The Ark was Taken (1 Samuel 4:11a)

4/23/2010 8:01 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  The Ark was taken

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 4:11a

 

            Message of the verses:  “And the ark of God was taken;”

            Just a quick note to begin this SD and that is that I will be covering three sub-divisions from Dr. Wiersbe’s “Be Successful,” his commentary on 1 Samuel.

            The Ark of God was where the Lord made His presence known to the nation of Israel.  No one could even touch it or they would die and that is why it had the handles on it to transport it when it was needed to be moved while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.  This is explained in Numbers 4:5-6 “5  "When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it; 6  and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles.”

            To have the Ark of God taken to the battle field was probably not a sin in and of itself, but to treat it like something that was superstitious to them, a good luck charm, was certainly sinful.  God allowed the ark to be taken to teach both Israel and the Philistines a lesson.  The Ark of God was now in pagan hands, but that is what it had been in while the sons of Eli were ministering to the Lord.

           

Focus #2:  The two priests died                              Reference:  1 Samuel 4:11b

           

            Message of the verses:  and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

            God had warned Eli two times that this was going to happen, once by the anonymous prophet and then by speaking to Samuel about it.  They had their chance to repent of their sins, but chose not to do so and so God’s patience ran out and they were killed.

 

Focus #3:  The high priest died                               Reference:  1 Samuel 4:12-18

 

            Message of the verses:  “12 ¶  Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13  When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching, because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. So the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14  When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What does the noise of this commotion mean?" Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15  Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16  The man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today." And he said, "How did things go, my son?" 17  Then the one who brought the news replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken." 18  When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

            I would like to begin this section by quoting from Warren Wiersbe’s book, “Be Successful,” a note he has on the word “heavy” and how it applies to this section for this is the description of Eli when he died.  “The Hebrew word kabod shows up frequently in this account.  It means ‘heavy’ but also can mean ‘honor, glory, respectful’ (people of weight).  Eli was ‘heavy’ but he wasn’t ‘weighty’ when it came to character and godliness, what Paul called ‘weight of glory’ (2 Cor. 4:17.  “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”  Verses 18 is also meaningful to me and so I will quote them also, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

            When I read the portion of Scripture in 1 Samuel I saw that Eli was more concerned for the Ark of God than he was for his two sons, who were very sinful.  There was a law in the OT that when someone has a child who continues to act sinfully they can have him killed, and thus purge the evil for the nation of Israel.  This is not done in the NT times, but one can be turned over to Satan as Paul describes in 1 Cor. 5, (I think its chapter 5). 

            It is possible that Eli had a heart attack, or a stroke, but he did die and his death along with the death of his two sons began how the Lord would rid Israel of all his decedents as was promised by the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I once read a book by Charles Swindoll called “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back,” and I think that it describes my walk with the Lord pretty well.  My goal has always been since I became a believer and found out that all believers are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, but all believers had enemies and fall to sin too many times.  My though life at times gives me struggles, and then what is going on in our country at this time, seeing it come to receive its due from the Lord for its great sinfulness is heartbreaking to me, but the eighteenth verse in 2^nd Cor. four has again reminded me who is in control and that He will never make any mistakes, and that He is equitable, and that one day all wrongs will be made right with believers give me renewed confidence in the Lord this morning and I am thankful.  I pray that the momentary light afflictions in my life will produce an eternal weight of glory in my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

 

4/23/2010 8:50 AM

 

Israel Was Defeated (1 Samuel 4:1-10)

4/22/2010 8:31 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Israel was defeated

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 4:1-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. 2  The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3  When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies." 4  So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5  As the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6  When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7  The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8  "Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9  "Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight."

    “10 ¶  So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.”

            This SD is the beginning of chapter two in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1 Samuel, “Be Successful.”  He entitles this chapter “Israel’s Defeat—God’s Victory and the first section is entitled “The faithful Word of God.”  God’s Word is faithful, however one has to study it and study it with the right attitude and with the help of the Holy Spirit, and of course be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, or in the case of these OT people from Israel, a true believer in God.

            The events that happened in the next three chapter of 1 Samuel were not accident, but were in the sovereign will of God, and for His plan for the nation of Israel.  They were done to chasten the nation of Israel, those who had sinned against the Lord and to eventually bring about a king in Israel who would be in the line of the Messiah that God would send them, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            A bit about the Philistines is necessary to understand 1 Samuel, for they were Israel’s biggest enemy.  They are mentioned as early as Genesis 21:32 and even in Genesis 10: “14 and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.”  The Philistines were originally a seagoing people from the Aegean region who invaded the territory along the Mediterranean coast (Phoenicia) and sought to control all of the land that is known as Palestine.  (The name “Palestine” is a form of the word “Philistine.”

            The section for today’s SD tells about the defeat of Israel, however one has to know the Scriptures and read between the line in order to understand why Israel was defeated, for after all why should Israel, God’s people, be defeated by their enemies with all of the promises that He had given to His chosen people? 

            The city of Ebenezer (“stone of help) is mentioned and it is also mentioned in 1 Samuel 7:12, but it is not certain that this is the same city. 

