I love the Old Testament story of Obed-Edom. King David and his men were bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem to stay. One of David's men grabbed the Ark because the oxen carrying it had stumbled, which was forbidden, and he died there. In David's fear and anger, he took the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom instead of taking it down to Jerusalem.
"And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that he had."
1 Chronicles 13:14
I often think about the Ark actually sitting in the home of Obed-Edom. You can bet that they did not just store it in the garage or the shed out back. This represented the very presence of God to His people. It, no doubt, became the centerpiece of the home, being placed in the center of the main room in the home. I can imagine that all furniture was removed from the room so that nothing would clutter the view of the Ark.
Imagine the mood of the home; what a holy atmosphere must have been created by the presence of the Ark. I can picture Obed-Edom's children passing by and pausing, becoming entranced by the sheer beauty of the Ark, laden in gold, and thinking about all the stories they had heard about this great and powerful God that had done great works for His people. Yet, even in the reverent awe of what was in their home, I bet Obed-Edom and his family laughed more and complained less. What a magical anticipation must have been present!
"And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that he had."
We all now have the opportunity to have something greater than the Ark in our home. The Ark was just a representation of God, and could be in only one place at one time. But now we have the promised Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ that dwells richly in our hearts. However, it seems that because of the availability of the love of God to ALL people, we have not been faithful stuards of this gift, and have dulled the reality of "God with us". Sometimes we have trouble keeping something sacred when it is available to all.
The story of Obed-Edom is a great picture of a family recognizing the presence of the Lord in their home, making room for Him, making Him the centerpiece of all that they have. In this Christmas season, my wife and I are praying about how to create this type of atmosphere for our family and 4-month old son, Sam. We love the magical feeling that surrounds the story of Santa Clause coming to bless children for Christmas. But we want to create the same atmosphere, or much greater, for Jesus.
We aren't sure what we'll do yet, but we have agreed that Sam will feed off of our own excitement for the season. John Piper and his ministry, Desiring God, have an Advent ebook that I've been reading. On day 1 it says, "Bend the efforts of your imagination to make the wonder of the King’s arrival visible for the children." It is our own excitement in the stories that we tell about Santa Clause that creates this excitement for our children. The good news is that we do not have to make up anything about Jesus Christ, but only put our mind, spirit and Scripture to work to make His majesty known first in our own hearts so that it will be a convincing reality to us when we tell of Him to others.
I love the lyric in the famous Christmas carol, Joy to the World, that says "let every heart prepare Him room". That is our hope for our family; that we would intentionally prepare room for the King of kings to inhabit our home and our hearts.
Please comment on any ideas that you have that create the magical anticipation of Santa, but for Jesus during Christmas time. Thanks.
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