God’s presence
by Ruth Olsen
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… Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? (1 Samuel 4:3a)
Read 1 Samuel 4:1–11
In any confronting or troubling situation, it is wise to ask, ‘Lord, what do you want to teach me through this?’ Even when we have remembered to seek the Lord’s leading in our situations, other details may not be ready for the revealing yet, and so we need to wait. That can be a big test of our patience and our willingness to wait for the Lord’s timing in things. As it has been said, ‘The Lord may seem to be working slowly, but he is never late!’ His timing is right; he knows the bigger picture.
Today’s reading speaks of two battles between the Israelites and the Philistines. As the first battle spread, the Philistines killed about 4,000 Israelites on the battlefield. On hearing this, the elders of Israel asked (verse 3), ‘Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines?’ That was a good starting question. We can hear their shock and grief. We then hear their solution: to take the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh with them, so that it may save them from the hand of their enemies!
They knew that, at previous times in their history, there was a connection between God’s presence with his people and the ark of the Lord’s covenant. They mistakenly believed that having the symbol of his presence with them meant that his favour was automatically with them. It was welcomed into the camp with great shouting. Eli’s two sons were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
The Philistines had also heard fearful reports surrounding the Israelites. Yet they urged each other to be strong … and they defeated the Israelites. In this second battle, 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers were lost, the ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons were killed! Devastation! This did not come out of nowhere! See the link between today’s verses with 1 Samuel 2:27–36 and 1 Samuel 3:11–18.
I am so grateful that Jesus has taken my place, that there’s repentance and forgiveness available through him, and that he’s with us wherever we are!
Father, have mercy on us for Jesus’ sake. Teach us to seek your face, your heart, to rest in your presence. Amen.
Because of Ruth’s autoimmune disorder that attacked her kidneys, she and her husband, Steen, have been trained this year in using peritoneal dialysis at home at night. Ruth says this was a very steep learning curve! Other underlying health issues are now also being treated, giving a new lease of life that still needs to be paced. Praise God!
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