Day 099 (1 Samuel 4-8) - Year 7
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today, Israel goes to war with one of their most well-known enemies, the Philistines. Israel loses, and they attribute the loss to God. But instead of consulting him to find out where they went wrong, they decide that what they need is the Ark of the Covenant. They think it'll act like a lucky charm for them, so they go to Shiloh to retrieve it.

Hothni and Phinehas, Eli's wicked sons, help carry it off to battle. Then Israel loses this battle too, along with 30,000 men. Eli's back home at Shiloh when a messenger comes to tell him everything. We lost the battle, your sons are dead, and the Ark has been captured.

Eli knew his sons were going to die on the same day because this was prophesied to him in what we read yesterday. So while that's heartbreaking, it comes as no surprise. However, having the ark stolen was an unexpected tragedy for the entire nation of Israel. This was by far the most significant loss of all.

When Eli heard that bit of news, he fell over, broke his neck, and died. Meanwhile, Eli's grandson Ichabod is about to be born. His father has just died in battle, and then his mother dies in childbirth. Back at the battlefield, the Philistines believe they've defeated Yahweh since they've captured what they think is Him. They've conflated God with the golden box that serves as His earthly throne.

They put the Ark in their pagan temple alongside the god they worship, Dagon. So Yahweh does something that is both humorous and weighty. He knocks the statue of Dagon face down in front of the Ark in a posture of worship. The Philistines set Dagon back up again, and then the next day, not only is Dagon prostrate in front of the Ark again, but the hands and head of the statue of Dagon have been severed and are set in the entryway, which makes it clear that they didn't just break off during the fall.

Yahweh continues to afflict the Philistines. There are five main Philistine cities, and they keep moving the ark around from city to city, but no matter where they take it, the people of that city are afflicted with tumors, and some die. Commentators can't agree on what the tumors were about. Ideas range from the bubonic plague to some kind of STD to hemorrhoids. For seven months, this continues.

The Philistines are so distraught that they want to send the ark back to Israel. So they consult with their own priests and diviners to find out how to go about this. The priests tell them to send a guilt offering along with the ark to appease the Israelite God. The guilt offering should be five golden tumors, one for every city in Philistia, and five golden mice, because God maybe also struck the five cities with a mouse infestation that ravaged their land and crops. The text isn't really clear on that.

The priest also gave instructions to build a cart for the ark and have that cart pulled by two milk cows. Why milk cows? Because they're untrained and they have calves to feed, and their natural instincts mean they're going to go home to their calves. But if these milk cows go against their natural instincts, then something supernatural is taking place, and the God of Israel must be in charge of all that's happening in Philistia. And wouldn't you know it? The cows go straight off into the distance.

When the cows in the ark arrive at Beth Shemesh, which is in Judah, the Israelites who see it offer the milk cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. This sounds awesome, except that Leviticus 1 specifies that only male animals are supposed to be used for offerings. On top of that, there are 70 people who look at the ark, which also violates God's law to shield the ark from view in Numbers 4. So God strikes them down.

The Levites who were there should have known these things. Either they know and they're ignoring it, or they're ignorant of God's laws altogether. But as we've learned, even unintentional sin is still sin. If you think God's being too harsh about the punishment He doles out here, most governments operate that way too. For instance, just because I'm not intentionally speeding or don't know what the speed limit is, doesn't mean I don't get a speeding ticket.

All this terrifies the people of Beth Shemesh, and they ask their neighbors in Kiriath-Jerim to come take the Ark away. The people of Kiriath-Jerim keep the Ark for 20 years. The fact that it doesn't get returned to the tabernacle in Shiloh suggests that Shiloh has probably been destroyed by the Philistines, who are likely ruling over Israel at this point. As they often do when they're being oppressed, the people of Israel begin to repent.

Then we hear from Samuel for the first time in a long time, and by now he is viewed as the chief leader of all of Israel. He is their prophet, priest, and judge. He encourages the Israelites to make their repentance complete and faithfully worship God alone. He says the result will be that God will deliver them from the Philistines, who are still a thorn in their side, which, as you may recall, was exactly what God said would happen if they didn't drive them out of the land.

They all meet up at Mizpah to fast and pray, to make sacrifices and demonstrate their repentance. In the middle of their worship service, the Philistines draw near to attack, and Israel is afraid. The enemy loves to attack when we're moving toward obedience. Despite Israel's shaky faith, God gives them victory over the Philistines. Samuel sets up a stone memorial there and calls it Ebenezer, which means, "'Thus far the Lord has helped me.'"

If you've ever heard the song, Come Thou Fount, you may have wondered what the line means that says, Here I raise my Ebenezer, here by thy great help I've come. If so, now you know. And not only does Israel defeat the Philistines, but they have internal and external peace for years to come.

Samuel makes regular trips to the local cities to make sure everything is running according to God's commands. But two people who aren't obeying God are his sons Joel and Abijah, whom he has set up as judges in the land. And they're actual judges, like we think of them, who preside over cases. And they take bribes and disregard justice. The people go to Samuel to let him know that things are about to go off the rails if he doesn't do something. He's old and will probably die soon, and his sons are not fit to lead Israel.

So the people request a king instead, like all the other nations have. God has made provision for a king, but he hadn't called for it, and Samuel knows this. When the people request a king, it may feel like a personal rejection of Samuel's family as leaders, but God says it's really a rejection of him. Still, God says to give the people what they want. This reminds me of when they asked for quail in the wilderness, because God says this is not going to go well.

That king is going to go against God's commands in Deuteronomy 17, and the people are going to cry out to God for help, and he won't send it. But Israel doesn't heed Samuel's warning. What was your God shot in the midst of these five chapters? How did you see more of who God is today?

I spent a lot of time thinking about how God has set this nation apart, to be different so that the other nations would recognize God's glory, and how in the very moments when that starts to happen, Israel doesn't want to honor him. They want a different plan. The Philistines recognized his power, but the people of Beth Shemesh disobey God, and instead of repenting, they send the ark away. The ark. I was so mad at them.

Then there's peace in the land. But they have two corrupt judges, so instead of replacing them with godly judges, they ask for a king so they can be like all the other nations. They keep rejecting the very thing that makes them unique. And God says that's a rejection of Him. He is their identity. Seeing this about God gives me pause. Where do I reject what He has called me to be for His glory because I want to fit in or be respected? Where does fear of man drive me more than love of God?

I know this truth and I want it to inform all my motives. He's where the joy is.

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