FBC Daily Devotional – September 13, 2021

Well, a good Monday morning to you. So here we are starting off a new week and trust your weekend went well, you were able to be at church yesterday worship together with God's people and Gain something from the Word of God and from your worship together.

Well today as we begin our week of scripture reading We read today in 1st Samuel chapters 2 through 4 and really isn't this a sad sad period in Israel's history you had these sons of Eli who were just really corrupt in the ministry and by the way any so-called minister who uses the office of the ministry for strictly selfish and personal gain getting what he can get out of it and Not caring about the people not caring whom he hurts in the process.

He's not really a minister. He's really not he's just a another selfish Self-centered Abuser of a position but anyway as the story goes on, you know The Lord warned Eli that his two sons were going to die At the same time and things were not going to go well for them and so it came I came to this battle that the Israelites had with the Philistines and in chapter 4 As the as the battle that the two sides engaged the Philistines against the Israelites Israelites, you know, they're God's people.

They ought to be able to win this thing they ought to be able to defeat the Philistines so they go to battle against the Philistines, but they get routed and The second verse I think it is in chapter 4 tells us that 4 ,000 Israelite soldiers lost their lives 4 ,000 that's quite demoralizing and Of course, you want to know why?

Say regroup they get back to camp their their heads are hanging low and they're wondering, you know, why what you know? What why did we lose so terribly? Well, how can we got so? Soundly defeated in this battle and As they're pondering that question Nobody stops to think well It's it's our fault.

We've We've abandoned the Lord we've turned from the Lord, how can we expect him to bless us if we've turned from him? Well, they don't go there instead. What they say is You know what? It's because we don't have the Ark.

We don't have the Ark of the Covenant. You know here we are in battle and the Ark is back, you know in Shiloh and it's it's not it's not with us and so they immediately send some. Did they dispatch a couple of people to run back to take fetch the Ark and When they go get the Ark of the Covenant, they bring it, you know.

They're carrying it as they're supposed to and it's covered and all the rest that stuff like they're supposed to. But they also bring with them these two sons of Eli Hoffney and Phineas. They have no Idea really that they're being set up for their own demise, but that's what's coming.

I'm running ahead of the story a little bit. So they go and get the Ark they bring the Ark of the Covenant into the camp of the soul of the army and As soon as they see the Ark everybody cheers everybody cheers and their their conclusion is that Surely we're gonna defeat the Philistines now.

We have the Ark with us. We're gonna defeat the Philistines now so as far as the difference between 24 hours earlier when they were soundly defeated and now the only difference is that the Ark is with them and So they conclude that because the Ark is with us.

We will win the victory. Well, if you read the count, you know the rest of the story. That's not what happens at all. Instead the Philistines defeat the Israelites again. They capture the Ark of the Covenant and take it into Philistine territory and the two sons of Eli Hoffman Phinehas.

They perish they perish in the conflict now what I want to point out here is The attitude that the people of Israel had the soldiers of Israel had toward the Ark it was. It was almost like a good luck charm if I can use that expression, you know what I mean?

It's like okay. We didn't have the rabbit's foot with us yesterday when we went out to battle. So we got to go get the rabbit's foot. Okay. Now we got the rabbit's foot. Oh, we got the good luck charm.

Now. We're sure to win now. We're sure to get victory. And of course they were they were defeated the Ark of the Covenant. Symbolizing the very presence of the Lord is not going to be treated so lightly and it's such a and it's such a Profane way.

But yet as I think about it, I wonder how many how many spiritual things in our lives as New Testament Christians, we don't have the Ark of the Covenant and Anywhere at all we don't have it. But how many spiritual things in our lives?

Do we treat like that? What I mean is like We we can think because we have a Bible in our home God was gonna bless us. We can think because we have a plaque on the wall that has some Bible verse God is gonna bless us.

We can think because we go to church God is gonna bless us. Or we can think because We took communion God is going to bless us as if as if just the having of those things or the doing of those things is a sure Sure sign that God's going to bless it's we treat those things like good luck charms.

That's not what they are. That's not what they are. Some of these things are means of grace to be sure. The the having of the Bible does no good to us unless we open it and partake of it unless we read it and as We read it and with our mind engaged and our heart engaged and prayerfully.

The Lord uses that reading to grow us in grace and knowledge of Christ. The same with the church just showing up at church. It's sitting in a pew and warm in a pew for an hour or two. It doesn't mean we're gonna be blessed.

But as we go actively participating in the In the parts in the service and so forth then God will bless. So we got to be careful not to use these things, excuse me a moment I had to take care of that call because you know, I don't need a I don't need the voicemail interrupting the devotional thing.

Anyway We can't treat those things as good luck charms. That's not what they are. They are Designed to be helpful to us to be sure and as we engage with those things in the way God intends. Then God will bless.

But just the having of them doesn't ensure victory or blessing. Let's bear that in mind. Father we do. Thank you today for this reminder the sober reminder from 1st Samuel chapter 4. Not to treat spiritual things in a profane way not to not to think of them as Simply good luck charms that are going to guarantee your blessing because we have them in hand.

Deliver a sec from that kind of thinking we pray instead help us engage with you with our mind and our heart and and to do so intentionally thoughtfully prayerfully and Obediently and then we will know the blessing of the Lord.

Bless these thoughts to our hearts today. We pray and we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Sorry about the phone call interruption. I usually remember to shut that off before we begin this. But it is what it is.

You're probably pretty used to those kinds of things yourself. All right. Have a good day. God bless.