I Samuel 4:3 “And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.”
Recently the governor of Illinois was arrested on corruption charges. His acts were brash, brazen, and bold. And his election to governor came after the former governor was imprisoned for the same thing! You can boil it all down to one word: entitlement. Nothing good ever comes from thinking you are owed something or are entitled to something that is not yours in the first place.
The children of Israel had the same problem in I Samuel 4. They were the right people, fighting the right enemy, and they had the right God. They knew Jehovah God-they were His chosen people. The Philistines were the right people to fight against. And they were “serving” the LORD Jehovah. So why in the name of common sense would these folks say, “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant . . . that . . . it may save us out of the hand of our enemies”?
It is true that God’s special presence was in the form of the Ark of the Covenant, but they entirely missed the point that the ark was the “ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: . . .” They thought God would be obligated to bless them because they had the ark. They turned the Ark of the Covenant into superstition. They thought the ark was the missing “power” (“it may save us”), but they needed the “LORD of hosts” (the Captain of His Army). They had God in a box-literally.
We can learn that power does not come because you have God; Power comes because God has you. In our day, our “ark” is that we are good people, are Bible-believers, etc., and somehow we think that God is obligated to help us. Have you ever thought or said, “Do you know how much I’ve given up to serve the Lord?” or “I’m taking the right position, so God has to . . .”? That is no different than the children of Israel fetching the ark from Shiloh!
The truth is, we need God’s power today just like Israel needed God’s power then. We will face “enemies” in the form of trouble and conflict, and we will face the Enemy-Satan. It is empty and worthless to think that God is entitled to help you just because of a position you hold or deed you have done. Power does not come by having God; power comes by God having you. Does God have you today, or do you have God in a box?
Prayer Requests: – Revival services tonight in Madison, OH
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