ark of the covenant

1 Chronicles 15 – How do You Handle Mistakes?

by

No one likes making mistakes, but we all make them. So the key is in how you respond to your mistakes.

Some attempt to avoid mistakes by never attempting anything new or different. Others act as if the mistake is no big deal and proceed on the same path. Neither of these responses works well. The first is unproductive and the second is unwise.

But there is a third way to respond to mistakes that’s both productive and wise, and that’s to learn from your mistake and make the appropriate adjustments.This was David’s response in 1 Chronicles chapter 15, with regards to moving the Ark of the Covenant. In 1 Chronicles chapter 13, David didn’t stop to consider how God wanted the Ark moved, and it cost a man his life. (1 Chron. 13:9-10)

Though David didn’t disregard the mistake and continue moving the Ark, he did try to avoid further mistakes by just not taking any more action.

But, in 1 Chronicles chapter 15, David learns from his mistake and makes the appropriate adjustments. He acknowledges God’s sovereignty, asks for God’s direction, and aligns himself with those instructions. The result was not only success but joy and celebration.

How do you handle your mistakes? Do you (1) back away from doing anything so you don’t make a mistake, (2) ignore the mistake and keep moving forward, or (3) survey the situation, search out God, and seek to learn from your mistake? (Hint…the prize is behind door #3)

2 Samuel 6 – Living Full Throttle for God

by

If you followed me through a typical week, you would find times when I get things right and times when I mess things up. Times when my desire is to lift up God and times when I’m more concerned about myself. Times when I’m acting gracious and times when I’m being sarcastic. I can appear very disjointed and dichotomous at times.

2 Samuel chapter 6 has that same feel. It presents as a case study in contrast…or more appropriately human nature. For example…

  • David shows great desire to have the ark (God’s presence) among them, yet shows great disrespect for following God’s directions for transporting the ark. (Numbers 4:5,6,15) (1 Chronicles 15:13-15)
  • David is angry at God for the death of Uzzah and doesn’t want the ark near Jerusalem. (Uzzah had reached out to steady the ark when it looked like it was going to fall…which was against God’s command that no one was to touch the ark.) But, when David finds out that God is blessing the people in whose home the ark is kept, he then wants to bring the ark to his location.
  • Publicly, David’s life is one of joy, worship, and admiration. But privately (with his wife Michal) his life is one of strife and contention.

If you step back and look at David’s life, it can seem very two-faced. Yet God continued to reach out to him, walk with him, and redirect him with mercy, grace, and patience.

Why?

Maybe the thing that made David’s life so full of contrast was also the thing that made him a man after God’s own heart. Perhaps it was David’s willingness to go after God full throttle that so endeared him to God. And though this often meant his mistakes were also full throttle, at least he was willing to turn around and get back on track when he missed it.

Are you living a life that’s full-throttled for God?

1 Samuel 5-6 – When God Parents Teens

by

Parent is a difficult job, no matter the age of your children. But it is especially difficult to parent teens. Teens strongly demonstrate and exercise their self-will. They are also very good at diverting blame and misrepresenting loving discipline as punitive retribution.

1 Samuel chapters 5-6 portray the Israelites much like teenagers. In chapter 4, the Israelites independently do what they want to do, without consulting God. Because of this (and previous offenses,) they bring about a disconnect in the relationship…symbolized by their separation from the Ark of the Covenant.

As a good parent, God works behind the scenes (unbeknownst to them) to reconnect the relationship and return the Ark. Like teenagers, the Israelites are happy to receive the blessing of the Ark’s return, but they continue to do what they want to do. They continue to treat God with casual disrespect. And when God disciplines them for this attitude, the Israelites respond as if God is to blame (1 Sam. 7:2)

Too often, I respond to my Heavenly father as if I’m a teenager. I want what I want, when I want it. I’m glad to receive His benefits, but hurt when He disciplines me. And I’m usually more concerned with Him not leaving me, then with me not leaving Him.

I tend not to recognize:

  • All He did behind the scenes to restore our relationship.
  • The fact that He, more often than not, is the one who makes the first move to restore the relationship.

Yes, 1 Samuel chapters 5-6 make theological statements about the omnipresence of God in a pagan culture. And yes, you see teachings about God’s sovereignty and holiness. But mostly you see a God who goes out of His way to move towards His children…even when they have rebelled and disconnected from Him.

Be grateful God has a heart for teenagers…like us!

1 Samuel 4 – Are You Superstitious?

by

Would you consider yourself superstitious? Most of us would deny being superstitious. In our modern, scientific, and technologically driven world, we would see superstition as archaic and mythological.

Superstition takes a right concept (the idea that there is an unseen force which effects our lives positively or negatively) and links that right concept with a wrong connection (a certain object or sequence of events.)

In 1 Samuel chapter 4, the Israelites were superstitious, because they wrongly connected God’s favor with the physical Ark of the Covenant. They assumed that God’s favor was in holding onto the Ark of the Covenant, rather than holding onto the Covenant itself. The Israelites saw God’s presence and favor as the result of keeping the box that held God’s law, rather than keeping God’s law itself.

An initial reading might prompt us to say, “I can’t believe these ancients were superstitious enough to think that putting a golden chest in the middle of a battle would ensure their victory!”

But before we’re too hard on the Israelites, let’s be honest. Don’t we tend to think that the more we’re inside a church building the more God will like us? Don’t we tend to think that the more good things we do, the more God will bless us?

We can be just a superstitious as the Israelites.

How often do we feel we’re made right by visiting God’s house, rather than abiding in Him? How often do we feel better about ourselves because we carry and read God’s word, rather than obeying and living God’s word?

We need to turn from our religious superstition by finding our comfort, direction, and strength in God Himself, rather than in the things that symbolize Him.