1 Samuel 5:1-7:17 + John 6:1-21 + Psalm 106:13-31 + Proverbs 14:32-33
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Old Testament - Interesting chapters in First Samuel today! The idol Dagon was no match for the Ark of the Covenant! You'll notice in verse 4 that Dagon ends up in a worship position before the Ark: "And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD." Dagon was the "god" of the Philistines, and was thought to have been some sort of man / fish combo. The idol of Dagon may have looked something like this:
Below is a pretty good map of that will show you where three of the Five Cities of the Philistines (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath) that we read about in today's readings are located in the Philistine territory:
It's fascinating to see the Philistine's send back to Israel a "guilt offering" of golden tumors and rats with the Ark. Not quite what was prescribed for guilt offerings in Leviticus... but, I guess you can give them an E for effort. :) We read in chapter 6 verse 11 - "Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart."
Then we arrive at the people of Beth-shemesh who look in the ark and perish - and then the ark is sent off again to another town. We then arrive at some wonderful words from Samuel in chapter 7 verses 3 & 4: "Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." So the Israelites destroyed their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD." And later in verse 10 we read - "Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them."
Bible.org's commentary on our 1 Samuel readings today titled "The hands of Dagon and the Hand of God" is at this link.
New Testament - It is very interesting to note that Jesus' miracle of feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle, along with the resurrection, that is described in all 4 gospels! In John chapter 6 verse 14 we read - "When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!"" The Prophet the crowds are referring to comes from Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 15 & 18 - "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.... I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him."
Bible.org's commentary on our John chapter 6 readings today titled "The Messiah: Mightier than Moses" is at this link.
Psalms - Today in Psalm 106:19-21 we read: “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt.” This of course sounds very familiar to Romans chapter 1 verses 22 and 23: "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." Was this wise that the Israelites exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull? Why did they do this? What should have been their Glory? What is your Glory today? Do you, at times, exchange your true Glory for something else? Is this wise? Are you forgetting the God who saved you? The God who has done great things for you? Please don’t ever exchange the true Glory for a false idol!
Verse 13 in this Psalm also stands out: "Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn't wait for his counsel!" Is this true of us? Do we forget or take for granted all of the blessings God has poured out into our lives? In doing so, do we decide to take matters into our own hands - not waiting on God's counsel for our direction? Will we remember? Will we wait? Patiently...?
Proverbs - I really like Proverbs 14 verse 33 today - "Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart." I pray we all develop understanding hearts that are full of godly wisdom!
Worship Video: Today's readings in John reminded me of Needtobreathe's song "Testify:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVQuD85MV_w
Have you testified? Click here to Testify!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass." Psalm 106:20 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you will never exchange the Glory of God in your life for a useless dying idol.
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What do you think this Proverb means when it says "understanding heart"? What is an "understanding heart"? How is it different from other hearts? Maybe hardened hearts or foolish hearts? Have you ever prayed to God for an understanding heart? Would this be a good prayer? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.
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1 Samuel 5-7:17
For me this entire story of the capture of the Ark and its return can be played out today in our dealings with God either individually, as a congregation, a community and a nation. The Ark was captured because Israel used it as a “good luck” charm. It had become a symbol of God, something to carry into battle because they had lost a previous battle and not because they trusted God, they had put God in a box and kept Him there in the reasoning of their minds.
The Philistines now had the God of Israel in a box and took Him to their temple where their god, Dagon, fell before Israel’s God. [(I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance] Isaiah 45:23); (It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans 14:11-12)]
Instead of getting a clue and either being too stupid or stubborn to buy one, the Philistines kept their god and tried to reason and placate the God of Israel. Their means and methods of dealing with Israel’s God, placing it in a chart being pulled by cows that had given just given birth to calves that were not allowed to travel with them and the gold idols, were about “blind” men searching in the dark for God. In the natural new mothers don’t leave their babies. Israel took this as a sign, which it was; however, they misinterpreted the “sign” because they failed to seek God’s direction. They went by how things appeared to them instead of what God said because they failed to have fellowship with God to find out what He required, they failed to adhere to the Laws handed down by Moses so they went by it kinda-sorta-seems-like-to-me.
We still do that today. We try to keep God in a box and only bring Him out in crisis, then only to cry, “Why God, why?” When we don’t have God in our lives, His Presence, when manifested, defeats the gods in our lives and instead of asking questions and examining the reasonableness of the gods we serve, we send the true God back. When the God we say we serve out of tradition shows up in our lives in a powerful way, we then forge a worship method based on what we think we have seen instead of drawing closer to Him in fellowship to find out what He requires. We then begin to forge a worship system formed out of the ignorance of our own minds based on traditions formed from the lifestyles of unbelievers, a deadly formula.
John 6:1-21
This sentence/verse has caught my attention,
2 And a huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miracles as he healed the sick.
Am I following the pattern of the crowd? Am I following Jesus because of His miracles, because he “fed” me? Am I looking for a feeding program? When we read through the Book of Luke we came across the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31). At the end of that story there is a punch line which was, 31"But Abraham said, `If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.' " Signs and Wonders do not bring belief and faith, signs and wonders just make us wonder, “Hmmm” Hopefully our curiosity will send us on a journey to find “Truth.”
What the now well-fed crowd wanted was a king to keep them fed. This desire not only indicted the crowd back then but it indicts us today. We seek the “right” politician or leader not for what is right and moral but for what they can do for us and at the same time not give to the other guys living across the tracks or the other side of the political spectrum. Like us, they wanted a prophet/king to give them “stuff” but they didn’t want the Messiah part because they, like, us, don’t really want to submit to anyone however we do just want the “stuff.”
Psalm 106:13-31
24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
for they wouldn't believe his promise to care for them.
25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents
and refused to obey the LORD.
I am always fascinated by how the readings from different books written at different times parallel and compliment each other. This division of the Book of Psalms, at least to me, clearly shows the fickleness of “us folks.”
Proverbs 14:32-33
32 The wicked are crushed by their sins, but the godly have a refuge when they die.
Our bodies were never created to withstand the weight of sin. For those who are “saved” go get a B.S. (Before Salvation) picture and one now and see the difference on your face. Salvation lifts burdens.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona | May 08, 2023 at 08:11 PM