4/17/08 – 1 Samuel 9:1-6

1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites–a head taller than any of the others.

Saul was a head taller than any other man and was very good looking or impressive.  He was naturally a leader just because of the way He had looked.  I think it is amazing how we look to natural things to decide who are leaders are going to be our leader.  

3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them. 5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” 

This story is how saul gets called to being the king of Israel and I think it is awesome that He is just out looking for his donkey for his dad.  He is wondering around just going from city to city trying to find this donkey.  But He could not find it.  I think it is awesome that when we are out looking for our things God has different plans.  I love How God will just fulfill His plan even when it seems like we are wondering through life doing nothing. 

6 But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.”

The servant comes up with and Idea to go to hear from the prophet on where the donkey is.  This is a great response for something that seems so small as loosing your donkey.  To me loosing your donkey does not seem big enough to get a word from God on.  I think this is a great lesson that we can go to God for anything.  To get wisdom and direction.   We should be willing to hear from God in every area.  This would be like going to God for financial issues… I have my financial issues and I know I have spent all this time trying to hunt for my own donkey (my finances) and not hearing from God on the issue.  I need to turn to the word of the Lord on every situation.

4/15/08 – 1 Samuel 8:11-22

11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 

The warning is that the king will use you, your family, and your stuff.  He is warning them of the burden that it will be upon the family, finances, and individual to have a king.  I think that sometimes we want something so bad that we do not think of how it is going to effect us, our family, or our finances.  I know that I have done that many times before just made a decision based upon whatever one else has and something I want so bad that I am not thinking in regards to what is best or what does God desire.  (release my finances that are held by the kings of this world) I need to start listening to the wisdom of God and not the desires of my flesh.

18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

The Lord will not answer because the where warned.  It also effects our relationship with God because now you are adding someone who is over you… between them and God.  It is something that when they cry out form the king that Lord will have to take sides with the king because of the authority that they gave to Him.  

It is interesting that they very thing that I wanted and desired at one point I am crying out for God to remove it.  LOL!  I have seen that in me and so many others.  Making decisions off desire and not God’s word and then seeing how it destroys and asking God to take it away.  Like my debt!  I ask God to take it away but most of it was made because of desire to have it.  I am asking to be redeemed and relieved from my sin and restored.  HELP!!!

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 

They refused they wanted authority, they wanted to fit in, and they wanted protection.  Things they felt like they where not getting from God or His leaders.  The very thing that God does provide!  Wow.  God I am so sorry for the times we look to the world for things you provide in a more real way then the world could ever give.  I need you!!

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

Give it to them!   Give them what they want… what they are asking for.  Not what God wants but what they want.  This is scary thought… how many times has God given me what I want and not what he wants.  How many times have I chosen my way instead of His?  How many times have I know the warnings of God and not listened? Man… I am afraid to even think about that.  I am just thankful for you grace and mercy that has covered me or I would be lost.

4/14/08 – 1 Samuel 8:7-10

7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 

God tells Samuel to listen to them even though they have rejected Him as their king.  Samuel must have felt rejected by their statements and he was not happy that they wanted a king because samuel was old.  After how long he had served they where wanting him out.  But God was telling him that they where not rejecting samuel but Him.  I wonder why God would tell samuel to listen if they where rejecting Him?  

8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

This was always a problem with the children of Israel.  I think it still a problem with me and all your people.  Constantly forsaking you and serving others.  The thing that is most amazing about You (my God) is that you continue to deliver and restore even when we continue to turn to other things.  I repent for the many times I have turned.  I want to have a complete and total dedication to You!

9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” 10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 

Listen to them but warn them… If they are going to make this decision then they are going to have to what having a king is going to be like.  Some times people do not think through what having a king is going to look like.  They look are other countries and want what they have not knowing how good they have it.

This is the case with a lot of unwise decisions… we look to other people we see what they have and want what they have and then determine in our minds what it would be like to have that but we do not know all we will have to give up to get it and we do not know how it will effect us.  Jealousy or covetousness seems to be a major root of bad decisions.  

