A Form Of Godliness Without God
Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines…
The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.
When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”.
So... they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty...And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook…
The Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said… “We are doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?...Be strong, Philistines...or you will be subject to the Hebrews...Be men and fight.
So, the Philistines fought and the Israelites were defeated...the slaughter was so great that Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.
When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”.
So... they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty...And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook…
The Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said… “We are doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?...Be strong, Philistines...or you will be subject to the Hebrews...Be men and fight.
So, the Philistines fought and the Israelites were defeated...the slaughter was so great that Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Philistines were arch enemies of Israel who constantly engaged them in battle and sometimes suppressed them for years. Israel went into battle with them and four thousand Israelites lost their lives. Inevitably, they put the blame on God saying,”Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines?”
In asking this question, there was absolutely no self-introspection about the possibility of how their own sins had pushed God aside and empowered their enemies to defeat them.
They had a solution: “Let us bring back the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” This solution did not work. Israel was soundly defeated. They lost thirty thousand soldiers and the ark of the covenant was captured. The two sons of Eli, who had absolutely no regard for God were killed in battle. Sin had stifled the power of God, regardless of the presence of the ark.
It is interesting that those two young men whom the Bible describes as scoundrels were the ones who were responsible for the ark. In the past, Israel had gone into battle with the ark of God leading them victoriously. But the truth is, every victory came from the God of the ark and not from the ark as a physical entity in itself. The Israelites were deluded in their thinking that merely having the ark with them was a sure sign of victory. The ark without the presence of God was a mere “form of godliness” without the actual power of God at work on their behalf.
The form without the substance leads to defeat, not victory.
May our relationship with God never be a form of godliness without the power thereof.
In asking this question, there was absolutely no self-introspection about the possibility of how their own sins had pushed God aside and empowered their enemies to defeat them.
They had a solution: “Let us bring back the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” This solution did not work. Israel was soundly defeated. They lost thirty thousand soldiers and the ark of the covenant was captured. The two sons of Eli, who had absolutely no regard for God were killed in battle. Sin had stifled the power of God, regardless of the presence of the ark.
It is interesting that those two young men whom the Bible describes as scoundrels were the ones who were responsible for the ark. In the past, Israel had gone into battle with the ark of God leading them victoriously. But the truth is, every victory came from the God of the ark and not from the ark as a physical entity in itself. The Israelites were deluded in their thinking that merely having the ark with them was a sure sign of victory. The ark without the presence of God was a mere “form of godliness” without the actual power of God at work on their behalf.
The form without the substance leads to defeat, not victory.
May our relationship with God never be a form of godliness without the power thereof.
Prayer: Father, may my relationship with you be based upon the substance of who you are. May it not be a hollow relationship that has no power to guide and lead me to true victory. Amen