Good morning. So this morning we return to our continued study of the book of 1 Samuel and we'll be looking at a very difficult chapter, chapter 6 of 1 Samuel. Now the message is coming from the whole chapter 6 and actually the first two verses of chapter 7 verses 1 and 2 but because of time we're only going to read verses 1 to 16 and verses 19 to 21. It's a long passage but if you're able to do stand please as we honor the reading of God's Word this morning for Samuel 6, 16, 19 to 21. The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines for seven months and the Philistines called for the priest and the diviners and said what shall we do with the with the ark of the Lord tell us what we shall send it to its place they said if you send away the ark of the God of Israel did 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 they said what is the guilt offering that we shall return to him they said 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 so you must make images of your tumors and images of your minds that ravaged the land and give glory to the God of Israel perhaps maybe perhaps he will lighten his hand from you off of you and your gods and your land why should you harden your hearts of the Egyptians and peril harden their hearts after he had dealt severely with them did they not send the people away and they departed now then taken prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which this on which there has never come a yoke and yoke the cows to the cart but take their cows home away from them and take the ark of the Lord in 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 to its way and watch if it goes up on the way to its own land to best your mash then it is he who has done us this great home but if not then we shall know that this is not the hand that has struck us has happened to us by coincidence the man did so and took two milk cows and yoke them to the cart and shut up their calves at home and they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box of the golden mice and the images of their tubers and the cows went straight in the direction of Beth Shamesh along one highway lowing as they went they turn neither to the right nor to the left and the loads of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth Shamesh now the people of Beth Shamesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley when they lifted up their eyes and saw their ark they rejoiced to see it the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shamesh and stopped there a great stone was there and they split up wood for the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord and the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it in which were the golden figures and set them upon the great stone the man of Beth Shamesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifice sacrifices on that day to the Lord and when they when the five Lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Akron verse 19 and he struck some of the men of Beth Shamesh because they looked upon the ark of the Lord he struck 70 men of them and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow and the man of Beth Shamesh said who is able to stand before the Lord this holy God and to whom shall he go up away from us so they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan saying the Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord come down and take it up to you Lord our father and God would you speak to us through your word this morning amen please be seated
when I was about 10 11 years old he 11 years of age I had a best friend as most of you might have friends my best friend was my much older cousin I think it was about 15 years older than me I looked up to him but one thing scared me a lot about my friend and cousin really spoke to me see my cousin was a very superstitious person he was so superstitious that he believed that something horribly wrong would happen to him if at any chance he forgot to honor his ancestors all the spirits and so the way my friend and cousin would honor the ancestors was by doing something very simple that you might not think of but every time you offered a plate of food to my friend he would take a spoon and the first spoonful of his meal he would throw it out he would not eat it was his way of appeasing the spirits by pouring libation to them see he was trying to appease the spirits because he did not want to be caught on the wrong side if at all he did something that was wrong to the spirit now you might look at me and say well that's all the culture in Africa and that's how people do all surprise superstitions are not things that are foreign to us either right we know all about it we make our wishes on wishbones we cross our fingers for good luck hey and we're afraid of the freaky Friday Friday the 13th nobody wants to go to our hotel that has the number 13 in America and all of you sports fans especially baseball sports fans yes I'm looking at you you know what we do when we're trying to do things in rituals that are going to help our teams win I avoid wearing a Chelsea jersey every time Chelsea's playing because every time our way my team loses see superstition is just one of those ways that we try to explain how things work in the world isn't it on our text this morning we are approaching a text here that is giving us or that's forcing us to understand just how we as people or how the Philistines and also the Israelites were trying to respond to God's working in the world especially he's working in carrying out his judgment we've been looking through the the book