1 Samuel 6-7; The Return

Sermon in a sentence: God’s return requires repentance.

Introduction

My mother took 316 pictures in one day. When I was in elementary school, our school took an honor society trip to Ruby Falls near Chattanooga Tn. I remember hating how many pictures she was taking. It ruined most of my day. But now, I see why she wanted to capture every moment she had with us. Every time I look back at photos of my young family, it feels like my life is flying by.

Those photos return us back to those memories for just a moment. We can weep because we no longer live in the past. OR we can remind us of the good times we had and make us capitalize on the moments we have left.

The return of the Lord is very similar. This should not be a terrifying or saddening promise. Instead, the return of the Lord should spur us onto to greater faithfulness in the time we have left on this earth.

God Returns From The Exodus(6:1-16)

God did to the Philistines what he had done to the Egyptians.

He has made his own Exodus and come back to the promised land and his people.

God Returns To Another Exodus (6:17-7:2)

God’s people did not repent from their false worship when the ark returned.

Andrew Reid

1 & 2 Samuel: Hope for the Helpless What’s It All About?

Why does God turn what should have been a joyous occasion into an occasion of pain and mourning? Perhaps the answer to this is found in the fact that the Israelites appear to still be tinged with superstition and linking their hopes to what is physical and tangible. In every encounter the Israelites have had with God in these chapters he has confused and befuddled them because he has demonstrated himself to be holy, free, and sovereign (the very things celebrated by Hannah). They just don’t know what to do with him or how to handle God

God’s people left the ark alone once again like when they left the ark in Shiloah.

Who can stand before God?

1 & 2 Samuel: Hope for the Helpless What’s It All About?

The Israelite question in 1 Samuel 6:20 is answered in Hebrews. We who are believers in Christ can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God. Because of him, we can boldly come into his presence and stand before him with confidence and without fear (Hebrews 10:19–22). Jesus is our only hope in this regard, which is why the author of Hebrews is so keen to warn his readers to remain firm (for example, Hebrews 3:12–15; 10:23–25).

God’s People Return To Elohim (7:3-8)

Once again, God’s people are under attack at Ebenezer. (4:1)

This time, they don’t use the ark as a rabbit’s foot. Instead, they repent and cry out to the Lord.

God Returns Ebenezer (7:9-17)

God granted his people temporal and spiritual blessings because they repented.

Physically - the land

Spiritually - Notice, Samuel’s return and his act of judging the people.

The Israelite question in 1 Samuel 6:20 is answered in Hebrews. We who are believers in Christ can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God. Because of him, we can boldly come into his presence and stand before him with confidence and without fear (Hebrews 10:19–22). Jesus is our only hope in this regard, which is why the author of Hebrews is so keen to warn his readers to remain firm (for example, Hebrews 3:12–15; 10:23–25).

Andrew Reid, 1 & 2 Samuel: Hope for the Helpless, Reading the Bible Today Series (Sydney, South NSW: Aquila Press, 2008), 41.

Conclusion

Megalithic structures.

911 memorial

Application

Raise an Ebenezer stone this week. Write down in a notebook where you need to:

repent of sins in your life this week

Praise God for the sins he has brought you from in the past