I still think it amazing how you will allow us to make decisions that You have warned us against and step back and let us over ride Your warnings and do what we want to do.  You are truly an amazing God and I love You.  I Love how you lead and warn and deliver and continue to show grace and mercy to your rebellious people.

 

4/11/08 – 1 Samuel 8:1-6

1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

This hurts to read.  His sons did not walk in his ways.  This means to me that He walk straight and in righteousness but his sons turned from it and started accepting bribes and perverting justice.  Why is it that they had a Father who was right before the Lord and they turn from it?  This is something that does not have any explanation. Except that was samuel a man who lived in the ways of the Lord and did not train his sons up in the way of the Lord.  If the Word says that if you train up a child in the way he should god when he is old he will not depart from it.  Why did they turn from it? Was it because of samuel or was it because of rebellion?  It sounds like pure rebellion.  Maybe I am making to much out of this… but i really wanted to see Samuel’s sons serve the Lord.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

They wanted a king because of Samuel’s age and his sons not following the Lord.  The reason they want a king is because the are getting fearful that they are not going to have a godly leader.  They want a leader who is not going to die soon or someone that is not going to steal from them and pervert justice.  

 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 

Here is what I should do when I am displeased.  Pray!  I love how it says he was displeased so he prayed.  That just makes so much sense but so often I do not do that myself…. I turn to so many other things and get flared up in emotions and then start doing things based on emotion and not based on what you said to me in prayer.  

Lord, I want to be this way!  I want to pray like this… when something happens in my life instead of turning to something else I want to pray and communicate with you.  I need You and I repent if I have not turned to you like I should.  You have always been there for me and I can always turn to you.

Today I was reminded of this as I got displeased and my first response was to fix it and call everyone else and you reminded me by your spirit that when I am displeased I need to pray to you.

4/9/08 – 1 Samuel 7:7-17

7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.

Mizpah was a place of repentance and intercession.  A place where the children of Israel was going to be made right with God.  It was a place where God was restoring His people to right standing.  No wonder the enemy would attack that place.  Do you think the enemy wants the people of God to be in right standing and to be blessed.  I think in the times of repentance and cleansing you need to be ready for an attack.  I have seen so many people at encounters get attacked and not expect it because they where being made right with God and they did not expect an attack.  The enemy likes to attack when least expected.  In times of emptying out and renewing your spirit watch close for the attack!  

They where afraid… it seems like when people are repenting they are so humbled that they are open for attack and not feeling like they are ready to fight yet.  Maybe that is how they where or maybe they where just a fearful people.

8 They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him. 

They prayed and the the Lord answered.  They did the right thing by continuing to pray and sacrifice. Instead of letting fear get the best of them they turned to God first thing.  They where not going to try and handle the situation on their own or run in fear they turned to God.  This is a habit that all believers need to develop!  We need to turn to God right away instead of trying to deal with it yourself first and then trying everything else before you allow God to work.  Seek first the kingdom of God!  God should be first!  

Lord, Help me to trust in you and lean on you first.  That I do not turn to myself and others first but that when fear comes against me that I will run and cry out to you.  

The awesome thing is that when they got attacked they where already in prayer so they could just continue to in it… They said do not stop crying out.  This is the perfect place to be when you are getting attacked in prayer because you can just press harder.  Continue in it.  When you are not praying or crying out you have to start and work into it, when you are already praying you can just press harder.  

10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.

He threw them into a panic.  They where philistines attacked at what they thought was a weak time for the children of Israel but they did not realize that in our weakness HE is strong.  And when we are in repentance and intercession we look weak but GOD is our protection.  He thundered with a loud thunder one that threw them into a panic.  

God thank you for being my protection and my strength in time of weakness.  I want to stay weak before you!  

11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.”13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.

