11th.: Philistines 1, Israel 0
The Philistines came out to fight.
Israel feared. (1st Samuel 4).
In previous generations, Israel had asked the Lord for help.
‘Who shall go up … to fight?’ (Jud. 1:1).
Unfortunately, no one in Israel now thought to ask.
The Philistines won the first round (1st Sam. 4:2).
The elders of Israel said,
“Wherefore has the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines?"
The elders blamed the loss on the Lord.
They proposed:
Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us,
that when it comes among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” (1st Sam. 4:3).
Unfortunately, their blaming did not prompt them to ask the Lord.
But they remembered how that when the Ark was present, Israel would win.
The elders of Israel decided to use God’s Ark of the Covenant to save them
- as if the Ark actually had power, like a talisman.
Unfortunately, they had forgotten that God’s power lay
not in the Ark of the Covenant, but with God Himself.
To have God’s power help them, they needed to seek the personal relationship with God Himself.
This they did not know, or did not want to do (see Num. 27:21a).
Having been giving access to God by the Lord Jesus Christ, let us be the ones to initiate conversations with the Lord.
Return to Home“… thou shalt find the Lord, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deut. 4:29b)