of 1 Samuel in chapters 4 all the way to where we are now in chapter 6 and 7 the commentators called them the arch narratives because they're giving us this description after the ark has been captured and taken away and we've seen how God is showing his judgment he's judging the Philistines for capturing his ark and the devastating effects of that event but it's not just devastating to the Philistines but also to God's people as we shall see and the Philistines here are forced to ask some very serious questions questions like this what are we going to do with this box that has brought so much death and affliction upon us who is causing the affliction and how do we make it stop please make it stop so the first thing the Philistines do and as we will find out is something that we also do is they try to appease God instead of pleasing God they try to appease the Lord himself instead of pleasing him we see that in verses 1 all the way to 6 remember the Philistines that captured the ark in chapter 4 we saw that they you know they brought the ark to their place and they thought oh now we have conquered Israel we have conquered their God they're done they're finished and then their ark begins to torment the Philistines and and it actually ends up destroying their God day gone do you remember that in chapter 5 when they brought the the ark next to the to the day gone to their God and they destroyed him and then here the ark we're told in verses 1 of this chapter 6 was with them for seven months can you imagine all of that time as they are moving the ark from one spot to another the devastation that's going on for Philistines but it's it's not just hard for them it's it's hard for God's people who are without the symbol of God's presence for that long and so desperate and tired tired of this affliction that has come upon them the people go to their religious leaders looking for solution they go to the diviners and priests and they ask what should we do and if you're telling us to send this thing what are we going to send it with in verses 2 advice them the only way to appease this God of Israel is for you to send it back and when you do so don't send it empty see this is such a tragedy remember God's people up up to this point I've gone through so much calamity they've gone through so much but never have they lost the ark of God this tragedy can only be compared to the Exodus and that's why there are so many similarities you cannot help when you're reading through this verses but see just how close this is to the Exodus take a look in verses 3 they use the word the verb send away this is the same verb that was used of Pharaoh when he was dismissing God's people in Exodus chapter 5 verses 1 remember what Moses said when he went to the to Pharaoh he said let my people go and then we're told that they're not supposed to leave Egypt empty God's people were supposed to take gold and silver and jewelry from the Egyptians Exodus 3 21 and here we're told the ark must not be sent back empty but it must be sent with gold objects even more surprising I think it is the fact that they are told to send it with a guilt offering you know that guilt offering is actually a Hebrew term that's better translated as a reparation offering a reparation offering not that the clergy of the Philistines knew anything about reparation offering this was given in the law of Moses after the Exodus they have no clue but God is using this in his own providence for them to do something that they have no idea the significance of it but it is something that God would actually ask because the reparation of offering was meant to represent this he was supposed to give a commercial picture of what sins that sin is a debt that God's people in car before him and that it must be paid by offering an animal the Philistines without knowing are doing this they are acknowledging their guilt and debt against God which must be paid without their knowledge and finally is the expectation that when it's all been said and done after all these things have been done the sacrifices and the golden things have been sent back to Israel we will know something about this great God who has done this if indeed he's the one who's caused our affliction isn't it the great theme in the Exodus that by God displaying his majesty by rescuing his people from the Egyptians that the whole universe should know who this great God is amazing isn't it and so in their confusion they start to ask questions they find answers but their answers are also uncertain their solution even raises more questions than they would imagine look at verses 4 and 5 they ask what is this guilt offering that we shall return and I love the one commentator captures this can't you says how do you repay a debt you cannot assess to a God you do not know their best attempt at making a man's can only be termed as comical it's a circus I can only imagine as the as a priest that's telling the people all you must make this five golden golden models of your tumors that the five golden minds just imagine the priest standing out there with the tumors all of their body imposing as models for the craftsmen to create a golden object to be returned I'm not a good model so I'm not going to even try to pose and we're told here the minds which is really surprising why their minds little creatures might have been carriers of a plague that was causing the tumors on their bodies but we're told that the infestation was causing and destroying their land see the Philistines wanted to appease a powerful God with which gifts and offerings sending gifts to Yahweh would expiate and bring relief from the blows of Yahweh the guilt offering here as I said before is implying implying giving back that which was wrongly taken it's implying transferring impurity onto a substitutionary offering that they're giving to God so that he might get rid of the mice and get rid of the of the of the plagues and get rid of the affliction that they're suffering they thought that this offering would lead to healing to forgiveness to expiation to removal of God's judgment upon them but even after doing all these things even after telling the people give these things to God they still cannot guarantee the outcome do you see the word that they use they say perhaps perhaps he will somehow let you off the hook they're not sure that Hebrew word that translated there actually is a word that we need to think very seriously about because it's denoting this God's freedom to act as he will he might or might not give you relief they couldn't offer anything other than a perhaps he might there's one thing they know though there's one thing they know for sure they know that if we defy him you will not last defying God will only bring you judgment upon you yes send the ark yes bring the gifts we cannot promise you anything but we promise you one thing do not harden your hearts against this God because remember how God toyed with the with the Egyptians remember how he he toyed with them and and made them humiliated them before their very own eyes and they still let the people go there is no benefit in you trying to harden your heart verses six see the Philistines are here operating on something that they knew what I mean it's what they knew of course they cannot operate on something that they have no clue of what it is their heathen gods are unpredictable they gone and every other gods that they believe did they were unpredictable people had no idea whether they were doing the right thing to please or appease God or not they had to do guesswork they had to assume well I'm not sure what God is saying I'm not sure what what he's going to do what his actions are going to be and so let's try perhaps this will work trying to appease God so he may heal their tumors get rid of the minds you know what we learned from this church is this we here sit before a holy and righteous judge our very own God who remains powerful yes sometimes he he seems mysterious to us but he is the God who's revealed himself to us that we may know who he is and he tells us what it requires of us you don't have to guess we do not have to do guesswork to know what God needs from us and do you know what God needs from us I have no idea what things or what gifts or what sacrifices you're trying to bring to him so that you may appease him the only thing that God requires of you and eyes that we may have a relationship with him he wants us to be his friends our gifts and our offerings don't cut it because we know something that the Philistines do not know we know that our guilt and our death that they were trying to appease has been fully paid Yahweh our God does not need us to appease him because Jesus Christ is the guilt offering that was offered on our behalf he is the one who made that offering and paid the price that you and I could never pay because he died on the cross the death that you and I deserve to die because of on many sins you do not have to appease him now he is enabled you to please him because you know him and he wants you to know him he wants you to have a relationship with him the Philistines don't get that second thing but they don't get this in verses 7 to 12 they're trying to respond to God's judgment by testing instead of trusting God testing instead of trusting God there are so many questions which show the confusion that's going on here and the concern for the Philistines they ask what shall we send how shall we send it but there is a big and main question that is lost in all this frantic effort so the Philistines are trying to find a solution it is this has Yahweh the God of Israel has he really brought us this affliction or is it mere coincidence that is the big question is it really God who's done it they cannot be sure and so in order to find an answer to this question the diviners and the priests they carefully device a test to see if God is responsible for their woes the test is actually meant to make the probability less to be to I mean really make the probability one sided so that if anything is going to happen it must be God doing it so we're going to try all we can to make sure that we don't give a chance and so they are to use two unyoked and feeding cows and tie them on their own and let them take the ark and the gifts back to God on top of the comedy that I just described that's happening with the priests posing with their tumors this is more comedy more circus I mean a disaster that's just waiting to happen I'll give you an example I grew up in the in a farm and I used to work with cows I remember sometimes with the yoke two bowls together that had never been yoke before you better stay away because they might destroy you because it doesn't work okay now these are cows that have never been yoke before their female cows so their feeding they have their calves at home and you're going to put a yoke on them no one guiding them and tell them there you go seven miles ride to Beth Shamash you go it's not going to happen okay they will definitely turn back and they will not even know how to move when you yoke cows that have never been yoke together they would not even move an inch the priest advice we see here in verses 10 and 12 is followed to the letter