Voice of Truth

by Ben

I read 1 Samuel 4-7.

My oh my...the Philistines defeated the Israelites twice! And took the Ark of the Covenant! That's huge! The Ark basically represented God to the Israelites. The Philistines had it for seven months before they returned it.

Why did they return it you might ask? It caused plagues of rats and tumors in every city they moved it to. When it was placed next to the image of their god, their god fell down from its stand face down in front of the Ark. The Philistines took it as a pretty serious message: don't mess with the God of Israel.

I can only imagine what the Israelite leaders were thinking! They must have been so discouraged. Maybe even thinking that they'd backed the wrong god.

Sometimes I feel like God has been hijacked. Like all of the competing gods of modern day, in fighting for rank, have taken God away from his people. Sunday isn't a Sabbath for most people. Church is a secondary or last-minute thought as opposed to the first relationship in our lives (our marriage to God). When we do finances, do we figure our tithe first or last? When we turn on the radio, do we turn to 95.5 or 92.5? When we get up, do we read the Bible or the Repository?

You may be thinking, "but those are little things." And yes, you may be right, but it's the combination of those little things that makes us who we are. Are we God's people? If I were to ask myself that question at various times of the day, would I be able to answer a resounding "YES!"? Not likely.

Our God has been hijacked. What's worse is we've let Him go. But not to worry, He's taking care of Himself in their hands. But He desperately wants to be back with us. We have to work to reconnect with Him.

In Chapter 7, Samuel tells the people of Israel that they must "get rid of [their] foreign gods" and that they must "determine to obey only the Lord."

Can we be the people of God and want to sing along with "Loosen up my buttons" on MTV?