God gave victory to the children of Israel and they slaughtered them.  Then they set up a stone an alter and called it the “thus far the Lord has helped us.”  This needs to be a stone in my life.  “You have never failed me”  You have always helped me, and saved me, and protected me, and delivered me, and strengthened me.  Everything I have done and all that I have accomplished is because you have helped me.  

It stopped them from attacking again.  This is awesome that God completley delivered them from the battle and they did not have to fight them again.

14 The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 

Because of the repentance of the people and the power of God the neighbors where delivered.  This is powerful that God not only has the power to deliver you but he has the power to deliver you neighbors because of what he did in you.  This is a awesome text that God would give his children the power not only to be delivered but to see others around them be delivered.

Lord, I am asking for that in my life that not only am I set free and walking in deliverance but that you use me to bring freedom to my neighbors.

15 Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord.

Samuel stayed in the position and traveled but always went back home.  This is what I want to do!  I want to travel but I want to always serve here in phoenix.  I love Phoenix and I always want this to be my home!  Eventhough I want to travel always want to come home.

4/8/08 – 1 Samuel 7:5-6

5 Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” 

Samuel told all of them to gather and He said I will intercede WITH the Lord for you.  It sounds like He is saying that Lord is already praying for them and he is going to join in with the Lord and pray for them.  What a crazy picture!  The bible does say that (Hebrews 4:25) that Jesus is able to save us completely because He always lives to intercede for us who come to God through Jesus.  Jesus is interceding for us always and the picture I get in this is Samuel a prophet of God just jumping in and interceding with the Lord.  Samuel is not the one who is saving them it is Jesus who always lives to make intercession for their salvation.  Samuel is just coming into alignment and agreement with the intercession that Jesus is making.  Hebrews is showing the the priesthood of the past was week because it was based upon the law and the priests would have to make sacrifice all day and could not save them forever.  But Jesus is the perfect High priest who gave his life as a sacrifice once and for all for His people.  Thank you Jesus for interceding on my behalf.  Thank you for doing the same for your people.

The power of this passage is messing with me right now.  The picture that I have so often is that when i am interceding for people and praying for them that I am praying to you so that the person I am praying to can be saved.  The idea is that I am bringing them to God and crying out for their salvation and that is some way i am moving you to do something that you have never desired to do… what foolish idea!! What a foolish thought!!! You are making intercession for them always and when I begin to intercede I am just coming in alignment with You and what you are always doing.  It is your desire that all men will repent and put their faith in You and you live to make intercession for them.  I need to fall in alignment with you more often and pray what you pray and intercede with you for the people.  

God thank you for showing me such an amazing picture!! Thank you for showing me a truth that is transforming me as I type!!! I am blown away by the thought of Hebrews 4 and the perfect High priest that you are and the new covenant that you have established and the perfection of it.  You are amazing!!! 

6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.

That led into a powerful time of confession and repentance.  Now they are seeing their sin as against the Lord and they are realizing what they have done.  They are fasting and confessing.  This a a cleansing of the body with fasting and a cleansing of the spirit with confession.  Fasting is a starving of the natural desire for food and confession is a starving and rejecting of sin.  When fasting i think confession should be a huge part of that… they go hand and hand together.

Poured water out before the Lord.  This is an interesting offering… a water offering?  I will have to do some study on this but it seems like a water offering is not that common.  maybe it is?  I wonder what it is all about!

 

4/7/08 – 1 Samuel 7:1-4

1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. 2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord.

For 20 years the ark of God was out of place and instead of it being in the temple it was in a man’s house named Abinadab’s.  The ark being the symbol of the presence of God means that for 20 years the people would go to the temple and it was absent of the presence of God.  The temple was a place and is a place of bringing sacrifice and worship to God so without Him there it is pointless to come.  It is so important as a people that when we meet together that we do not do it without His presence there.  I can see why it caused the people to mourn and seek God.  When they had it they grew complacent and sinned and miss treated it and followed there own way but now that it is gone and His presence is not near they morn and seek the Lord.  That seems a lot like some people today.  When they have a closeness to God the mistreat it and live life for themselves and sin but when they are far from and absent of His presence they start to realize how necessary His presence is in there lives and how empty they are without Him so they weep and seek. 

