Where Did He Go?
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Job 19:25-27
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes - I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse(s) is(are):
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Today we will be reading from 1 Samuel 4
Have you ever heard about a marriage where one of the spouses abandoned the family to the complete and total surprise of the other?
Have you ever heard about a church where a group of the congregants suddenly left the church and no one in the church had any knowledge that it was coming?
Have you ever heard of a child running away to the total surprise of the parents?
Any of these could possibly happen but it is not likely. In order for such a thing to happen the family or the church or the parents in question would have to be totally oblivious to what was leading up to the departure. Either the departing persons were amazingly crafty at hiding their deception or the persons left behind were just not paying attention.
In any case it would be a catastrophe, would it not?!
How does that apply to what we are about to read in 1 Samuel 4?
Please join me in your Bibles as we read: 1 Samuel 4
(Prayer for help)
Let’s do a flash back to when Israel had come out of Egypt.
What have they seen?
- Ten plagues Yahweh brought against Egypt
- The parting of the Red Sea to escape the Egyptian army
- The defeat of the Egyptian army when Yahweh drown them in the Red Sea
- The pillar of cloud that led them during the day as they traveled in the wilderness
- The pillar of fire that led them during the night in the wilderness
- Yahweh provided water from impossible situations in the wilderness multiple times
- Yahweh provided manna for them to eat in the wilderness
- Yahweh provided victory over the enemies of Israel in the wilderness
- Yahweh gave them the Law in the wilderness
- Yahweh gave them the Tabernacle in the wilderness
Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, did many great things for the Israelites in the wilderness.
After they entered the Promised Land Yahweh continued to do great things for the nation of Israel
- Crossing the Jordan river on dry ground into the promised land when the river was at flood stage.
- The miraculous defeat of Jericho
- The miracle of the sun standing still during the battle with the five kings of the Amorites (Joshua 10)
- The defeat of the northern kings
- And much more
OK, these great events all took place with by the power of God alone. This was a part of the heritage of Israel. But … it had been over 150 years since then …
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the high priest was to do before he could enter into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for Israel once a year. This can all be found in Leviticus 16 but I will give you the “cliff notes” version …
- The high priest “is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die”
- The high priest must offer a bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his family
- He is to put on a linen tunic, linen undergarments, a linen sash and a linen turban
- He is to sacrifice one goat as a sin offering and to send the other goat as a scapegoat to carry the sins of Israel into the wilderness
- He is to take coals from the altar of sacrifice and incense into the Most Holy Place so that, “the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.”
Of course, there is much more to this holy proceeding but I think you can get the idea that the Day of Atonement and entering into the Most Holy Place is a very serious thing.
OK. So, let’s jump a head a couple of hundred years from the time when Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, gave these instructions to Moses, to the time of Samuel, when the Israelites have been defeated in battle by the Philistines.
Now look at 1 Samuel 4:1-5
“Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines … The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.
“When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, ‘Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.’
“So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord 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.
“When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.”
Four thousand soldiers of the army of Israel were killed in the first battle.
Israel blamed Yahweh for the defeat.
They fetched the Ark of the Covenant from the Most Holy Place within the Tabernacle located in Shiloh, about 15 miles away from the battle lines.
In the next engagement Israel lost 30,000 soldiers.
The Ark of the Covenant was captured.
The army of Israel all ran away.
In the middle of all of this, who was it that remembered the great victories that Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel had given to them?
IT WAS THE PHILISTINES!
1 Samuel 4:7-8
“The Philistines were afraid. ‘A god has come into the camp,’ they said. ‘Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.’”
Now, the Philistines did not get the history quite right but they DID remember hearing from THEIR ancestors tell about Yahweh, the Almighty God of Israel!
Do you remember when I asked the following questions?
Have you ever heard about a marriage where one of the spouses abandoned the family to the complete and total surprise of the other?
Have you ever heard about a church where a group of the congregants suddenly left the church and no one in the church had any knowledge that it was coming?
Have you ever heard of a child running away to the total surprise of the parents?
How about this question, have you ever heard of Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, leaving His people and they didn’t even know it?
Now, in actuality, it was not God who left Israel but it was Israel who had left God and they were seemingly surprised by this!
Also, do you remember what would happen to the high priest if he approached the Ark of the Covenant without the proper preparation? HE WOULD DIE! Why? Because was in the Most Holy Place!
Why didn’t the men who were sent to Shiloh to fetch the Ark of the Covenant die? Because God was no longer there!
These men and Hophni and Phinehas were carrying something into the battle against the Philistines but it was not the Presence of the Lord. It was just a fancy box with some stone tablets in it. Without the presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant was only an idol. There was no power in the Ark.
