1 Samuel 4 – Ark Captured
Israel
went to fight the Philistines, but the Philistines defeated Israel and killed
about 4,000. Israel didn’t understand
why this happened. They decided take the
Ark with them at the next battle in hopes by having it there they would win the
battle. Eli’s sons went with the Ark. When the Ark arrived in the Israelite camp
the people shouted and the ground shook.
The Philistines heard their shout, which made them afraid. This motivated them to be strong and to fight
harder. The Philistines and Israel
fought, but Israel was defeated. Israel
lost 30,000 soldiers. The Ark was
captured and Eli’s 2 sons died as God had promised.
When
Eli who was now 98 years old heard all this, he fell over backwards, broke his
neck and died. His daughter-in-law who
was pregnant heard the news, went into labor and died. She had a son and named him Ishabad and said “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has
been captured.” – 1 Sam. 4:22
Philistines
are people who worshiped the gods of Baal, Astarte, and Dagon. They were hostile people and often fought
with Israelites. Philistine comes from
the Philistines and includes modern-day Israel, Gaze, Lebanon and Syria. This is known as the Gaza Strip where there is still conflict today.
The Ark
was a wooden box that held God’s laws, the Ten Commandments. It was a symbol of the presence of God. The lid of the Ark was a mercy seat where
sacrifices were made. God gave it to
Israel because He chose them to be His people.
The Israelites thought if they brought it with them in battle, they would
defeat the enemy. Israel didn’t turn to
God for help, but wanted to fix it themselves so they brought the Ark as if it
were a type of mascot or good luck charm.
They found out that they could not manipulate God to get what they
wanted.
How do
you try to manipulate God?
Do you
manipulate Him by giving money, but not surrendering to Him?
Principle: God is in control and you cannot manipulate
Him into doing what you want.
1 Samuel 5-6 – Ark Returned
The
Philistines took the Ark of God to Ashdod, then to the temple of Dagon and set
the Ark beside Dagon. Dagon was a god worshipped
by the Philistines. The next morning
they found that Dagon had fallen on his face before the Ark of the Lord. They put Dagon back in his place and the next
morning they found that Dagon had fallen on his face and his head and hands had
broken off.
This was a clear that lifeless idols are powerless and the Lord is a Living God.
The Lord brought devastation upon the people and afflicted them with tumors. He could have destroyed them, but He wanted them to recognize His judgment and power. They decided that Ark could not stay here so they took it to Gath. After they moved it, the Lord afflicted the people of Gath with tumors. They sent the Ark away again. This time it was sent to Ekron, but the people of Ekron cried out that the Ark could not stay there. They decided to send the Ark back to its own place in Israel.
The Lord brought devastation upon the people and afflicted them with tumors. He could have destroyed them, but He wanted them to recognize His judgment and power. They decided that Ark could not stay here so they took it to Gath. After they moved it, the Lord afflicted the people of Gath with tumors. They sent the Ark away again. This time it was sent to Ekron, but the people of Ekron cried out that the Ark could not stay there. They decided to send the Ark back to its own place in Israel.
The Ark
had been with the Philistines for 7 months.
For 7 months the Philistines were punished with the presence of the Ark
of God. They looked at the Ark as a
prize of battle and didn’t give honor to God.
They worshipped other gods and were not willing to serve the real
God. They should have sent it home
sooner. Egypt’s plagues would have been
fewer if Pharaoh had let the people go sooner. Sinners lengthen out their own miseries by
refusing to repent of their sins.
They
saw the power of Israel’s God and now must be humble and give honor to
Him. They felt guilty so they sent a
guilt offering of 5 gold tumors and 5 gold rats along with the Ark. God didn’t need gold. He needed their hearts. They placed the Ark on a cart along with the
offerings and hitched cows to it. The
Philistines followed the cart. They
watched to see which way it went. If it
went straight toward its own territory and didn’t turn right or left, then they
would know that it was the Lord who brought disaster on them. If it did not, then they would know that it
was just happened by chance.
