Matthew Blewett - Class 5: Into Captivity

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Good morning, brothers and sisters. When we woke up this morning, when we did eventually wake up this morning, we noticed that the beautiful sun that we had seen was gone and there was rain for the morning. And of course, nature teaches us that the sun doesn't shine on every day, that the perfect weather is sometimes disrupted by the clouds and the rain, which of course we do need. And in a sense, that's a good introduction for what we want to consider this morning. Because so far in our considerations of the Ark of the Covenant, we really have had almost a perfect parable of God's plan of salvation. We have seen, obviously, first of all, the principles of that salvation. We've then seen the way in which salvation takes place through the way of salvation, through resurrection. We then saw the way in which God's master plan will be realized through the conquering of the kingdoms of men, through the falling of the wars of Jericho, and the final reaching out of God's mercy to the ends of the earth.

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   So, by the time we've got to the end of yesterday, we've got to the conclusion of the matter. We're in Revelation 11, the seventh trumpet, and the story is complete. And if there were only four sessions in this Bible school, we could well have ended it there, but we needed to have two more. And the story of the Ark, of course, did continue. And in the event that we're going to consider today is something really for us, isn't it? Because the reality is that when man is introduced into God's equation, man is far from perfect. And our weaknesses complicate God's plans. Not that he didn't know this, but they do. And so God's plan for salvation is rested, in a sense, by our sin and our pride. And the perfect journey that we have seen so far of the Ark suddenly hits a rocky road in our consideration this morning. And we're going to see the weakness of Israel lead to really devastating consequences for Israel, and for the Philistines, and for a leader, and even for the Ark itself. But of course, as in all these episodes, there's lessons to be learned, and hopefully we can enjoy them together this morning. We're going to be considering together 1 Samuel chapters 4 through 7. And of course, with four chapters to consider, we're not going to be going into all the details of this story, hoping once again that you will remember it from your Sunday school days, very briefly to remind you.

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   We will look at some of the details, but we will be really moving in at a number of verses. This is the story of the Ark when it was taken into battle against the Philistines. You will remember that the Philistines won the battle. They took the Ark away into captivity. They captured the Ark. The Ark then spent some very unpleasant months with the Philistines. It wasn't very kind to them. Eventually, the Philistines needed to get rid of the Ark in a way, release themselves of this burden. They returned the Ark back to the children of Israel, where eventually it ended up in the house of Abinadab. So that's the story, very simply.

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   So we don't need to go through that detail now. We can just home in on what is the message behind the story? What kind of patterns were being taught that can help us to understand better the way in which we should approach God and to understand better the plan of salvation that God had and has with all of us. And hopefully we'll see God teaching the children of Israel more of these aspects concerning his salvation. So let's go through and set some of the context.

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   If you'll come with me, we should be there in 1 Samuel chapter 4, and we're going to look at that context in verse 1. Before we do that, just to consider the nation of Israel that was at that time, they had come through the victories of Joshua, they had settled in the land, they'd entered into the period of the judges, and really these generations that had come through the wilderness journeys into the land and become the early settlers of the land, they were really the children of monotheism, if you will. And what I mean by that, obviously those who'd been in the land of Egypt had been exposed to all the Egyptian religions, but the children that had been born, almost this clean generation, remember through the wilderness wanderings, they waited until all those over the age of 20 had died, so that those who entered the promised land, I don't know if you ever thought of this, were only those who had ever only been exposed to the true faith. Isn't that amazing?

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   That's one of the implications of what happened through the wilderness wanderings. So that when they came into the promised land, that generation that entered were the children of monotheism. And what I mean by that, all they ever knew was Exodus 20 verse 3 and 4. And what were the first two commandments? Think about what they were. The first was, I am the only God you worship, there is none other.

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   The concept of one God. The second commandment was, you shall make no graven images. The concept that God is invisible and is not found in something that can be seen. So, they were brought up on this concept, which was foreign to all other religions, that there is only one God and He is invisible.

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   And so, this generation entered, as God would have had, them into the promised land. And of course, they entered under the warning of Joshua that when you get there, you're going to find something you've never discovered before. You're going to find that other people have a different perspective of God. Have a different view of God.

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   And I think we're going to see more and more of this come out in this particular lesson this morning. Other people have a religion that they can touch and see and feel. Be careful was the injunction given to them by Moses and also by Joshua. And so, we pick up the record in 1 Samuel 4 and at verse 2.

