1 Samuel 5 - 6 Bible Study (Philistines and the Ark/Ark Returned to Israel) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your bibles, first Samuel chapter five. As we continue in the book of first Samuel, today, we're actually going to be covering two chapters in this book, chapter five and chapter six. The reason being is that there is a wonderful flow between the chapters that I think is worthy to honor in one Bible study. Let's pray it one more time. Would you join me in that?

Heavenly Father, we ask, Lord, that you would assist us. We pray for a liberty to communicate these truths that would provide a joy and a sense of awe in our hearts. Lord, we pray that this meeting would not be void of your power or your presence. We ask, Lord, that somehow, in miraculous fashion, you would captivate us with the wisdom found in these verses, with the glory that we see in who you are, and that it would demand our affections and our obedience, more importantly. Lord, we pray for the person in here that is so dry.

Their spiritual journey up to this point for many months has just been a a desert. No life, no excitement, no ambition, no prayers, no seeking of you in private. Lord, would you graciously use this bible study to revive our hearts again. For those that do not know you as their personal Lord and savior, but have put their trust in their personal interpretation of who you are, or Lord, a tradition that they've held on to for years, would you, Lord, show them the true message of salvation, and bring them to saving knowledge in Christ. Lord, we admit right from the beginning, apart from your help, we are helpless.

Nothing of worthy results would come about apart from you helping us. So we call upon you in faith in this moment. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Over the past few bible studies, you and I have, especially in Judges, we have been centering around one character after another, and we glean from their lives in order to fuel our personal holiness and our growth in godliness.

But in the next two chapters here, our focus will not so much be on Samuel or any human main character for that matter. It will actually now come and gravitate towards a piece of furniture, namely the Ark of the Covenant. This book turns away from any person and now brings us into this narrative of a unique item that God ordained for his people to build, and how this chest piece called the Ark will actually teach us many things. If you remember the ark, this relatively small, again, chest piece was not God, but God chose to manifest his holiness through that. And the instruction for his people to hold that and to to build this and to honor it was an expression in great part of God's desire to dwell with man in tangible fashion.

To manifest himself, to communicate his will through that, at least for a good portion of the old covenant, and so that people would know that God really wants to be in our midst. But God now is not just going to show himself strong to his own people. He's now going to do so with his own enemies, the Philistines. Because if you were with us last week, we know that the Philistines have captured this ark. And for the first time in Israel's history, the ark was beyond the premises of its honored place.

And so we read here in verse one of chapter five. When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold trying to say, look what happened. Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord.

So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. So what happens is, the Philistines in wanting to boast in their might and in the might of their gods, namely Dagon, took the Ark of the Covenant away from the Israelites and wanted to make a declaration. A declaration, not just that they have triumphed over the people of Israel, but they have actually conquered the God of Israel.

And what better way to do that than to take this symbol, this emblem, and to bring it into the house of their god and to set him beside Dagon to say, this is what Dagon has accomplished for us. And now the Ark of the Covenant has become a trophy among the pagans. And this was their plan. Who knows what they were gonna do from this point on? But what we do know is that God had his own plan in this moment that would surely shock the Philistines and prevail over their ideas.

There are a few lessons from these verses. Lesson number one. This is a picture of God receiving glory from his enemies, whether his enemies wanna give him glory or not. You know, in chapter four, we saw that God was being manipulated, or at least it was attempt, an attempt to be manipulated by his own people. And here we see the enemies, not God's people, but the enemy of God trying to override his sovereignty.

And if you try to manipulate God and if you try to override his sovereignty, you'll fail both ways. And that's what we see here. The glory of God departed from Israel. That's what it says in chapter four. But it did not depart completely.

It was about to show off now in the enemy's camp. He's brought into this place, and the Philistines thought, like many people today, that they have the authority and the liberty to manage the concept of God, or to define him and to limit him as they wish. See, they picked up this ark like it was nothing. Like, it was just like one of their gods that they can pick up and lay down and polish and clean. And many people think that the God of the Bible is the same way.

He's just an abstract idea. He's some historical concept. He's some myth, and we can play around with him and manage him to our own liking. Or like the Philistines, many people today take the God of the bible and place him beside other expressions of deity or systems of belief and say he's no different. He's just a different manifestation of the same thing, the same idea.

But what happens when these leaders the next day wake up, and they come into the house of Dagon? Well, it's a picture of what will come down the pike. It's a picture of what will happen at the end of the road. Dagon is lying face before the ark worshiping Yahweh. Worshiping the true and living God.

Despite the blasphemy, despite the arrogance of those today who assume that this world came from nothing instead of coming from the words of God, Despite people fighting against the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and his gospel message, everything that stands against God will one day fall and worship him. And what's amazing is that they come into this room, they look upon this sight, and they're shocked, but to them, it was just coincidence. To them, it was just, well, maybe a gust of wind came in or maybe somebody walked in and knocked him over, so they they bring him right back up. And I find it so amusing what God is doing by revealing this truth. Here is the Philistines helping their God stand.

And you have the Ark of the Covenant that is about to show in this moment that he is in no need of human assistance or intervention. He doesn't need your help or mine. I wanna tell you something tonight. Whether you and I wanna glorify God will not determine whether he will be glorified. He will be glorified.

The only thing that you and I have in part with that is that we can join in that undefeated mission and experience the wonders of being an instrument in the hands of a merciful God. So they think it's coincidence. Right? So the next day, they come and long behold, here's Dagon again on his face, but this time there's something different. Perhaps, Dagon has fallen so hard this time that strategically, his head and his hands fly off of the statue, and they land at the threshold of the door.

And so as they enter in, they realize that there's Dagon's head, there are his hands, and there is his body lying before the ark of God. And now you would think, okay, this isn't coincidence anymore. There's something very, very important that's being said here. And here's what's being said. If the head symbolizes anything, it represents wisdom.

And if hands describe anything, it describes power. And what we see here is that in the presence of Yahweh, the wisdom and the power and might of Dagon are vain, futile, empty, unmatched. No comparison. You can almost say that God flicked Dagon over like he was papier mache. And you would hope that the people would get the message, but we're gonna find out that they don't.

But I see another lesson here. Here's Here's another lesson that you can pull out of these verses. God in the old covenant chose to abide in this box called the Ark of the Covenant and to dwell within the most holy place within the tabernacle. This was his doing. This was his choosing.

This is how he did in the old covenant. In the new covenant, there's something much more spectacular. In the new covenant, God chooses, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, to move geographical locations, not from one address to another, but from the idea of coming to one place to now abiding in the hearts of those who are washed by the blood of the lamb. You and I now are the abiding place of God. You and I now carry the presence of God.

You and I host the hope of glory, which is Christ Jesus. Now although the location has changed, the effects of God's presence haven't. What do I mean? Because what I see here is what happens in the hearts of those who have truly repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the idol, Dagon, there is no ability for any idol in your heart to stand when the presence of God moves in.

When God really moves into your life and says, I wanna live in you. When you say yes to him. Whatever was in there that you worship before, that you were bound to before must fall, will be destroyed, will not be able to stand the might and the power of the grace of God manifest through the power of the Holy Spirit. Is that not salvation? See, we preach the cross of Jesus Christ and we should, but you know what?

People don't preach much today. That's a code death with Christ. That as much as we believe on him who was hung on the cross, part of the gospel is that you climb on the cross with him. Not so that you can be saved, but as a response to your salvation, you die to yourself. I die to myself.

And that's what Paul says in Romans six six. He says, we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that what? That the body of sin might be brought to nothing like Dagon. That when you really taste this salvation, you know what will happen? Anything that lived in you before will not be able to match the power, the provision, or the pleasure that God gives, and you are set free.

And because you are under grace and not under the law, sin has no authority over you anymore. And here's the thing, if you want God to move in, then you have to be willing to let idols crumble. And that's what you would hope that these men would do. You would think that after something like this, the Philistines would look at each other and say, not only is he a God of a different region, he's the God of all gods. He's the only true and living god.

But you know what we're about to learn here? The resilient refusal to embrace truth. Because look what happens here in verse five. As a response to Dagon falling and his hands being released and cut off with the head, this is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashta to this day. Instead of being broken, instead of being repentant, instead of realizing God is choosing to show himself true, another tradition is created.

Think about it. This is the tradition. Because the hands and the head were at the bottom of the doorway, from that moment on, the Philistines decided that whenever they enter into the house of Dagon, they would not step foot on the threshold, they would leap over it. They would leap over it. And so this is this is what happens here.

They only hold on tighter to their false god. They only dig their heels deeper into their belief system. They were not humbled. They were not moved. And this may shock us, but it is no different than the reaction of many people today as they hear the gospel.

Because no matter how much their hearts are exposed to truth, like the Philistines, they are unwilling to forfeit and let go what they've known for so long. They're idols. There are very few who are willing to submit to the truth no matter what the cost is. But there are many instead who suppress the truth in order to hold on to what they really want. Jesus provided an incredible insight to why most people reject him.

It's not this great mystery, and it's not because his truth isn't convincing enough. Do you wanna know? Listen to the words of the master himself in John three nineteen. For this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

So behind all the philosophical persuasions and behind all the academic arguments and behind all the personal problems and doubts, some are sincere and true, but majority, that's all cover up for one root cause. I love my sin. I love darkness. And this tells us something powerful about the gospel. When you come to the light, you have to forfeit your darkness.

You can't keep both. And people know that. They know that instinctively. They know that in their hearts. If I really embrace this Jesus, there are things that I have to turn away from.

And Jesus says, the reason why so many reject me, the light, as good as I am, as holy as I am, as wholesome as I am, is because they love darkness. They love darkness. Don't be fooled by sophisticated philosophers today or your liberal teacher at your university that wants to try to disprove theology in the word of God. The real reason why they want to argue till they're blue in the face and shame you in public is because they love darkness, and they don't want to let go of it. And the Philistines are doing the saved here.

There are people, there are the unsaved who are so in love with their sin that they are willing to hold on to error until their dying breath. Because they know what truth does. Truth sets you free. It delivers you, calls you out from among those who are perishing. So what happens?

Well, they create a new tradition, and they didn't see it. We see it. Let's help Dagon up. Here's this god who's just moving in power without anybody having to lift him or move him. This is incredible, but still, they they they wanna hold on to Dagon.

And we read in verse six what happens as a result of that. The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors. Some translations say hemorrhoids. Both Ashdod and its territory. And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, the ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.

Now they're realizing that this has to do with this ark, and God was merciful. God was extremely merciful in showing that he is much more superior to Dagon by allowing him to fall on his face and to break his teeth and his hands. But that wasn't enough, so god goes beyond that. See, you and I might read this and think this is this is cruel. This is a little excessive, but I see mercy written all over this.

Because what is God doing? He's getting the attention of the Philistines. They didn't get it the first time. They didn't get it when he tried to destroy their idol. So maybe they'll get it when he afflicts their bodies.

And so he does just that. And so they begin to feel pain and discomfort, and there's death and a plague now breaks out. And if you think that this is the Old Testament God, realize that the Lord near the end will turn up the heat. Right before his return, the earth will know something of his wrath, but in that wrath, there is so much mercy. If you've read the book of Revelation, you know what I'm talking about.

Because at one point, God begins to, in his final set of judgments, so unleash such power and might that there is no doubt in any corner of the earth that this is God's doing. But you wanna see other people respond? In Revelation sixteen nine, they being the population of the earth were scorched by the fierce heat from what? The sun. The sun would literally scorch people's skin.

And you think this is too much, but listen to the mercy of God. And they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. They did not repent or give him glory. What was God trying to get out of them?

Repent. What was he trying to get out of them? Give me my glory. Turn to me. What's better?

Just a few moments of pain on earth or an eternal separation from God? When you understand that equation, you understand that this is mercy. Trying to get your attention, and he's doing it with the Philistines. And we think that this is gonna do it. So what did they do?

Verse eight. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? They answered, let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath. They say, let's move it to another city of ours. Let's change addresses.

So they brought the ark of God of Israel there. But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city causing a very great panic. And he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. So you think, okay. What are they gonna do?

Verse 10. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, another Philistine city. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, they have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people. So they're just passing it from one city to the other, and you're thinking, what what are you thinking? At what point are you just gonna fall in surrender and say, let's just worship this God.

He is the true and living God. Or maybe get rid of him like they're gonna do in a moment. No. They're holding on. Why are they holding on?

I believe it's because they want to try to grip to the sense of victory that they had over the Israelites and the God of Israel as long as possible. Their pride was getting in the way. How long can we keep the ark of God so that we can show to our people and the nations that we have the true and living God? And God was toying with them. He was flinging them around like nothing.

And they still said, no. Maybe this is just coincidence. Maybe this is maybe this is just bad timing. And so they hold on, and they try to move it to a different place and try to shake this thing off, and it's not happening. Their own stubbornness was the reason for their suffering.

Their own pride was the barrier to their own freedom. And I tell you today that people respond to the gospel in the same fashion. They just don't wanna let go. They just will do everything they can before they give up and give God glory. Jesus, when he was on the earth, experienced that reaction.

The ultimate tabernacle of God. The presence of God in flesh on earth, greater than the ark, And in John twelve forty two, we are told, nevertheless, many even of the authorities, we're talking about religious leaders, Pharisees believed him. But for the fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it. They didn't confess it. Why?

So that they would not be put out of a silly synagogue. And we are told here, for they love the glory that comes from man rather than the glory that comes from God. So they believe, they they understood this was the Messiah that has been prophesied by the prophets, written about in the Psalms, but they would not confess it with their lips because some of them didn't wanna lose their membership at the synagogue. And John goes deeper. They love the glory that comes from man rather than the praise that will come from God.

And many today will be damned for the same reason. They will be. Fear. Fear of losing something. Like the Philistines, they didn't wanna lose their sense of victory and praise and authority and autonomy.

They wanted to hold on, and they were gonna pay a price for it, and people will pay a price for it today. And we see here that it's only gonna get worse. In verse 11, they sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, send away the ark of God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people. For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. Here's a pandemic in their midst.

And they have now come to the point where they said, enough is enough. Send them back to where it came from. We ultimately reject God. Based upon what revelation? When they understood the holiness of God Listen to this.

When they understood that they couldn't handle this God like how they can handle their other idols, when they realized that this God demands to be Lord over them, and that he sets the standards of how we relate to him, they said, no thanks. We didn't know that this was part of the package. We thought that he was just like Dagon. We can lift him up. We can carry him.

If this is who this God is, we want nothing to do with him. And I tell you today that many people, when they come to the revelation of the wholeness of Jesus Christ, come to the same conclusion, unfortunately. There's a version of Jesus that appeases the flesh, that makes us feel comfortable, makes us feel like we are in control. But the moment we hear the true Jesus, and that he wants total control, that's where the people coming forward to the message of the gospel thins out. And we see here that they said, we want nothing.

Absolutely nothing to do with this God. If this is who he truly is, then we regret bringing him to us in the first place. So they try to send him back, and that's where we come to this chapter. In chapter six, the ark of the Lord, in verse one, was in the country of the Philistines seven months. This was going on for seven months.

I mean, I I would think after three weeks, you would think, this is not coincidence. Let's move forward with our lives. No. They were determined. They were determined.

So what do they do? And the Philistines called to the called for the priests and the diviners and said, what shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us what we shall send to its place. They said, if you send away the ark of God of Israel, do not send it empty. But by all means, return him a guilt offering, then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.

And they said, what is the guilt offering that we shall return to him? And they said, five golden tumors and five golden mice. So now we know according to this chapter, there was mice involved with this plague. Doesn't make it any less pleasant. Five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravaged the land and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps, he will lighten his hand from off of you and your gods and your land. So they had enough sense to realize after seven months of going from town to town to town, k, this is this is the God of Israel. Now what do we do with this? We're sending him back, but we wanna show some kind of remorse and some kind of honor so they receive some counsel, make some golden mice and tumors, and make sure that you you send it back with the ark of God to the people of Israel.

And they said that sounds like a good idea. Here's the thing, what's the reason for it? It's a strange type of offering, but the motivation is actually right. Verse five, and give glory to the God of Israel. Like we learned last last week, we're gonna learn some things about the Philistines concerning how we relate to God.

Give glory to the God of Israel. From that, what do you believe in part giving glory to God means? I would like to hear your answers. Give glory to the God of Israel. We live for the glory of God.

And what they're saying here is in part true of what it means to glorify God. Any ideas? Yes. Absolutely. Love him with all five of our senses.

Absolutely. Obedience and giving him praise. Obedience and giving him praise. Yes. You got it.

Anything else? Putting him first in our lives. Yes. Humble yourself before God. Yes.

And now, yes, all those answers were true, and Gorgis is honing into what's being done here. Giving glory to God in this aspect is a attributing to him the authorship of all that we witness, behold, and experience. What they're doing here is declaring to God, we realize that you are the one who is sovereign over all the affairs that we underwent. You're the God of the mice. You're the God over the plagues.

You're the God that allowed these judgments. You are all powerful and all sovereign. That's what they're doing here. And that's what it means to glorify God. You give him the authorship.

And you realize that he is the one who is behind everything. And Paul says after he told us in Romans one, that God had manifested his divine attributes, his invisible attributes, his divine nature through what? Tell me. Through what? Creation.

So that no man is without excuse. Creation itself testifies to the reality of God in the general revelation. And then he says this in the next verse. He says in Romans one twenty one, but there are those who did not honor him based on that understanding. They did not glorify God or give thanks to him.

But they what? Attributed to the silly concept that we came from goo and that your ancestors are hairy beasts, and all these crazy ideas. What is what is behind that? Is that a discovery? No.

It's a theory, by the way. You're putting your faith in a theory, and the spirit behind it is what Paul says. They refuse to glorify God and give thanks to him. Notice the train of thought. Paul says that creation testifies to the knowledge of God, and right after he says, still people refuse to give God glory in that aspect and refuse to give thanks to him.

So the opposite understanding of that is glorifying God is to say you are the one behind it all. You are the mind. You are the love. You are the power that has allowed these things to come into existence. And the Philistines are glorifying God in this aspect.

They're saying, you are the true God. And they're doing it through mice and tumors, but it's gonna work. Now look at this in verse six. Why should you this is the this is the counsel that they're receiving from their leaders. Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?

After you had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away and they departed? Interesting. That tells me that when I read through Exodus and what God had done through delivering his people, it made international news. All the nations heard about it, and they had an accurate understanding of it. And let's go beyond that.

The Holy Spirit is providing insight about who really was responsible for Pharaoh's rejection of God. It says that Pharaoh and what? Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh harden their hearts? That is a wonderful verse to bring some clarity on a very controversial character in the bible by the name of Pharaoh. Because the understanding of Pharaoh is that he hardened his heart, and he was responsible for the judgment that came upon him and his people.

So here's my question. How do you deal with a verse like this when you compare it to what God says in Exodus seven three? And let me read it to you. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart. And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, who's gonna harden?

According to Exodus, who is it? God. God says, I will do it. I come to first Samuel six six, and I hear and I see that it was Pharaoh. Were the Philistines wrong?

This is interesting. Right? So the Philistines were our minions, and God is Calvinist, I guess. Right? Just to ease the tension in the room.

It's still there, but it's okay. Let me ask it this way. When was the first time Pharaoh hardened his heart in the Exodus narrative? That will bring a lot of clarity. Does anybody know?

So let me ask it this way. When was the first time Exodus tells us explicitly that God hardened Pharaoh's heart? Close, but there's a specific location. It's under a specific plague. Does anybody know?

Would you like to know? Good. Go to Exodus chapter nine, and you'll see it right there, where the first time we are explicitly told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. Exodus nine verse 12. But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

And that is under what? What plague number? The sixth plague. A lot has happened before God officially and explicitly hardened Pharaoh's heart. Because you see verses like what we see in chapter eight.

Look at chapter eight verse 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them as the Lord had said. You come down to verse 32 of the same chapter, what do you read? But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go. And then when you come to chapter nine verse 12, God says, you wanna keep hardening your heart?

I'll help you do it. And he seals him in that condition. So then what do we do with Exodus seven? Well, he said he would do it. He said he would do it, and he did in Exodus nine.

So he tells Moses, in his understanding of the future, I'm gonna harden his heart. It's gonna happen. But what you read prior to this moment of it actually being executed is Pharaoh hardened his heart, and Pharaoh hardened his heart again, and Pharaoh hardened his heart again. And there is a biblical truth that when a man continues to harden his heart, God will help him do it. And that's why the Philistines understood, hey.

We don't wanna do that. We don't wanna harden ourselves and become like them. Because the understanding of judicial hardening is that you do not know the line before God comes and supernaturally solidifies you in that place. So don't entertain it even once. That's why there's an urgency with the gospel.

Today is the day of salvation. If you hear the gospel now, respond. When you share the gospel, yes. There is an element where you wanna be patient with people, but there should also be an urgency. There should be an urgency.

Now you can't grab people by the neck and drag them to church, but you can with a voice and trembling lips and teary eyes say, you need to make a decision quick. I mean, if you need to explore and compare and study, sure, but do it quickly. Don't hold off on your salvation. Don't resist God. The Philistines understood that.

They understood the seriousness of God's work when it comes to them giving a chance to either respond to him or reject him. So let me come back to first Samuel. And what happens? Well, it's amazing what happens. It actually makes you giggle to some degree.

They come up with an idea, and their idea is this. Well, we'll send them back with this gift these gifts. But verse seven says, now then take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home away from them. And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch if it goes on its way to its own land, to Beth Shemesh.

Now they have the specific location. Then it is she who has done this great harm. But if not, hold on. But if not what? But if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us.

Are you kidding me? It has happened to us by coincidence. Like, they are so desperate to hold on to the ark. They are so ferociously devoted to their own sense of pride that even up to this point, they're like, there's like a point one percent chance that this is just really bad timing and that we're actually superior over Israel. It's amazing the determination to hold on to yourself and not fall at Christ's feet.

That's why salvation in in itself is a miracle. So this was our strategy. Alright. Get two milk cows that just had babies, that have never ever driven a cart. And what we're gonna do is that we're gonna put a yoke on both of these milk cows.

We're gonna leave their babies at home, and we're gonna give them no driver. No driver never driven a cart before, fresh babies that came out of their bellies. And if it heads towards Beth Shemesh, the hand of God is on this. If they remove the the yoke and they turn or they turn towards their calves, then this this is not a real deal. So they put this ridiculous test before God to see is this really God or not.

And something amazing happens. Verse 12. They come up with this test, and we see here, and the cows went straight in the direction of Beth Shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. So I can just picture it.

Two milk cows, a yoke, all these leaders are surrounding it thinking, like, they're so desperate for this to work in their favor. They put the ark, they put the little box with the tumors and mice in it, and they said, okay, cows, go to Beth Shemesh. And they step back. And they begin to walk. And they're getting on the main road.

And they're headed towards Israel. And they're thinking maybe they smell something, maybe they're trying to find something for their calves, and they're getting nervous and they're pulling their collars. And then they hear something. They hear a lowing. They hear them crying.

And then it came to a point that they start following this cart, and it dawned on them, we're witnessing a miracle. Why would this be a miracle? For many reasons, but give me one. God himself is bringing himself back to Israel's shore. But you know what's so interesting here?

What would be the natural tendency of these cows? What would be their their instinct as a result of this? To go back to their babies. To go back to their children. To offer them the affection and the care that they need in their vulnerable state.

And we see that being manifest and how they were lowing as they went. There was a deep cry. They wanted to go back and be with their babies. But what's happening? There is another force that is overpowering even their natural tendencies, And it's pulling them in a different direction to such a degree that they don't look to the left, they don't look to the right.

The faces of these cows were like flint towards where God wanted them to go. Earlier, you heard and you received a picture of what happens when the presence of God enters into the same room where an idol thinks he can stand. As a picture of when God moves into your heart, the power and authority and even pleasure of sin crumbles. You're about to see another lesson about what the presence of God does. And here's what it does.

It provides a supernatural strength that keeps you on the path of obedience, even to the point where you can overcome your natural tendencies. In first Samuel four, you saw the people of Israel trying to manipulate the Ark of God. In first Samuel five, you saw the Philistines trying to mistreat the Ark of God. And in first Samuel six, you were seeing two cows submit to the presence of God. Two cows.

Milk cows are proving a greater example of how to respond to God than humans. And this is what happens when God moves into your heart. There is much in our life that we live against in the natural sense. There are many things that are flipped when God abides in a person's heart. For example, you forgive the unforgivable, don't you?

You say no to what the world easily says yes to. Instead of taking vengeance on your behalf or on the behalf of others, you let God do it. Right? If you wanna be great, you become a servant, and you refuse to be a master and lord yourself over others. And these cows felt the tension.

There was the the natural pull, the maternal instinct to be with their children, but something greater overtook that. You and I cannot do what Christ calls us to do unless we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. And the more you want to live in this paradoxical Christian conviction, the more of the power of God you need in your life. There is no way that these cows, apart from God's presence, would have moved forward miles on end to complete the thing that they first started. But with God's help, it is possible.

And that's the point. Christianity is a supernatural religion. As one person put it, there is no other religion in the world that teaches that their God lives inside of them. But your Bible teaches that. Your Bible teaches that your God takes up residence within you and me.

Now, can we sing that and preach that and believe that and not see the effects of that? No. We should be walking miracles. We should be walking miracles. Will we fall sometimes?

Sure. Because there's another principle, it's not automatic. These cows don't have what you and I have. A conscience to a certain degree. We have to choose.

We have to feed that new man that lives inside of us. That can be weakened over time because of our negligence, but that can be strengthened as we pay attention to it. So you look at the book of Jonah, what do you see? You see the same picture. God commands a whale to swallow up the prophet, he obeys.

God commands a storm, the storm obeys. God commands a plant to come up, it obeys. A worm to eat the plant, it obeys. God commands a prophet to preach repentance, no. No.

No. The caterpillar will say yes to God. The winds will say yes to God. The waves will obey. The whale?

Yes, sir. Man? No. We need something greater than just emotional stirring and even a will. We need God's help and God's power.

And he's willing to do just that when a person hungers and thirsts for righteousness. You know what's so sad about this? That these cows, two cows, are providing a greater example of how to respond to God's authority than the two sons of Eli. The two sons of Eli waltzed into the presence of God, took up the ark, and went into the battlefield, and the cows are taking that same ark and bringing it back to its rightful place. And what happens when they arrive?

Well, verse 13. We see here, now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. It's been seven months. Seven months not knowing when the ark was gonna come back, if it was gonna come back.

And all of a sudden, there it is in the horizon, two milk cows lowing and lowing and lowing. You know what I love about the cows lowing? It still testifies to the tension of the flesh. It still testifies that there's a war between the spirit and the flesh. So sometimes your flesh, even though the spirit of God dwells in you, will cry, give me attention.

Give me sin. Give me lust. Give me blood. The lowing and lowing and lowing. And they look, and I wonder if the sun hit that ark in its golden frame, and they rejoice to see it.

It's back. Here it is. And I'd like to think that these cows received an honor that Hophni and Phineas forfeited. They were instruments used by God to carry something that would bless others. Instead, Hophni and Phineas represented the same God, but dishonorment brought much grief to the nation of Israel.

Here's my point. You and I have the opportunity to carry the hope of glory in such a tangible and obvious way that when those who are around us come into contact with us, they can rejoice in God in greater fashion. I would like that in my life. And I would encourage you like these two milk cows yoke with somebody that has the same ambition in life. Yoke yourself to someone like these cows that are not driven by men, but are driven by the invisible hand of God.

And you will be a blessing in your marriage, in your friendships, in your local church. Find the people that are driven by God, led by his spirit, that hate the things of the flesh. And even when there's days where they low and cry because of temptation, they still move forward and don't look to the left or the right. These cows blessed people. Not because they were cows, because of what they carried.

You can be a blessing no matter who you are. It doesn't matter how you look, it doesn't matter your hair, how it looks, your skin condition, your height, your weight. It's who you carry. It's who you carry. Church history teaches that the Apostle Paul was not an attractive person.

And I can imagine how, just read what the man went through. Shipwrecks and whippings and stonings. I mean, the guy got stoned so badly that the people that stoned him thought he was dead. Then he gets up and dusts himself off and he goes right back in. You're telling me this guy was stoned and whipped and beaten and shriveled up by the sea and he was attractive?

But when he walked into a city, demons cried out. Who cares what kind of blazer you you wear? Who cares what kind of clothes you wear? Don't you covet that? Don't you covet that?

I love what one preacher said that his greatest ambition in life was to be on the 10 most wanted list in hell. Jesus we know, and who do we know? Paul we know. Who are you guys? And the demons beat him up, and they ran out of the house naked.

You and I can tap into something in God where people are blessed by our presence, by our words, by our actions, by our gifts. That can only come when we're in relationship with God and we allow him to dominate our hearts and minds. So they come and then they sacrifice these cows. But then something happens very quickly in verse 19. And he struck, being God, some of the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked upon the ark of the Lord.

He struck 70 men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. I mean, you had a revival that lasted like a few minutes. Because the people didn't learn after seven months how to treat the presence of God. And God came back after seven months, and he says, we're not gonna do this again. And he brought a severe plague instantly because the people of Israel should have known better since they had the word of God.

But notice how they respond in verse 20. The men of Beth Shemesh said, who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us? So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim saying, the Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.

They're doing the very same thing that the Philistines did. Once there is a revelation of the holiness of God, the tone here denotes that they're actually pinning the blame of this great blow against God. So he slaughters an amount of Israelites, and this is what they do. Instead of being broken, instead of being repented and contrite and hard, they said, who's gonna stand before this God? He's so holy.

Let's get rid of him. Just like the Philistines. Let's get rid of him. And that is one of two reactions to the holiness of God. You either run away with him or from him with such a desperation.

You will plunge yourself into greater darkness and wickedness, or you will fall his feet and worship him and surrender to him. And men do what these men are doing here. They do. They will come to this book, and they will, with arrogance, point to certain aspects of God's dealings, especially in the Old Testament. And they will say, who does this God think he is?

How can he do such things? And they will even look at the commands of God and say, these are excessive and these are even unrealistic. And you have many people even in the church today that interpret the God of the Old Testament such fashion and God overall. And so the holiness of God becomes an aspect of criticism instead of an element that causes us to worship. And Paul clarifies very, very, very obviously.

In Romans seven, when he speaks about the law, he's talking about the Old Testament law. And you know what Paul says in Romans seven twelve? So the law is holy. It's holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and finish it. Do you know?

Oh, there it is. And good. It's good. It's not excessive. It's not unrealistic.

No. The finger cannot be pointed at God's law, whether old or new covenant. The finger should be pointed at our lack of obedience and our willingness to submit. You know why we get offended how God does things in the old testament? It dawned on me today.

It dawned on me today, and it's one main reason because we don't understand how holy he is. It's as simple as that. Because we equate God to us, like this is how many people, even Christians, this is how many Christians think. God is just like a little holier than I am. Like I'm here and God is here.

Let me ask you this. How holy are you in comparison to Isaiah, the prophet? Figure that one out. Once you do, go to Isaiah six and see his reaction to the presence of God. We don't understand how pure he is without blemish, without spots, so brilliant and majestic in purity that it will cause a prophet to dig his head in the ground and be broken.

And the thing that he had the right to boast in, my lips. These are unclean lips. The very thing that he preached with came and was rendered as nothing in the presence of a holy God. So what happens? Here's what happens.

Mankind has proven that until today, blaming God's holiness instead of looking at our own sinfulness. But God's holiness is not the only thing that is good. God's mercy is equally good. And here's what happens. Instead of judging all of us, instead of casting us into an utter an outer darkness for all eternity, God in his mercy and love enters into the world, and stands on our behalf, and fulfills what no man could fulfill in his own power and strength, so that we can stand before his holiness.

And that's why the Bible gives us language, hiding yourself in Christ, being hid in Christ. So the question here, who can stand before the Lord, this holy God, is no one except for those who are in Christ. That's the answer. And I thank God for that. Because not only does he allow me to stand in his presence, like these milk cows, he gives me the power and the delight to walk in his ways.