We do
the same kind of things today. We put
stipulations and meanings on things and events.
God wants Christians to be different and doesn’t want us to live our
lives according to norms and attitudes of society. He wants us to live according to His
Word. Society puts lots of pressures of
all people including Christians. We can
overcome these pressures by focusing on God and stay in His Word.
It was
harvest by tin Israel and as the people were working, they saw the Ark coming
down the road. They shouted and
rejoiced. God had not forgotten His
people and the Ark was the evidence. The
Levites carried the Ark to a large rock.
The people offered burnt offering and sacrifices to the Lord. The Philistines saw all this and returned to
Ekron.
Christians
today try to use God and His Word to get what they want. They pick and choose parts of the Bible that
suits them and their agendas. They only
go to God when they are in trouble or want something from Him.
The
people received the Ark with joy, but some men opened the sacred and looked
inside. That was a very unholy thing to
do. They should have known better. The result was that many of them died. God holds His people accountable. Relationship with God is on His standards and
on His terms and that’s through Jesus Christ.
Finally the people understood that God is holy and they must respect
Him.
Principle: A relationship with God is based on His holy
standards not ours.
1 Samuel 7 – Israel Repents
They
took the Ark to Abinadab’s house and consecrated Eleazor his son to guard
it. The Ark remained there for 20 years
and all the people sought after the Lord.
They went to Samuel and asked how they could serve God. Samuel told them they must serve the real
God and not their false gods. They must
trust God alone to save them from their enemies. The people followed Samuel’s advice. They confessed and repented. They began to depend on God alone.
The
Israel gathered at Mizpah for prayer, but when the Philistines heard they came
to attack them. The Israelites were
afraid and when to Samuel and asked him to continue praying for them. Samuel offered sacrifices and prayed on their
behalf. There was a loud thunder which
was God at work. Israel won the battle,
but really it was God who won on their behalf.
Samuel
wanted the people to remember what God had done for them so he made a monument
using a large stone to remind them of a past event. The monument was called Ebenezer which means
stone of help. Many churches today have
chosen the name Ebenezer.
There
are 3 steps to true repentance - being truly sorry, naming your sins, then turning
from your sin.
Principle: True repentance restores our fellowship with
God.
1 Samuel 8 – Israel Demands King
Samuel
became the leader not as a king or ruler, but as its judge. He continued to pray for the people. God was Israel’s true king. Samuel was the last person who led Israel as
its judge. He tried to appoint his sons
but they were dishonest. They accepted
bribes and prevented justice. The elders
of Israel were unhappy with Samuel’s sons and gathered to ask Samuel to give
them a king to lead. They wanted to be
like other nations who had kings. This
displeased him because of their hearts and motives. He wanted the people to respect God as their
king. So he prayed to the Lord as to
what he should do.
The
Lord told Samuel to listen to the people and that it wasn’t Samuel they were
rejecting but God. God told Samuel to
warn the people. They needed to
understand how a powerful king would behave.
They need to know just how a king would use his authority and how they
would suffer because of their decision in wanting a king. It was their decision and God would permit
them to have a king.
The
people acted foolishly and would not listen.
They wanted a powerful king who would defeat all their enemies so they
would have peace and security. They
didn’t think about the problems they would have only the benefits. They had convinced themselves that this was an
excellent idea.
When we
reject God is life, we become slaves to little gods. When we ignore God’s rule and authority, we
will suffer the consequences. We are not
to be like the world. We are to be
different, because God has set us apart.
We should have different views, morals and standards.
Sensible
people think carefully about any problems that may occur, but wise people learn
from the words of others. Fools refuse
to listen to advice. God gave clear
instructions to Samuel. He should appoint
a king to rule Israel because that’s what the people wanted.
When
have you not listened to wise advice?
What
were the results?
Principle: Rejection of God’s rule brings consequences.
Next week we will continue our study in 1 Samuel. See you here.
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