Today's reading in the One Year Chronological Reading Plan is 1 Samuel 4:12-8:22.
Commentaries for today's readings
The Hands of Dagon and the Hand of God (1 Samuel 5-7)
Give Us a King! (1 Samuel 8)
The first couple chapters in today's readings are sure head-shakers. What could they possibly be thinking?
The Israelites had begun to view the ark as a good luck charm instead of the symbol of God's presence. It had become an idol.
When the Philistines capture the ark after God refused to act like a genie, they place it next to their god Dagon in triumph. That triumph was short lived when they came in and saw their god lying face down in the dust. They likely tried to explain that away and secured that puppy real good so it wouldn't happen again. Didn't work. The next morning, not only is Dagon face down in the dust, but his head and hands are broken right off.
I ask you - what kind of god needs repairs?! How could people be so foolish as to worship something that can't talk, can't move, can't protect itself and needs to be brought in to the repair shop? Ludicrous!
After plagues and whatnot that can't be explained away, they realize they need to get rid of this ark. Of course, appeasing God with idols isn't going to work. They devise a test by yoking the ark to two mother cows that are still nursing calves. If there was nothing supernatural involved, those cows would go straight to their calves, not head off down the road to Beth Shemesh. Well, God's power over-rides nature, and the Philistines scientific experiment proves that this was all the result of God's power.
Well, after conducting such a grand scientific experiment, do they go where the evidence lies? No, they do not. They do not begin to worship God, they return to their useless god in the repair shop.
So often society now does the same thing. They say they want evidence of God, but when the evidence points to God, they still don't follow it.
But then the Israelites, who should know better, are punished as well because they still do not respect the holiness of the symbol of God's presence.
In order or the Israelites to realize the ark is not an idol nor a good luck charm, the ark is "put into storage" so to speak, and Samuel implore the people to repent and worship ONLY God. They do, and God defeats the Philistines.
Which results in them wanting God to be their only leader right?
Wrong.
It results in them wanting a King to lead them, just like all the other nations around them. Wanting to be just like all the other nations around them is exactly what got them into all this mess to begin with. Apparently they just don't learn.
Let's not make the same mistake.
Tomorrow's readings: 1 Samuel 9-12
3 comments:
One of the "tours" in The Truth Project DVD series (which I also highly recommend, especially for use as a small group study!) deals with our governments and how we've set them up to replace God as Savior. It's really quite a chilling reality when you see it examined the way Dr. Del Tackett does there. Rather than looking to God's Word as our pattern for living, we look to our governments to fix everything. Even though we're taxed to death in support of ineffective "social reforms", we resent the government when it fails, we replace one party with another party (that's ultimately going to let us down and be replaced by its predecessor in a futile vicious cycle), we REFUSE to let God rule!! Removing God as the governing body in our lives and nations is sure to lead to disaster, but you're right, Tammy, we collectively reject any and all evidence of God we have, much of it in plain sight!
And the only hope for ever changing any of this begins in our own hearts and lives.
PS. I really like this paragraph: "Well, after conducting such a grand scientific experiment, do they go where the evidence lies? No, they do not. They do not begin to worship God, they return to their useless god in the repair shop."
Made me chuckle!
when man looks to other gods and rituals he slips quickly into all types of absurdity. even when he looks to the law as a god, or to pagan tradition, or to iconic ritual, or many other things.
your thoughts reminded me of something. so many people say they would follow God if they could see him, hear him, watch him do things. these people had ALL that and more and yet, they still slipped into the absurd. That tells us one thing, the same thing the Law tells us, we need supernatural intervention. only this intervention allows us to to see the rediculous for what it is.
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