I cannot even imagine what Samuel went through when those men came charging into the Tabernacle, right into the Most Holy Place and took off with the Ark of the Covenant!
And, what was the result of their hideous actions? Fifty thousand soldiers of Israel were slaughtered and the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines. (Something the Philistines would come to regret, by the way.)
But, let’s just draw our attention to one more detail before we try to wrap this up.
Do remember from chapter three when the Lord spoke to Samuel the first time? What does it say?
1 Samuel 3:10a
“The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’”
What was the normal location of the LORD in the Most Holy Place? It was between the Cherubim above the Mercy Seat.
Why was the Lord standing instead of being above the Mercy Seat?
It was because He was not pronouncing mercy to Samuel but He was pronouncing judgment against Eli and his two sons.
And when those unholy men charged into the Most Holy Place and snatched the Ark of the Covenant from the place God had appointed for it, the Mercy Seat was vacant and a time of judgment was about to take place.
The Lord had been present and gracious to the people of Israel.
He had, in the past, shown Himself strong and faithful.
But, gradually the people of Israel forgot about Him until His presence above the Mercy Seat was vacant and the Ark of the Covenant became nothing more than a good-luck token.
What about you?
Was there a time when Jesus had a powerful witness in your life?
Was there a time when entering into the presence of God was a time you greatly treasured?
We live in a world that is tragically filled with sin and on our own this atmosphere of sin has a pull on everyone who lives. And, this pull in the spiritual realm is as real as the pull of gravity is in the material world.
We all know people who are much shorter in their old age than they were in their youth. Why? Because gravity is relentless.
In the same way, the sinful nature of the world in which we live will pull us down relentlessly just as surely as it did to the nation of Israel.
And, the relentless nature of this sinful world makes it impossible for us to just stay in the same spiritual condition. If your spiritual life is not maintained you will end up spiritually wondering where your relationship with Jesus went just as surely as the Israelites of Samuel’s time wondered where Yahweh went.
The question is, “what does Jesus expect from us over the long haul?”
He expects the same thing as one spouse expects from their spouse in a proper marriage relationship; love, faithfulness, and honest, grace filled communication that results in a growing relationship.
He expects the same thing as a parent expects from their children and that their children expect from their parents; love, faithfulness and honest, grace filled communication that results in growing relationships.
The people of Israel did not decide one day to forsake their God.
It was a matter of them neglecting their relationship with God and the pull of this sinful world did what it does to anyone who neglects their relationship with Him; it caused their relationship to grow cold until they did not even realize that the relationship no longer existed. All that remained was the hope that a box called the Ark of the Covenant could save them from their enemies.
In the same way, those who have a vibrant relationship with Jesus will have one of two choices.
They will either grow in Him, with love, faithfulness and honest, grace filled communication that results in a growing relationship.
Or they will take their eyes off of Jesus and the pull of this sinful world will do what it does to anyone who does not have the aid of Jesus.
The neglect of their relationship with Jesus will grow cold until they may not even realize that the relationship no longer exists. And, perhaps all that will remain will be the outward motions of a Christian and the faith that the prayer they prayed years ago is enough to save them.
What happens in your life when you are faced with an onslaught?
Will you do like the Israelites did and blame God, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today…”?
Will you go running for an idol like the Israelites did when they blasphemed the Lord by placing their hope in the Ark of the Covenant instead of the God who was to dwell there?
Or will you say as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
(Job 13:15)
And why was Job able to have that trust in God?
Because he had a faithful relationship with God.
Or, when a trial comes, will you say as Stephen said while being stoned to death, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
(Acts 7:59-60)
And, why was Stephen able to yield himself to such a horrific end with such grace? Because he had a faithful, growing relationship with Jesus.
Or in your time of trial will you be able to say with Jesus, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Why was Jesus able to bear the terrible load of God’s wrath that was due to us for our sin? Because He had a faithful relationship with His Father.
The Bible makes it clear. There is no such thing as a stagnant relationship with the Lord; there is growth or decay. The choice is yours.
The Lord chooses growth for you just as He always chose a growth relationship and victory for Israel. Yes, He chooses growth for you but He will not force growth on you.
His hand is extended to you no matter what situation you are in right now.
If you are in a sweet relationship with Him you can have an even better one.
If you are in a relationship of slow spiritual decay He can breathe life and healing into it if you will just turn to Him.
If you are in full-out rebellion against Jesus, He is waiting for you to turn to Him and to bring life to your spiritually dead soul.
Don’t you want that? Don’t you hunger for more? Don’t you yearn for a loving, faithful, grace-filled relationship with Jesus?
You will never find anything better because there IS nothing better than a love relationship with Jesus!
Final thoughts and prayer
