QT 23 Aug 13, God's Heavy Hand

1 Sam 5:6-12 (ESV) The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god." 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" They answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath." So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people." 11  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. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

NOTE: Four times the phrase or a facsimile, "the hand of the Lord was heavy against the people," appears in the passage. It was obvious to the Philistines that it was not good for them to have the ark in their midst. The ark was given to Israel to symbolize the presence of God with his people. At this point, which is also the end of the period of the Judges, Israel has lost its most important possession. The people God chose to place his name have foolishly brought the ark to a battle and lost it. They were using the ark for their own purpose and ignoring the Ark's true purpose. God judges Israel, but he also judges the Philistines. They did not have permission or privilege to have the Ark among them. They stood against Israel as an example of sin pestering our lives. And now sin has mixed itself with the holy. The result is the hand of the Lord heavy against them.

As I look at my own life, am I living as God intended or have I let sin mix in with holiness. Are some recent setbacks evidence of God's heavy hand or of a need to trust more? Clearly, hard times drive us to the Lord, and that more than anything else is needed in my life. I have let prayer become an occasion rather than a pattern of life. God knows I need prayer, and I know deep down that I need it too.

QT 13 Aug 13, Something we have forgotten--life is spiritual and we need to worship

1 Sam 5:2-4 (ESV) Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 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.

NOTE: The story is humorous to us today, but I wonder if we are really that perceptive. Our ancestors realized that there was more to life than the material. They recognized a spiritual aspect to life, which for the most part our culture has dismissed. They were right in that respect but wrong in not recognizing God, the one true God, as the author of life. Today, we give credence to the material for everything. And we believe that chaos, random interactions over time, achieved the ordered universe in which we now live. I suppose they would laugh at our arrogance. But the other humorous aspect of the story is what God does to the demon Dagon. God forces Dagon to fall facedown before the one true God. Secondly, God takes away his head and his hands, showing that Dagon can do nothing before God -- he can't think, nor can he act. He is literally powerless before God. The lessons are stark and true, and were probably realized by some among the Philistines. They may have done some stupid things, but they were not stupid. They probably could think better than we do today. We could learn a few things from our ancestors, maybe not their choices of worship but their realization of the importance of worship.

QT 12 Aug 13, Its our faith, not our symbols, that is of most importance

Monday, August 12, 2013

9:18 AM

1 Sam 4:12, 13a, 18, 19a, 21, 22 (ESV) A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. … 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.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. … 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

NOTE: I don't know much about Phinehas, although her husband was a wicked and unfaithful man. She dies giving birth and is heartbroken over the capture of the ark. Eli is also worried about the ark and dies when he hears of its capture. The problem is that they should have been more concerned about the sin in Israel, including the use of the ark in war, than the capture of a  physical symbol. God will take care of the ark in a surprising was, but Israel's need is to take care of her sin. We are a lot like that. We are concerned and get upset about issues in the world, in our community, and in our church. But our real concern needs to be about our own sin. While God is certainly concerned about the affairs in the world, he is far more concerned with the character of his representatives. He can take of the world and will someday extract justice on the world and its deceptions. But for us, the more immediate concern is being faithful to what God has called us to do and how to live. And I think we fail greatly, in terms of how we live.

QT 9 Aug 13, God is just, not just loving

Rev 16:3-7 (ESV) The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

"Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,

for you brought these judgments.

6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,

and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!"

7 And I heard the altar saying,

"Yes, Lord God the Almighty,

 true and just are your judgments!"

NOTE: The second and third of the last seven judgments are turning water into blood. Clearly, they allude back to one of the early plagues in Egypt, but they were also signs that the Magicians could easily perform. And yet, there is a very serious reason for the choice. One, water is necessary for life. Two, the world has shed the blood of believers throughout its history because it believed the world would be better without their influence. In the tribulation, this atheistic argument will reach its pinnacle as the world tries to build a Utopian society by eliminating the influence of Christianity and of Christians. The result is that the world will drink the blood of its deeds. And unlike vampires, there is no nourishment or life sustainment from blood. In fact, in only a few days, many people will dies of thirst. It is possible that there are other sources of water or that people will figure out how to distill blood into something drinkable, but many will die drinking the blood of those that they killed. They probably laughed as they saw believers die -- I wonder what they will think as the stench of a blood-filled ocean and rivers fills the air.

I think our problem is that we don't believe in a God of justice, only a God of love. And we don't realize how far our actions have fallen from God's standard. But it is not just unbelievers, it is believers who must also remember the same truth. We may be saved, but we serve a God of justice.