This is a cycle of a lot of people including myself sometimes.  I need to learn how to not only seek after the Lord when He is gone.  We need to learn how to honor Him and His presence while He is near and learn to live near His presence and not just while He is gone.  

3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 

But This is why God’s mercy is so amazing that He continues to give us opportunity after opportunity to have His presence return or for us to draw near again.  It amazes me how many times You have allowed Your people to return, how many times You have delivered them, how man times You have shown mercy.  You are such a forgiving and Merciful God. You have always given opportunity for your people to repent and return.

The call is still the same today… Return with all your heart, repent of every Idol, and Put your faith and actions in the Lord only.  And He will deliver you!!!  Repentance and Faith.  I love the constant and consistent call that has come through Your prophets to Your people.  Repent and put your faith and service in Him and He will deliver you.  You have never made it so that there is no way to return!  You have always had a plan for your people and a opportunity for restored relationship.  

4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 

So they did it. They turned and put way other Idols and served the Lord ONLY! ONLY!  That is a key word.  God is not one to share worship or service with other Idols.  Him and Him only is worthy of our worship and service and He is a jealous God and He will not share.  

4/5/08 – Proverbs 22:6 (message notes)

It is hard to post my notes but this is some notes on Sundays message that I have been studying for today. I hope it will help some of you out to understand Pr. 22:6  I love this verse… Great stuff.

 

Pr 22:6 – Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

 

TRAIN

·      Train. Or “Dedicate,” Instruction and discipline are primarily involved. [NIV SB]

o       Train. May include the idea of dedicate as well as educate.

§       Traditionally, this verse has been interpreted as a promise to good parents that spiritual nurture ultimately would assure their children of godly lives. If the promise is not fulfilled, the duty has not been performed. It is true that the word “train” (hanak, Heb.) comes from a root meaning “to put something into the mouth” or “to affect the taste.” A kindred Arabic word was used to describe the process of putting date syrup into the mouth of a newborn to encourage sucking. Thus, training goes beyond teaching or imparting knowledge to include positive motivation as well as modeling godly behavior before the child. [Believer's SB]

§       Many parents want to make all the choices for their child, but this hurts him or her in the long run. When parents teach a child how to make decisions, they don’t have to watch every step he or she takes. They know their children will remain on the right path because they have made the choice themselves. Train your children to choose the right way. [Life Application SB]

 

WAY HE SHOULD GO

·      The way – (hebrew) His way.  

o      Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour.

·      Proverbs 22:6 (AMP)  Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. [Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 3:15.]

·      Way he should go. The right way, the way of wisdom. [NIV SB]In the way he should go. Lit., according to his way; i.e., the child’s habits and interests. The instruction must take into account his individuality and inclinations and be in keeping with his degree of physical and mental development. [Ryrie SB]

·      “In the way he should go” is literally, “according to his [the child's] way.” It is natural to want to bring up all our children alike or train them the same way. This verse implies that parents should discern the individuality and special strengths that God has given each one.. By talking to teachers,

4/3/08 – 1 Samuel 6:6-21

6 Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? 

 

They are using the Eqyptians as an example of people who would not pay to have the children of Israel leave.  He would have rather had all the plagues come on Him and it ended up destroying them.  This is a interesting example comparing the Ark of the covenant to the Children of Israel and comparing the Philistines to Pharaoh.  If these people would have hardened their hearts and kept the Ark of the covenant they would have had more plagues come up on them and would have ultimately been destroyed all because they would not humble themselves and send the ark back. 

But I think it is interesting that the comparison to the Ark of the covenant as being kind of like the children of Israel in this situation because in this case it was because they would not let the Ark go and in the Pharaoh story it is because He will not let the people go.  In the old covenant the Ark was the carrier of the presence of God and now in the new covenant He places His presence or His spirit in earthen vessels in people.  This is kind of in a far stretched way a reflection of what was to come… God’s people being the ones that where carrying his presence and as long as Pharaoh held on to them it was God’s presence that was causing plagues to come upon them.  

