew that couldn’t be good.  Gatekeepers had been chosen to stand guard at the gates of the Temple.  Their obvious function was to keep people out.  My issue was “WHY??”  Why keep people away from God?  After all, they thought He dwelled at the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

A little note in my commentary said, “Here we find the Korahites … their duty being to prevent the presumption of which their father was guilty (Numbers 16).”  I had to turn back to see what was going on.  I’d forgotten that Korah was part of a group who bucked Moses at one point, saying, “You have gone too far.  All the people are holy, every one of the, and the Lord is among them.  So why do you put yourselves above all the people of the Lord?”  They apparently thought little of Moses’ direct communication with God and wanted in on the leadership of the people.  The ground opened up and swallowed Korah and others!

So, amazingly, it seems that descendants of Korah had been appointed by God to guard the interior of the Temple, to keep people like their ancestor from presuming himself to be holy and entering where only those bidden by God could enter.  If nothing else, it amounted to defending people from themselves and their presumptions upon God’s grace.  I hadn’t seen that.  Those men guarding the entrances to the Temple weren’t any holier than any men who might seek to challenge them and gain entry.  They were sinners, too.  Their jobs were to prevent the harm possible when we presume upon God.

Father, thank You for reminding me this morning that, without Your grace, I’d have no hope, and for the reminder never to presume upon that grace, for though it is freely given, it was very costly for You.  Keep me humble and help me to cherish the very special privilege I have of praying to the God of the Universe and beyond.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford