“Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines…. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.’” (1 Samuel 4:1-3, ESV).
Keep in mind that at that time the nation of Israel was morally corrupt. They were living in rebellion against God. The high priest, Eli, was not the most spiritually acute person. His had two sons serving with him who were scoundrels. The only decent one was Samuel, growing up back in Shiloh. He was the only who was walking with God; there were other hidden ones, like there always are, who really knew the Lord. Overall, though, the nation was corrupt.
Why? They have the covenant of God, and they think, “Oh, we’re superior to the nations because we’re the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” That’s what Jesus had to battle in his day. The corrupt religious leaders took pride in who they were: “Abraham is our father!” Jesus said, “God could take stones and raise up children for Abraham.”
These people in 1 Samuel were trying to cover up their weak spiritual foundation with a symbol of God. You know how some people wear a cross to ward off evil spirits? If you’re a Christian and have Christ in your heart, you don’t need that. You want to wear a cross, wear it; but it’s not going to ward off anything.
Here’s another one. I love dedicating children, but I caution the parents, “Listen. You care about these children knowing Jesus? Great, but christening them and bringing them to church on Sundays doesn’t mean good luck for their life. How you live and talk in front of them means so much more.”
How are you living? Are you walking with the Lord? Are you walking in the light even as he is in the light? Do you have fellowship with him? There’s no physical object that’s going to stand in for God. We have victory through our relationship with Christ. That’s it.
Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.