“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,  I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:15

As I asked the Lord how He would like for me to worship Him this morning, I felt greatly impressed that He wants me to share with you what I have been gathering from my study of 1 Samuel this week and how it applies to our lives.

When we begin reading in chapter 5, we see that the Philistines have taken the ark of God in battle and set it in the temple of their god, Dagon, in Ashdod. The next morning, the people of that city found that their idol had fallen face down before the ark of God. They picked it up and put it in its place, but they found it again the next day, face down before the ark and with its head and hands cut off. This was a common sign that the enemy was dead, so the people understood that God had judged their idol and they never entered the temple again!

What is worse, the Bible says God’s hand was heavy on them and He ravaged them: God caused the people there and in their territories to grow tumors, so they shipped the ark off to another city where God caused a great confusion among the people and all of their men grew tumors. So again, they shipped the ark off to yet another city where God did the same thing to the people there. The Philistines knew that God was judging them. They remembered what God had done to the Egyptians 450 years before, and so they decided to send the ark of God back to Israel along with a guilt offering.

In chapter 6, two cows pulling the ark and the offering on a cart wandered their way into the Israelite city of Beth-shemesh, and while the people were thrilled that the ark had been returned, some of the men of that city dishonored the Lord by looking in the ark, and they were struck dead. Eventually, the ark was taken to the house of Abinadab on the hill. His son was consecrated to care for the ark, and it stayed there for twenty years.

After twenty years, we learn that even through the Israelites are grieved that the ark is not where it should be, and they are still under oppression from the Philistines, they are serving false gods in addition to the one true God. When they had had enough, Samuel led them to destroy their idols and repent, and God finally gave them victory over the Philistines. They were free. Samuel erected a stone as a remembrance for the people that “God has helped us,” giving credit to whom it was due.

There is so much about this that blows my mind. So much we can apply to ourselves.

The Philistines were enemies of God’s people, but God allowed them to be a thorn to Israel because the hearts of Israel are not fully devoted to Him. They were practicing idolatry. Yet, when God’s hand was against the Philistines, they recognize that it was Him, and they responded in reverence because they had heard the testimony of what God had done for His people, even 450 years earlier! The Philistines didn’t want to end up like Egypt. Wow.

The Israelites had generations of testimony about the goodness of God, and yet they acted in irreverence to God while still claiming to be His people. It wasn’t until they repented and fully devoted themselves to God that He freed them from oppression.

So here are my questions for each of us to ask ourselves:

Have you raised up an Ebenezer? What that means is, do you take time to recognize the ways God has helped you and remember Him? Samuel erected a monument for the people as a reminder. How do you remember?

Do you share your God Moments, your Ebenezers, with others? The Philistines knew who God was and recognized the need to reverence Him when His hand was against them, but it was only because they had heard the testimonies, even from 450 years earlier. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

Are you like the Philistines? Someone who can talk about God and and what He has done for others, and even throw Him a guilt offering now and then, but living for yourself, without a personal relationship and testimony of His goodness for yourself?

Are you like the Israelites before their repentance? Do you talk about God and say you are a Christian while still hanging onto habits or behaviors from the culture around you that are counter-Christ? Because we can see here that God doesn’t help us because we call ourselves His. God chose Israel, but they had to choose Him back to live with His full blessing. He helps those who are truly devoted to Him and Him alone.

Or are you like the Israelites after their repentance? Are you repentant when God points out areas of your life that need work and are you fully devoted to Him? There is oppression that comes with every sin we hang onto, and there is freedom that comes with every surrender. It’s not worth holding out.

Challenge: Live aware of how God is working in your life, and share about it with at lease one person each day. That’s how we lift our Ebenezer.

My God Moment to share with you today: I’m home.

My mom died February 27th, and I was in Arkansas, caring for my dad for 4 months and 12 days while my husband and older children continued working in Missouri. The younger kids spent time going back and forth. I don’t have words right now, except that we were working against incredible odds to try to get my dad, who was unwilling, out of his home and someplace where he would be cared for and safe. He has congestive heart failure as well as what is probably Alzheimer’s, which has progressed at super speed since my mother’s passing. Finally, my dad decided to let me bring him home with me, so we are now trying to make him comfortable and I am so grateful to be with my family again. God did not prevent the uncomfortable circumstances, but He parted the waters and has carried us through them. We still have quite the road ahead of us, and I know it will be challenging, but I also know we are not alone. God is with us.

Please pray for us. ~Linda

Feature image by Enrique from Pixabay.