Man's Religious Search for Relief
There are many kinds of religious adherence that have nothing to do with true conversion to Christ.
In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines are determined to return the Ark of the Covenant to Israel for fear it will utterly destroy them. The Ark has humiliated their god Dagon and caused their cities to suffer. Now their hope is that sending the Ark away will bring them the peace they lost. So notice how this goes down:
1 Samuel 6:3–4 (ESV) They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
1 Samuel 6:7–8 (ESV) Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way
1 Samuel 6:12 (ESV) And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
The mercy of God is on full display here for the Philistines. The very enemy of His people seek relief for the sin of disgracing Him and they even ask for a sign and God gives it to them! This is a preview of things to come. The Gentiles will be fellow heirs with God's people in the Kingdom but unfortunately, the Philistines do not get the message. They are seeking God ONLY for their own relief. From here they will continue to be enemies of Israel and seek to destroy them. God reveals Himself to them and they recoil. How sad.
This passage is a firm warning to many people in our Christian churches. MANY who attend church seek God NOT for Himself but rather for the relief He can bring them. This is why some will come to Church on the heels of a divorce, a break-up or a financial disaster. But once the healing happens, they slowly ebb back into a comfortable Christ-less existence.
Notice how the Philistines simply return to life as before without any investigation into this God who so clearly demonstrated His glory to them:
1 Samuel 6:16 (ESV) And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
This casual search for what God can alleviate in people's lives is all too common. It is also not true conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a religious-faced search for the comforts of this present life rather than a hunger for God's presence and power. In the Philistines case, they get what they want - a temporary peace minus the eternal promises.
The sad reality for them is the Lord could be so much more in their lives.
Let not your heart fall into this search for what God can fix so that you get it and leave your experience there. The Lord has eternal pleasures for you. Come to HIM, look to HIM, enjoy HIM.
Psalm 34:8 (ESV) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines are determined to return the Ark of the Covenant to Israel for fear it will utterly destroy them. The Ark has humiliated their god Dagon and caused their cities to suffer. Now their hope is that sending the Ark away will bring them the peace they lost. So notice how this goes down:
1 Samuel 6:3–4 (ESV) They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
1 Samuel 6:7–8 (ESV) Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way
Augustine once said something like this: "God created us in His image and ever since then man has been returning the favor." The Philistines attempt to please God with cows instead of lambs or oxen which were required according to the Law. They also provide 5 of each item (mice and tumors) which represent both the plagues they've experienced and the number of their rulers instead of items representing the Lord's nature (firstborn perfect Lambs). This is how man's ideas about God work. We do what we "feel" is right for God and hope He will fix things. It is works righteousness. It is a far cry from a living relationship with Him.
Yet watch what happens when they set up a test to see if God will indeed help them out of their misery.
1 Samuel 6:9 (ESV) and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
In mercy, the Lord responds by having the cows do exactly as they ask in the test:
1 Samuel 6:12 (ESV) And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
The mercy of God is on full display here for the Philistines. The very enemy of His people seek relief for the sin of disgracing Him and they even ask for a sign and God gives it to them! This is a preview of things to come. The Gentiles will be fellow heirs with God's people in the Kingdom but unfortunately, the Philistines do not get the message. They are seeking God ONLY for their own relief. From here they will continue to be enemies of Israel and seek to destroy them. God reveals Himself to them and they recoil. How sad.
This passage is a firm warning to many people in our Christian churches. MANY who attend church seek God NOT for Himself but rather for the relief He can bring them. This is why some will come to Church on the heels of a divorce, a break-up or a financial disaster. But once the healing happens, they slowly ebb back into a comfortable Christ-less existence.
Notice how the Philistines simply return to life as before without any investigation into this God who so clearly demonstrated His glory to them:
1 Samuel 6:16 (ESV) And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
This casual search for what God can alleviate in people's lives is all too common. It is also not true conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a religious-faced search for the comforts of this present life rather than a hunger for God's presence and power. In the Philistines case, they get what they want - a temporary peace minus the eternal promises.
The sad reality for them is the Lord could be so much more in their lives.
Let not your heart fall into this search for what God can fix so that you get it and leave your experience there. The Lord has eternal pleasures for you. Come to HIM, look to HIM, enjoy HIM.
Psalm 34:8 (ESV) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
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