PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 1 Samuel 6:9 ): I see a lot of myself in this verse, unfortunately, Father. The Philistines were still doubting that it was You who had performed such great miracles against their people with the Ark of the Lord being the physical representation of the origin of these things. Yet, somehow, they still doubted that it was Your great power that had inflicted so much against them that they did another test towards You. How often have I also “tested” You in a sense, Father? How often have I asked You to prove, yet again, that You are the almighty and all powerful God performing such great things in my life? Please forgive me for testing You just as the Philistines did here, Father.
PROMISE ( 1 Samuel 6:19 ): I must assume that this was a previous promise, maybe even command, made to Your people that You knew very well they were aware of. 70 men looked inside of the Ark of the Lord and since they were struck down directly by You, that makes me think they knew very well that they should not have. You promised them at some point, I’m sure, that the contents of the Ark of the Lord was sacred and that any person who looks inside of it would be struck down. This verse was the fulfillment of that promise to Your people. You are always faithful to Your promises one way or the other, regardless of good or bad results and their intentions.
ATTITUDE ( 1 Samuel 6:9 ): Going back to this verse, my prayer is that I no longer have an attitude like that of the Philistines here. Their attitude towards “making” You prove Yourself multiple times by relocating the Ark of the Lord and witnessing Your great power follow it, but then also making You guide the sacrificial cart and return of the Ark of the Lord to the Israelites for You to prove that it was You that did all these things and it wasn’t “by chance.” Help me to be the opposite of the Philistines, Father, so that I do not practice the attitude of constantly needing to “test You” for validation of Your great power.
COMMAND ( 1 Samuel 6:1-3 ): Although this is the Philistines saying this, I feel strongly that it must have been something that You persuaded them to do as I find it hard to believe that they would have come up with this on their own. I feel Your command here was that since they had done so much wrong against Your people and by stealing the Ark of the Lord from the Israelites, that they must provide restitution to You through a great sacrifice. The command was to return the Ark of the Lord to the Israelites, but not without this great sacrifice to accompany it. They followed through with this command, likely unknowingly, but still followed through nonetheless.
EXAMPLE ( 1 Samuel 6:13-15 ): These verses make me think that the Ark of the Lord was a great “thing” of some sort that was easily recognizable even from a bit afar. Your people, while working hard in the fields, recognized the Ark of the Lord was returning to them as it was approaching their field. In addition to this, they quickly performed a sacrifice to You in honor of the return of Your great artifact to them. Some of them may have peaked inside of the Ark in disobedience to You, but it was only a small group that did so. As a result of this great and immediate sacrifice, this Ark of the Lord had been returned to Your people and Your were glorified through it.
*DAILY NOTE: I do not want to be the type of person who is constantly “testing” You in my life just as the Philistines did, Father. Help me to be better at just accepting the things You do in this world. Help me to be better at praising and worshipping You through all things this world experiences, but also grant me the power of spiritual discernment so that I know what is from You and what is not. There are many things, both good and bad, that You either make happen or allow to happen in this world, but there are also things that the enemy does (both good and bad) that You also allow. Help me to discern the difference between these so that I know when I am to praise You and when I am to strike down the enemy, Father. Thank You for such a great quiet time, today, Father. I am truly blessed by You and amazed at all You have done and will continue to do in this world.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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