Skip to content 1 Samuel 6-8: The Ark, Reverence, and God's Sovereignty May 16 · 16 min ...more
1 Samuel 6-8: The Ark, Reverence, and God's Sovereignty
May 16, 2026 · 16 min
Reflections on 1 Samuel: the Philistines came to fear the Lord; Israel's casual treatment of the ark warns us to honor God's holy presence with reverence.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand May 16, 2026 · 16 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Reflections on 1 Samuel: the Philistines came to fear the Lord; Israel's casual treatment of the ark warns us to honor God's holy presence with reverence. ...more Show the full description Show less Reflections on 1 Samuel: the Philistines came to fear the Lord; Israel's casual treatment of the ark warns us to honor God's holy presence with reverence.
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Prioritize the Word and Repent with Action 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we have another insightful passage of scripture this morning. We're reading first Samuel chapter 6, 7, and 8. And let me just remind you,0:21 if you're short on time, the top priority is to read the word. Love to have you, on this daily journey with the with the video that I do, the commentary, the discussion. Love to0:33 have you along. Love to get the feedback from folks. But the most important thing is for you to read the word of God. Be in his word, abide in his word, and allow the holy spirit, who is our teacher, to show us these0:44 truths and how they apply to our lives. So make the word the priority. Verse 3 of chapter 7, then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel saying, if you return to the lord with all your heart, then put0:56 away the foreign gods and the astros from among you and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. Just just a commentary on that1:08 verse. I hope to get to it later. But if I don't, I wanna unpack that right now. Repentance requires action. And even as as we're in this 200 and fiftieth anniversary of our nation,1:20 rededicating the nation to the lord, it's gotta be more than just words. It's gotta be followed up with putting away those things that have distanced us from god, those things which are contrary1:31 to his word and his ways. The Philistines figured that out. Look, chapter 6. So the Philistines have the ark. They captured it. Alright? But now they're trying to figure out what to do with it because every city1:44 that it went into, this plague broke out. And so they wrongfully assumed once they captured this that it was like their idols. They could carry it around and they could control it. I mean, after all, that's what1:55 an idol is. An idol, they're gods that we make, and and and they yield to us and they give us what we want according to our fallen nature, but god is not that way. And they realized2:08 that very quickly, actually, just 7 months. And so they're they recognize the sovereignty of god. That's what these golden tumors and golden rats really were representing as a trespass offer offering.The Ark: Philistine Reverence vs. Israelite Casualness 2:20 It was a recognition of the sovereignty of God. So instead of celebrating, the and a triumph over the people of Israel, here we find them2:32 repenting to the God of Israel. So the Philistines in a panic, they call on their priests and their diviners and they say, alright. How do we send this thing home? So they construct a means of returning it along with the2:43 trespass offerings of the 5 golden tubers and the 5 golden rats, and they develop in short order a more reverent view of god. Notice this is kind of a subtle message in this passage. They they2:55 develop a more, a a a a greater sense of reverence for God than the children of Israel because the ark represented the presence of God. And the children of Israel, as we3:07 saw when they took this ark into the battle, they were treating it as a good luck charm. And then we're gonna see here at the end of the chapter when the Philistines returned it that the the children of Israel still3:17 treated it casually. Verse 13 of chapter of chapter 6. Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark. So the3:29 Philistines are sending the ark over, as we read, 2, 2 cows bringing it over. They see it coming, and they lift up their eyes in the ark and they rejoiced to see it. Then the ark came into the field of3:40 Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stood there. A large stone was there, so they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the lord. So so so far so good. But3:52 then something happens. Verse 19. Then he struck the men of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the lord. He struck 50070 men of the4:04 people. And the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. So apparently, crowd was gathering, kinda like a crime scene, and they gathered at or they gloated4:16 over the ark looking into it, treating it with without reverence. Alright? And because the ark was the presence of god. Now according to scholars now this interpret this this4:28 is 1 of those verses sometimes a little difficult to interpret. But according to scholars, the interpretation of the Hebrew here possibly means 70 men, 5 people of every thousand or of every4:40 clan with about 14 clans being in this city. 1 interpretation, so 70 men die here. Alright. On the chapter 7. So it was that the ark remainedSamuel's Call: Repentance, Resistance, and Restoration 4:52 in Kerath Jearim a long time. It was there 20 years, and all the house of Israel lamented the Lord. So the ark was back, but not totally. And we so5:04 verse verse 3, then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel saying, if you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the astros from among you and prepare your hearts5:15 for the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. So let's look a little closer. I wanna unpack this a little bit more of what Samuel is telling. And he lays out a path for5:26 restoration of their freedom and their peace from the from the from the Philistines. Alright? Number 1, return to the lord. Right? Turn back to him.5:39 Number 2, put away the idols. Number 3, direct your heart to the lord. And number 4, serve him only. There's not room for god and it is god. Then the lord will5:51 deliver you. So so think about that for a moment. There there are a lot of idols, addictions, if you will, in our society today. And and, you know, I don't know. A lot of folks that are on this journey, you know, maybe6:03 your challenge was something that that has you in bondage keeping you from the promises of god. These 4 steps still work. Return to the lord. Right? Return to him. Look to6:15 him. Put away the idols. Those things that are between us and god. Those things that we're looking to that satisfy our own desires. And direct your heart to the lord and serve him alone. Now6:27 pay close attention to this verse 4. So the children of Israel put away the Baals in the Ashdosh, and they serve the Lord only. And Samuel said, gather all of the of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord6:39 for you. Love to have people pray for me. So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, imported out before the Lord, and they fasted that day and said there said there, we have sinned against the Lord. They6:50 recognized it just like the