October 2, 2022 - The Ark of the Covenant
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Early on in this journey through 1 Samuel...
I had mentioned that we would approach these books in a SURVEY fashion.
That we wouldn’t walk verse by verse through the books - given their length.
TODAY - we’re going to break into a section of 1 Samuel that some scholars believe is almost - Out of place...
From chapter 4 - through chapter 6, we won’t hear a peep about Samuel...
And so to many - it seems a bit odd...
But I believe that context still stays in tact - even with this section in the book.
What we WILL hear about today - is the Ark of the Covenant.
and how it ties into what we’ve heard so far...
Today we’re actually going to cover several chapters of text...
And the main theme deals with the Ark of the Covenant.
What I’d like to do is what through some passages to give us an idea of the story....
Then we’ll circle back to pull out some eternal principles that will apply to us today...
If you recall what we’ve heard so far in this book...
We started by seeing the power of HOPE in God...
Elkanah and Hannah displaying faithfulness in their lives...
…through Obedience of the heart.
THAT moved into seeing the Tale of Two Families...
(Elkanah - obedience)
(The Sons of Eli - disobedience)
Well what did THAT lead to?
it lead to BLESSING & JUDGEMENT
Blessing for Elkanah
Judgment for Eli and his sons
We then saw how God works through humble dependence on Him...
Today - we see a continuation of the story...
God had told Samuel last week of His coming judgment on Eli and his sons...
What did He say?
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.
Se we see here that God has declared what He’s GOING to do...
Moving then into chapter 4, we read of - Israel going to battle against the Philistines...
Let’s get a big picture view of what took place and then we can swoop back around...
What happens?
2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
So Israel loses...
And the people of Israel are baffled by this...
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
So Israel brings the Ark to their CAMP...
Does it work?
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
Didn’t work!
Israel loses AGAIN - and Eli’s 2 sons are killed.
The Ark didn’t help them!
What happens?
The Philistines then TAKE the Ark
A man from the battle comes back and tells ELI that his two sons were killed - AND that the Ark was taken...
When Eli hears that the Ark was taken...
18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
Remember our sermon from 2 weeks ago?
Judgment was coming!
So the Ark was taken by the Philistines - and they begin taking it their different cities!
2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.
What was DAGON?
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped!
What happened?
3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
The Ark was placed in the SAME ROOM as the Philistines IDOL...
And God - BEING GOD - gives them a hint that their god was a FALSE god...
So God THEN begins STRIKING the people of Ashdod...
Striking them with tumors
The people were then terrified and wanted the Ark to be taken elsewhere...
So they took it to another city...
God then rendered judgment on THAT city...
They take it to ANOTHER city and God renders judgment…(MORE tumors)
So the Philistines call in the Priests and ask what they should do...
They decide this..
3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.”
So they send the Ark away with a guilt offering.
And it’s in chapter 7 where we find the REASON for God’s judgment...
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
So - big picture - those are the events...
What can we pull from this - today?
We can clearly see that this section of 1 Samuel deals with - The Ark of the Covenant...
What’s gonna help us today is understanding what the Ark - REPRESENTED....
The Ark represented - Yahweh’s Ruleship!
So with THAT understanding - let’s revisit the events...
What we know right away - is that Israel was worshiping OTHER gods...
- Just read this verse again...
This verse here in chapter 7 = verse 3 - tells us so… (read again)
So KNOWING that as background - what did Israel do when they first lost to the Philistines?
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
Don’t forget the background...
These people are WORSHIPING OTHER gods....
YET...
When they believe the TRUE GOD can - what? - - SAVE THEM…they call in the Big Guns!
So they’re WORSHIPING OTHER gods - yet call on the True and LIVING God - to help them in times of trouble
How does this IMPACT us today?!
SLIDE:
People want to live the “life under judgment” kind of life while still receiving the blessings of God.
We see this exact thing in this text today...
Israel had LOST the initial battle...
And so - WHILE living their lives of DISOBEDIENCE (serving other gods)
They think BRINGING the Ark of the Covenant to them would BRING them blessing! - A VICTORY!
But we’ve ALREADY seen in this book of 1 Samuel that BLESSING is found on the path of - - OBEDIENCE! - not disobedience
How might this play itself out today?
Do you know people who CLAIM Jesus - yet show no interest in the things of God?
Don’t want to TALK about God
Don’t want to PURSUE KNOWING Him more
Don’t want to invest their lives into Kingdom work
Don’t want to ENGAGE fellow believers
Not interested in growing MORE like Jesus
BUT they’ll SING (maybe) with their lips - “How great is our God”
Listen - spiritual growth is a PROCESS!
Man - this doesn’t happen OVERNIGHT!
It’s a lifetime of pruning...
BUT - It [IS] a pursuit!!