            Israel and the Philistines lined up for battle and Israel was defeated loosing 4000 men, which of course was very distressing to them and so the elders of Israel decided to send for the Ark of God in order to ensure victory over the idol worshipping heathens.  They decided this all on their own not consulting the Lord.  I realize that Psalm 3:5-6 were not written then but they surely new the principles that were in it, “5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  The first thing they should have done was confess their sin for there was sin in Israel, and then they should have consulted as to what the Lord would have them do.  Neither of these things was done.  Israel was not walking by faith at this time in their history as seen by the sin in Eli and his sons. 

            After Israel sends for the Ark of God, which was carried by Hophni and Phinehas they got all excited and actually brought fear into the hearts of the Philistines, for the Philistines knew the reputation of the God of Israel, but did not know Him as the one true God.  The next day the Philistines defeated Israel killing 30,000 from Israel and then the rest ran home. 

            “God will not be ‘used’ just to make sinful people achieve their own selfish purposes.  God’s promise is ‘Them who honor me I will honor’ (1 Samuel 2:20).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are a couple of things that are going on in my life at this time that I surely need to seek God to find out His answer for.  Both of these things seem to me like they would be in the will of the Lord, but I can’t afford to just say yes to them without consulting the Lord to see if they are His will for my life.  I desire to do His will, “Ps 40:8  ‘I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.’”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. In order to seek the Lord’s will on the two issues that face me I want to take time to confess my sins, to pray about these situations or opportunities, and to seek the Lord’s will in both of them.

 

4/22/2010 9:24 AM  

A Godly Walk (1 Samuel 3:19-21)

4/21/2010 8:38 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  A godly walk

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 3:19-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “19 ¶  Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. 20  All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21  And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.”

            Samuel’s ministry in Israel was the beginning of the end for Israel, that is that Samuel would be the last judge in Israel, and he would anoint the first two kings in Israel.  The story of Samuel moves very fast through the pages of Scripture, but Samuel was a very important person in the life of the nation of Israel.

            The text here again repeats that Samuel grew, but adds that the Lord was with him this time.  Samuel was the only judge in Israel who was known throughout the entire nation of Israel, as the others were judges in certain areas of Israel, but not all of Israel like Samuel. 

            The Lord would continue to reveal Himself to Israel at Shiloh from time to time because that is where Samuel was located. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that the most important section of this text is that it says that “the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.”  The Lord was with Samuel all the days of his life.  The Lord is with me in the person of the Holy Spirit, and will be with me all the days of my life and this is a wonderful blessing for me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Since the Lord is with me in the person of the Holy Spirit, I pray that I will not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

 

4/21/2010 8:55 AM

A Humble Heart (1 Samuel 3:15-18)

4/20/2010 8:02 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  A humble heart

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 3:15-18

 

            Message of the verses:  “15  So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16  Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." 17  He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you." 18  So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.’”

            One of the things that I really appreciate about Warren Wiersbe is how he will open up things in the Scripture that I would never think of and there is something in one of his footnotes seems important enough to quote here.  “Samuel would have a ministry of ‘opening doors’ for others.  He opened the doors of kingship to Saul, who failed to use it for God’s glory, and also to David, who used his position to serve God and the people.  Samuel established a school of the prophets and opened doors of ministry to prophets and opened doors of ministry to the men God sent to him.  He opened the doors to new beginning for the nation of Israel that was at low ebb both spiritually and politically.”  This not is of course a reference to verse fifteen where it is told that Samuel opened the doors of the house of the Lord which is something that he must have been doing for sometime.

            There is one thing that I wish to comment on that Samuel did here, something that I know that I would have had trouble with, and that is that Samuel did not say a word to Eli about what would happen to him and to his sons, but Samuel just got up and begin to do his work that he would normally do.  Samuel as written in an earlier SD was probably about twelve years old and this would probably be hard for a normal twelve year old boy to not tell what he had just learned, especially from the Lord, yet Samuel was not a normal young man, but a young man who just became a believer in the Lord, and a young man who would do some wonderful things for the Lord in his life.

            As far as Eli there were things that he did for Samuel that if he would have done for his own sons perhaps things would have turned out better.  To Eli’s credit he still had a strong zeal for the tabernacle and wanted to protect it at all costs, and another thing is that the way he conducted himself after told by Samuel what would happen to him seems kind of hard for me to believe after learning all the things that the Lord was so upset about concerning Eli.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to be more like Samuel in keeping things to myself until someone asks me about certain things.  Samuel was closed mouth and did not talk too much, something I desire to do in my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.  Pr 10:19 ¶  Too much talk leads to sin.

    Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

 

4/20/2010 8:39 AM

An Obedient Will (1 Samuel 3:10-14)

4/19/2010 7:48 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  An obedient will

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 3:10-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “10  Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

    “11 ¶  The LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12  "In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13  "For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. 14  "Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.’”

            Samuel obeyed Eli and went back to where he was sleeping and waited to hear the voice again, and this time the Lord called out his name twice.  Now Samuel did not call the name of the Lord to answer because he did not know the Lord yet as verse seven shows.  There is something else here, and that is that the Lord came and stood and called to Samuel as He did in other times.  This was no dream, but this was a manifestation of the Lord to Samuel.

