1 Samuel #07: an exposition of 1 Samuel 7:1-17. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, November 27, 2011.
Intro:
It is a common misperception. “The God of the Old Testament is an angry, vengeful God.” When you have a defective view of both God and man such a misperception is understandable. If you do not fully comprehend what it means to say that God is holy and that man is sinful you will naturally mischaracterize both God and man. Too often when we say man is “sinful” we think of a lovable, bumbling character who makes some bad decisions. When we think of God as holy we think of Him as rigid and unyielding. If you think in those terms then you will misread a passage like 1 Samuel 6. The Ark is returned to Israel the people rejoice, make sacrifice and then God kills 70 men because they “looked” at the Ark! That seems a bit rigid. That seems to be an over reaction. But there is more to this story. There are other issues in play. Though there is much death and destruction in the opening chapters of 1 Samuel, it is actually the story of God’s grace.
In fact as we work through this evening’s text we are going to discover that…
Thesis: 1 Samuel chapter 7 reminds us of God’s gracious, merciful dealings with His wayward people.
Let’s make sure we put the passage in context.
This overlaps the period of the Judges – “When every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
There was great wickedness and corruption throughout the land.
Much of it in Shiloh – in the house of God!
Eli’s boys, Hophni and Phenihas were “worthless” men, who did not know God.
The priests were corrupt!
They showed contempt for the things of God.
They used the House of God as a brothel.
There was a famine of the Word of God.
Israel went to war against their archenemy, the Philistines and was routed.
They asked, “Why has God done this to us?”
They brought up the Ark of the Covenant and said, “It will deliver us.”
They treated the Ark as if it were a “rabbit’s foot.”
They were routed again, 30,000 men died, the army fled, Hophni and Phenihas died and the Ark was captured.
When word reached Shiloh – Eli, dropped dead, Mrs. Phenihas went into labor and died from childbirth and with her dying breath asked, “Where is the glory of God?”
These were dark days in Israel.
Meanwhile – things weren’t so good in the land of the Philistines.
Dagon was humiliated.
A plague broke out.
The hand of the Lord was heavy on the people.
It was a miserable 7 months.
They sent the Ark back to Israel along with a guilt or trespass offering.
God brought judgment on the people of Beth-shemesh.
They should have known better.
Leviticus and Numbers gave clear instruction about sacrifice and handling the Ark.
Instructions that were ignored.
A burnt offering was to be a male without spot or blemish
They sacrificed two milk cows
The Ark was never to be touched
They took it off the cart
They put it in place
It was never to be looked upon (it was to be covered)
They looked upon it
If you are going to act like Philistines don’t be surprised when you get treated like Philistines!
The folks at Beth-shemesh said, “This Ark needs to go somewhere else.”
It was taken to Kiriath-jearim to the house of Abinadab.
It would stay there until David has it brought to Jerusalem (about a 100 years later)!
It seems their attitude was, “out of sight, out of mind.”
At least that’s how it reads to me beginning at 7:2: From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
As we work our way through the 17 verses of this chapter I want you to note a progression. I think there is something for us to learn from this passage about the nature of God and how He deals with His wayward people.
How does God deal with His people when they fall into sin?
When corruption consumes, how does He respond?
3 things.
- In response to our desperate, belated cries, God’s mercy allows for full restoration. (7:2-6)
- Such a restoration brings a renewed sense of humility and an attitude of complete dependence. (7:7-11)
- Humble dependence allows for a settled rest and increased sanctification. (7:12-17)