The challenge in this is not to let your heart to be harden.  This causes resistance to doing what is right.  This causes the seed of God’s word to not take root in you.  This brings curses and plagues upon you.  This state of Your heart is the scariest place because this when you just do things in pure rebellion and you do not just let go of things even if they are harming you.  Lord, I pray that my heart would stay soft and open.  I do not want to have a hard heart at all… keep my heart soft by YOUR SPIRIT.

 

7 ”Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance.”

 

They did not know the right way it was supposed to be moved but they where basically living by the belief that if you gave the Ark a vehicle then it would go in the right direction.  If it does not go in the right direction then it was not of God.  I think that this is a great concept… If you give the presence of God a vehicle then He will lead it in the right direction.  He will get it back to the right place.  He will lead it and guide it he will tell those cows where they need to go and if they don’t then it was not the Lord it was something else.

God all you need is a vehicle that will follow and YOU will lead it in the right direction and get it back to the place it is suppose to be.

 

10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. 13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 

 

Now when the vehicle got where it was suppose to be it became a sacrifice.  I think every vehicle that God uses to carry His presence should become a sacrifice to the worship and glory of God.  First You lead and guided this vehicle and got it to the right place and then if became a object of worship and sacrifice to You.  I love this picture!   I want to be a vehicle for your presence I want to be led and guided by you and then I want to be used as a sacrifice to the glory and honor of you.

 

16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron. 17 These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord–one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers–the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock, on which they set the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 

 

It was a sacrifice for each leader and each town.  There is a rock that the ark was set on in the field of Joshua that is a witness to this story.  

 

19 But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them, 20 and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” 21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your place.”

 

70 people died because they looked in the ark.  They looked when they did not have the authority to do so and so they died.  You can not handle the things of God as common things… You must handle it with respect and honor.  To many people handle the presence of God as if they believe it has no power or as if they believe it is just a common thing.  When you are in the presence of God their should be a sence of awe and fear.  There should be a respect not to do something that would be disobedient.  

They felt like it was to heavy a blow.  When we do not understand something we think that God deals with people to harshly and to strong.  But God is right and just and whatever He does is pure and we need to trust His justice.

4/2/08 – 1 Samuel 6:1-5

1 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” 

 

So they end up having the ark for 7 months and it had done nothing but totally bring plagues, destruction, and disease.  And now they want to know how to get rid of it.  I think it is amazing how people just assume that having the presence of God with you is always a good thing and blessings will be on you always.  But I know that there are many people who are trying to run from his presence because it is destroying there “fleshly” lives they are under to much conviction, it is destroying their “fun” and some people want it as far away as possible.  No flesh will glory in HIS presence so you can not have both.

 

I think sometimes we loose an idea of the fearful awesome presence of God.  The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom and if that is the beginning then many people have not even started to have wisdom because they do not have a healthy respect and fear of God’s awesome presence.  This chapter has reminded me how Awesome, holy, and amazing it is to be in your presence and How we should respect it and have a holy fear of YOU and your presence.

 

 

3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

 

They got advice from the priests and diviners and they where set on the act that if you are going to send it back to not send it back empty.  You are going to have to give a trespass offering.  Not only do they want this thing gone but they are now having to pay for stealing it and sending it back with an offering.  Your restoration is amazing!  You can take a crazy situation and make into a profitable one.  Not only are they returning the ark but they are giving money for it to be returned so that it will not continue to afflict them. 

 

 4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and pay honor to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 

 

They wanted to know what the offering was they where suppose to give and it was five golden tumors and golden rats.  I can not help to laugh when I read this offering that they have to give.  It is so humbling to have to make an image of the tumors you had and an image of the rats and make them out of gold and send them back.  This is going to make them pay for them stealing the ark.  

 

It is hard to have practical application on this passage except to realize that you do not want to mess with the presence of God.  Otherwise it will mess with you.