The God of Scripture Is A Precise God: the details DO matter

As a brother from our church said, who was also accused of  being too worried about "the details" in relation to theology and practice, "I serve a God that is a precise God". I think he got it from a Puritan. But that's for sure right? Just reading 1Sam.4-6  you can see the use the Ark of the Covenant as a superstitious charm to win a battle. Both the Philistines and Israelites treated the Ark that way--as unholy, trivial...and that it didn't matter how it was handled. In fact, look at this:

1Sa 6:1 Now the ark of the LORD had been in the country of the Philistines seven months.2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we shall send it to its place."

1Sa 6:14 The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

1Sa 6:15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the LORD. .....19 He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.

Then David comes along and has two men push the cart that held the Ark, it starts to tip over and fall, and the two men touch the Ark having to save it from falling to the ground and God strikes them dead right there, causing David to get angry (he then repents). God had already commanded HOW to handle the Ark--on poles--they were not to touch it. They used the pagan way of a cart, which ended in disaster.

Jer 7:8  "Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 

Jer 7:9  "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 

Jer 7:10  then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'--that you may do all these abominations? 

Jer 7:11  "Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD. 

Jer 7:12  "But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 

God is exacting God. He is a precise God. He does not ignore the mix of pagan practices with worship and say "Well they had good intentions. Good intentions don't remove disobedience to His Word. The Levites KNEW the way to worship and ignored it. It was pragmatism how they dealt with the Ark of the Covenant.

Same thing goes on today; pragmatism with regard to worship and coming before Him. Whatever works. Borrow from the world. God doesn't mind. Oh yes He does mind. That's why we need to be separate and distinct from the world and trust God and His ways (His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts). God minds our sin. He does not ignore it. All that is in Scripture--every jot and tittle, is of significance because God authored it. That is what makes it all important. All details from technical (jot and tittle) to content is God-breathed and thus important because "God Hath Said".

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

This notion of being "too nit-picky" is a worldly, unholy, and trivial way to consider God and Scripture  Such folks have little reverence for the Scripture and the God of that Scripture and think like this:

Psa 50:19 "You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

I think so many professing Christians think that just because they don't see God that He doesn't see them. The problem is that God is an all-seeing, all-present God. He sees every thought and intention, every motive, every act of every person.

They consider God to be their Helper but not their Master; their BFF, not their High and Lifted Up King of all Kings and Lord of all lords. We truly do not know with Whom we trifle!