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    And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. And when they joined in battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines. And they slew of the army in the field about 4,000 men. So, very interesting. This starts with a very difficult situation for Israel. They are beaten by the enemy. 4,000 of them are dead.

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    Verse 3. Wherefore, they said, hath Yahweh smitten us today before the Philistines? So, that's the the great question any of us ask when we have an experience in our lives that perhaps we didn't expect that is one that causes grief, causes suffering. I guess many people in London today are asking that question.

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    Why did God let this happen? So, they were no different. Wherefore, hath Yahweh allowed us to be smitten or smitten us this day? And in our own lives when we ask that question, we often make a mistake of trying to find the answer too quickly. We would have got actually provides the answer for every single suffering that you go through and I think I've mentioned this before.

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    If you want to find the answer, it's in 1 Peter 1. But, of course, we want to find other answers. We want to try and work out exactly what it is. Is there something that we maybe have done or is it... And so, we often jump to conclusions very quickly. And sometimes when we jump to conclusions about why certain experiences have happened in our lives too quickly, the consequences, as we will see in this situation, can be very dangerous.

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    They wanted a specific answer. And before God could provide them with an answer, they came up with their own answer for how they could correct the problem. For what the problem perhaps was and how they could correct it. And we see in their answer, I think it will become clear, the underlying problem that had crept into their religion.

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    their solution is there in verse 3, sorry, in verse 3, yes, continuing the verse, let us fetch the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of Shiloh unto us that when it comes among us it may save us out of the hand of the enemies. Ah, they said, we lost the battle because we did not have the ark.

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    Not just, they didn't say we lost the battle because Yahweh was not with us, we lost the battle because we did not have the ark. Perhaps the Philistines when they had come out to battle had Dagon or one of their God's representatives. It's very much like, I don't know whether they do this in American football which of course none of you probably watch but we do watch rugby, I will confess at home on the odd occasion.

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    Now when the schools play games of rugby, often when the top teams come on to play they have a mascot. Do you have a mascot? And they put the mascot down. I don't know what it's meant to represent but it's often just a teddy bear, it doesn't really help for a rugby game but it's the mascot.

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    This is what is going to help them perhaps to win the game. And so it was that they saw perhaps that the thing that they were missing that had made them lose the battle was in fact the ark. So in verse 4 they send men to Shiloh and read carefully here and they brought back the ark of the covenant of Yahweh Almighty who is enthroned between the cherubim and Eli's two sons Hophni and Phinehas were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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    Now that little phrase where it says where Yahweh is enthroned between the cherubim appears on about four or five occasions with reference to the ark and it gives us this idea that we haven't really dwelt on so much and we'll talk a lot more about tomorrow of the ark of the covenant representing also the throne of God representing the fact that God is ultimately going to be king and is king now and this is his throne and I think it's interesting that it's used here why?

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    Because it's almost as if to say when the ark was in Shiloh there Yahweh was enthroned between the cherubim the point is that this ark only has value when the king is enthroned on it of itself it's a piece of furniture it's a throne and all they had gone to get from Shiloh was the throne which they bring back to the place of battle they had come to see the ark as having power they were becoming focused I put it to you brethren and sisters on visual religion and here lay their essential problem look at verse 3 of chapter 4 when the people came into the camp now they were bringing it into the camp where they were in battle the elders of Israel said wherefore sorry wherefore this is the verse we have read let us fetch the ark we're going to read it more carefully of the covenant of Yahweh out of Shiloh unto us that when it comes among us it may save us out of the hands of hands notice the pronouns this is very interesting that when it comes it might save us the ark it will come it will save us from our enemies the Philistines they have their graven images they have their idols now we will bring our talisman our mascot like all the other nations and we know that this was their thinking don't we because later on in the life of Samuel they would express the same weakness to Samuel when they said behold you are old and your sons don't walk in your ways now make us a king to judge us like all

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    the other nations a king that we can feel and touch and see because we need a visual religion and the first two commandments God gave them was to teach them that he was invisible that he was in the realm of the spirit that cannot be seen but they wanted the realm that could be seen and touched and felt and there is a great pattern for us isn't it it's this there's a great lesson it's for us when the pattern becomes more important than the reality and in a sense sometimes even for us sometimes the pattern can come so important that it's delinked from the principle and the spiritual reality that it was meant to be teaching and every one of us as much as we can look at these Israelites and shake our heads and look at the Pharisees when we read in the Gospels of how they were so into their visual religion we can shake our heads we need to think very carefully because in the times of Israel this is what had happened when Jesus came they were completely engrossed in the trappings of their religion their visible religion had reached its heights so that Jesus said these words in Matthew 23 I just found these marvelous words to consider woe unto you 23 23 of Matthew scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin these are things you can barely see tiny things and you take a tenth of them which you can barely see but you can see it for anything that can be seen you will go to the utmost detail as what

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    Jesus is saying because it's visible that's the nature of your religion but you have omitted the weightier matters of the law tell me can you see these things judgment mercy faith these invisible things yes they can be demonstrated through words but essentially they are invisible these were the weightier matters they weren't interested in them it wasn't what their religion had become it was all about the visible things the things you could see and touch and feel these ought ye to have done and not to have left the other undone you have cleaned the outside of the cup and the platter but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness and what of us well I think by God's grace our religion our covenant the new covenant has very few visual aspects baptism breaking of bread head coverings do we see always the spiritual reality behind the pattern but we also do have other visual aspects not necessarily based on the fundamentals of the covenant but that are part of our worship meetings Bible schools the clothes we wear committees the way we preach things that can be seen I'm emphasizing here all the things that we can see And sometimes we also every one of us has fallen into the trap if we are honest with ourselves can sometimes be so obsessed with what should be the pattern and begin to lose sight of the spiritual reality and I don't know how far removed you may think we've come some way from a group of people who were wanting to see an ark rather than the spiritual reality that lay behind it the essential

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    ! problem is the same is that as humans living in a natural world we will always move towards feeling more comfort in the things that we can see and feel and touch we're in that world but God is calling us to another world to a world where the things we can feel and touch are not as important as mercy judgment and faith and the Jewish religion at one stage had become so fixated on these patterns and you will know these words but let's have a look at them in Amos 5 their visual religion had become so much to them and become so delinked from the spiritual reality their focus on the ark for the ark sake their focus on the sacrifice for the sacrifice sake their focus on the meeting and being at the meeting for the sake of that alone and they had lost the spiritual reality Amos 5 verse 21 I hate these are these are strong words I despise your feast days I will not smell in your solemn assemblies though you offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings I will not accept and neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts take you away from me the noise of your songs for I will not hear the melody of your vows and look at and look at the message it's the same as Jesus but judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream can you see judgment can you see righteousness and look at verse 25 this is the one that really have you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty

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    years of house of Israel what is God saying for forty years that's what they did in fact there was one offering as you would well know the offering of burnt offering that was the continual offering how can you be asking us God if we have offered sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness we had one that was continually offered before you the moment you lose the reality behind the pattern the pattern means nothing to me it was only meant to help you to understand the reality the ark means nothing to me if you do not understand the spiritual reality verse five of first samuel four when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp all Israel shouted with a great shout so that the earth rang they applauded it it must have given them memories of Jericho now they're in for it remember when we had the ark with Jericho the wars came tumbling down these philistines will never withstand us now we'll shout like we shouted on the seventh day the ark is with us there will be victory and little did they know that all they had was a box covered in gold nothing more if anything if anything the arrival of the ark made the philistines check where they were in the process because look at the philistines were afraid for they said look at how they speak isn't this very insightful they say God is coming to the camp you see that's the way they saw it just like the Israelites were now seeing it they saw the ark of the covenant as the God just like Dagon was

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    God they knew nothing of patterns and symbols so when they heard that the ark was coming they said God is coming to the camp they said woe unto us for there hath not been such a thing heretofore and of course as a result of them thinking that the God of Israel had come into the camp they really thought they would need to equip themselves and really go out for battle so on the one hand you had the Israelites relying on this mascot because that's what they thought it

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    the same now decide we better make sure that we do our best in this battle because there's no magic on our side and of course the result is recorded for us in verse 10 so the Philistines fought and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent the slaughter was very great Israel lost 30,000 foot soldiers and the ark of God was captured and Eli's two sons Hophni and Phinehas died a sad day in Israel previously 4,000 men had died now they thought they had found the solution 30,000 dead and to add insult to injury the ark of the covenant is captured and there's terror in the land you can imagine it for all those who had come to believe that this holy item was the ultimate source of protection for them not only has it not protected them it's lost and every man fled to his tent there's fear in Israel and isn't there a strong spiritual echo there it was because they wanted sorry the message had been clear they all ran they had brought the throne without the king and there was no value for them but think about it what had led to the situation it was because of the foolishness of the Israelites it was because of their lack of perception that the tabernacle and God's most holiest piece of that tabernacle had been lost and here's where that strong spiritual echo is that I was referring to a few moments earlier it it was it was because they wanted a visual savior it was because they were fixated on a king who could do things for them

