March 24: 1 Samuel 4-7
Did the Israelites treat the Ark like an idol? I wonder
if they sat that as God instead of just his resting place. It seems they
thought that bringing it, instead of praying to God, would save them. When it
doesn’t, and the Philistines capture it, I imagine they saw it as a
demonstration that their god, Dagon, was more powerful than the true God. Do
you think the Israelites thought they’d be struck dead when the Ark was taken?
The Philistines quickly realize that taking the Ark was a
mistake, and they attempt a test to see if God would direct it back to Israel.
They realize an offering must be made, but gold tumors and rats? Ewww. Some
scholars believe the illness suffered by the Philistines was actually the
plague (which we now know is spread by fleas on rats) – maybe they recognized a
rat infestation was of God.
The returned Ark is received with great celebration by
the people of Beth Shemesh. I thought it was interesting that it stopped by the
field of Joshua. Of course this is not the Joshua from the days in the desert,
but the name does mean “The Lord Saves”.
I imagine the Philistines didn’t cover the Ark appropriately, and some
70 people were killed because they looked upon it. Were all the people killed,
or just the ones who wanted a chance to view it up close? Surely those who
treated it appropriately, covering it and transferring it to safety, were safe
(I hope).
Have we as Christians ever treated the cross as an idol,
turning to it instead of God?
TOMORROW’S TEXT: 1 Samuel 8-10
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment