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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 24 our call to worship Psalm 20 all begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician a psalm of David I'm sorry yes to the chief musician a psalm of David may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble may the name of the God of Jacob defend you may he send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion may he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice say law may he grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your purpose we will rejoice in your salvation and in the name of our God we will set up our banners may the Lord fulfill all your petitions now I know that the Lord saves his anointed he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God they have bowed down and fallen but we have risen and stand upright save Lord may the King answer us when we call Amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnals to him number 127 hymn number 127 will stand as we sing together [Music] well let us pray our Father in Heaven it's a joy to gather in the house of God again on the Sabbath day we come before you with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs we come before you with prayer and with a desire to hear from Holy Scripture we pray that you would be exalted and glorified in this hour of worship that you would cause our hearts to be glad to respond to your grace with gratitude and Thanksgiving and to realize that you are the God who is from everlasting to everlasting the God who sustains us the God who strengthens us the God who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light may we reflect upon this not only on the Sabbath but each and every day and may our hearts be filled with love and worship and adoration toward you the great and the Living God we give praise to you most high that you have not dealt with us according to our sin nor rewarded US according to our transgression but as far as the east is from the west so you have removed our iniquity you've cast our transgressions into the depths of the sea and in this we greatly rejoice in God certainly this manifests it testifies it declares concerning your goodness your graciousness and your mercy we know Lord God that your perfections are absolute that you aren't most loving towards your people and we praise you for that and god I pray that you would help us to find great comfort and solace in this reality may it steady us may it secure us may it stabilize us each and every day and Lord God we ask that you would help us to be a faithful people and in your service give us the grace to persevere give us the grace to think fondly concerning heaven and those glorious realities to come and Lord God may this encourage our heart even now the Apostle says he everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure may these thoughts of heaven cause us to pursue those things which are pleasing in your sight in the present now and Lord God do forgive us for our sins and our transgressions cleanse us from all unrighteousness and sin we know father that you have called to be a faithful to be a holy people as you say in Leviticus and in 1st Peter we are to be holy for the Lord our God is holy do forgive us for our lack of do forgive us for our transgression that remaining corruption that that which Paul speaks of in Romans 7 in Galatians 5 we know the flesh lusts against the spirit and spirit against the flesh we know these are contrary to one another so that we don't do the things that we want how we praise you that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world how we praise you that the resources afforded by a sovereign God are those things necessary for our for all matters of faith and practice so God help us sustain us and bless us and encourage us so that we might shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the boldness to hold forth the word of truth and God we do pray for those who come in amongst us week in and week out those who have not made that good confession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we pray that you would deal with them in mercy and with with graciousness we pray that you would convict them of their sins and show them the Savior that one in whom alone there is forgiveness and all the things that that sinners need to stand right before God we also pray our Father for your blessing upon other churches in our town and throughout this nation god this nation is steeped in wickedness there is great sin and rebellion against you and we don't trust in these horses or chariots as the psalmist said but we trust in the name of the living and true God so Lord send forth your glorious gospel and cause it to be the case that people from every tribe tongue people and nation would come to you and that Christ would indeed have dominion from sea to sea then Lord do this in the persecuted Church those nations that are steeped in false religion those nations steeped in secularism and atheism we pray for the people of God that they would have many and several opportunities to set forth the truth of Christ and we pray that through these efforts and through these labors you would be pleased to save a multitude and our God bless those in our local church that are still struggling with physical illness and challenges we just commit them - you into the word of your grace asking that you would encourage each one of them and Lord God help us all to reflect upon the reality that though the outer man does decay the inner man is being renewed day by day and may these momentary light affliction 'he's caused us to long for that exceeding weight of glory that is ours and the heaven to come Lord continue with us now we pray and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well you can turn in your Trinity hymnals again - 453 453 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hmm well you can turn in your Bibles to the Prophet Zechariah excuse me we're in Zechariah chapter 12 Zechariah chapter 12 there's a lot of Christ in this section of Zechariah the Prophet remembered he's opposed exilic prophet about 400 years prior to the time of our Lord Jesus 450 years or so and he is speaking concerning of New Covenant realities and blessings that are to come with Messiah so beginning in chapter 12 at verse 1 the burden of the word of the Lord against Israel thus says the Lord he stretches out the heavens lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against judah and jerusalem and it shall happen in that day that i will make jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces though all nations of the