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    now who could release them from Roman bondage who could make them the head and not the feet they were expecting a priest who would conform to their tradition and their religious trappings and when the lonely man from Nazareth came and spoke about the hidden things of the heart and of the has no form have you ever thought about these words carefully these words are not just there to tell us that Jesus people would say you know Jesus obviously wasn't a good looking man look at what Isaiah 51 says that's not the point he has no form nor comeliness that we should see him that we should that when we see him and no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from he was despised and we esteemed him not in other words there was nothing visual about Jesus his report was one of invisibility his report was one of faith and judgment and mercy and when we looked at him visually there was nothing that made us attracted to him and so we despised him we esteemed him not we rejected him as happened on that day with the ark and look at verse 11 of Samuel 4 the ark was lost to the enemy wasn't it Jesus was rejected and lost to the grave albeit only temporary and the ark of God was taken and the two sons of Eli Hophni and Phinehas were slain the ark is captured and two sinners die with it Jesus the ark of the covenant would

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    die in the presence of two thieves because of Israel's foolishness you see sin and human weakness is a serious matter we can never and should never make light of the cost of our sin in human flesh in this case it cost the possession of the most holy symbol they had in our case it cost the life of a perfect sinless man but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was in him and with his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way isn't that what happened when he was crucified everyone went to his own way the disciples fled and what do we read here every man fled to his tent are there strong echoes here of what's going on every man fled to his tent and Eli the great priest at that time hears the news and although there's tragedy surrounding the death of his sons this is very interesting look at verse 18 and when they mentioned the ark of God Eli fell backward over his chair by the side of his gate and died imagine here's a day that your two sons have died but but Eli

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    he knew the real issue that had happened here perhaps even at this point he realizes what has happened and how devastating it is and he dies as a result of hearing that the ark has been captured interesting the way it describes this it says his neck was broken and he died for he was an old man and heavy he had led Israel 40 years and of course with spiritual glasses on we say why does it tell us he was an old man and heavy well naturally of course it explains how he could fall over backwards and die well he used to smile at that when I was a Sunday school scholar but why else he was an old man and heavy he led Israel for 40 years is it not that he represented the dispensation of the law that thing which had been heavy upon

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    and at the time that Jesus goes into captivity the veil of the covenant is torn symbolizing as Romans says for Christ is the end of the law blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to the cross at this point when the ark goes into captivity we know that's the point at which the

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    it was heavy upon us in that it could not ultimately provide salvation comes to an end in the form of Eli as Eli falls over backwards and a new dispensation is gained and isn't there an irony in this event because at this time of loss there's also a gain you might not remember this because we haven't read all the chapter but on this day of loss the loss of the ark the death of Eli and of course his two children we read this about his daughter in law verse 19 of Samuel 4 and Eli's daughter in law Phineas was with child and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken and that her father and husband were dead she bowed herself in travail for her pains came upon her and about the time of her death the woman that stood by her said to her fear not you have born a son but she answered not neither did she regard it and she named the child Ichabod saying the glory is departed from Israel because the ark of God was taken and because of her father and her husband and she said the glory is departed from Israel for the ark of God is taken it's interesting isn't it at the time of death there's birth and isn't that a principle of the word of God when there's loss there's gain as Paul said that which was my loss is now my gain when there was death there was life and so at this point of the loss of the ark of the death of Eli there is the birth of

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    a son and his name is Ichabod the glory is departed she said from Israel is it possible that here is a pattern or a parable of one of the most important aspects of God's salvation plan that the salvation was going to move from Israel to the Gentiles that indeed that which was Israel's loss would be our gain that through the treatment and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ the way would be open the middle wall of partition would be taken down and the Gentiles now would be exposed to the salvation of God to the ark of the covenant Romans 11 says I asked then did they stumble that they might fall may it never be but by therefore salvation oh that's just so accurate salvation has come to the Gentiles because of their fall because they were foolish enough to take this ark into battle it's now going to the Gentiles it's a remarkable time there isn't there the Gentiles are exposed first hand probably for the first time to God's salvation they would have experience now with the ark of the !

