God Fights Your Battles Regardless
1 Samuel 5:6,7 “Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. 7 When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.”
To understand the whole story, you have to start reading 1 Samuel chapters 2 through 6. In summary, the Israelites had priests who were responsible for caring for the Ark of God (also known as the Ark of the Covenant). Yeah, The Ark made of gold that represents the presence of God. (Remember Stephen Spielberg’s movie ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’?). Eli was Israel’s head priest, but he had two evil sons. The sons were taking the offerings meant for God and using them for themselves. God was displeased and sent a messenger to warn Eli about what would happen. During a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines, the Israelites lost, and 4,000 Israeli soldiers died. The Israelis were in shock as to why they lost the battle. Previously, under the leadership of Joshua and Caleb, they had won every battle. But now they lost 4,000 men in the battle. So, they decided to regroup and come up with a different plan by using the Ark of the Covenant in the midst of the battle. Well, guess what happened? The Philistines not only won the next battle, but 30,000 Israeli men died that day, and the Philistines captured The Ark of the Covenant.
Now I know you are thinking, how did the wicked Philistines capture the Ark? This is the same Ark that if anyone touches it would immediately die. Only a Priest can be in the center of the tent, which represents the Holy of Holies, to be in the presence of God. Let me ask in a different way. Why did God allow the Ark of the Covenant, which was the most Holy item the Israelites had, to be taken by the Philistines? God had a plan. God was going to show the Philistines that even though they won the battle, He was still the God of the Israelites. God was angry with the actions of the two wicked sons of the Priest. But here is something important. While the Ark was with the Philistines, plagues broke out in their camp. The Philistines placed the Ark in their temple next to their god Dagon. The next morning, the statue of their god Dagon had fallen with its face to the ground, in front of The Ark of the Covenant. They replaced the Dagon god back next to the Ark, and the next day it fell over again, with its head and arms broken off.
Even in God’s anger with the Israelites, He still fought their battle, but in a different way. God is the same with us. No matter what mistakes or sins we commit, God’s anger isn’t forever. (Psalm 30:5) God fights for us because we are part of His family. If you feel like you are being attacked a lot more by the enemy, humble yourself to God and ask Him if there is anything that is not right that is sin. If you are sincere, He will show you what needs to be corrected.
Be Blessed!
Ron
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