earth are gathered against it in that day says the lord i will strike every horse with confusion and it's rider with madness i will open my eyes on the house of judah and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness and the governors of judah shall say in their heart the inhabitants of jerusalem are my strength and the lord of hosts their god in that day i will make the governors of judah like a fire pan in the wood pile and like a fiery torch and the sheaves they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left but jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place Jerusalem the Lord will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah in that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David and the house of David shall be like God like the angel of the Lord before them it shall be in that day it shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem and I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication then they will look on me whom they pierced yes they were mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grief for him as one grieves for a firstborn in that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem like the morning at haddad rim on in the plain of megiddo in the land shall mourn every family by itself the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves the family of SH Mei by itself and their wives by themselves all the families that remain every family by itself and their wives by themselves amen will let us pray our Father we thank you that what is written in the new concerning our Blessed Lord Jesus is prophesied in the old how we thank you for the consistency that the the consent of all the parts with reference to Holy Scripture and how we thank you that we live in the days prophesied in the Old Testament concerning Messiah and the New Covenant how we praise you that you've blessed us richly that you've brought us 9 that you have given us the grace to see Christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness the one in whom there is a righteousness that avails with you father we pray this gospel would be known throughout the world and we pray that more and more sinners would come to know him as Lord and Savior and we pray in Jesus name Amen well for our final him before the preaching you can turn to 547 hymn number 547 hymns like these it's best to treat as prayers that God would draw out our love for Christ rather than a boast that we do love Christ the way that we are singing it's the way I approach some of these particular hymns because they can be somewhat condemning if we are saying these things are true of us so approach it as a prayer to our God that he would draw out our love for his son so let's stand and sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to First Samuel chapter 4 First Samuel chapter 4 this section four five and six deals with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord in Chapter four Israel loses the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the Philistines they then take it to their country and it wreaks havoc upon the various cities in Philistia and then they plan to return it and that happens in 1st Samuel chapter 6 but I did want us to see how Israel treated the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and how they turned it itself into an idol there is a propensity or a tendency in us to take good things from God and actually make them idle idolatrous so beginning in chapter 4 at verse 1 and the word of Samuel came to all Israel now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and in camp beside a benissa and the Philistines encamped and a fact then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel and when they joined battle Israel was defeated by the Philistines who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field and when the people had come into 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 from Shiloh to us that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies so the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts who dwells between the cherubim and the two sons of Eli hophni and Phineas were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God and when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shut and when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout they said what does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean then they understood that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp so the Philistines were afraid for they said God has come into the camp and they said woe to us for such a thing has never happened before woe to us who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods these are the hands are these are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness be strong and conduct yourselves like men you Philistines that you may not become servants of the Hebrews as they have been to you conduct yourselves like men and fight so the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent there was a very great slaughter and there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers also the Ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli hophni and Phinehas died then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head now when he came there was Eli sitting on a seat by the wayside watching for his heart trembled for the Ark of God and when the man came into the city and told it all the city cried out when Eli heard the noise of the outcry he said what does the sound of this tumult mean and the man came quickly and told Eli Eli was 98 years old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see then the man said to Eli I am he who came from the battle and I fled today from the battle line and he said what happened my son so the messenger answered and said Israel has fled before the the Philistines and there has been a great slaughter among the people also your two sons hophni and Phineas are dead and the Ark of God has been captured then it happened when he made mention of the Ark of God that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate and his neck was broken and he died for the man was old and heavy and he had judged Israel forty years now his daughter-in-law Phineas's wife was with child due to be delivered and when she heard the news that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead she bowed herself and gave birth for her labor pains came upon her and about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her do not fear for you have born a son but she did not answer nor did she regard it then she named the child Ichabod saying the glory has departed from Israel because the Ark of God has been capped and because of her father-in-law and her husband and she said the glory has departed from Israel for the Ark of God has been captured amen let us pray father in heaven we thank you for this written word we pray now from the Ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us this word we pray that you would help us to see help us to appreciate something concerning the nature of idolatry help us God to see in our own hearts and our own context in our own church not to seek to manipulate God to get the things that we want but certainly that is the sin that is the issue going on here in 1st Samuel chapter 4 and may we learn from this and may we love you for who you are and may we glorify you and may we praise you and may we be subject to you and all of your doings on our behalf do you forgive us again for our sins we pray and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well this is certainly a dark time in Israel's history as I say as I said in chapter 4 we see the capture of the Ark of the Covenant one man a commentator David Samora says this is as if the author or narrator aims to remove Eli and his family before concentrating on Samuel Samuels mentioned in chapter 3 he doesn't come back until say first samuel chapter 7 again not that he's unimportant but as this man says I think it is to get Eli and his sons out of the picture so that the focus can then be specifically on Samuel so Morris says all these things resulted in the capture of the Ark of the Lord the symbol and guarantee of the divine presence such a disaster had never happened in the history of the Covenant people of Israel certainly this was one of the darkest times for them this also gives the background for Samuels success so that's a bit of the context we can't spend a whole lot of time developing that but notice specifically we see in the first place the defeat of Israel in verses 1 to 11 and then we see the death of Eli in verses 12 to 18 and then finally the departure of the glory of God in verses 19 to 22 now Eli is an interesting character his sons obviously are interesting characters as well they fare in chapters 2 and 3 and essentially what you have with hophni and Phineas is wretched men they did not know the law they functioned as priests in a way that was absolutely contrary to the truth of God's Word they stole sacrifices when people came to offer those sacrifices and they themselves lay with women outside of the tabernacle in and engaged in sexual perversion these men were godless their root problem was according to First Samuel too is that they did not know the Lord so Samuel gets a word from the Lord and in Deitz Eli God says to Eli that judgment is going to come upon him in his household because Eli knew what was happening and he did not restrain that so on the one hand in this particular chapter we seek God's Word come to fruition or come to fulfillment in the death of these two priests but as well we see that it caused great turmoil in Israel or there was great turmoil in Israel notice in the first place with reference to the defeat of Israel the situation in verses one to three a verse one says the word of Samuel came to all Israel now the New King James places that with chapter three and it seems like it doesn't go with chapter four I think it does go with chapter four and I think it exacerbates the elders response and shows how they had departed in verse three they concoct this idea to fetch or trot out the the Ark of the Covenant in order to gain victory they didn't seek the word of the Lord they didn't seek to know the mind of God they simply responded with the best possible idea they had that is never a good idea we're going to reflect upon God's Word we are to do soul-searching and in light of God's Word and so therefore we need to appreciate they operate it apart from that word now the Philistines had been subjugated by Samson according to judges 14 to 16 obviously they were not completely decimated obviously they had come back and now obviously they pose a threat and in verse 2 we read that they best Israel in a in battle verse 2 says the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel and when they join the join battle Israel was defeated by the Philistines who killed about 4,000 men of the army in the field and that brings us now to consider their solution and this is where I think we should spend a bit of time to see how Israel treated the tabernacle the Ark of the Covenant of God and the temple to see that what Stephen is doing in his defense in acts 6:7 is not hypothetical it's not theoretical it's not out there but their own history had demonstrated that they took the good gifts of God and made those idols now the ark obviously was the the symbol of God's presence among them but it wasn't God himself just because it symbolized his presence did not always mean or guarantee the presence of God God is not contained in a box God is not locally present but in that particular situation and that's what these men failed to recognize now notice in verse 3 they're questioned it says the people had come into the camp the elders of Israel or when the people came into the camp the elders of Israel said why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines that's right they understood the horse is prepared for the day of battle but victory is from Yahweh proverbs 21 31 tells us that so we can conclude as well that defeat is from Yahweh and so they understand theologically correctly that God ultimately orchestrated this defeat of Israel now notice their particular issue they come and they reflect on this situation and they fail to seek the Word of God notice in verse 3 let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us they don't even wait for an answer to the question why has this defeat calm turned back for just a moment to Leviticus chapter 26 the Word of God speaks to that very issue the Word of God speaks to that very question but they did not avail themselves of it they asked the question why has this defeat come they don't ponder the answer but rather they go right to their own proposed solution and that solution is going to get them in more trouble but notice in Leviticus 26 727 I'm sorry 26 16 I will also do this to you I will even appoint terror over you wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart and you shall sow your seed and for your enemies shall eat it I will set my face against you and you shall be defeated by your enemies those who hate you shall reign over you and you shall flee when no one pursues you so what have God answers if you're not faithful in the land if you are not conducting yourself in a manner that is consistent with the word and law of God then your enemies are going to overrun you now later on phidias wife is going to say that she calls this boy Ichabod because the glory of God had departed because the Ark of the Covenant had been captured it's probably the case that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured because the glory of the Lord had already departed they were already living in a way that was inconsistent they were living in a way that was condemned by Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 28 they don't wait for a response why did we do suffer defeat in battle they don't wait for a response they immediately act going back to chapter 3 or chapter 4 verse 3 it says let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies now there's a whole lot wrong with that particular statement is that the Ark of the Covenant that's going to save you from the hand of your enemies they trotted out like it's a holy horseshoe they trot it out like it's a rabbit's foot they trot it out as if it's a lucky charm and they think the mere presence of this particular box is going to bring defeat upon their enemies they are faulty they are seeking to treat Yahweh as if your way is bale they are trying to manipulate a situation to get the desired result they're not seeking God for God they're seeking God if at all for what he can give them again I think this is so parallel to what we find in the church today are we consumed with God for God or are we consumed with God for what God gives now God in His grace gives God and His grace does bless us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ but the problem comes when we try to manipulate God in order to get what it is that we want now in one sense the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord did go with them into battle the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was there at Jericho the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord we point out this morning was with them when they crossed the river Jordan into the Promised Land so in one hand yes God's the symbol of his visible proble symbol of his presence among his people but they terminated on the Ark of the Covenant and not on God I hope you see that that's exactly what's happening in this particular instance they want this art to bring victory to them let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies the lesson here brethren is that technique and manipulation and gaming the system is not the pathway to Christian blessing repentance faith in the Lord Jesus Christ humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God that is the means by which not that we necessarily get blessing but the way that we deal with God Leviticus 26 Deuteronomy 28 said that if your enemies overtake you it's as a result of your covenant infidelity of your unfaithfulness as the professing people of God and so these men try to manipulate the situation in order to get what it is that they wanted the use of the art as a tool of magic the use of the ark as a tool of magic again I think this is precisely what is happening in the first century in Israel and that's why Jesus pronounces that their house will be left to them desolate in Matthew 23 and then Jesus prophecies concerning the destruction of the temple in Matthew chapter 24 God had given them this good gift God had given them this outward symbol of his visible presence but they had turned that into God they had turned that into an idol they had missed God for the sake of that particular building this again wasn't hypothetical in Stephens defense but it was a reality with reference to the children of Israel now in terms of this particular abuse listen to what John Gill says he says that when it comes among us it may save us out of the hand of our enemies excuse me foolishly placing their confidence in an external symbol you all seeing that right I'm not making that up I'm not importing the meaning to the tax it's exactly what they're doing we got beat on the field of battle why did the Lord do this let's go fetch the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh trotted out to the battlefield and certainly it will save us it will save us he goes on to say foolishly placing their confidence in an external symbol and not in the Lord Himself ascribing salvation to that which only belongs to him whether of a temporal or spiritual kind and such folly and vanity of men are and such folly and vanity are men guilty of when they seek to make use of and trust in anything short of Christ for salvation as in carnal descent in the rituals of the law in the ordinances of the gospel in any religious exercises private or public see those things aren't even of themselves not bad those aren't evil things that Gil is suggesting but it's when we trust in those things for the blessing and benefit that God alone can give so when he says carnal descent he simply means the family into which we were born the rituals of the law the ordinances of the gospel is that condemning the supper he's not condemning baptism he's condemning those as an end rather than as a means to God that's the issue that we see in the passage he goes on to say in any religious exercises private or public or in any works of righteousness done by that in Christ alone is salvation from spiritual enemies and indeed from the Lord only is salvation and deliverance from temporal enemies it's not the box not the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord there was no faith no repentance no humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God but rather let's fetch the art let's trot it out and it will bring us victory Dale Ralph Davis says when we operate this way our concern is not to seek god but to control him and I think his new covenant believers it's very easy for us to Monday Morning Quarterback and to pontificate and say how dare those wretched Israelites do that sort of thing and miss the point we do that sort of thing we think by virtue of the amount of time that we pray by virtue the amount of time that we read our Bibles by virtue of the fact that we're in church on Sunday for for three hours and and even for if you attend the prayer meeting I mean come on God has beholden to us God must bless us God must do for us think about some of the things that churches do 40 days of prayer and fasting if you want to pray and fast for 40 days that's fine but it seems to me at times to be a amines or rather a technique to try to get stuff from God we're never supposed to engage and means to try to get stuff from God you're all looking at me a good puzzle we're not supposed to engage in means to