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    and you might say well it was a far from very pleasant experience with God's salvation and that it was but I believe we will see again tomorrow that that experience they had which was for a few months with the ark of the covenant would deeply have affected the people from that area and we will see a number of evidence of that tomorrow but certainly you will be aware that there were Gittites who came and supported David who came from the area where this ark was now going who would have been exposed to the symbol of God's salvation directly and Paul and Barnabas waxed bold did they not and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you Israel but seeing ye put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life lo we turn to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us saying I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth indeed the glory had departed from Israel but in doing so it came to give hope to the Gentiles that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying the land of Zebulun the land of Naphtali by the way of the sea beyond Jordan Galilee of the Gentiles the people which sat in darkness saw great light and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light has sprung up here is Jesus who came to bring the message also to the Gentiles which is what Matthew 4 is telling us and

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    it says in verse 12 when the message came to tell them that the ark had been lost is this just an extra piece of detail and there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army verse 12 Samuel 4 and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent and with the earth upon his head and he came with a message to say that the ark has been taken !

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    Paul speaking I say then have God cast away his people God forbid for I also am an Israelite the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin is it possible that even that pattern is there that it would be the man of Benjamin who would come with the news that the ark has departed from Israel and gone to the Gentiles as it would be a man of Benjamin Saul of Tarsus who would be given the responsibility to bring the glory to the Gentiles and tell them of this message the patterns indeed are hidden away in the detail of scripture the Philistines return victorious mistakenly they believe they captured God the God of Israel as if God were found in a physical object like their gods but they had captured in a sense God symbol of salvation but in their hands we will see that God's salvation can also be destruction and we mentioned this point before that which had been powerless in the hands of the Israelites because it had just become a golden chest with no value because they had not seen the spiritual reality now in the hands of the Philistines God would make it become powerful again so that they would be exposed to him chapter 5 verse 2 !

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    Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? And they took Dagon and set him in his place again and when they rose early on the morrow morning behold Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off in the presence of Yahweh the gods of the world fall face down in the presence of God's salvation and aren't there great echoes there of Genesis 3 15 and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel the head of Dagon this symbol of sin in the presence of God's salvation the Lord Jesus Christ the two next to each other and they come in the morning and Dagon head is cut off

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    as the ark is in the hands of the Philistines but in the verses that follow and we have no time to go through their detail we're told of the severe devastation that came upon the Philistines and it's quite amusing if you have time to read the detail because there were these five different Philistines or four different cities and they were meant to be !

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    but the way they treat each other would surely not be the way that we would treat friends as we are here I'm sure if you found something that ended up giving you boils and leprosy you wouldn't pass it to me as a friend and that's what they did they would have a terrible experience with the ark would you like to have it for a while and so they passed it on from hand

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    12 for example look at this I'm just going to highlight I'm going to read the whole verses but from verse 6 to verse 12 we see how the ark is reacting in their presence and just get the feeling of these words it was heavy upon them it destroyed them and smote them with emeralds his hand is sore upon us verse 7 verse 9 with a great destruction he smote men verse 10 to slay us verse 11 that it slay us not verse 11 deadly destruction was very heavy there were smitten on 10 occasions in those 7 verses you get this idea of the ark being a heavy destructive force upon them the symbol of God's salvation had become a symbol of death and destruction you see God's salvation as we all very well know is a two edged sword Paul says the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved it is the power of God it's the same ark but for those who cannot understand it it's foolishness it's a stumbling block but for those who understand it's the power to be saved isn't that phenomenal perhaps if you could keep your place in Joshua you could come across to Hebrews 10 perhaps the less it becomes even more personal for us I guess everyone sitting right here in this room right now at this point in their lives views this salvation as something dear something to commit to you wouldn't be here if you didn't but in the journey of life if we should think of turning our back on it if we should think

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    of pursuing another way it cannot be neutral as it was not neutral in the hands of the Philistines Hebrews 10 verse 23 let us hold fast the profession of our faith here's the exhortation don't lose the faith you have right now as you sit in this room here at Shippensburg without wavering let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good work so our responsibility is to encourage each other not to lose that faith not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching

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    but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses how much sore a punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the son of God and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace so brothers sisters we have here a very sober lesson these are holy things this covenant we have invisible as it is if we treat it in a way that is unacceptable of how much sore a punishment as we see this punishment that was being leashed out on the Philistines because they treated the things of the first covenant as unholy how much sore a punishment is the warning of Hebrews 10 and of course eventually after having suffered this punishment in 1st Samuel chapter 5 and verse 11 they come out with a solution they say in verse 11 send the covenant box of Israel back to its own place so it won't kill our families kill us and our families well that's that makes sense the ark had to go back to the place it belonged and this is the point God his salvation the Lord Jesus Christ always has and always will have a place where it can save and be effective only in that place it was in this place only in this place that it provided atonement for the people on that special festival day when the ark was in the right place it was extremely beneficial but the philistines had learned

