Our role in the Kingdom

Intro

Grab your copy of God’s word, and turn with me to 1 Samuel 5.

The account of Samuel’s life is extremely relatable in it’s humanity and the struggles of life.

Maybe we aren’t going to deal with Giant statues of False Gods, Kings, or people trying to murder you because they’re jealous.

but the book of 1 Samuel speaks of difficult relationships, feeling unwanted or unloved, and even the tension between the things we want and what God wants for us.

For those of you who don’t know, I have three sons, and the oldest’ name is Sam. It’s probably not hard to guess that this is where he got his name, but you may not know the why.

In 1 Samuel 1, we see a woman named Hannah. Hannah wanted a child so badly, but she wasn’t able to have kids. The Bible said that her womb had been closed, and she was provoked, ridiculed, and shamed because of her inability to have children.

She prayed and asked God for a child, and eventually God answered.

1 Samuel 1:20 ESV

20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”

Jessica and I married at 22 years old. As young couples do, we expected to be parents in our twenties. I figured by now, i’d be raising a teenager. But that didn’t happen. For 7 years, we went through life alone. Asking ourselves if we would ever be parents.

“But GOD” who could see the whole picture, knew what was ahead. Knew the growth that needed to happen in our lives. And in 2019, Blessed us with “The Child for which we had prayed”. James Samuel Coby.

God doesn’t need Sam Coby, nor did he need Samuel the Prophet, but He wanted them.

That’s what we need to see tonight.

We’ll be in 1 Samuel 5, but a lot happens between chapter 1 and 5.

Hannah makes good on her commitment to give Samuel to serve the Lord, and she sends him to learn and serve under the Prophet Eli at a place called Shiloh.

We begin to learn more and more about this Prophet, and we figure out quickly that He had a lot of baggage.

The most notable was that his sons were living a sin filled life, yet labeled themselves as servants of the most High God.

Eli tried to correct their behavior;

1 Samuel 2:23–25 ESV

23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

“But they would not listen”

One of the greatest epidemics in our world is less a disease and more of a decision. We won’t listen.

And It’s our decision not to listen that displays what we truly believe about our relationship with God.

Our relationship with God should always be that of a Child, a follower, a mentee if you will.

This relationship requires that we listen much more than we speak. That we are seeking guidance, seeking counsel, seeking answers, understanding that We need God, that He doesn’t need us.

Go with me to 1 Samuel 5:1-12.

1 Samuel 5:1–12 ESV

1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Summary:

In this passage, the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing God's presence, and place it in the temple of their god Dagon. This was in one way a judgement on the son’s of Eli, who were killed in the battle. And in another a way God orchestrating a series of events that would remind the world of who He is!

Let’s break it down, and see what the Lord has for us.

If your a note taker, the first thing we see is

1. God is Exclusive

1 Samuel 5:1–2 ESV

1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.

We’ve read about Dagon before. If you remember back in Judges there was a Judge by the name of Samson.

You know, Fabio with the long flowy hair…

Well as the story goes, Samson allowed his pride and lust to cost him the gift of strength that God had given him, he was captured by the philistines and his eyes were gouged out. Then the bible says they worshipped and sacrificed to Dagon saying:

Judges 16:23–24 ESV

23b “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”

This was a big event, and was likely still fresh on the minds of all parties across the region.

The Philistines had painted the picture that their god was stronger than the God of Israel. And though the one’s close to the situation knew this wasn’t true, there would have been rumor spreading across the land that the God of the Israelites was no longer the strongest. That there was now a rival god who could compete.

So God allows the philistines to put Him in the same room as their “supposed god” and we see what happens.

1 Samuel 5:3 ESV

3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.

“Oh No! Our All-powerful god statue has fallen and can’t get up.” I’m sure it has nothing to do with the real God being in the room. Let’s set him back up.

1 Samuel 5:4 ESV

4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

It’s hard to prove this, but i can’t help but believe that “before the ark” means that the, now headless and handless, statue of this philistine god was bowing before the Lord in a way that was both symbolic and visible.

With Dagon’s head and hands gone, it showed his inability to act. That he was in fact incapable of the things that the philistines gave him credit for.

God was reminding the world of his decree in the ten commandments in Exodus and in Deuteronomy:

Exodus 20:3 ESV

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

What Idols, in our lives, do we have in the place of God?

He doesn’t need us, but He wants us.

and not just the parts that we set aside on Sunday's and Wednesday’s.

All of us.

What Idols do we need to remove from our lives? so that we give Him the Glory He deserves?

Not only do we see that God is Exclusive, but He is also All Powerful

2. God is Powerful

1 Samuel 5:6–12 ESV

6 The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Here we see, God transition from the Philistine god, to the Philistine people.

One Commentator said that this account “clearly shows that the defeat at Aphek represented God’s judgement on national corruption, not a lack of divine power.”

God wanted to show that He not only has power over the inanimate false stone statue god’s, but also over people.

The symptoms given in this passage, and mention of mice in the next chapter suggests either bubonic plague or dysentery.

My dad used to tell me that, “It’s not what happens, but how you handle it that matters.”

Well, When the plagues struck each city, the people didn’t handle it well.

They people really only half-way acknowledged the awesomeness of God.

They saw His power, but sent Him away.

How many of us have done exactly that. We say that God is all-powerful and Holy, yet our lives don’t reflect what we say.

Major things happen around us, things that set the stage for us to change the course of our lives, but instead fear, anger, or anxiety take over and cause us to miss the opportunity that the Lord has given us.

This is my favorite part. If we hop over to chapter 6. We see that:

3. God is never too far away

1 Samuel 6:2 ESV

2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.”

This is the plan they came us with.

1 Samuel 6:7–13 ESV

7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.” 10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.

“The Lord Humiliated the Philistine god, debilitated their people, forced them to acknowledge publicly their subservience to Him, then He went back to the Israelites.”

He didn’t need the Israelites to fight His battles. Nor did He need them to get Him home.

What that means for us, is the same thing it meant for them.

God doesn’t need us. We need Him. and He wants us.

This passage should remind us that He does not need our strength or abilities; He wants our hearts, and He wants us to be transformed in how we live in response to His presence.

What has your walk with the Lord looked like?

Like He needs you?

or like You need Him?

He wants you, All of you.

And we desperately need Him.

God is Exclusive.

God is Powerful.

God is never too far away for you to change the course of your life, to follow Him.

Do you believe that? If so, let’s live like it.

Pray.