It’s easy for us to assume we know what God is like when really we’ve reduced and tamed him to something less than.  And all of that begins subtly, drip by drip, degree by degree, as we drift from knowing God and his word and stop examining ourselves in light of what we see.

Do you ever ask the right question but end up at the wrong answer? You have an argument with someone and come away asking ‘How did that blow up so spectacularly?’ It’s the right question, but your answer is to do with the other persons irritating manner, or how they responded, or some other deficit in them, because of course the assumption is it couldn’t be me. Good question, wrong answer.

Or maybe it’s in a more reflective moment, when you’ve overreacted again and you ask yourself; ‘Why did I do that?’ It’s the right question, but if our answers stop with being hangry, or having had a bad day and never get to the point of examining our hearts and what’s revealed to lurk there, we’ve given the wrong answer. Good question, wrong answer.

We’re not good at self-examination are we? Sin means we’re predisposed to blame shift, to look at someone else to save us examining ourselves. Think of Adam and Eve when God confronts them about sin, he shifts the blame onto Eve and onto God for making Eve. Eve shifts the blame onto the serpent. Neither stops and examines themselves. And we’ve been following that pattern ever since, in fact maybe even now you’re thinking ah so it’s all Adam and Eve’s fault.

We see that happen yet again with God’s people here in 1 Samuel 4. (1-2) Israel go up to fight the Philistines and what are they expecting? To win. But they get battered, and as the bedraggled defeated soldiers drift back into camp, the elders ask a great question. “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines?”

Do you see why that’s a great question? It recognises God’s sovereignty over everything. It recognises victory isn’t about superior numbers, tactics, or technology. It doesn’t stop short at an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses and lessons to learn going forward. It asks a great question, why did God bring defeat on us?

But they reach the wrong answer. What’s the wrong answer they reach? (3) It’s because we didn’t take God with us, if we take the Ark of the Covenant then we’re taking God with us and he’ll bring victory. And Israel are confident, as the Ark comes into camp they shout as if they’ve already won, as if victory is a foregone conclusion.

And the Philistines are scared (6-9). They’ve heard something of what God has done though they don’t know him or all the details. So, they resolve, even though they’re afraid, to fight harder to win because what alternative do they have.

It looks like everything’s pointing to the Israelites being right. To a resounded Ark led victory. But what happens when they take the Ark of the Covenant to war? Israel are defeated, 30,000 are killed, everyone flees, the Ark is captured, Hophni and Phinehas die.

Read More