meeting the God of the ark

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people." For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
1 Samuel 5:11

In chapter 4, the Israelites learn to not worship the ark of God. They had drifted into superstitious worship, and the result was a tragedy on the battlefield with defeat by the Philistine army. There was also spiritual tragedy with the death of Eli and resulting national malaise that swept through the nation at news of the ark's capture by their enemies. In a way, this was a chance for Israel to refocus on the God of the ark, rather than the ark of God.

The Philistines also get this lesson. When they take the ark into the temple of Dagon as a spoil of war in pagan worship, they get a rude awakening. First, the idol of Dagon falls from its perch. The next morning they reset their idol in its place only to find it fallen again the very next day. This time it is broken with its head and hands strewn in front of the threshold of the temple. Clearly something supernatural is going on!

The leaders of the Philistines wind up housing the ark of the covenant of God in three different cities. In each city (Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron), a mob panic breaks out as the men of the city are afflicted with tumors. It is not a pretty site. The irony of the whole thing is that by the end of their ordeal, the Philistines were focusing on the God of Israel as He got their attention in the afflictions that came to them in the wake of this ordeal. They still had a superstitious awe of the ark, but they knew that the circumstances came from some other source: the God of Israel.

So once again I am reminded that God will get the worship He deserves. He will not be content with letting me ever put any object or practice in place of Him. He may even use the object of my misplaced values to get my attention focused back upon Him. That is the lesson of Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

God as superstition

And when the troops 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."
1 Samuel 4:3

This sets up one of the classic defeats in the history of Israel. Of course, God is working a much broader sovereign plan, but in the course of it, the spiritual condition of the leaders of Israel is revealed. The Israelite army is engaged in battle with the Philistine army at Aphek. The initial skirmish results in a thousand dead in the Israeli army. The elders of Israel respond to this news superstitiously. They knew God was in control of the outcome of the battle, yet they propose bringing the ark of the covenant from Shiloh into the camp so that "it" can "save us from the power of our enemies". It is very clear that they are putting their trust in an object, and not in the God of Israel.

The ark has become a kind of an idol at this point. That is the insidious outcome of superstition. We place more faith in a practice or a process than we do in the person of God. And it can be subtle form of idolatry. Sometimes the superstition can revolve around something associated with God, as it did in this passage. We need to be very careful to not fall into this trap.

I wonder if we don't occasionally do the same thing with disciplines and practices. If we do, we are in danger of both superstitious spirituality and thinking in terms of works righteousness (that the things that I do will save me in the end). It is often said that "prayer changes things". That looks great on a bumper sticker, but it is close to superstitious. The reality is that God changes things... prayer is just the means of communicating our heart to Him. It is not the prayer that is active to change. It is the person of God. The same line of thinking might accompany other Christian commitments. Do we worship the Bible, rather than the God of scripture? If we make it all about our knowledge alone, or in the practice of reading the "good book" daily, we may become dangerously superstitious.

What about our practice of constantly "listening" to a favorite preacher or Christian recording artist? We may exalt the person above the God that they are calling us to worship. And we may be disillusioned if we find a problem in that person. We neglect to realize that it is God they should draw us to and not man.

The way that God broke Israel of this spiritual laziness was to take away the object of their superstition. He allowed the ark of the covenant to be captured for a while so that Israel might focus on Him. And it worked. He will not give His glory to another, even if we falsely and inadvertently do so. He will do what it takes to get us focused on Him.


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

the voice of the prophet

And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.
1 Samuel 3:19-20

Samuel humbly begins the ministry of a prophet while quietly serving in the priestly training and service at the tabernacle of God in Shiloh. Now as a young man, the word of the LORD comes to him. God gives him disturbing revelation: the house of Eli will be wiped out. God is about to judge the wickedness of Eli's sons. But God is also in the process of raising up a new voice and new prophetic ministry in Samuel.

We know that a new era of prophetic vision is breaking out at this point in the story. The text says that the voice of the prophet was a rare thing (1 Samuel 3:1). So Samuel was chosen to kick off a new ministry of communication from God. It was a job that he took quite seriously, especially since such a difficult revelation became the first "message" that he had to deliver (1 Samuel 3:15). Samuel's ministry seems to be attended with large doses of humility and trust. He believes God and delivers God's word, even when his task is not the most pleasant.

This message was just the first of many in the life of Samuel that would be controversial. He informed Eli of God's rejection of his household as priests. He was called to anoint Saul as king, even though Samuel served as the de facto leader of Israel. He was later called to confront Saul and inform him that God had rejected him as king. He anointed David while he was still a boy, watching God pick the son that seemed the least likely to lead. But most striking in the life of Samuel was his prophetic confrontation with King Saul. It seems that Samuel very seldom had a good thing to share with Saul. Yet God kept the voice of His prophet alive. God used Samuel's humble heart and blessed him with a brave voice in hard times where God was doing new things.

God will use the unusual person in a controversial way if He so chooses! Samuel had a desire to serve God, and once he was taught to understand the voice of God, was receptive to what God would use him to say to His people. God chose to use a mere boy (pre-teen perhaps) to deliver the hard news to the nation that the priesthood was corrupt and would be replaced. God would continue to use Samuel in this way because Samuel was yielded to being available to proclaim the truth that God spoke.


