During a service at an old synagogue, when a particular prayer was said, half the congregants stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up.
The new rabbi didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested that he consult the oldest member of the synagogue. The rabbi hoped the 98-year-old elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual tradition was, so he went to the nursing home to look for him.
“Is this the tradition to stand during this prayer?”
The old man answered, “No, that’s not the tradition.”
“So the tradition is to sit down for the prayer?”
The old man answered, “No, that’s not the tradition.”
The rabbi was confused. “But the people argue all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand.”
And the old man interrupted, “THAT is the tradition!”
Over time, people can get so lost in the ritual and the form that they forget about the real reason why they are doing what they are doing.
• They focus on the ritual and forget about their relationship with God.
• They come before God engrossed by the form but without the substance. The looks are there but their hearts are far from God.
Is God missing in your life? Do you have the look of a Christian, but without a close relationship with Him?
• We have to get this right. We get our relationship with Jesus right, and the rest will fall into the right places. Get this wrong, and nothing will be right.
• At the heart of it all, Christianity is about a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Don’t lose God in religion.
Israel has to fight the Philistines in battle. Let’s see what happens - 1 Sam 4:1-11.
They lost 4000 men in the battle. They came back asking, “Why did the Lord bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines?” (4:3a)
• The question was right but it wasn’t addressed to God. They were venting their frustrations, but without the intention to really seek God.
• How do we know? In the very next line, we find them answering their own question. “Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that IT may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” (4:3b)
• That will solve the problem, just bring along the Ark of God and we will win the war, since the Ark is symbolic of God’s presence.
Some translation uses “HE may go with us” but most uses “IT may go with us”, which is correct. In the light of what is happening, Israel trusted IT – the ARK!
• It’s the ARK that will change their fate! It’s the ARK that will bring them victory.
• Israel treated the ARK as a “good luck charm” that will bring them success.
The Ark is a chest made of acacia wood and covered with gold (Exo 25, 37), and placed within it are two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod (Heb 9:4-5).
• The lid or ‘mercy-seat’, was a gold plate surrounded by two cherubs with outspread wings, where the Lord takes His presence when He meets with Moses.
• It is the symbol of God’s presence leading the people into Canaan. God leads and the people follow.
Now Israel wants the Ark so that they can win the war.
• It wasn’t a desire to seek God or to understand His will. They just wanted it to fulfil their goal and achieve their purpose.
• Does this sound familiar? Many do NOT seek God truly for God’s sake.
• They don’t seek God to do God’s will; they seek God to do their will.
• They seek God to gratify their needs. So God is only as good as He is of use.
We lose God when we emphasize a ritual/object over and above our RELATIONSHIP with God.
• When we focus only the forms, what we get is a religion. It is superstition at best and idolatry at worst. We have lost God!
• It’s like hanging a cross at our front door and believing that everything will be fine in the house. “Bring out the cross and Dracula will run.”
It’s like this incident in Acts 19:13-16 “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15[One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all…”
• They are COPYCATS without a relationship with Jesus.
We cannot apply magical formula on God. Christianity is not a religion of rites or rituals or forms. It is all about a relationship with God.
• The elders of Israel tries to “manipulate” God into given them victory with the ARK, when their hearts are already far from Him.
God is not our servant. We cannot use Him for our purpose. We don’t bargain with God; we submit to Him.
• There is no magical power inherent in any object or method. The power lies with God.
• We don’t copy the forms or the methods, because there is no special power in them. We seek God and look to God. That’s where the power lies, that’s where our help comes from.
People like to copy from the Bible what is effective, blindly. This is one example.
• Acts 19:11-12 “11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
• (1) God did them; (2) the handkerchiefs and aprons touched Paul (not the other way around); He did not introduce a formula. (3) Paul has a close relationship with Jesus (even the demon testified to it, 19:13-16), and (4) God works THROUGH Paul (evil spirits did not flee because of the handkerchiefs/aprons).
Our faith is in God, period. Not in the objects He uses - the forms, the rites, the rituals, the methods. We see in Scriptures that God does not use a method twice.
• How He opened up the Red Sea and Jordan River for Israel were different.
• How He fed Elijah with food were different; once with ravens and another time through a poor widow.
• How Jesus healed the blind – (1) John 9 - once He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the man's eyes with the mud and asked to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” (2) Mark 8 - He spit directly on the eyes and lay hands; (3) Matt 9 - He touched two blind men’s eyes; (4) Luke 18 - He just spoke, “Receive your sight!” (Luke 18)
The message is clear – it’s not in the methods or forms. God does NOT want us to copy the ways. It’s all about Him! You focus on the ARK minus the RELATIONSHIP, you get nothing!
The second mistake Israel made: Expect God’s blessing without repentance.
Look at verse 4-5: “And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.” (4:4b)
• The two sons who were abusing the priesthood, stealing from the offerings and sleeping with the women at the temple; the two priests who were doing wicked things came with the Ark.
The way the author puts it is telling. 4:4 “So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the Ark of the Covenant… and Eli’s two sons were there…”
• The people came to take the Ark and the priests follow.
• This picture is disturbing at best. Instead of the priests seeking God and giving direction to the people, it was the other way around.
• The people takes the ARK and the priests following them.
It’s sad to see that when the Ark arrived, verse 5 says all Israel raised up a great shout of celebration, believing that they will win the war this time.
• It was so loud the ground shook and even the Philistines heard it from afar.
• Never mind how loud that shout is, it won’t bring them the victory they want.
Loudness won’t bring God near, repentance does.
• Psalm 51:16-17 “16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Their plan backfired in a big way. 30,000 men (4:10) died that day, even with the Ark present.
• Ark was taken by the Philistines and the two sons of the Eli died (4:11).
• And that’s not all, subsequently, when Eli the father heard the news, he felt backward off his chair, broke his neck and died.
• His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, heard the news, went into labour, gave birth and died. Her last word was to name the child, Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel.” (4:21)
Repentance is what is needed. Repentance is the only way to restoring fellowship with God.
• The Lord says, “Those who honour me I will honour, but those who despise me will be disdained.” (1 Sam 2:30)
We lose God, when we focus our eyes on any objects, forms, rites, rituals or methods, above our relationship with God.
• If our relationship with God is not right, nothing else works. If our relationship with God is right, everything else will fall into its right place.
Dear friends, God created us to KNOW Him. We broke that relationship when we sinned. God sent His Son Jesus to restore that relationship when Jesus offered Himself on the cross as punishment on our behalf. Faith in Jesus reconcile us with God. Put your trust in Jesus.
To know God’s presence is to deal with our sin squarely.
• Confess and repent. When we call on Jesus, He will forgive us and renew us.
• Then, only then, can we experience His presence and victory in life.
