Part 12 (1/2)
And observe the nature and ground of their confidence, in this their time of need and pressure: ”And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of shi+loh unto us, that, when it co us, it may save us out of the hand of our eneround of confidence! Not a word about _the Lord Hiht not of _Hith; they made not _Him_ their shi+eld and buckler No! they trusted in the ark; they vainly iined that it could save theht when unaccompanied by the presence of the Lord of hosts, the God of the arer there; He had been grieved away by their unconfessed and unjudged sin; nor could any symbol or ordinance ever supply His place
However, Israel vainly ireat was their joy, though not well founded, when itthem, accompanied, not by Jehovah, but by the wicked priests Hophni and Phinehas ”And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord careat shout, so that the earth rang again” All this was very i; but, ah, it was hollow; their triuht to have known themselves much better than to make such an empty display Their shout of triuht of God; and yet it will ever be found that those who know least of thehest position The Pharisee in the Gospel looked doith an air of proud indifference on the self-abased publican; he ih up and the publican very lon in the scale; yet how different were God's thoughts about the two! Thus it is the broken and contrite heart will ever be the dwelling-place of God, who, blessed be His name, kno to lift up and comfort every such heart as none else can do Such is His peculiar work--the work in which He delights
But the h pretensions They like thehts to those who assume to be somewhat; while, on the other hand, they will seek to put the really self-abased man still lower Thus, in the instructive scene before us in this chapter, the Philistines attached no small importance to the shout of the men of Israel It was like themselves, and therefore they could apprehend and appreciate it ”And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What reat shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp And the Philistines were afraid; for they said, God is come into the camp,” etc They naturally supposed that the shout of triumph was based on a reality: they saw not as beneath the surface; they understood not theof a defiled priesthood, a despised sacrifice, a desecrated teined that power accompanied it; hence their fear How little did they know that their fear and Israel's triu,” said they, ”and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like ht” Here was the resource of the Philistines--”quit yourselves _like men_” Israel could not do this If prevented by sin fro the resources of God to bear upon their circumstances, they eaker than other men; Israel's only hope was in God; and if God were not there, if it were a mere conflict between man and man, an Israelite was no match for a Philistine The truth of this was most fully established on the occasion to which we are referring ”The Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten” How else could it be? Israel could but be smitten and fly when their shi+eld and buckler, even God Hilory departed froth; their shout of triu cry of sorrow; their portion was defeat and shaard as the representative of the existing systes, fell with that system, and was buried in its ruins
Chapters v and vi e which ”Ichabod” ritten upon the nation of Israel During this time God ceased to act publicly for Israel, and the ark of His presence was carried about from city to city of the uncircumcised Philistines This period is full of instruction The ark of God a set aside, are circumstances which cannot fail to interest the htful student of Scripture
”And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon” Here we are presented with the sad and hu result of Israel's unfaithfulness With what a careless hand and faithless heart had they kept the ark of God when it could ever be brought to find a lodging-place in the teon! How deeply Israel had failed!
They had let go everything; they had given up that which was most sacred, to be profaned and blasphemed by the uncircued to the holiest of all, is placed by the Philistines in the house of their God The shadow of Dagon was to be substituted for the wings of the cherubihts of the lords of the Philistines; but not so God's thoughts Israel, on the one hand, had failed in defending the ark; they had failed to recognize the great truth that it should ever have been connected with the presence of God aht presume to insult the sacred sy it with Dagon their God In a word, the Israelites ht prove faithless, and the Philistines profane, but the God of Israel must ever be true to Hion must fall prostrate before the ark of His presence ”And when they of Ashdod arose early on the on was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord And they took Dagon, and set hiain And when they arose early on the on was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold: only the stuon was left to him” (chap v 3, 4)
We can hardly conceive a s at this crisis in Israel's history They beheld the ark snatched from their midst; they had proved themselves unfit and unable to occupy the place of God's witnesses in the view of the nations around therounds of triuh to say, ”The ark is in the house of Dagon” This was truly terrible, when looked at frolorious when looked at fro that was sacred and precious; they had allowed the enelory; yet God was above all, beyond all; He ren over all Here was the deep source of consolation to every faithful heart If Israel would not act in defence of God's truth, He must act Himself; and so He did The lords of the Philistines had vanquished Israel; but the Gods of the Philistines must fall prostrate before that ark which of old had driven back the waters of Jordan Here was divine triuon--where there was no eye to see, no ear to hear--the God of Israel was acting in defence of those great principles of truth which His Israel had so failed to on fell, and in his fall proclaimed the honor of the God of Israel
The darkness of the lory to shi+ne out with brilliancy The scene was so thoroughly emptied of the creature that the Creator could show Himself in His own proper character ”Man's extremity was God's opportunity” His failure made room for the divine faithfulness The Philistines had proved stronger than Israel; but Jehovah was stronger than Dagon
Now all this is replete with instruction and encouragement at a time like the present, when the people of God are so sadly declining froht to characterize them We should bless the Lord for the full assurance of His faithfulness--”He cannot deny Hi this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” Hence, in darkest times He will maintain His truth and raise up a witness for Hion Christians may depart from God's principles, but the principles remain the same: their purity, their power, their heavenly virtue, are in no wise affected by the fickleness and inconsistency of faithless professors, and in the end truth will triumph
However, the effort of the Philistines to keep the ark of God aon and Jehovah dwell together--how blasphemous the attempt! ”What concord hath Christ with Belial?” None! The standard of God can never be lowered so as to accoovern the men of this world; and the attempt to hold Christ with one hand and the world with the other must issue in sha that effort! How reat question, howthe naes of Christians! This is a deadly evil, a fearful snare of Satan, and it may with strict propriety be denoh for men to walk in the lawlessness and corruption of their own hearts; but to connect evil with the holy nauilt
”Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other Gods whom ye know not, and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered to do all these aboain, we read, as one of the special characteristics of the last days, that men shall have ”a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof” The _form_ suits the worldly heart, because it serves to keep the conscience at ease, while the heart enjoys the world in all its attractiveness What a delusion! How needful the apostolic admonition, ”_Froas decidedly unholy He deceives more effectually by this scheme than any other, and we need more spiritual perception to detect it in consequence The Lord grant us this, for He knoover much that is valuable in chapters v and vi, we must dwell a little upon Israel's happy restoration, in connection with the ministry of ”the faithful priest”
Israel had been allowed to mourn for many a day the absence of the ark; their spirits drooped under the withering influence of idolatry; and at length their affections began to go out after the Lord But in this revival we learn how deeply they had been sunk in death This is always the case When Jacob of old was called upon to go up to Bethel from amid the defilement of Shechem, he had but little idea of how he and his faled in the o up to Bethel_” roused his dories, quickened his conscience, and sharpened his moral perception Hence he says to his household, ”Put away the strange Gods that are aarments” The very idea of Bethel, where God had appeared to hi influence on the soul of Jacob; and he being revived himself was enabled to lead others also in fresh power
Thus it is with Jacob's seed in this chapter ”And Sa, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange Gods and Ashtaroth fro you, and _prepare your hearts unto the Lord_, and serve Him _only_; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines”
We observe here what a doard course Israel had been pursuing in connection with the house of Eli The first step in evil is to place confidence in a form apart from God; apart too from those principles which make the form valuable The next step is to set up an idol
Hence we find Israel saying of the ark, ”That _it_ may save us” But now the word of the prophet is, ”Put away the strange Gods and Ashtaroth fro you”
Reader, is there not a sole Church? Truly there is The present is preeminently a day of form without power The spirit of cold and uninfluential for upon the face of Christendom's troubled waters, and soon all will settle down in the deathlike calm of false profession, which will be broken in upon only by ”the shout of the archangel and the trump of God”
However, the attitude assumed by Israel in the 7th chapter forms a perfect contrast to the scene in the 4th chapter: ”And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord
And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and dreater, and poured it out before the Lord” (an expression of their weak, helpless condition), ”and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord” This was real work, and we can say, _God is here now_ There is no confidence in a mere symbol or lifeless form; there is no empty pretension or vain assu; all is deep and solemn reality The earnest cry, the water poured out, the fast, the confession--all tell out the e which had taken place in Israel's moral condition They now betake theh hi the ark No; their word is, ”Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that HE will save us out of the hand of the Philistines And Sa wholly unto the Lord; and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard hi-la in tender reave a new aspect to their circu-point in their history on this occasion
And observe, the Philistines see on between Jehovah and Israel They doubtless iined that, inasmuch as they heard no shout of triumph, the Israelites were, if possible, in a more impoverished condition than before They do not ain, as in chap iv; but ah, there was a silent work going on which a Philistine's eye could not see, nor a Philistine's heart appreciate! What could a Philistine know about the penitential cry, the water poured out, or the sucking-la The nizance of that which lies on the surface The outward show, the poreatness in the flesh, are well understood by the world; but they know nothing of the reality of a soul exercised before God And yet this latter is what the Christian should most earnestly seek after An exercised soul is ht of God; He can dith such at all ti, but siht of God, and He will surely be our spring of power and energy, according to theup the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten before Israel” Such were the happy results of simple dependence upon the God of the arlorious display of Jehovah's power on the shores of the Red Sea ”The Lord is a man of hen His people need Him, and their faith can count on Him as their present help in time of need
Whenever Israel truly turned to Jehovah, He was ever ready to appear in their behalf; but the glory must be _all_ His own Israel's shout of empty triumph must be hushed, in order that the voice of Jehovah may be distinctly heard And how blessed to be silent, and let Jehovah speak! What power in His voice to bring peace to His people, and to strike terror into the hearts of His enelorify Thy name?”
Chapter viii In this chapter we have a veryin Israel ”And it caes over Israel And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judge! Man corrupts himself and all committed to him at the first opportunity
Moses and Joshua foresaw Israel's turning away after their departure (Deut 31:29; Josh 23:15, 16); and Paul could say to the Ephesian elders: ”I know that afteryou, not sparing the flock” So here; Israel no sooner recovers from the effects of the immorality of Eli's sons than they are made to feel the direful effects of the avarice of Sa the path which ended in the rejection of Jehovah and the setting up of Saul ”When Saes” But this was a very different thing indeed frouarantee for his sons; just as we find in the boasted theory of apostolic succession What kind of successors have we seen? How far have they resembled their predecessors? Paul could say, ”I have coveted no old”: can the so-called successors say so? Saainst me before the Lord, and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith?” But alas, Samuel's sons and successors could not say this! To the of action
Noe find in this chapter that Israel makes this evil of Sa ”Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now e us _like all the nations_” Fearful declension! Israel satisfied to come down to the level of the nations around! and all because Samuel was old and his sons covetous The Lord is shut out Had they looked up to Hi to put theuardianshi+p of a poor uide and keep theht of in all this scene! They cannot see beyond Samuel and his sons: if no help can be found froh elevation of having Jehovah as their King and make to themselves a human head like the nations around them The attitude of faith and dependence on God cannot be maintained by the natural ; but now it is not so: a king nized head We shall soon see the sad result of all this