1 Samuel Part 3

Intro

last week, the discredit of Eli and his wicked sons

Being replaced by Samuel

The faith of Samuel and his family placing him as the next judge

The Loss of the Ark

The prophecy to Eli coming true

The Philistines will be the common enemy for both of the books of Samuel

They represent a lot of things

They lose the battle and bring the ark- blaming the loss on God

Bring what they believe to be the presence of God himself to try to win

They lose and the ark is taken

Eli’s son’s die and when he hears about the ark, not his sons, he dies falling out of his chair

The Journey of the Ark

The captured ark goes on a long journey

The destruction of Dagon

Traveling to all the cities of the Lords

causes disease and terror everywhere

send it back with an offering

Application

Where God is and how he is meant to be seen by his people and the world are key themes of the books of Samuel

God didn’t order Israel to do anything to give them his favor in a battle against the Philistines

The ark didn’t do anything special for the Israelites, they turned to a box instead of talking to their God

Despite it being a box and a throne, God refuses to be mocked or belittled, even symbolically

God doesn’t want to have a relationship with his people as simply an emblem of war or a wish granter. He is not below any false gods

God wants to walk with his creation, not be used by it

We can do the same thing