and they actually go up a step further they follow the cows just to make sure that it reaches its destination they were told curious that the cows are lowing as they went which probably tells us they were not happy they're longing for their cows this cows are not being driven by themselves they're being driven by a force that's behind that's beyond their natural inclination by a power that is behind them and then I love the description that he gives there as the cows are making their way to Beth Shamash it says Isaiah in chapter 40 says the road becomes a highway for God much like the Exodus as the ark is making its way to Beth Shamash and then we're told that they make they take this direct route the seven mile ride from Ekron to southeast to Beth Shamash a clear indication that God is the cause of this events and he's using given this process of divination or priests who have no clue what they're doing even though they're doing things that are so significant without knowing God is showing his own opportunity to show his superiority and power his sovereign freedom to act as he will that he is fully in control what a good lesson for us to learn this morning from the Philistines who are trying to test God that we are called instead of trying to test God how about we got we try to trust him so trying to give test to see if he's really the one who is in charge if he's really the one who is the cause if he's really the one who is in control of all things in our lives trusting his providence trusting his wisdom trusting his power his holiness his justice his goodness his truth all this great attribute says he's given to us you know and sometimes I think just you just like I do get confused really confused about the events of this world events that are happening around us and in our lives I beseech you this morning instead of taking chances and merely asking questions there is nothing wrong with asking questions but there's something wrong when we merely ask questions and yet do not trust God we don't realize how powerful he is we don't realize that he's the one who is fully in control of everything that happens do you ever wonder when you look around you and and I don't know what causes you the greatest grief you are listening to Ravisa Karyas this morning he said this if there's one thing that defines our life today more than anything it is suffering take a look around I'm not sure if the it's migrant crisis that causes you not to sleep at night I'm not sure if it's the 50 million babies that have been killed through abortion I'm not sure if it's the racial tensions that keep you awake and wondering why can't we just get along I'm not sure if it's looking at the poverty in the world that makes you wonder when will it ever stop I'm not sure if it's the disease cancer that's killing babies and and our children and and and men and women that makes you wonder why would all this happen but you know what I hope that in your questioning and wondering you do one thing you recognize what the one who is in control of all things you recognize that God is in control regardless of what happens he is fully in control and he is not absent even in our suffering even in those very difficult things that you and I can never explain he is fully in control we can die
and we will die we can suffer and we will suffer we can cry and we will cry but don't you have a doubt that God is in control so I ask you this morning where do you need to trust God where do you need to trust his power and control of your life where have you trusted in your own inventions in your own superstitious effort instead of resting fully resting your confidence in Jesus Christ
finally we learn from God's people not from the Philistines this time but sometimes we do take God for granted instead of living in reverent fear of his holiness sometimes we take God for granted instead of living in reverent fear of his holiness look at verses 19 to the end it actually begins from verses 13 which you do not have on your bulletin but if you have your Bible you can follow along with me from verses 13 to 15 as the ark providentially makes its way to Beth Shamesh and the Levites are on hand to properly receive it and handle it and the people of God rejoice and they sacrifice the cows that have brought the ark together they use the word that made the new cart because after seven months we can celebrate the ark is finally here Pete God's people rejoice would it have been so glorious and awesome if the chapter just ended there would have been such a beautiful story right on a such a joyous and victorious note where God's people are now rejoicing behold the ark is back and God is with us and we see the symbol of his presence and we are good to go praise the Lord
unfortunately that's not the reality it's not the reality for us either because here we are given the problem we have with the power of God some people act foolishly and they face God's breath again all the humor and comedy that was surrounding the story and all the things that seem to be just you know a funny thing that was going on has come to an end and here we're reminded of how terrifying God can be when he's mocked not just by the Philistines but by his own people as he strikes 70 of them who look upon the ark improperly we do not know how they did it we don't know the details of exactly what they did but we know it was not right remember Beth Shamesh was actually a levitical city which means everybody in there since there were priests again the priests were the ones who on hand to receive it they knew how to handle the ark they know that the ark