The Shame of Shemesh
When God draws near to us, our tendency is to respond in fear, either with humility which leads to forgiveness or with pride which leads to the fear of failure. We either humbly seek forgiveness, or we fear the consequences of our sin being exposed. That one motivation of fear drives our actions one way or another.
The fear of shame and guilt after being exposed never stays neutral in God’s presence— shame drives us either towards God or away from God. If we are humble and focus on forgiveness, shame drives us toward God (Psalm 34:5). If we are proud and focus on our failure, shame drives us away from Him (James 4:6, 1Peter 5:5).
There’s a moment in Scripture where the fear of shame and failure drove an entire community away from God: the residents of Beth‑Shemesh rejoiced when the Ark of the Covenant arrived in their village. The Ark was believed to be the very presence of Yahweh, the God of all creation. So the residents of Beth Shemesh were happy to be the village who hosted the holy Ark. They could claim the presence of God in Shemesh. But they disrespected the law of God by taking a sneak peek into the Ark of the Covenant, something the Torah forbade (Numbers 4:20).
So, when God got too close and exposed that sin the Torah forbade, the fear of shame and guilt set into the hearts of the people of Beth-Shemesh. Instead of repenting and receiving mercy, they allowed their fear of failing-to-fulfill-the-law to win the day, and their fear drove them, in a slather of guilt, to collectively cry out, “Who can stand before the LORD, this holy God?” and they begged for the Ark to be taken away (1Sam. 6:19–20). Their joy of being in God’s presence quickly evaporated the moment their sin was exposed.
The residents of Beth‑Shemesh teach us something essential about our sinful human nature. In situations such as this, when God exposes our sin, the powerful influence of the fear of shame and guilt so dominates us it causes us to push God away entirely from us. We wrongly assume the solution to our shame and guilt is to remove God from the situation, to push Him away as if pushing Him away will relieve that guilt and shame. Whereas the truth is the solution to our shame and guilt is to push away the sin. And only God’s forgiveness can do that.
If we’re honest, we know well that feeling when God exposes our sin. There comes a turning point; We love God’s presence—until He gets too close. We want His comfort, but not His correction. We want His blessing, but not His bruising of our pride. When the Word of God “pierces us to the division of our soul and spirit and discerns our very thoughts and intentions of our heart” (Heb. 4:12), well, that’s when we say He’s too close; it’s time to go. We want to run from God and His Word, push Him aside and want nothing more to do with having our sins exposed. Unless…we are focused on forgiveness.
Scripture tells us that God “dwells… with the contrite and lowly in spirit” (Isa. 57:15) and promises that if we, “humble ourselves before the Lord, and draw near to Him in our fear, shame, and guilt, He will draw near to us, and He promises to lift us up” (James 4:8,10). God also says that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us…” (1John 1:9).
But when the fear of shame and guilt take over, our natural sinful response is to retreat from God instead of returning to Him. Adam and Eve hid among the trees when they heard God’s voice (Gen. 3:8). The Gerasenes begged Jesus to leave their region when His power exposed what they feared most (Mark 5:17). On the other hand, the tax collector who, in humility, beat his chest and confessed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” he was the one who went home justified (Luke 18:13–14). The pattern is consistent: humble fear with a focus on forgiveness opens the door for God’s grace and forgiveness, but the fear of the exposure of failures makes us run away from the very One who forgives.
A humble heart doesn’t argue with God’s verdict that, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s character” (Romans 3:23). It humbly accepts that verdict. We are sinners! A humble acceptant heart of that fact doesn’t negotiate. It doesn’t hide. It simply confesses and bows in respectful worship seeking forgiveness.
Think of David when confronted by Nathan. He didn’t blame, justify, or deflect. He confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13). No excuses. And God met that humility with mercy. Think of Isaiah. When he saw the Lord high and lifted up, he didn’t run—he confessed, “Woe is me! I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5). What was God’s response? God touched his lips with a cleansing fire. Think of Peter. When Jesus filled his nets, Peter fell at His knees and confessed, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). But Jesus didn’t depart—He drew closer and called him to be his disciple. Humility doesn’t push God away. Humility makes room for grace.
Humble confession should be the normal response to God exposing us to our own sin. We should be grateful to Him because it is an opportunity for Him to forgive. And there is nothing more that God wants to do than to forgive. Why? Because His forgiveness reveals His character. He loves and He forgives.
Every person faces a Beth‑Shemesh moment whether you currently believe in Jesus or not. God exposes something in us, and we must choose. Will we confess and bow like David? Or hide like Adam? Will we welcome forgiveness like the cleansing fire of Isaiah? Or beg God to leave us alone like the Gerasenes? A humble fear says, “Search me, O God” (Ps. 139:23). A fear of failure says, “Depart from me” (Mark 5:17).
Humility in failure draws God near to us. Fear in failure drives us far away from Him. And the difference between the two is not perfection—it’s posture, a posture of humility before God!
Therefore, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up” (1Peter 5:5). Forgiveness is that close every day and always!
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