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    and this is why I say they learned a lot through these experiences they had learned that when it was in the wrong place it caused pain and our faith is similar isn't it in the right place it can save us and make a huge impact on our life in the wrong place it leads to disaster you might say well where is that place well for the tabernacle it was right in the middle wasn't it we were at the tabernacle a very kind

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    the tabernacle I should tell you the pattern of the tabernacle and we're able to see the centrality of the ark in especially the room the holy of holies in the center right in the center so God has a place in the center of us where he can work of course we're told where that is who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord or who shall stand in his holy place he that hath clean hands and a pure heart right in

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    salvation plan has to get to the place that is invisible oh yes I can't see whether he's living in your heart you can't see if he's living in my heart but that's the only place it can be effective and so they decide that in order to appease the ark they must send five mice and five symbols of the tumors that they had to appease the ark and there are some seeds of

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    Gentiles have learned something through their exposure you shall give glory unto the God of Israel isn't that strange they were very enamored by the ark no doubt but they are also now talking about the God of Israel and about giving him glory per eventually he would liken his hand from off you and from off your God these are wise men speaking these are not Israelites look at verse 6 wherefore then do you harden your hearts it sounds like one of the prophets of Israel as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts when he had wrought wonderfully among them did they not let the people go and they departed these Gentiles now seem to know about the history of Israel they're giving glory to God they're humbling themselves they've moved their focus from the ark to the God of Israel and they

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    and so they take the ark and they put it on two cows and a new cart very interesting I think practically what they did they said that they kept the calves of the cows and they brought these two cows oxen that

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    saying if these oxen pull the cart down the road we will know it will be like a sign from God that God is leading the oxen and bringing the ark back to the place it belongs that it doesn't need to stay with us any longer for which they would have been mightily relieved and of course that is what happened the oxen took the ark back have you ever a

48. 42:19

    pretty much the same context as where we are now look at verse 3 the ox knows his owner and the ass his master's crib but Israel doth not know my people doth not consider isn't that an irony Israel didn't know God and here is an ox which knows its master and it's bringing the ark back to where it belongs beautiful words so the ark is brought back in verse it was the place they called of the great stone it almost speaks now of the return of the Lord Jesus back to the Jews and we're not going to go into the detail because even some of them in that town mistreat the ark and they suffer the consequences but if you come now to the end of the story in 1st of Samuel verse 3 we see the problem brought back into focus remember we said from the outset Israel had lost God with them because they had become so focused on the visual aspect of religion and of course Samuel sums this up for us in 1st of

49. 43:48

    just become leader now because Eli has died if you do not return unto Yahweh with all your hearts then put away you see here's the issue see what had been happening in the background the strange gods and Ashteroth from among you and prepare your hearts unto Yahweh and serve him only and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philist that's the solution to the question you

50. 44:18

    what a progression remember earlier they had said the ark will save us it will come and it will save us now in verse 8 they say to Samuel cry unto Yahweh our God the God we can't see the God of the first two commandments that we cannot see that is only the one God cry to him and he will save us and Samuel did just that Samuel cried unto them and we can see this in just get back to first of Samuel chapter 6 chapter 7 rather verse 9 and Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it for a burnt offering and holy unto Yahweh and Samuel cried unto Yahweh for Israel and Yahweh heard him and as Samuel was offering up a burnt offering the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel but Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them and they were smitten before Israel and look at what happens the men of Israel went out of Mishpah and pursued the Philistines and smote them until they came unto Beth car then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mishpah and Shem and called the name of Ebenezer saying hitherto hath Yahweh helped

51. 45:47

    that was where they were first defeated and it started with them believing that the ark could save them as a visual image being taken in by the religions of the world and now they've come full circle and they can see their God again and they know who he is and they know he's the invisible God and so he gives them victory and they end up right back at the place they started and now they have victory and their celebration Ebenezer this is the place where God helps the stone of help the stone which you rejected now is your help the stone which the builders rejected and so it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come up against Israel and I pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced the one whom they rejected and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one is in bitterness for his first born and so all Israel shall be saved be