was supposed to be covered they knew it was not supposed to be touched they knew it was not supposed to be looked into according to numbers chapter four verses five and and they actually the last tell end of verses 20 says this but they shall not go into look on the holy things even for a moment less they die they knew all that and yet they refuse to obey God is awesomely holy and when they act like the Philistines they are judged because the right of Hebrews reminds us of one big thing that we need to keep in our minds every day of our lives that it is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Hebrews 1031 were you paying attention this morning as we're reading or profession did you get a sense of awe and the grandeur and transcendence and holiness and justice of God I did I was freaked out for one second but you know why God punishes them because he loved them do you see that Beth God's love in judging them because they knew him he told them what they were supposed to do and he says no you cannot disobey me because I love you you're gonna die and then after the terror in verses 20 we see this perplexing question see that question with me who is able to stand before God before the Lord this holy God and to whom shall he go up away from us they sound like the Philistines don't they they're showing that discomfort with this ark they want to take it away and so they're calling upon the people from the next town north about 15 miles north east of Beth Germant from Cureeth Jareem they probably never told them what really happened just told them just come get the ark and get out of here it is the final testimony of God's power for no one no one could stand before again when we fall into the hands of the living God it is indeed a fearful thing you know why it is so fearful because you and I stand before God as sinners defiled and we cannot come boldly before him because of our sin my sin reminds me every day of how terrifying God can be but that's good news brothers and sisters because the same God this God was immeasurably powerful and holy and just the same God who brought the ark from the Philistines not because they were trying they knew what they were doing it was God's providence that did all that he is the same God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead he is the same Jesus that the bore the punishment that you and I deserve so we are not condemned anymore we feel in Christ Jesus you are good to go but we can only stand before this holy God because of Jesus only through him and no one else what a liberating and freeing thing to know that we can now enter the Holy of Holies you don't have to be afraid of the ark we now have full access to God himself through Jesus Christ but you dare not defy him and you dare not taking for granted sometimes I lose I lose a sense of God's holiness I lose a sense of his reverence and his awesomeness his transcendence his majesty his holiness and his glory sometimes I forget that the only way I can approach God is when I'm fully clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ confident that only by his efforts can I have acceptance before my heavenly Father sometimes I dwell on God's grace and rightly so but I forget that God's grace is not a license for me not to reveal God God's grace is not a license for me to live just the way I want to live God's grace for me should accentuate my reverence and awe of who God is God's grace should allow me to live a life that reflects God's holiness and his just requirements of me so I need to live in fear of God not fear of punishment because I am not punished because Christ has been punished on my behalf he has fully satisfied God's divine justice but fear as a reverent fear of a holy and loving God I'm going to end on this because I think it's good I've said this before but I think it's good the title for this sermon this morning is what we fall into the hands into the hands of God it's like C.S. Lewis reminds us in the chronicles of 90 in the silver chair I've given this story before remember Jill when she wants to have a drink of water and she comes to the lion Aslan and and and she's so afraid of him and so she can you move away so that I can have a drink of water and she says I am moving and she said well I'm afraid so can you tell me if you eat little girls and are you do you promise you're not going to eat me and Aslan said I do not make promises and then he said I have eaten men women princess empress all of them you swallow them up and she said well what am I supposed to do now I guess I might as well just go find another stream of water to drink and he says there is no other stream he is not safe okay he is not safe when we fall into the hands of the living God we can do so with confidence but not in a casual God culture mentality where when we come before God in our own terms whatever those terms may be because it is a fearful thing to volunteer into his hands but if we fall into his hands because we have lost our hope on everything else that we ever trusted so that the lion might be terrifying but he is the only safe place for us to be then we fall into the hands of a loving father and God who gives us mercy and grace and everything else that we need can I add anything there absolutely nothing to add let us pray thank you Lord that you give us the opportunity to stand before you in reverence in awe of all that you are to our God who is mighty and awesome and good but you love us more than we could ever imagine and that you care for us deeper and we could ever dream this bring us a sense of awe of joy and of gratitude to you