A LOT of people - would rather PURSUE the world - YET - make sure they have the “GET OUT OF HELL” card - called Jesus!
Read screen again - People want to live the “life under judgment” kind of life while still receiving the blessings of God
The Israelites simply wanted to WIN the BATTLE...
They wanted - VICTORY...
SOOOOO - Go get the ARK - (AGAIN...which represents God’s RULESHIP - and we’ll WIN!!)
Can you see how they were MOCKING God!??
Had they SUBMITTED to God’s RULE in their lives??
NO - EVEN SO - bring God in so - WE CAN WIN!
*Maybe you can relate?
I’m sure we ALL can to some degree
Maybe you’re living life based on your own ideas - agenda
YET - when “trouble” comes - Let me PRAY to God - for VICTORY!
Maybe sin DOMINATES your life...
Maybe PRIDE dominates your life...
and there’s no pursuit of God in your life...
BUT THEN - when trials come? (we’re asking everyone around us for PRAYER)
A question to ask is this:
SLIDE:
Do we seek God’s blessing without seeking Him?
The Israelites had not been SEEKING God...
They MERELY sought His blessing when it was convenient…!
Remember the story of Christ feeding the 5000?
They come looking for Jesus after that - and they think to themselves - Jesus would be REALLY USEFUL to us...
Like - a Genie in a Bottle!!
*Are you seeking God’s help in this world - without first seeking God Himself?
*Are you seeking God’s HAND in this world - without first seeking His heart?
*Are you seeking God’s Victory - without first walking through God’s preparation?
*Are you seeking God’s light - without first owning your own darkness?
*Are you seeking spiritual growth - WHILE embracing the physical of this world?
When Israel lost that first battle…they ASKED themselves the right question!
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
They ASKED the RIGHT Question!!
“Why has THE LORD defeated us today?”
They BELIEVED that God was in CONTROL - (and they were RIGHT) but they MISDIAGNOSED the problem!!
THEY concluded that MAKING a PHYSICAL change would FIX the problem!
“Let’s just bring the ARK HERE!” Problem SOLVED!!
No - instead they SHOULD have HEEDED the word of God...
17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.
25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
They should have APPLIED these truths to THEMSELVES...
But they didn’t THINK - that THIS was true of them!
I saw a great meme this week...
SLIDE:
The degree to which people can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth they can accept about themselves without running away.
The Israelites missed it!
They WANTED GOD - IN their lives - without HIS RULE - OVER their lives.
Result? - Judgment!
So EVEN with the ARK in their midst - the Israelites - LOSE the battle!
The ARK was taken!
But before it was taken - before Israel lost that 2nd battle WITH the Ark...listen to how the Philistines VIEWED the Ark...
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,
7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.
8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.
Did you hear it?
Did you hear the DOUBT from the Philistines?
They hear that the ARK is now WITH the Israelites...
And the Philistines are now - SCARED!!
WOE to US!!
“WE KNOW what that God DID to the Egyptians!!!”
WOE to US!!
They were NERVOUS - but they FOUGHT anyway!
AND - - WON!
They BEAT Israel anyway - and TAKE the ARK!
NEW CONFIDENCE no??
They take the ARK as sort of a - TROPHY of their victory!
Good idea?
NO… The One True God - ends up REVEALING Himself to the Philistines!
And think of the IRONY....
The Philistines were afraid of the ARK - initially - because they REMEMBERED what God had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians!
They then WIN the battle and decide to PRANCE around with the ARK!
Well what happened?
The initial fears of the Philistines, remembering what God did to the Egyptians, became THEIR OWN reality!
God then DID the SAME thing to the Philistines!
Plagued them with TUMORS...
Death came to men in the cities!
But i think even THIS speaks to us TODAY!
SLIDE:
People will mistake God’s mercy (a win, a victory, etc.) in their lives for His judgment.
So you might be thinking - what’s the big deal with this?
This can be - Damning!
I think at times - we can fall into patterns of life - where maybe we’re living a life of sin...
And IN that - we still - WIN...
We still receive a blessing...
But INSTEAD of viewing THAT BLESSING as - God’s MERCY toward us IN SPITE of our sin...
We’ll view that blessing as God’s JUDGMENT toward us - and we may believe - WELP - I guess this LIFE is GOOD WITH GOD!!
And we’ll completely MISS the point of the blessing/MERCY...
The apostle Paul speaks directly TO this in Romans...
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
The Philistines WON - AGAINST the God they initially were AFRAID of...
THAT victory brought about IN THEM - an unholy confidence
…thinking they could PARADE the ARK around wherever they wanted - SHOWING off their APPARENT victory...
Instead - God showed them - NO - you THINK because you won that battle = that you BEAT ME?????!!!!!
Instead of glorifying ME - due to my MERCY toward you...
You try to MOCK Me...
