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.
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