Faith Beyond The Ark

Introduction

Good morning to all. If you will, open in your Bibles with me to 1 Samuel chapter 4. First Samuel chapter 4. As you’re turning there, I know many here have experienced power outages this week, and I’m truly sorry for that. If you think about what it could have been like, it could be much worse. And frankly, we could hope that some hint tent, my house, might have power today. As we think about having power and what we lose, we are we’re sometimes not thankful for what we already have. And when we think about what we want, we’re willing to do almost anything to get it. The funny thing about people is we try all kinds of things, whether they make sense or not. Have you ever heard of the word superstition or known a person who is superstitious?

There is no group of people you can possibly fathom who are more superstitious than professional baseball players. The number one example, of course, is Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. Perhaps even if you don’t know baseball, you know about Wade Boggs, who played most of his years for the Red Sox Yankees, and even for our somewhat local Tampa Bay Devil Rays at a time. And he was known for a couple of different traditions. But one of them was every day. Now, this is a Hall of Fame caliber baseball player. It was very important to Wade Boggs that every game he stepped into the batter’s box at 5-17 p.m. before every night game. And before every night game at 7.17, he would run his sprints. Now you know that’s why he’s a Hall of Famer.

It’s the 517 batting practice, isn’t it? Well, that couldn’t be it. So he also has another tradition. This is what he’s most known for. If you want to be a star caliber athlete, you know what’s very important is your diet, your nutrition, taking care of yourself. It’s the meticulous preparation that goes into being ready for the game, being ready for that special moment when the pitcher pitches the ball to the hitter and we decide who will win the game. And this awesome Hall of Fame caliber player, Wade Boggs, was known for his very important nutritious pregame meal that was before every game. He ate a bucket of fried chicken. That’s just what you expect that I would say, isn’t it? In 1 Samuel chapter 4, we learn that the people of God were kind of superstitious.

And it doesn’t seem like it at first, because we’re going to talk about what they put their faith in. And what the people in 1 Samuel chapter 4 put their faith in was a good thing. And you might be surprised to learn that what they put their faith in was God given. And it was an important sign between the people and their God. And yet we’ll see that their faith was misplaced. Read with me in verse 1 of 1 Samuel chapter 4. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphak. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about 4,000 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. So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hofnai and Phineas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. I want to talk this morning a little bit about having faith beyond the Ark. As we break down this story, I want us to see as we kind of develop it. Note how it starts.

1. Israel Was Defeated Before the Philistines

It starts in the middle of verse 1 with Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. Now, what’s critical to know when we think about Israel going to war against the surrounding nations is what type of percentage of victory should the people have had? Would it have been mostly a victory? Some victory, some defeats. If they were with God, the people of Israel, because of their covenant relationship that tied the Almighty God and these people, the descendants of Abraham, they would experience total victory if only they would have faith in him. Of course, so then we read in verse 2 that the Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, you see in the middle of verse 2 the key phrase, Israel was defeated before the Philistines.

This can only mean that God was not with the people. And when we step back for a moment and think about the period in which Eli is the judge over Israel, we recognize, as you can see from the remainder of the story, even this morning, that Eli had lost his way, and in some respects, and certainly with regard to his sons. He was not the type of profound leader, judge of Israel that would lead them to righteousness to understand who God was and what God wanted his people to be like. That is holy, as he is holy. When you see in verse 3, the people recognize a very critical problem. They say in verse 3, at the hands of this defeat in which 4,000 Israelites were killed, you see in verse 3, the people came to the camp.

The elders of Israel said, Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? You see, they actually recognize the problem. This is awesome. This is progress. The number one problem to fixing something is to recognize, first of all, that you what? Have a problem. The Israelites knew that when God was with them, they would conquer the promised land. When they marched through with Joshua at their head through the conquest of Canaan, they did just that. They conquered the land. Because when God is on our side, we will not fail. When God is on our side, we will have complete victory. And yet the people of Israel who had this special relationship with God, when they went to war with the Philistines, they failed. And so they recognized that God was not with them.

2. They Had a Faith Problem: Faith in an Ark

Of course, when we keep reading, though, we see the problem. They had a faith problem. They weren’t right with God. They weren’t trusting in God. Certainly under the leadership of Eli at this point in time in 1 Samuel chapter 4, the people were living in rebellion to God. They had intermingled with some of the foreign nations. They were beginning to worship their gods. They were practicing idolatry, and so God would not be with them. And certainly it does not seem that they sought the counsel of God in this battle. And yet they recognize the faith problem. They recognize that they need to be right with God, and note what their solution is in the middle of verse 3. 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.

We know this is only going to get worse. But I want to stop for a minute and think in verse 3. When they say, let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, this is somewhat at least a plausible idea. Who prescribed the ark to them? God. Who made the covenant relationship between them that the ark signified? God. Who gave the law that was contained within the Ark of the Covenant? It was God. The people recognized the special, unique nature of the Ark of the Covenant. And they said, We need God with us. And so what we’re going to do is we’re going to bring God with us. We’re going to have our God lead us into battle. We’re going to bring this ark, and then surely God will be with us.

In fact, it seems like it would be successful. Note in verse 5. As soon as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid. For they said, A God has come into the camp, and they said, Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us, who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.

Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men and fight. This is a powerful illustration of how plausible this ark situation is. It’s obvious that the Israelites are going to be defeated for this. They didn’t fix their conduct, they didn’t repent of their wrongdoing before God, and so they were still not right. But note the Israelites’ reaction first in verse 5. When the Ark of the Covenant finally got there, what did they do? What does the text say? It says they all screamed with a great shout. They were excited because now God was with them, and who could knock them down? If God was with them, how could they fail? In fact, the text says, How big was the shouting?

That the whole earth resounded. But what’s interesting is not just the Israelites having this reaction to the Ark of the Covenant coming into their presence. What was the reaction of the Philistines, those who didn’t recognize God, who had their own gods, and primarily we think of Dagon. In verse 6, when they heard the shouting, they asked the question, What is this about? Not only did they recognize in verse 7 that this had something to do with the Hebrew God, but note what they know about the true and living God in verse 8. Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. In verse 9, they are saying to one another, they must take courage and stand to fight.

Verse 8 is interesting because it’s been centuries by the time of 1 Samuel chapter 4 that God had worked the ten plagues on Pharaoh in Egypt. Of course, we know that story very well. Moses goes to Pharaoh and he says, on behalf of God, let my people go, and Pharaoh says, No way. And so God works these ten plagues, plague after plague after plague, until finally they’re released. Now, a couple problems with the Philistines’ understanding, and this is natural in verse eight. First of all, note what do they ask? They say, What about these mighty gods? Plural. There is only one living God. It is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There was no multiplicity of gods. But secondly, the God who struck the Egyptians, not only was not duplicitous in terms of his number, but if you think in verse eight, with every sort of plague in the wilderness.

God didn’t strike the Egyptians in the wilderness. The Philistines understood who they were. In fact, what happened to the Egyptians’ armies who chased after the Israelites? They were swallowed up when God closed the waters that he had parted for the Israelites. The Philistines didn’t truly understand who God was, and yet they were still afraid because of the reaction of the Israelites, because of the nature of God and what he had done for the Israelites already, it wasn’t just Israel who could have and should have trusted in God. It was the foreign nations who were oftentimes defeated by our great God, who feared him, whether they totally understood who he was or not. And so while we recognize the Israelites did understand they have a problem in verse 3, they tried to solve it all wrong.

Their faith was in an ark. Their faith was in a fancy box. It was not in God. And you consider how this story goes, you know it’s coming here in verses 10 and 11. So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his own home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. Verse 11, and the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hotni and Phineas, died. Think about this story. This goes about as expected. For people who were living their lives in a certain way that was rejecting God from being the one true and living God over them. A people who did not seem to seek the counsel of their God who would give them whatever victory that they were battling against if it was within his will.

They were defeated. In fact, they were defeated worse with the Ark of the Covenant than before. Right? When you go back to verse 2, how many Israelites had been killed? About two thousand, excuse me, about four thousand men in verse two. And yet by the time we come to verses ten and eleven, we see thirty thousand more Israelites were put to death in this war. We have to think about Israel, and you have to recognize that their problem is obvious. They had a faith problem. They understood in verse three that God was not with them, and they understood that they needed God. But how they went about it was all wrong. Their faith was quite literally in this carefully constructed box. Yes, it was the Ark of the Covenant, a very good thing.

3. Sometimes We Put Our Faith in a Box

Yes, it was the Ark of the Covenant that not only recognized God’s being with the people, but also contained the very laws and ordinances that connected God and his people in that covenant relationship. And yet that wasn’t good enough because what God demands is not just some sort of faith and mental acceptance that we need him, but true faith that says, I will do what he has commanded. I won’t have my faith in any box, but rather have my faith in the Lord. And so when I think about our applications this morning, I have to think that sometimes we put our faith in a box. We put a faith in an ark. And can I can I reason through something with you this morning? Sometimes we put our faith in different kinds of boxes, even if they’re good, even if they serve healthy purposes.

Might I say that this morning, sometimes we put our faith in the church building. Now that sounds kind of funny, but if you think about it, when someone says, Where do you go to church? What do we often name? The building address, right? We go to church at 3940 South Bumby Avenue. We think of the church building. Sometimes our language even betrays us on this. We know the church is the people of God. And yet sometimes what do I say? I know I do this, maybe someone else. When I have to go and do something at the building, I say, I’m going to go to church. The church is the people. I’m going to the building where they meet. We need to make sure that we don’t limit our faith to this box.

In the same way that the Israelites limited their faith in God, their understanding of how God and their relationship would work, to simply dragging out this ark of the covenant, a good thing prescribed by God, and thinking that that would give them more, that that would make God be with them. Consider a few ways this morning. One thing, if you turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, is we recognize immediately we have to take our faith out of this box. Our faith has to be in God, and that will show itself in our lives. Note the strong warning in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Certainly we’re more familiar with verses 4 on continuing this passage on love. But consider in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, as Paul is reasoning, beginning in verse 1, with how the New Testament Christians would use their spiritual gifts.

Note in verse 1 how he builds. In verse 1, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love.

And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. Verse 3 is very powerful. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. I have to say I’m quite fearful of on the judgment day, appearing before God, considering myself as someone who has a faith in verse 2 that could move mountains, a faith in verse 3 that led me to give away all that I have that allowed me to even sacrifice my body. And to recognize that if I didn’t do that in love, if I didn’t express love for God, first and foremost, for the brethren, certainly as an aspect of that love.

4. Taking Our Service Out of the Church Building

That as Paul says at the end of verse 3, I gain nothing. When we think about our faith, we have to think about taking our service out of the church building. It’s very often that in my studies with people that as we study different issues, they say, Where is my place in the church? And often what that question means is, where can they serve in the building? If it’s a man, what type of uh what type of leadership roles are we going to give him? What type of work can he do around the building, in the building? And when you think about who our people are people that we should exemplify in the church, we think about people who do a lot for the church building, who preach the lessons in the building, who lead the singing in the building.

We need to recognize what is faith in God? It’s not about this. This is the easy part. This is coming together as fellow Christians to worship our God, to thank him for being our almighty Savior. Recognizing that he had that great plan from eternal ages before, that Jesus would come and die on the cross for our sins. I owe God’s service to him throughout my life, not just the few hours a week I end up being here. In Titus chapter 2, you really see how this would work. It can’t possibly be limited to the building. In Titus chapter 2, consider a very important idea. As we think about Titus chapter 2, we’re going to read how God expects Christians to interact with one another. And in verse 1, beginning, we see that this is very important.

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith and love and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Put a pin in that thought for a moment. In verse 6, likewise urge the younger men to be self controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Not only are we to be practicing sound doctrine, not only are we to be practicing these aspects of love and holy submission to God, but what are some of the effects in verse 5? That the word of God may not be reviled. In verse 7, that we are to show ourselves to be a model of good works. In verse 8, we are to have sound speech that cannot be condemned. And also in verse 8, that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us. God is very concerned. Paul is very concerned with our service to God before others. Why? Well, as we know from Matthew chapter 5 and verse 16, we’re to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

We not only know that we need to have service to God outside the church building, but we must, if we’re going to be the type of evangelistic light that Jesus commanded us to be. But what I see in Titus chapter 2 is a couple divisions. I see older men in verse 2, older women in verse 3, younger women as we go, younger men. I’m going to allow everyone to classify themselves in whatever role they feel like. Just recognize you don’t answer to me, you answer to God on that one, so be fair, be fair minded there. But as we think about how we place ourselves, as we think about is this a struggle that I have, having my faith confined to a box, think about this point with me.

5. Beyond the Church Building in Training Our Children

We have to move our faith beyond our box, beyond the church building, in training our children. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, note the strong commands for the Hebrews. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, the passage well known, but note something very particular with me. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, beginning in verse 4. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Verse 5, the passage we all take to heart. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might. That is the basis for what is coming in verse 6. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. What is Moses concerned with? What is God concerned with? That we train our children all the time to do what, verse 5? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, to love the Lord your God with all your soul, and yes, to love the Lord your God with all your might. This cannot take place just here. I think sometimes when we think about growing up, there’s a there’s a function of society that says to ask everyone, what is your plan? We’re very concerned with what we’re going to do next. We do this as adults, we do this as teenagers, we do this as children. We’re always concerned with what’s coming next, the next grade, the next study, the next major, the next internship, the next job.

We’re always going for what’s next. But think about this for a moment. We’re very concerned with grades. And we say, we want everyone, we want our children to get good grades. Why? So they can go to a good school, they get into Harvard, they can have the scholarships to pay for that. They will have a good job that can pay for not only themselves, but maybe the future grandkids, right? We love those. And then as we go through there, we think, well, not only do we want them to be able to go to Harvard, but maybe they’re athletic, and we want to spend a lot of time participating in sports to learn life lessons, to be a part of a team, and maybe if we’re lucky, get that scholarship to go back again, yes, to Harvard or one of the elite schools, so that we can be ready for the real world and provide for our families.

That’s very important. That’s very instrumental in being a leader, both as a man and a woman for ourselves and being lights to the world. But consider this thought with me very clearly and very soberingly this morning. If we as individuals, or as teenagers, or you name it, fail in our grades, fail in academics, we’re gonna be okay. If we fail in athletics, if we if you are like me and you just wouldn’t make it for a second on the football field, you’re gonna be okay. But if we miss on serving God, if we miss out on recognizing who God truly is, how God wants and must be worshipped, then we’ve missed everything. We have to have that mindset not only in our own lives, but towards our children, towards those we come into contact with, towards our friends, family, and neighbors.

That missing God, misplacing our trust and faith and hope in God for any substitute will make us miss all that there is. And that makes when I read Deuteronomy chapter 6 all the more important. I recognize what verse 5 says that I have to love the Lord your God with all your soul, with all your with all your heart and your soul and your might. In verse 6, this is why this is important. These words that I command you today shall be where on your heart, how, why? Verse 7, you shall teach them diligently to your children, shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise. I gotta tell you, Moses is a pretty good lawyer.

This is airtight. There is no wiggle room for this. In verse 7, when is it to be taught? When you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, and when you rise. Even for someone like me who likes to find loopholes and wiggle room, I gotta say, God covered it down on that one. We have to be focused on these things, not just only for our children, but for ourselves. We get so distracted by the cares and the concerns of this life. And in 1 John chapter 2, not only is there a prohibition against falling in love with the things of this life, not only is there a prohibition against loving the world, we have to recognize that if we love God, the love of the world is not in us.

And if we love the world, we recognize this world is passing away along with its desires. Our focus has to be faith, not just here. It can’t just be that we’re doing good things. It can’t just be that we’re teaching good lessons. If our faith comes down to a couple of lessons on a Sunday morning and one on a Wednesday evening, we will not make it. The New Testament Christians had a much higher bar than that. In Acts chapter 2, what was the example? Of the 3,000 souls that were baptized that day, what did they do from that point on? Beginning in verse 42, moving forward, they met together daily. They wanted to hear the words of life. They practiced fellowship together that was only found in Christ.

6. Our Faith Has to Move Beyond These Walls

And even to the point that in verse 45, we see that they shared all of their things in common. They understood love. They understood what faith is, and that is this all-encompassing sacrifice to our great God. Our faith has to move beyond these walls and move into the community, and there’s a reason for that, because we have to shine our lives. If you look at Matthew chapter 5, we know verse 16. But consider the verses right before that. In Matthew chapter 5, as we think about verse 16, read first with me, verse 14, when Jesus says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. I want to think about verse 15 for a moment. This is obvious. A lesson like this is not difficult. We understand in 1 Samuel chapter 4, the people misplaced their trust. The idea that they could float the ark out there, not only was a laughable concept, it failed them in the end. 30,000 Israelites died because of their misplaced faith, and they lost the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. We know our service to God has to extend beyond these walls. We know our service to God, faith has to be instilled to all who are around us. But consider the biggest worry I have is in verse 15.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. If we don’t take our service out of these walls, if we don’t live out what it means to be a Christian dedicated to God every single day, we are hiding our light. The church is the pillar and ground of truth. It should not be that which covers our light. It should be a beacon of light. And the only way that light is exposed and reaches out is if we as individuals do the duty of Christ. Are you up for the challenge? Is your faith in God who recognizes that faith works? Turn with me to James chapter 2, one final passage this morning.

In James chapter 2. As we see in verse 15, oftentimes we use this passage to understand what is faith, what is not faith. But in verse 14, James has this question what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? Note verse 15. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warm and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body. What good is that? And of course, we know verse 17 extraordinarily well. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Verse 15 is very important. Because verse 15, attached to verse 16 and 17 tells me something very clear about God and the expectations of obeying and honoring him the way he expects.

That talking about theories and principles is important. Being with one another in attendance and encouraging one another and stirring one another up to love and good works is critically important. But if I leave here with these good ideas, with a slight understanding of what God’s will is, and I leave it be, I might be the one found in verse 15. Who sees a brother or sister poorly clothed, lacking in daily food. And what is the unacceptable response in verse 16? To say, go in peace, be warm and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body. Our lights have to go beyond this building for two critically important purposes. One, so that love is truly shown, so that we’re not like Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, doing great things but not having love, realizing that if that is true, we have gained nothing.

Conclusion

We have to be committed to God entirely. We have to be lights into the community, lights into the world, that people may see God. It’s not about us, it’s not about our worship. It’s always about God. The Israelites missed that point in 1 Samuel chapter 4. They forgot that they needed to seek the counsel of God. They forgot that they had to submit to God, that God truly needed to be worshipped and obeyed. He wasn’t contained to a trinket or a trifle. And it didn’t matter that the Ark of the Covenant is much greater than those things. The fact is, God cannot be pinned in a box. And we need to recognize if we’re going to be pleasing to him, we can’t put him there either.

We need to let our light shine. We need to let our lights shine proudly, widely, and let everybody know what it means to be a child of God. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for this beautiful, wonderful day you’ve blessed us with. We’re thankful for all the provisions and safety that you’ve allotted many of the cities here. We pray that you be with all the victims of the hurricane who have been struck both heavily and even just having damage that they’re working through. We pray that you bless us, that you help us to have a faith that saves, having a faith that obeys you, submits to you, and recognizes that faith without works is dead.

While we thank you for this day, we pray that we use it wisely, that we redeem your time, and that our worship to you this morning will be pleasing in your sight and acceptable to you. Help us to study your word not only this morning but throughout this week. Help us to submit to you not only in praise and worship, but also in dedication of our lives. We thank you most of all for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. In his name we do pray. Amen.