Philistines did, the the sovereignty of God. And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. So they they responded to to Samuel's altar7:01 call. Then Samuel prayed for them, but just as they take this step, before the answer came, the opposition showed up. And don't be surprised about this. Look at verse 7.7:13 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the7:24 Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. So they're on the right path. They're7:36 they're seeking God's deliverance. But but here's something I I I want us to to note, and this is not the only time we'll see this in scripture. But it because it's often the case when we return to7:48 God, leaving the forces of darkness behind that have had influence over our lives, you know what? They don't wanna let go. Repentance often brings8:00 resistance. And and and as we move closer to god, there there are going to be there's gonna be opposition to try to keep us from him. As we move to to god, we will encounter the opposition, which8:12 is designed to turn us away from god. But notice here, the people pressed in. They pressed in and they said to Samuel, don't stop praying. And that's what it takes.8:24 Because look at verse 10. The breakthrough comes now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. So while they're focusing on god, they're drawing near to8:35 him. They can hear the clashing of of of, the the the the or the the the the sound of the hooves coming out of the the the chariots, whatever they were using in their warfare. But8:47 the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. So they were worshiping Israel was worshiping god8:59 even as the forces of the Philistines were gathering against him, but they stayed focused on god. And the men of Israel then went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and drove them back as far as below9:11 Bethkar. Verse 13, so the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Israel turned their9:23 hearts to God. God turned his hand against fill the Philistines. Then the cities, now notice this, the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Ekron to9:35 Gath, and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. It went even further. Repentance9:47 brought restoration. Now there's a lot in chapter 8 to, to to unpack, but time will only allow me to discuss a couple of the high points. Again, be sure and read it. Now this is really kind of the only9:59 blemish I see in Samuel's record, and it's kind of well, it's subtle, but let let's look at it. Verse 1. Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judge over Israel.Samuel's Sons Fail, Israel Demands a King 10:11 Now I don't see any direction for him to do that. He made his sons. Alright? I don't know. I don't wanna read too much into that. The name of the firstborn was Joel, and the name10:23 of the second Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba, but his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. What10:34 happened? What happened? Now I I I do understand that our children must choose for themselves. Alright? They have to they have to choose who they will serve. However, fathers and mothers are10:46 to teach their children to follow the lord and walk in his ways. You know, I would have thought I would have thought that Samuel would have been overly sensitive to this issue of making10:58 sure that his children were walking with the lord, that he spent time teaching them given what he witnessed with Eli and his 2 sons. Now, again, we don't have all the facts, but it just this this is the 111:10 area of weakness I see in the life of Samuel. Verse 4, then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, look, you are11:22 old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing is, please, Samuel, when they said give us a king to judge us, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.11:34 And the lord said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them. Verse 8,11:46 according to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them out of Egypt even to this day with which they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they are doing to11:57 you also. Now as with all things, god uses it for his purpose. Was this the preferred route? I don't think so. I think god really12:09 wanted them just to to submit to him and to serve him and to make him their lord in every aspect, but he uses it for his purposes. Look at verse 9. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly12:21 forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them. So Samuel told all the words of the lord to the people who asked him for a king, and he said, this will be the behavior of the king who will12:31 reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some of them will run before his chariots. So Samuel warns them that if you choose the12:43 ways of the other nations, over the ways of God, it will cost you. Because if you look back, God gives, but a king is gonna take. In fact, the burden will be so12:55 heavy, you will cry out for relief. Look at verse 18. And you will cry out in the day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the lord will not hear you in that day. I13:07 wonder if there's any any application to us as as we look more more and I'm not talking about a king, but more of a government. As we look to government more and more as opposed to God and the burden13:19 that we have upon us when in some cases you know, when you look at state and local, and federal government, you know, almost half of what families13:31 earn, they're giving away in some form of taxation. Now think about it. Verse 19. Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, no, but we13:43 will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. And so we begin the period13:55 of the kings, and we'll be looking at that over the next several weeks. Father, thank you for your love for us. And, Lord, I pray that, Lord, we would walk in thisPrayer and Closing Challenge 14:08 repentance. Lord, we see it was all the Philistines trying to to to repent, recognizing your sovereignty, the children of Israel responding to repentance, and we saw that that14:19 led to action, which led to, lord, you fighting on their behalf and restoring. But then, lord, there there was this deviation of of of wanting to be like the other nations, be like the other people.14:32 I pray father that each of us would would walk in humble submission to you as your children. And, lord, that you would do the same for us. You would provide for us. You would protect us. And,14:44 lord, you would fight our battles, Lord, the spiritual battles that we're in. And and, lord, I just pray that you would continue to be with us on this journey. The Holy Spirit sanctifying14:55 us through your word. Your word is truth. And, lord, we just thank you. We thank you for your word, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next15:07 time, keep standing on the word.15:11 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:23 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Prioritize the Word and Repent with Action2:14 The Ark: Philistine Reverence vs. Israelite Casualness4:50 Samuel's Call: Repentance, Resistance, and Restoration10:04 Samuel's Sons Fail, Israel Demands a King14:01 Prayer and Closing Challenge
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