try to get stuff from God you wouldn't tolerate it with your children God isn't about that with his children so back to Davis when we operate this way our concern is not to seek God but to control him not to submit to God but to use him so we prefer religious magic to spiritual holiness we are interested in success not repentance now in terms of the fact that it's an idolatrous situation I think Matthew Henry speaks to this well and quoting a few guys here because I think they say it a lot better than I do but listen to matthew henry he says no it is common for those that have estranged themselves from the vitals of religion to discover a great fondness for the rituals and external observances of it i think that's important in this context they were already estranged this is symptomatic this isn't why they lost this isn't evidence as to why they should have lost the glory had departed they had broken covenant they were engaging in this sort of thing so he says it is common for those that have estranged themselves from the vitals of religion to discover a great fondness for the rituals and external observances of it in other words we're going to do the things we're supposed to do yet because we're going to get what it is that we're seeking for those that even deny the power of godliness not only not only to have that to have an admiration the form of it he says the Temple of the Lord is cried up we're gonna see this as we move through that section in Acts chapter 7 Jeremiah the Prophet preaches a sermon in Jeremiah chapter 7 and he tells the people don't trust in deceptive words the temple the temple the temple what is Jeremiah telling them your trust is in the building you have forgotten the living and true God you think that by virtue of the fact that the temple is still standing that everything is okay with your soul Jeremiah says everything is not okay with your soul you have turned the Lord's house into a house of a den of thieves this is what Jesus is quoting when he enters into Jerusalem and he cleanses the temple it's from the Prophet Jeremiah it's not that the temple is bad it's not that the temple is wicked it's that man is bad man is wicked man takes the good gifts of God and he twists it and he distorts it and he sees it as an end rather than as a means to the worship and service of God so back to Henry the temple of the Lord is cried up and the Ark of the Lord stiffled for with a great deal of seeming zeal by multitudes that have no regard at all for the Lord of the temple and the god of the ark is all this concern for the temple and the ark little concern for the God of the temple it's no concern for the god of the ark he says as if a fiery concern for the name of Christianity would atone for a profane contempt of the thing and yet indeed they did but make an idol of the art and looked upon it to be as much an image of the God of Israel as those idols which the heathen worship were of their gods you know it's very intriguing that when they actually bring the Ark of the Covenant of the bull of the Lord out into the battlefield how did the Philistines respond the Philistines respond the same way the Israelites were responding that should tell you something the Philistines were pagans the Philistines were idolaters in the next scene they're going to part er the Covenant of the Lord in the temple of their God Dagon now the temple of the of their God Dagon Dagon falls down they're the sort of people have to go and pick their their God up and prop him back up they have to get super glue and paste his hands back on they're not good theologians so when they respond to the presence of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord in the same manner that the Israelites did you know that there's a defect in israelites theology does everybody get that because the Philistines freaked out at the concept that the Ark of God is there among them and no let's look at that notice the judgment verses 4 to 11 the Ark is taken from Shiloh and then the Ark is accompanied by two apostate priests notice in verse four so the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim and the two sons of Eli hophni and Phinehas were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God no one thought this was a bad idea no one thought that priests who stole sacrifice priests who lay with women outside the tabernacle no one thought for a moment hey maybe it's not the best idea to have these two guys as the couriers for the very Ark of the Covenant of God fact as we move through the narrative Eli seems to have a sneaking suspicion that not everything has gone well he is waiting with bated breath to hear about the Ark of the love the Lord he doesn't fall off of his perch at the at the news that his sons died he doesn't fall off his perch at the news of the that the news that Israel is defeated in battle he falls off his perch and dies at the news that the Ark of God has been captured perhaps Eli had some semblance of a clue to realize not a good thing to send my sons on that particular mission especially in light of the fact that he had received the prophetic word from Samuel that his sons would be terminated that his sons would be executed that his sons would be dead so Eli at least to some degree shows at least a bit more understanding than the rest of the people at this particular time now notice again the response of the Philistines verses 5 to 9 and when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp all israel shouted so loudly did the earth shut now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout they said what is the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean then they understood that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp so the Philistines were afraid for they said God has come into the camp you see we get that with pagan Philistines we understand that they think that this container actually holds their God they do it in the next chapter with reference to Dagon but no Israelite worth his weight in salt should have ever thought that a box contained God it was never intended to convey that it was never meant for them to worship the box as if it was somehow God that was the to miss the point tremendously the pagans we expect it we shouldn't expect it with reference to Israel so the Philistines were afraid for they said God has come into the camp and they said woe to us for such a thing has never happened before woe to us who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods these are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues and the wilderness be strong and conduct yourselves like men you Philistines that you do not become servants