“Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen. Put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they. If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the Lord who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”
1st Samuel 6:7-9 NLT
Simply by chance. A coincidence.
The story behind our text today is that the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant. Such triumph! At least, that's what they thought until they took the Ark to Ashdod into the temple of their idol Dagon. (See 1st Samuel 5). In the morning, with no one there, the idol had fallen with its face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord. The people were sure it was just a coincidence, so they set the idol back up. The next morning, the same thing had happened, only that time the head and hands had been broken off the idol and were lying in the doorway.
Keep in mind, the Philistines were not godly - they didn't understand right away. From that point on, when they entered the temple to worship Dagon, they didn't acknowledge that it was a broken, defeated idol per se, they just wouldn't step on the threshold where its head and hands had been. It reminds me of the response we get when we confront someone's unbelief with Truth from the Word and they respond with, "Oh, I know...but it's all good. At least I'm...."
Well, no. Actually, it's not all good. The point is this. The Philistines were trying to make what is holy conform to a pagan lifestyle, instead of having their pagan lifestyle changed by what is holy.
I'm continually amazed at our seemingly superhuman capacity and ability to accommodate and allow the same thing in our lives today. We want to balance out - and make allowances for - our favorite sin by being "really good" in something else - or worse - by casting stones at someone else's sin. "Well, at least I don't do such-and-such, like so-and-so..."
Newsflash! We can't balance holy and sin. We can't do enough good to balance out or dilute our sin so that it's palatable to God.
There is only one way to find balance in our lives between our humanness and holiness. One way. Jesus.
He hung in the balance for us.
Prayer:
Father,
Simply by chance. A coincidence.
The story behind our text today is that the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant. Such triumph! At least, that's what they thought until they took the Ark to Ashdod into the temple of their idol Dagon. (See 1st Samuel 5). In the morning, with no one there, the idol had fallen with its face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord. The people were sure it was just a coincidence, so they set the idol back up. The next morning, the same thing had happened, only that time the head and hands had been broken off the idol and were lying in the doorway.
Keep in mind, the Philistines were not godly - they didn't understand right away. From that point on, when they entered the temple to worship Dagon, they didn't acknowledge that it was a broken, defeated idol per se, they just wouldn't step on the threshold where its head and hands had been. It reminds me of the response we get when we confront someone's unbelief with Truth from the Word and they respond with, "Oh, I know...but it's all good. At least I'm...."
Well, no. Actually, it's not all good. The point is this. The Philistines were trying to make what is holy conform to a pagan lifestyle, instead of having their pagan lifestyle changed by what is holy.
I'm continually amazed at our seemingly superhuman capacity and ability to accommodate and allow the same thing in our lives today. We want to balance out - and make allowances for - our favorite sin by being "really good" in something else - or worse - by casting stones at someone else's sin. "Well, at least I don't do such-and-such, like so-and-so..."
Newsflash! We can't balance holy and sin. We can't do enough good to balance out or dilute our sin so that it's palatable to God.
There is only one way to find balance in our lives between our humanness and holiness. One way. Jesus.
He hung in the balance for us.
Prayer:
Father,
Open our eyes of understanding to Your Truth. Reveal to us Your pure definition of living a holy and righteous life before You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
