God, My Strength

1 Samuel 4:1-11
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, 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 with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

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Israel was defeated in battle by the Philistines. Instead of pausing and asking what they did wrong, they enthusiastically decided that the ark of God should be brought into the army camp. Surely, then they would win the battle…or that’s what they thought. Israel trusted in the ark of God instead of the God of the ark. They put their confidence in the symbol of God’s glory and strength instead of the God of glory and strength. The end result was chaos, because the Philistines, who at first feared and trembled at the news of the ark, won yet another battle.

As I read this chapter this morning, I thought how foolish the Israelites were. And then I began thinking how foolish we often are. God showers us with good things--good jobs, good friends, you name it--and soon we take our eyes off the One who gave them to us. Then a trial comes into our lives and we run to the thing that we think will give us comfort and security instead of running to the God of all comfort and security. This is what the Israelites did. They trusted in the things of God instead of the God of their things. We would do well to learn from this situation. Where does our great strength lie? In whom do we put our trust?

Not only did Israel make themselves look foolish, but they gave their enemies a reason to mock their God…the God they greatly feared. When the ark was brought into the camp, the Israelites made a big deal and began shouting as they thought of their coming victory. Hearing this noise, the Philistines sent spies to see what was going on. They returned with news that the ark of God was in the camp. The Philistines trembled and quacked. They had heard about the wonders done by this mighty God in Egypt. The land was laid waste as plagues ravaged the country and sickness and death spread from house to house. “Woe unto us!” was all they could utter in shock. Then they got renewed courage and strengthened themselves to fight. They didn’t want to be the Hebrews’ slaves as the Hebrews had been their slaves. We see by that statement that the past failures of the Israelites to trust in God gave them a bad reputation. The Philistines wagered that if the Israelites’ God could wimp out on them in the past, He probably could do it again. In the end, the Philistines defeated the Israelites and took the ark. Suddenly the Philistines didn’t think their God was so great after all. Israel brought shame to the name of God Almighty; by trusting in the ark of God instead of the God of the ark, they reduced the power of God’s strength in the eyes of their enemies. We see in the next two chapters that God had to intervene and reestablish His fear in the hearts of the Philistines, this time without the aid of man. We see God defending Himself…making His mighty arm bare! Awesome stuff!

You know, as Christians we can lead others astray by being lead astray ourselves. By making foolish decisions or doing foolish things we can make God look weak to those around us. We can be the means of somebody getting saved or rejecting God forever. We have an in creditable responsibility!!! Are we making God look good? Are we increasing or decreasing His power in the eyes of those who know we are Christians? Are we going to trust in the ark of God or the God of the ark? Where does our strength lie? In whom will we put our trust?

Vain is the help of man! My things and my acquaintances can do nothing for me. In the end, I need to find my soul’s satisfaction in GOD! When everything else fades away, He will always be there to stay. I would love to expound on this passage of Scripture; there is so much that could be discussed, but for lack of time I’ll have to stop here.

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
I will go in the strength of the Lord God.

Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 71:7 “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.”
Psalm 62:7 “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”
2 Samuel 22:33 “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”