Presence of God
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Notes
Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
Do you take for granted your salvation? I would dare say that all Christians have done such a thing. Oh, we know all the church speak
God is good to Us
God has shown us Mercy
God knows us
God loves us
Christ’s blood and body broken for us has given us life
We KNOW all about God but all to often we can fail to recognize his sovereign hand over our life and his abilities and our lack of abilities.
Beloved who brought you salvation this morning? Are you not redeemed this morning thinking you have done nothing that places you in a need to be saved? Or are you redeemed by the blood of the lamb and still to this day realize your desperate need for his work in your life. What we call the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
As we left the text last week Samuel had been called by God to be Prophet over Israel at the age of 12 and had to inform Eli of God doing a thing that would bring Judgement upon his family. Through it all we look through Eli’s eyes at the goodness of God. In the eyes of Samuel we gazed at the goodness of God’s word to lead his people.
D. Relevance of the text
My hope this morning is that our hearts would be challenged to not take God for granted. God is not a toy to play with or something we use in our life when we feel like we are in over our heads. Instead, I hope we fall even more madly in love with the one who has redeemed us and saw fit to have a relationship with us because he loved us first.
T.S.
I. Surprising Defeat
I. Surprising Defeat
1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
The Philistines are a problem to the Israelites.
1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
This verse from judges actually gives away a lot of the reason why Israel is in this predicament. They would be in the hand of the Philistines for forty years because of choices they had made to serve false gods and lead themselves with what they thought was right. The people of Israel had been influenced by following false gods that they had come to the place in which they treated God as something they could use instead of serve.
We all know what this is like. You know when you have not been in touch with the Lord and have been living for yourself and find yourself in trouble so you pull out your “I’m a christian card” and present it before the Lord that he might intervene on your behalf. We find ourselves often shocked by the fact that God has not intervened, doesn’t he know who we are?
This is the place we find the Israelites. The Philistines are encamped not far away and “draw a line” means they deployed their troops at the Israelites and some 4,000 Israelites die. In vs. 3a they are shocked that God’s people could lose a battle to the Philistines. They pull out their “we are God’s chosen people card.”
Psalm 78 describes what is happening during this time.
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
The peoples hearts are not in the right place.
Vs. 2...”Israel was defeated before the Philistines..
The passive verb “was defeated” and the phrase “before [not by] the Philistines indicates the rout of the Israelites was the work of a higher authority than the Philistines.
T.S. After this Surprising defeat the elders get together and decide that the problem was tactical not a problem with the heart of the people or leaders. They would do something!!
II. Man using God
II. Man using God
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.
3b—let’s bring the Ark—God’s presence among this people. That will fix this!!
Our sinful hearts love to look out verses looking inward.
The Ark was the presence of God among his people in the Tabernacle. Exodus 25 explains it to us:
8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
What a blessing for the people to have the presence of God among them but they are using God and how they are trying to use the Ark shows that.
Stop for a moment yourself and think about the Presence of God being among us. How about the Spirit of God that dwells inside of you as a Christian?
Listen:....
Here is such a mind-blowing idea about the God of the Bible that we have to pause for a moment. The eternal God who is not constrained by the existence of time, the infinite God who is not bound by the constraints of space, the transcendent God who dwells above and beyond all time and space, and the immense God who fills all time and space condescended to the weakness of His people and became manifest for their benefit in one locale. This God is not bound by time, but He bound Himself to the time-bound experience of His people. This God is not bound by space, but He bound Himself to this box. He is above all creational constraints, but He bound Himself to them. He is everywhere, but He was there. (Daniel Hyde…Ligonier)
The failure of the Elders and Priests such as Hophni and Phinehas is that they viewed the ark incorrectly.
Looking for a leader: They would remind the Lord, so to speak, of his obligation to them: “Let us bring the Ark of the covenant, so that the Lord will do what he has promised and save us from our enemies.
Expositor’s bible commentary:
What the elders failed to understand, however, was that the ark was neither an infallible talisman nor a military palladium that would ensure victory. if God willed defeat for his people, a thousand arks would not bring success.
Marten Woudstra—The offense against the ark as pledge of Yahweh’s presence appear to be mainly two kinds: 1. Misplaced reliance on the ark, 2. An irreverent disregard for the Ark.
The elder’s understood clearly that if God was “with” them, defeat was inevitable. They mistakenly assumed, however, that wherever the ark was, the Lord was. Bringing Hophni and Phinehas into the picture and having them bring the Ark that they themselves have defamed before God makes zero sense whatsoever. Why would the Israelites think they could live according to their own ways yet be blessed by a good God for only using him when THEY needed him.
GOSPEL---Here is the good news this morning for the unbeliever
And for the believer--
Hophni & Phinehas...
12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.
13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,
14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.”
16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”
17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
vs. 5
Has all of Israel getting excited because the God they don’t want to serve and surely don’t want to follow has come among them and will save them. They are using God like a vending machine and picking out when they want to be represented by him and then plan on putting him away as soon as he has made those mean, bad Philistine people go away.
We must protect our hearts with the Gospel or we to will find ourselves using God instead of serving him.
T.S. From the first surprising defeat to the idea of how we might USE God we now will find Israel Earthly thoughts bring defeat a second time.
III. Earthly thoughts bring Defeat
III. Earthly thoughts bring Defeat
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,
7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.
8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.
9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
vs. 6-8
It is interesting that the Philistines see the Ark the same way that the Israelites do in that they both believe because the Ark has shown up it assures defeat. The Exodus from Egypt still rings with importance after all this time as the Philistine’s know that the God of the Israelites defeated the Egyptians with plague’s. God’s power had delivered the Israelites to freedom.
vs. 10-11
30,000 foot soldiers died along with Hophni and Phinehas.
They will also lose the Ark in vs 17
17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
The sin of Hophni, Phinehas, Eli, and a nation had brought about death.
The Ark is brought God’s chosen people to assure victory and God uses it to fulfill his purposes that he said for in saying “God is doing a thing.”
Application: We have said from the beginning the 1 Samuel is screaming at us that God and his sovereign hand will not be mocked. We see today in the hand of the people God is a utensil at the moment but God desires so much more. God is a God of relationships that desires a people that call him by name and uphold the Glory of His name as servants of the Most High God.
We started this morning with the hope that our hearts would be challenged to not take God for granted. God is not a toy to play with or something we use in our life when we feel like we are in over our heads.
Unbeliever---
Believer---
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader The Sons of Eli (v. 11b)
If religion is the attempt by human beings to harness God’s power to their own advantage, this story is testimony to the fact that it cannot be done. If the ark of the covenant of the Lord could not guarantee Israel’s safety, then no other religious act will do it. My church attendance, my Bible reading, my prayers, my giving, my meditation—or whatever religious activities I practice—cannot manipulate God’s power to bring me success, prosperity, or happiness. God’s power is not like that. It is not at our disposal. God’s power is God’s power. This episode should impress on us that much.
1 Samuel—Looking for a Leader The Sons of Eli (v. 11b)
You cannot put your trust in God’s kindness toward you in Jesus Christ—as the Israelites shouted with joy in the promises represented by the ark of the covenant—and at the same time ignore God’s demand for holiness in your life.
What it is to know and undestand God’s power properly?
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.