of the Hebrews as they have been to you conduct ourselves like men and fight the Philistines are I raised up for battle at this particular juncture they say the gods of the Israelites are here amongst us we need to be of good courage and we need to fight and we need to stop them and we need to defeat them that is their particular response now notice the actual judgment of God in verses 10 and 11 so the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent that doesn't mean he went back for some food and some rest and a little bit of R&R it means that was it he ain't going back out to the battle he isn't going to face those Philistines anymore they decimated them thirty thousand previously it had been four thousand now it's thirty thousand the Philistines did busy work with reference to vanquishing the threat of the Israelites at this particular juncture there was a very great slaughter and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers also the Ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli hophni and Phinehas died Matthew Henry again now they are made to reflect with the utmost regret upon their own rashness and presumption in bringing the art into the camp and so exposing it imagine how this felt you ever do that when you read your Bible do you ever imagine what it must have been like I hope you do when you read a story when you read a book when you read something you know I wonder what it was like to be there I wonder what it was like to be in Israel to watch the Ark of the Covenant be captured by the Philistines those filthy pagans were putting their hands on the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord the Lord God most high forbade except for a handful of priests anyone from touching the Ark of the Covenant of God you remember that instance in 2nd Samuel chapter 6 when aza reaches out his hand to steady the cart or steady the ark so that it doesn't fall into the mud what does God do does God say in the language of RC sprawl thank you aza I'm glad you studied that so that it wouldn't fall into the dirt no he killed us up because aza was unauthorized to touch the Ark of the Covenant of God the the mud isn't bad the dirt is in bad mud and dirt does what mud and aren't supposed to do it's sinners and their filthiness touching things that God says don't touch that was the problem and that's why God destroyed us up now the Ark of the Covenant of God is in the possession of the Philistines now you might say well but Lee you said that's not God it isn't God but it was that which by God's appointment was the visible symbol of God's presence among Israel on the one hand you weren't supposed to worship it you weren't supposed to treat it as an idol you weren't supposed to trot it out as if it was a holy horseshoe to help you win the battle but on the other hand you were supposed to esteem the reality that God the Lord appointed this God the Lord sanctioned this and God the Lord authorized Israel to have this and to certainly not let it go into the hands of their enemies now if you've never read First Samuel chapter 5 you should you really should because the Philistines are get to the point where they're throwing the Ark of the Covenant of God out of their country everywhere it goes it brings damage the old King James I love it he afflicted them with EM rods with em rods tumors and the New King James cleans it up a little bit but that Ark of the Covenant of God the glory of God may have departed from Israel but the glory of God never departs from God and this is precisely what you see in chapter 5 but back to chapter 4 notice Matthew Henry says they are made to reflect with the utmost regret upon their own rashness and presumption and bringing the art into the camp and so exposing it and wish a thousand times they had left it where God had fixed it I don't think he's kidding I'm sure they had a lot of people saying you know we probably should have left it in Shiloh enough times where persons were saying I know what we should have done you know what it should have could are the worst words in the English language those are never positive words should've never a positive word I should have always implies failure on your part I should have done this and I did it I should have done that and I did it I think he's right they wished a thousand times they had left it were God had fixed it now they are convinced that God will not be prescribed to by vain and foolish men and that though he has bound us to his ark he has not bound himself to it but will rather deliver it into the hands of his sworn enemies than suffer it to be profaned by his false friends and countenance their superstition that is poignant that is powerful and that is something you need to get your mind wrapped around God would rather see the symbol of his visible presence among Israel in the hands of filthy Philistines than for Israel to profane themselves by treating it as an idol that's what God does in this passage now notice the fulfillment of God's Word in 11b also the Ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli hophni and Phinehas died if you want to look later it's in chapter 225 chapter 234 chapter 312 14 the death of hophni and Phineas was ordained by God or at least announced by God that it was going to happen it was ordained before the foundation of the world according to God's decree but this was a blessing you say well Butler that's a it's a stretch the fact that the Ark of the Covenant of God was taken is not a blessing but the death of false priests is a blessing it's a mercy from God it's the grace of God you know there's times when we might pray Lord God any church that doesn't preach the true gospel shut them down people might think well you know that's not very inclusive that's not very kind that's not very tolerant that's not very very nice you know that that's not the way we should approach things if they're not preaching the gospel shut them down there's enough social clubs there's enough entertainment there is enough of everything that a church is not preaching the gospel is offering already offered why do we need to try and baptize entertainment why do we want to baptize heresy why would we want to baptize some offense and say oh but that's okay we want to be inclusive No shut them down it's a mercy to people when they don't have to be subject to her etiquette each errs it was a mercy to Israel that God had hophni and Phinehas killed davis says indeed though in fulfilling is what of this word he acts in judgment he nevertheless acts in grace for in his judgment he is removing false shepherds who cause his people to go astray I don't think we reflect on that ever