            The message that Samuel gets from the Lord is similar to the one that the prophet had given to Eli, and that is that the priesthood would be taken from his family because he did not discipline his sons for the sins that they had been committing and now it was too late to repent for God will bring judgment upon the house of Eli.

            Samuel is probably around twelve years old at this time and this seems young to hear a message like this, and yet since the Lord gave him this message I must believe that he was old enough to handle it or else He would not have given it to Samuel.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Sin is something that I have to keep in check and confess it whenever I commit it.  I don’t think that the things that pertained to Eli’s sons are similar to me, but the fact remains that I too am a priest of the Lord and have to live my life in a way that will be pleasing to the Lord and when I sin I must be willing to confess my sins to the Lord for He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Psalm 139:23-24 again come to my mind after reading this portion of Scripture:  “23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

 

4/19/2010 8:13 AM

An Attentive Ear (1 Samuel 3:1-9)

4/18/2010 8:21 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DAIRY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  An attentive ear

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1 Samuel 3:1-9

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. 2  It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), 3  and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, 4  that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am." 5  Then he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6  The LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he answered, "I did not call, my son, lie down again." 7  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. 8  So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. 9  And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ’Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

            There are a couple of things in this section that I want to write on, and the first is in verse seven where it says that Samuel did not know the Lord.  This could be like Saul of Tarsus with the exception that the Lord came to him in the day time and He came to Samuel at night.  Samuel came to know the Lord that evening just as Saul came to know the Lord that day.

            Eli’s eyes were very bad and this goes along with verse one where it says that the Word of the Lord was rare in those days.  Israel’s spirituality was a dark as Eli’s eyes. 

            The Law states that the light in the tabernacle should never go out, yet it says in verse three that the lamp of God had not yet gone out.  Perhaps they were letting the light go out in those days as it seems that they were doing many things wrong in those days that had to do with the Lord,  But I think that this statement can be looked at in another way in that God had not yet given up on the nation of Israel and He was about to do a work in this nation through a young man named Samuel.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Jesus Christ is the light of the world, and He is the Light in my life and I must never be like Eli and allow the light to grow dim so that I cannot discern where God is leading me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Keep the light of the Lord burning in my heart by reading, confessing, listening to God’s Word, praying and trusting that the Lord will do what He desires to do in my life.

 

4/18/2010 8:49 AM

God's Judgment Disregarded (1 Samuel 2:22-26)

4/17/2010 7:09 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DAIRY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  God’s judgment disregarded

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  1 Sam. 2:22-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “22  Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 23  He said to them, "Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24  "No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the LORD’S people circulating. 25  "If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death. 26  Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men.”

            This will be the first of two sub-divisions that I will cover today.  I don’t know how old the sons of Eli were, however they could not have been too young because of the age of Eli.  The time for disciplining these two sons should have been when they were much younger, for to try and do it at this older age would not be successful.  Dr. Wiersbe writes these words concerning Eli and his sons:  “To tolerate sin and not deal with it severely is to participate in that sin.”  God would not tolerate these sins much longer and He would send a messenger to Eli to tell him what he was going to do.  “Hophni and Phinehas had no respect for the Lord or for the office of their father the high priest, so all God could do was judge them and replace them with faithful servants.”

            Message of the verses:  “27 ¶  Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, ’Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 28  ’Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? 29  ’Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30  "Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ’I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ’Far be it from Me-for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. 31  ’Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32  ’You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever. 33  ’Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life. 34  ’This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die. 35  ’But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always. 36  ’Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, "Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread."’"

            This sub-section is called “God’s judgment declared.”  There are three parts that come from the “man of God” in this section, the past, the present, and the future.  The phrase “man of God” is used some seventy times in the OT and refers to a prophet, of which some of the times the name of this man is not given like in this case.  He tells Eli the history of the priesthood in the nation of Israel, how God, by His grace chose Aaron and his family to be the priests before the Lord.  Next he tells Eli the bad news about him and his sons, that they will die, his sons on the same day, and actually he, his sons, and a newborn grandson died on the same day.  Next he give some good news concerning the priesthood, as he foretells a priest would come latter on to do good, and this priest would be the Lord Jesus Christ although He came from the tribe of Judah and was a priest after the order of Melchizedek. 

            There is part of this whole prophecy that I have never quite understood and that is that back in the book of Numbers:  “7  When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8  and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. 9  Those who died by the plague were 24,000. 10  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11  "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. 12  "Therefore say, ’Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; 13  and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’"

            In reading the commentary from Warren Wiersbe he states that Eli come from the line of Ithamar who was Aarons fourth son, and then in a footnote on this he writes “There is no record in Scripture how the high priesthood moved from Eleazar’s line to Ithamar’s and hence eventually to Eli.”  So as near as I can figure this out this mystery is the clue that I needed to understand this. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Be sure your sin will find you out is what I have learned from this section along with God being patience and will do what is needed to work out His plan no matter whether or not it is in a persons life or the life of a nation.