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

Faithfulness among the crooked

Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.
And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
1 Samuel 2:18-19

Samuel's upbringing among Eli and his sons must have been quite an experience in contrast. Eli was a faithful priest, but he was getting really old and his influence with his family was waning. His sons, Hophni and Phineas were prototypical religious abusers. They used their service in the tabernacle as a means to personal gain. And all the while young Samuel just served faithfully, a boy who ministered to the LORD while men around him failed to acknowledge God's Law.

Eli seemed powerless to stop his sons from their dangerous plunge into apostasy. He confronted them when he found out they were sleeping with the women who served at the tabernacle gates. But they would not listen to their dad (see 1 Samuel 2:22-26). But for whatever reasons, even after confronting his sons, Eli would not take the steps necessary to remove them from office. This made him complicit in a cover-up. The tragedy is thus generational.

But a new generation is quietly serving the LORD. Young Samuel is ministering in the tabernacle, and I believe that God is so pleased with this boy's ministry, that He times his judgment for such a day as Samuel can serve as a young man. Samuel's service was so great and so refreshing that God could suspend some of His wrath against the nation.

Samuel's mother, Hannah, would arrive at Shiloh every year with a new robe for her son. And every year she would remember her commitment to God. The blessing of God continued on her as five more children were born to her.The blessings of obedience kept coming to her humble home, even as a storm began brewing in the household of Eli.

God rewarded the faithfulness of a broken woman. God honored the service of a sincere boy. It was enough to hold back judgment against the nation for allowing crooked religion to thrive. It was enough to rebuild the worship of God through the ministry of that one boy. Faithfulness to God's truth makes a difference. It always will.


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

prayer child

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.
1 Samuel 1:27-28

Samuel was a special answer to prayer. His mother, Hannah, wanted a child more than anything. She got to such a point in her difficult wanting that she made an entire day of prayer at the tabernacle at Shiloh just about this one petition. God heard her.

The thing I notice in this story is that God hears our prayers. In Hannah's case He intervened with a healing that allowed her to conceive a son that she had already devoted to the Lord in prayer. That devotion made it easy for her to turn her toddler over to the care of the priests at Shiloh. She knew that God had given her a gift that she would gladly give back to Him. And the story that grew from there led to one of the most unique biblical characters we can get to know.

Samuel was part priest, part prophet, and the last of the "judges" of Israel. He had a unique role. He bridged the transition into the first real monarchies of Saul and then of David. And his dedication to the LORD even before His birth was a moving part of his story. In many ways, his story reminds me of that of Samson, but with a stronger and happier outcome.

As I read the first chapter, I am struck by the dedication of Hannah. Her vivid need is expressed to God in unfailing, earnest prayer. And God touched her life in a big way. Her request was huge. Her anxiety was deep. Her relief at an answer to that prayer was joyful. Her vows were serious and strongly committed. Her character was a key factor in Samuel's early upbringing. She shows the meaning of sacrifice and service in her willingness to acknowledge that her son belonged to God first.



- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

pity for plants but not for people

And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"
Jonah 4:10-11

The irony is dripping from God's words as He has the last say-so with Jonah. The book ends with a theological question. It forces the reader to think about the driving grace of God toward all humanity. Jonah, in his religious pride and anger is upset that God has chosen to be gracious to the repentant Ninevites. He spends a couple of days sulking outside the city. God has a little fun with his pouting prophet.

First God brings on a fierce, hot east wind. In the desert heat Jonah despairs of life. He is really quite an emotional guy. God then raises up a fast-growing shade plant (must have used "miracle grow") to provide relief. Jonah is thankful for the shade. Then, overnight, God appoints a little worm to eat through the plant, withering it. Jonah is furious... upset at the loss of the plant and his comfort. It is at that time that God begins to confront His reluctant, pride-filled prophet.

The ending question is telling for the heart of Jonah. He was more upset about the loss of the plant than the potential loss of a large city of people! God pushes His prophet to consider the moral outrage if his own twisted sense of justice. God was concerned for a lost city of people who as soon as they heard about Him, repented in hopes of finding God's favor. They were morally lost (the Hebraism "do not know their right hand from their left indicates lack of moral education or an inability to know right from wrong). God had compassion on them and sent Jonah to correct them. The sarcasm enters in with the last little bit... "an also much cattle". Could Jonah at least be upset about the waste of livestock if God leveled the city? God is using these comparisons with plants and animals to subtly teach Jonah the difference between his "right and left hand", because Jonah is showing himself to be morally destitute at this point as well!


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

when pagans repent

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 3:10

God hears the honest heart. In response to Jonah's obedient (but maybe not passionate) preaching, the city of Ninevah from the top down falls into a metropolitan repentance. It is clear that the message was heard. And the king himself issues the decree that public repentance be shown. This was the real deal at that time, and God saw it.

The real story in Jonah is God's heart responding to human hearts. God loved the huge city of Ninevah, sinful as it was. He sent His prophet to proclaim a message of repentance. The message was about God's wrath, but the city repented of sin and God responded in grace. So preaching God's justice can result in His grace. It happens all over the biblical text, specifically in this book most dramatically.

But in all this, Jonah's heart was the real tragedy. He held his self-righteous thoughts so tightly that he could not rejoice at this great moment when a pagan nation turned to God. The one unrepentant heart in the whole story is the heart of Jonah. And he points out to us all the dangers of finger-pointing, self-righteous pride. It can be a barrier to living out God's concern for the world. God wants all people everywhere to repent. Do we?


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13