I think sometimes we might read a planets blog that's bad you know these kind of guys are out there T there's bad teaching out there like really bad teaching and there's the sort of conduct that it engaged in by off the avidians and a guy pastor was recently fired from his church turns out I mean this guy was living high on the hog on the backs of his people third persons in the church are now getting wind of this saying can I have my tithes back for the last 5 10 15 20 years I didn't think I was paying for you know a mansion for this pastor so in terms of that that's that's happening sexual profligacy sexual perversion sexual indiscretion that happens among the professing leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ we're not a lot different than what we see in hophni and Phinehas and again I think the root problem is First Samuel Chapter two they did not know Yahweh that was the fundamental concern and because they didn't know Yahweh stealing sacrifice and laying with women was like chump change that was nothing that was a walk in the park that was symptomatic of the greater problem that they weren't in a saving relationship with God Almighty so he brethren that's why when it comes to the examination of men for Christian ministry do you know what's most important are you born again are you saved are you in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ through faith and then of course qualifications are you everything Paul says in first Timothy chapter 3 and in Titus chapter 1 do we ever ask that you are you saved are you born again do you do you have you know graces indicating genuine Christian experience to use in our Martin ISM is that a reality in your life because if not you don't belong in a christian pulpit where do we get to this point where you know it's not the best and brightest that are preaching the gospel it's the opposite guys who couldn't define justification guys who couldn't give an explanation of the Trinity that's not the way it ought to be so it was a blessing that hophni and Phineas died now notice the death of Eli quickly verses 12 to 18 the report comes through the messenger in verse 12 Eli is the priest the whole city gets the report the defeat of Israel by the Philistines the defeat of hophni and Phinehas and the capture of the art now the mention of the Ark again is what effects Eli look at the text with Eli heard the noise of the outcry he said verse 14 what does the sound of this tumult mean and the man came quickly in told Eli Eli was 98 years old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see then the man said to Eli I am he who came from the battle and I fled today from the battle line and he said what happened my son so the messenger answered and said Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has been a great slaughter among the feet of people also your two sons hophni and Phinehas are dead and the Ark of God has been notice verse 18 then it happened when he made mention of the Ark of God that he life fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate wasn't the death of his signs he knew that was coming I'm sure that was nevertheless bad news I mean even if your sons are terrible your parents love them right I mean it's hard to not love your kids I'm sure hey Hitler's mom loved him right we can't fathom that but she loved it terrible people in the history of the world had been loved by their parents so I'm sure Eli had some filial affection toward his sons but that's not what caused him to fall into died it was the knowledge that the Ark of the Covenant of God had been captured he knew the significance of that he knew the gravity of that he knew the weight of that and then it tells us he fell his neck was broken and he died for the man was old and heavy and he had judged Israel forty days now look at the departure of Yahweh in nineteen to 22 this is a this is a very sad and pathetic scene isn't it this one of those sections where you kind of tugs at your heartstrings a bit you tear up a little bit because it's not her fault she married him you know it's not her fault I mean I guess it is but in the grand scheme of things but mckay's that this is a sad event in the life of this particular woman now his daughter-in-law Phineas his wife was with child due to be delivered and when she heard the news that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead she bowed herself and gave birth for her labor pains came upon her and about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her do not fear for you born a son but she did not answer nor did she regard it then she named the child Ichabod saying the glory has departed from Israel because the Ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband and she said the glory has been depart or has departed from Israel for the Ark of God has been captured Davis says probably she taught more theology in her death than Phineas had done in his whole life she understood the ramifications she knew what was happening she theologizing of her son Ichabod well brethren in conclusion in the first place I would underscore as we ought to always underscore the importance of the word of God if you've got issues in your life search the Scriptures if you're being defeated by the Philistines ask why is this happening and go to the scriptures for the response you need the Word of God you need it vitally in your life to understand why things are happening and it's not a book like a fortune cookie or it's not a what do they call those balls the balls that tell you thing what is it crystal ball that's right it's not like that you're not gonna find a Roman 17 that says what you have this problem on Thursday Jim because you did no no it's not that way you gotta use wisdom you have some insight you go to rely upon the Holy Spirit you need to ask the questions of Scripture but then as well what is the pathway to restoration the pathway to restoration in this instance was not trot the Ark of the Covenant of God out as if it was a holy horseshoe but rather to humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God and in due time let him lift us up faith and repentance humility before God James is a wonderful book James chapters 4 and 5 are great in terms of how believers were going through issues can ask questions and then find proper answers in terms of restoration as well we need to appreciate the idolatry of Israel again was not a hypothetical for Stephen Stephen knew the history the council knew the history Stephen is pressing his point Stephen is invoking their history and invoking their scriptures to show the reality that not everything was good in Israel back then and in