THE ARK RETURNED

The Ark of the Covenant between man and God was returned to the Israelites from the Philistines and a man named Eleazar was given the task of caring for it.  Why wasn't it taken back to the tabernacle where it belonged? The city where it belonged was Shiloh and Shiloh had probably been defeated and destroyed in an earlier battle with the Philistines. Israel became a place of mourning and sorrow for all their losses, and would be there for twenty years.  The leaders did not know what to do with the Ark and decided to tuck it away for safe-keeping. When the Ark was put away,  the people felt abandoned by God.


Samuel, now a grown man, roused the people into action by saying that if they were truly sorry, they should do something about it. " Return to the Lord with all your heart, and rid yourselves of the foreign gods.  Commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will  deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines."  And so the Israelites met with the Lord at Mizpah and put away their idols and served the Lord only, confessing that they had sinned against Him.


 That very day, while Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near and began to fight.  Right away, the Israelites became fearful and approached Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand  of our enemy!"  Then Samuel took a lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord and he cried out to the Lord on behalf of the people.  The Philistines were nearing the crowd and the Lord thundered with loud blasts against the Philistines and threw them into a panic.  They were routed that day by the Israelites.  The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along their way  of escape.  So, the Philistines did not invade Israelite territory again, yet they were long-time enemies. Samuel was Judge over Israel all the days of his life.


Had the people felt abandoned by God?  Is that why they took so long to come back to Him?  There have been moments when I have felt abandoned, I admit, but it is usually a question of who abandoned whom?


Study? "Samuel was the last in a long line of Israel's judges, a line that began when Israel first conquered the promised land.  A judge was both a political and religious leader.  God was Israel's true leader while the judge was to be God's spokesman to the people and administrator of justice throughout the land.  While some of Israel's judges relied more on their own judgment than on God's, Samuel's obedience and dedication to God made him one of the greatest judges in Israel's history."


We will go on to visit with the kings of Israel, and start with Saul. 


Tomorrow is good! Not so much is Saul!


Jo INMN