The power and the delight to walk in his ways. It's amazing what God can do when he conquers a heart completely. I can tell you this. Somebody said this, and it's an old thought, meaning it's an old message that I heard that blessed me to this day, and it rings in my ears sometimes. He said, I don't ask Christians or people, generally, if they believe in Jesus anymore.

I stop asking that question. And I start asking this question, does Christ live in you? And when you ask that question, you're gonna get different answers. Does Christ live in you? Everybody believes in Jesus.

Milk cows believe in Jesus. But not everybody can confidently answer with the same whip of confidence. Christ lives in me. Do you know how Christ lives in you? It's very simple.

Just examine your desires. Examine your desires. See, before Christ, you felt this overwhelming pull to do what the flesh says to do. But when Christ comes in, you discover something about yourself. You know what it is?

There's a wrestling match now. The flesh and the spirit. The flesh and the spirit. Many people come up and say, I don't know if I'm truly saved, brother. Why?

Because this happened in my life. I fell into this, and I'm overwhelmed by the grief. Do you want to sin or not? I don't wanna sin. That's why I'm confessing it.

Do you wanna continue in this way or not? I don't want. Do you love your sin? I hate my sin, and I almost hate myself because of my sin. You're in a good place.

You're in a good place because you know the tension between the spirit and the flesh. Now, all you need to do is feed the new man, and you will know a greater strength. I never thought that I would read this bible and find inspiration from milk cows, But that's the beauty of bible study. Next time if somebody asks you, who are your favorite characters in the Old Testament? You have another one to consider.

I look at these milk cows and I'm inspired. Because here's what I'm inspired by today. My birthday just passed, and I thought to myself, wow, time flies. I'm not gonna tell you how old I am, but I'll tell you this, it's been ten years walking with the Lord. Ten years.

And it felt like two. Really. Even moving around in different opportunities and studying here and there, really felt like two or three years. I was having a conversation with somebody and they brought the point up that when you get older, it only feels faster. And he gave the example that somebody that he heard from somebody that when you get older, it's like your age becomes a greater speed limit.

So when you're in your thirties, it feels like you're going 30 miles an hour in life. When you're in your forties, it feels like 40 miles. When you're in your fifties, it feels like 50. I'm like, don't scare me. I'm already trying to put the brakes on at this point.

But we're sitting across from each other, and we he's at a different point in life, and I'm at a different point in life in terms of age, but we came to the same conclusion. Not much time is left. And I look at these milk cows, and they finished. They became a burnt offering at the end. They never got to see their babies again.

Read verse 14 of chapter six. They never were able to go back to their desperate and vulnerable babies, but they became a pleasing aroma to God. That's what I want my life to be. I wanna finish well. Started ten years ago, wonderful.

It's one thing to start, it's another thing to finish. And I hope that's your desire as well. And here is the promise. Let the presence of God dominate your heart. Let's ask him for that.

I'd like to offer you two points of application in your prayers tonight. The first one, Lord, the same way you made Dagon fall to his face, and he was rendered powerless. Lord, destroy every idol in my heart tonight. In the same way that you directed those milk cows into your will, to the point where they overcome the tugs and the pulls of their own flesh. Lord, bind me to your will.

Arrest me with your authority. Captivate my heart. Not just in the beginning, but all the way till the end. Help me not look to the left. Help me not look to the right.

Thank you that on the way, there will be times of lowing. But Lord, no matter how I feel, I wanna obey your will. Just ask God for a fresh touch, a fresh empowerment of his spirit. Let not milk cows bear a greater testimony of obedience than us in 2021. Father, we ask you in Jesus' name.

Thank you for your incredible word. Thank you how you speak, Lord. Thank you for the inspiration. Lord, we ask tonight that every person in here would be slaves to Christ. And Lord, thank you that in first John five, you tell us that your commands are not burdensome.

And the only way your commands can feel light is when we have a greater power in us. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask, Lord, that if we have grieved him, or if we have failed to fellowship with him, that that would be revived tonight. That would be revived tonight. We wanna finish well.

And Lord, there are some in here who have walked with you for two years, five years, ten years, twenty years, thirty years. Thank you, Lord, that you've kept us this long. But, Lord, we have the finish line in mind. And with all the temptations and all the cries of this flesh and all the allurements of this world, Lord, We recognize that it must be your divine help that keeps us on the path. So, Lord, we confess our neediness to you tonight.

Thank you that through the blood, you do not dwell in the most holy place in Jerusalem anymore. You made your home in us. And so Lord, fill us afresh. We are encouraged by your word tonight. We are blessed by your wisdom.

We adore you for your goodness. Lord, if you're willing to help milk cows, how much more your children? We rest in that truth tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.