Stephens defense he's saying not everything's good in Israel right now the council the Sanhedrin had been acting consistently not with the godly in Israel not with the faithful in Israel but with the unfaithful with the idolaters with the sorts of people that would say let's take the Ark of the Covenant out and it will deliver us from our enemies and then thirdly and finally and this is just a place where I get to quote one of my favorite quotes of all times outside of the Bible actually that's not why I'm preaching this but this is certainly a happy benefit the attempt to manipulate God this is where you need you know ask God tonight tomorrow Thursday whenever lord help me in light a First Samuel chapter 4 to see where it may be the case that I'm like those people in Israel at that time show me Lord where I'm in error trying to manipulate you trying to use you trying to secure benefits by doing something or engaging in something simply as technique J Gresham machen wrote an excellent little book well it's probably a collection of essays or addresses it's called what is faith I cannot I can't recommend that book higher it's one of the best books you know anything nation writes is fantastic but there's a particular chapter where he where he says something in this vein he says we value God solely for the things he can do we make of him a mere means to an ulterior end and God refuses to be treated so such a religion always fails in the hour of need if we have regarded religion merely as a means of getting things even lofty and unselfish things then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed our faith will fail we see if we're mercenaries and we get what it is that we want and then they are gone or taken or destroyed the faith will fail he says when loved ones are taken away when disappointment comes in failure when noble ambitions are set at nought then we turn away from God we have tried religion we say we have tried prayer and it has failed of course it has failed God is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our beck and call he is not content to minister to the worldly needs of those who care not a bit for him let that sink in brethren because I think again there's a lot of parallels to modern evangelicalism and and dare I say it the Reformed faith that feels a lot like we're trying to get from God like we're trying to manipulate like we're trying to game the system Ralph Davis a contemporary says it this way contemporary believers must be OPA beware of thinking they are immune from this rabbit foot faith you all know that pulley or when I say holy horseshoes a horseshoes supposed to be a good luck thing they say when you put one up make sure the tines go up because if you put it upside down all the luck runs out it's kind of like the Philistines teaching us theology proper it's just really bad so horseshoes rabbit's feet rabbit's foot I remember when I was a kid they used to have them on keychains how sick is that putting a rabbit's foot in your pocket because it's lucky so that's what you know some of you younger people you're probably going rabbit's feet horseshoes what's with Butler well it's with this feet reference there hoorah lucky charms three was it a four-leaf clover that was the other lucky charm if you find a four-leaf clover boy you're gonna have a lucky day again that's just sick got a whole host of levels I mean come on so back to Davis she says contemporary believers must beware of thinking they are immune from this rabbit foot faith what is behind a Church's 24-hour prayer vigil is it a desire to be in earnest with God to plead within in some matter or is there some thinking that if we simply organize and orchestrate such coverage God will be forced to grant whatever we are praying about so again the distinct that there's subtleness here it's not bad to have the Ark of the Covenant it's bad to think that the Ark of the Covenant is going to give you victory over the Philistines it's certainly not bad to pray it's certainly not bad for a church to have a 24-hour prayer vigil I myself prefer sleep at least some of those 24 hours but if you want to knock yourselves out it's bad when we think that by the doing of the thing we're gonna get what it is we're after you have to see the bail ism in that you have to see this approach is more technique oriented and more manipulation oriented than it is with reference to the worship of God he says perhaps individual Christians have observed that quote things go better with prayer and quote but what then is the drive behind their daily devotional exercises is it delight in meeting with God or with things going better whenever the church stops confessing thou art worthy and begins chanting thou art useful well then you know that the Ark of God has been captured again I say this because I think it is a legitimate concern I think First Samuel Chapter four is as relevant to the church today as it was with reference to the children of Israel then this technique this manipulation this desire to get from God under the guise of piety or religiosity again add to piety acts of religiosity good the people of God should pray the people of God should read the people of God should attend to the services of the church but when the people of God used those as means to get what it is they're really after than the people of God are guilty of first samuel chapter 4 thinking that they can do such-and-such in order to get the desired results that's the lesson that you and i need to take from this passage and please don't go home and say well I'm not gonna pray I'm not going to read I'm just gonna lay on the couch don't do that pray read but don't trust in the praying in the reading to get you the stuff that you're after commune with God matron goes on to say that God is the best God is the most glorious Communion and fellowship with God trumps everything else whatever it is you're after the presence of God in your life is far more excellent than whatever it is you're after well let us close in a word of Prayer our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for this Lord's Day the Sabbath that we can rest together and gather together as the people of God to worship the God of heaven and earth we ask that you would go with us now that you'd cause your face to shine upon us that you would help us to know your peace and God do watch over us every day we asked that you would bless again our brothers and sisters struggling with trials and afflictions and physical ailments we just pray that they would no relief and they would no peace and they would no joy from on high and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen you