Ichabod

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Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday is a day honouring mother churches, the church where one is baptised and becomes "a child of the church", celebrated since the Middle Ages in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

According Wikipedia Mothering Sunday coincides with Laetare Sunday, also called Mid-Lent Sunday or Refreshment Sunday, a day of respite from fasting halfway through the penitential season of Lent.

Its association with mothering originates in the texts read during the Mass in the Middle Ages.

Today it is as much about celebrating mothers as it is about mother church.

For some of us it will be a joyous occasion for others a sombre reminder of the absence in our lives.

But we all can recognise the maternal nature of God

Psalm 91:4 CSB

4 He will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.

This week

SUN - Prayer

Tue - TTT, fellowship

Wed - Groups and Alpha

Message

Hasn’t the last few weeks of worship been special. Three weeks ago Rob centred pretty much the entire worship around children’s songs. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about how that would go. Then last week we had the extended worship session

Video Superspeed

I was a little nervous how that would go. Was it too long? would people engage, would God be present in it?

To be in God’s presence is wonderful! It is the atmosphere of heaven, the very reality of God among us. You get to a point where you don’t want to merely sing about him, or to reverence him with my songs but to where you want to experience God in worship to sense him with me and in me and around me. And not just in worship; - in prayer, in quiet times, in Tesco, on the bus.

Sometimes that happens and sometimes we don’t feel that I want to look at some reasons that we don’t see God show up. in The OT Gods, presence was obvious - pillar of fire, cloud later it was focused around the Tabernacle and the objects within.

The Ark was one of these objects, as you will know, the gold plated box God had commanded the Israelites to use as a symbol of his throne and promise. Rather than me describe it this is what Exodus 25:10-22 says

Exodus 25:10–22 CSB

10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

It has to be all about Him

God is a holy God and his presence is a sensitive presence. We have all known his presence come and go.

Some times this is simply His will, his seasonality and some times we make the place, the event, the moment something that does not encourage God, to stay in that tangible way.

This is not a new phenomena.

Misplacing what brings the presence.

In the pages of the first book of Samuel we find a remarkable series of events revolving around the Ark of the Covenant.

We can Follow the Ark on a journey through a few stages of Israelite history, we can see how this symbol of God’s presence impacted different circumstances.

We start with the events that surround the birth of Ichabod are helpful in showing how and how not to deal with Gods presence.

God’s presence is about God. – 1 Samuel 4

The children of Israel drew up battle lines against the Philistines, their arch enemies. The first stage of the battle begins and the Israelites get badly beaten. Back at camp there is panic. A few desperate Israelites remember wars of old when they had routed various large armies and dangers. Whole cities had fallen by the miraculous battle strategies of this fearsome tribe.

1 Samuel 4:3 CSB

3 When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from our enemies.”

Something had always been present at those battles – there had always been a common factor: The Ark of Covenant.

I suppose they had a right to think it may save them – it had been present at many victories in the past. The Israelites had started to give the Ark a the Ark with a sense of power all of its own.

VIDEO - Raiders of the lost ark,

They brought the Ark into the camp, went out into battle AND… lost abysmally once again, and the Ark was captured.

1 Samuel 4:12–22 CSB

12 That same day, a Benjaminite man ran from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and there was dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road waiting, because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out. 14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. 15 At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move because he couldn’t see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked. 17 The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years. 19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her. 20 As she was dying, the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 “The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”

A child was born called “Ichabod”, meaning “The Glory Has Departed”.

The glory had departed alright but not because the Ark had been lost. The ark had been lost because the glory had departed.

The Israelites had a misplaced understanding of what brings the presence. - God is not in the box.

God gives us some amazing things that help us to worship. Great music, here and on media - we’ve got more access to worship music than any time before. we can have it loud, soft, quick, D&B, Rap, classical, 1960s,70’s 80s, 90s or even 1700s

It’s great that we have this diversity and choice. but we have to take notice of the story form 1 Samuel.

It is so easy to start to transfer, in out minds, the reason for the presence of God to the things of worship and away from the act of worshipping.

Oh I couldn’t worship today… It was too loud, i didn’t know the songs, they were for kids, they were too new, too fast, to old.

Please hear me their is nothing wrong with having preferences, or enjoying the familiarity of a well known song but the the moment we begin to rely on entering into a meeting with God based on the song choice, the quality of the audio, the length of the meeting, the preaching style, the pattern (three quick, two slow and a prayer) or something else we become like the camp full of Israelites that depended on the “Ark” instead of a personal relationship of walking with God, the Creator - when that happens the glory of God evacuates our lives.

Difficult question time: are you more dependant on the things than on a desire to met God? Is God leaving the room because He is being asked to be second to your choices?

As a worship leader you need to know how to care for the presence of God. You need to know what makes him stay and what makes him leave. That is a big responsibility.

God will not compete with other gods.

As the story of the Ark Progresses we learn more about the nature of God.

From the philistines perspective they had captured the God of the Israelites, - that is how they saw the Israelites treat the ark.

1 Samuel 5:1–6 CSB

1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, 2 brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4 But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained. 5 That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s threshold. 6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod. He terrified the people of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors.

I love this part of the story. I think it is both terrifying and encouraging. Terrifying in the the way that the people of Ashdod are afflicted. But encouraging in the way that even in the presence of another God, The Lord was victorious...

While the Israelites believed the glory of God was lost (1 Sam. 4:19-22), the Lord defended His glory among the enemies of His people.

So what does this have to do with today. Put your hands up if you have a temple to another God at home? Maybe a small shrine where you keep your bible on a weekday?

Sometimes it is easier to get into the presence of God her on a Sunday than at home. yes?

Difficult question time: Where are you asking God to be mon-thu? God will not compete with other gods. Are you asking Him to compete with things you are putting before HIM.

Time

Activities

Dust....

Remember God is God all the time.

God’s Presence Without the Blood – 1 Samuel 6:19-20

Looking back to our story now: Somewhat panicked by the epidemic and destruction of the “gods”, the Philistines sent the Ark back to Israel, eventually finding its way to the men of Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 6:13–18 CSB

13 The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed to see it. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people of the city chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites removed the ark of the Lord, along with the box containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. That day the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 When the five Philistine rulers observed this, they returned to Ekron that same day. 17 As a guilt offering to the Lord, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The number of gold mice also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities of the five rulers, the fortified cities and the outlying villages. The large rock on which the ark of the Lord was placed is still in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh today.

Beth-shemesh was one of the cities set aside for the livelihood of the Levites, the priestly tribe of Israel. This city, among others, specifically was given for the descendants of Aaron, who were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and the sacrifices (Josh. 21:9-10,13-16). How fitting that the ark should return to this city filled with those who were responsible for its care (Num. 4:1-20). But there may be an indication that the faithfulness of the priests at large was faltering in that they offered the female milk cows as a burnt offering, which required an unblemished male animal (Lev. 1:3), and they displayed the ark on a large rock for everyone’s eyes to behold (Num. 4:15,20).

They had softend the ‘law’, they had compromised to make life easy.

As follower of jesus we should live following Jesus’ example of fellowship with and obedience to the Father; we should view everything they have and their entire lives as opportunities to serve their Creator and Saviour all the time, not just in worship

This is why Paul writes

Romans 12:1–2 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

being living sacrifices means living in ways contrary to the prevailing culture; seeking God’s will above our own - I means our lives are the act of worship.

God is God all the time, so why do we segment out lives into the church times and the non church - shouldn’t all of our lives be in the the presence of God and for his Glory.

You can’t experience the presence of God with out Jesus.

At the heart of this, if you want the presence of God in your lives you need Jesus.

Intrigued by the Ark, this small Israelite clan lifted the lid to look inside. Instantly 70 men died. Some texts 50K

At this point I thought of using another scene from Indiana Jones, but the thought of meting faces and Hollywood special effects was a little too much.

This is one of those unusual scriptures that leave you wondering what on earth has gone on? Why did God kill them for merely looking into the Ark?

Was He in a bad mood? To understand God’s purpose here, you really need to understand the design of the Ark of the Covenant.

Inside the box-like Ark was stored a few items, most notably the tablets of the Law . The top of the box was a golden lid called “The Mercy Seat”. Over the Mercy Seat, between the outstretched wings of the two Cherubim ), the supernatural glory of God would shine.

Once a year the high priest would enter into the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and sprinkle blood over the Mercy Seat (the lid). In effect, the priest would sprinkle blood between the glory of God (shining above between the Cherubim) and the Law (hidden below inside the box). This meant that God would “look down” from the glory between the Cherubim, see the shed blood on the Mercy Seat and judge the people by the blood and not by the Law – the shed blood signifying that someone, or something, had taken the punishment for any acts committed that violated the Law.

when the men of Beth Shemesh lifted the Mercy Seat, they removed the blood covering between the glory and the Law!

This is one of the greatest lessons regarding God’s presence: God’s glory and holiness, without blood, will destroy you. The men of Beth Shemesh removed the blood that covered the Law, they were instantly judged by that Law, were found wanting and instantly died.

Worship, presence, praise and glory are utterly painful without the blood of Jesus Christ, at best God, in his mercy removes his presence. At worst feelings of guilt destroy worship time after worship time, causing us to run, hide and separate ourselves from him. No-one can approach God without knowing the wonder of the shed blood of Jesus, his wonderful grace, mercy and love.

If you want to enter the presence of God you must be covered by the Grace of Jesus - you must enter in by the blood stained way. A way you can’t ever earn – but must receive through grace. A way where his sacrifice covers all our failures, even in the light of his intense holiness. We must always keep the Mercy Seat in place if we are to know his glory. If we fail to, he will “kill us”, as he is still the same holy God as he has always been.

Never forget that God’s presence is hosted by the blood of Jesus on the earth. If that means you need to revisit that in repentance you must.

His presence deserves reverence and respect.– 1 Chronicles 13

After God killed the men of Beth Shemesh, the Ark was stored in a house until, many years later, king David decided he wanted to bring it back to Jerusalem. Without really studying God’s blueprint of how to handle the presence, David tried to bring the Ark into Jerusalem in the same way the Philistines had sent it – on a new cart. We can read about it in 1 Chronicles 13 . Now it might not seem like much to you or me, but David tried to handle God’s presence in an inappropriate way, and a man called Uzzah died as a result. The Ark rocked around a little as it was on its way, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it and God killed him.

I find that unfair - Uzzah had only tried to help. He had good intentions but ultimately handled things in the wrong way. God had laid out clear expectations and David had ignored it. David then delved into the scriptures and discovered that the Ark was meant to be carried by Levitical Priests, not new carts. On his next attempt to give the Ark a home in Jerusalem, David was successful.

We can learn a very special lesson from this: Because of apathy towards God’s Law David resorted to impersonating the world and the culture around him and simply assumed what he had seen elsewhere, or heard about, was acceptable to God. He took hold of God’s presence and treated it as the Philistines had, and God considered it sin enough to put a man to death. As we have seen elsewhere in this book, there is a definite right and wrong when it comes to the presence of God. This cannot be ignored. We must discover God’s blueprint.

The presence of God is a fearsome thing. Handle his “nearness” with grave honour and respect.

“God wants us to bow before his holiness with respect and reverence. There is a danger in being in the presence of the Lord of Hosts, especially when we come into his presence with arrogance or apathy. We must come before his presence with quiet humility and brokenness.” 2 –Stephen J. Andrews and Robert D. Bergen

God desires to have you in His presence, at one point he was dying just to make that possible.- do you desire his presence? Repent, Obey, pray hard, listen to God. Worship in private as well as in public. most of all keep Jesus front and centre. It is He who paid the price to let you stand, kneel or even lie prostrate in divine presence of God.