You ABUSE the MERCY I give you...
Mercy which is MEANT to lead you to REPENTANCE!
INSTEAD - you used MY mercy to FAN the FLAMES of your PRIDE
you see?
How does that PLAY OUT today?
*How many of us will be swept up in sin…living how we want…DISobeying God...
And YET - we’ll USE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES - AS our MORAL COMPASS in life...
Instead of going to God’s Word and using HIS truth to MOLD us and SHAPE us…to JUDGE us!...
We’ll look at our lives, realize that lightening hasn’t struck us yet...
Realize that - HEY - I JUST GOT a RAISE at work! - Sweet!
Realize - things are GOING well for me...
And IN THAT - our pride will be emboldened - to CONTINUE in that disobedience...
Because CLEARLY God approves!
My life - “proves” it
We’ll think:
I’ve been living in sin - BUT I JUST got an A on my test…God must be fine with my sin
I’ve been living in sin - BUT I JUST got a raise at work…!
INSTEAD of getting struck by lightening - I GOT A RAISE!!
God must be FINE with my sin!
If we look in scripture - we’ll actually see an example of this outside of our text today...
If we go to Revelation 3, we see Christ speaking to the church in Laodicea, and He’s diagnosing their problem!
15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
These people - LOOKED at their circumstances...
They looked at their lives -
They had physical money
They had 2 cars
a roof over their heads
food on their tables
STEADINESS in life
They were - SET!
And YET - Christ says - YES...
you HAVE - - physically - because of ME - and my MERCY
YET - you PRESUME on my KINDNESS...
And you allow it to FAN the FLAMES of your pride BEFORE ME...
You’re actually wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
What did they NEED?
Jesus tells us...
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
REPENT!! - Jesus says!
THAT’s what these people needed in Laodicea...
WHICH MEANS - that’s exactly what the PHILISTINES - AND Israel needed as well!
They needed to REPENT!
What happened in our text?
1 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.”
3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.”
So the priests suggest to send the Ark BACK - with a GUILT offering!
to symbolize - REPENTANCE!
Now - remember what judgment CAME UPON the Philistines in each of the 5 cities?
TUMORS right?
Watch what happens...
4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.
Do you see how the OFFERING fit the “crime”/Disobedience?
By them making a guilt offering - of the VERY judgment that CAME UPON THEM...
It’s THEM OWNING their sin and them declaring - The Judgment that CAME UPON US - was DUE TO OUR disobedience!!
It was OUR fault…!
We - DESERVED it!
So what happens?
They return the Ark...
And THEN - it’s ISRAEL’s turn to repent - and we hear from Samuel once more!
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.
For Israel - Repentance led to - blessing.
Listen - It will TAKE YOU - OWNING your sin…before you EVER take ONE STEP toward living like Jesus.
Back to that quote we saw before...
SLIDE:
The degree to which people can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth they can accept about themselves without running away.
It took repentance from Israel - to get them out from under God’s judgment
And the same applies to you and me.
SUMMARY
What have we seen today?
Our first point was this:
People want to live the “life under judgment” kind of life while still receiving the blessings of God.
The Israelites believed that by just bringing the ARK into their midst, that they would be VICTORIOUS!
But what did the Ark represent?
It represented - the RULESHIP of God
The Israelites weren’t INTERESTED in being RULED by God - hence their IDOL worship!
YET - they wanted God’s blessing!
For us?
We need to know -
That our SERVICE to God will NEVER cancel out our need for REPENTANCE!
The Israelites thought - Hey, let’s DO THIS PHYSICAL thing…(bring the Ark to us) - and then we’ll be OK!
NO - repentance is a HEART issue…!
Not a HANDS ISSUE!
EVEN AS BELIEVERS - we don’t ever WORK OFF our need to repent!
I can’t look at my SERVICE TO God - as a DOWN PAYMENT - OR - a Balance PAYOFF of my sin!
And so we need to take inventory....look at our lives…
Where do I fall short
Where have I neglected Him?
Where have I PREFERRED my pride?
Where have I PREFERRED my lusts?
Where have I preferred MY agenda?
Bring these things before the Lord!
Lay them at His feet!
Blessing is found on the path of - Obedience!
What else?
SLIDE
People will mistake God’s mercy (a win, a victory, etc.) in their lives for His judgment.
People will look at THE GOOD of their lives - and assume - God has judged me - annnnnndd - He must be fine with my PRIDE, LUSTS, SIN!
NO - we need to see the BLESSINGS in our lives - as - HIS MERCY!!
When we view those things as things we DON’T DESERVE...
…we’ll always have a HEART posture that is HUMBLE before God
And when we DO SIN - those Blessings that MERCIFULLY flowed to us from God - will lead us to repentance!
We can LEARN from these passages...
May they change us to be more like Christ!
Let’s pray