Flawed Plans

~~~1 Samuel 4:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 44 ~~~ Mark 1:40-45 ~~~

For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.

When we allow ourselves to be overcome by our own pride
we usually end up falling off the edge of the cliff.

If we do not humble ourselves
before God he has his ways of bringing us to our knees.
The Philistines defeated the Israelite army much to their surprise.
They lost four thousands men in that battle.  They decided to carry
 the ark onto the battlefield with the men.
Just seeing the ark brought forth cheering so loud that it was
heard by their enemies miles away.
It might have been a good plan to freak out their enemy,
but it only made the enemy more determined to fight harder.

On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.

Now they had new motivation to fight the Israelites...fear.
They not only slaughtered the army they also captured the precious ark.
Israel lost thirty thousand infantry soldiers that day.
Eli lost both of his sons as they fought until the end protecting the ark.

Things are not going well for the Israelites.
They failed to out fight or out smart their stronger enemy.

Pride blinds us from seeing our own areas of vulnerability.
The ark of the covenant was not enough to keep them safe.

It was more like they were relying on a long held
superstition about the power of the ark.
The power was not in the ark itself.
The power was in the grace of God's protection.

A real relationship with God does not consist in making deals with him.
God cannot be bribed into protecting you.

Have you ever made a promise to God if...happened
then you would...?

The Israelites wrongfully believed that the presence of the ark
would make God work
for them by defeating the Philistines.

Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.

Material artifacts should serve as reminders to us...
reminders of our personal relationship with God.
They are not the end in themselves.

Even when all seems to be lost God blesses us.
God did not come for us to bargain with for our welfare.
He came to love us...to be with us no matter what we are enduring.
He is with us...the God who loves us.
The ark itself had no control over the battle.
The Philistines were a stronger army...they had better weapons.
The Israelites were no match with or without the ark.
May the Peace of the Lord reign in your heart.