Lessons from I Samuel

Katie and I have been reading through I Samuel for our devotions in the evenings. In chapter 5, the Philistines capture the ark of the covenant but some strange things start happening. They put it in the house of one of their gods and the statue of their god keeps falling down in front of the ark. Then the men of the town get stricken with tumors all of over their bodies. They decide to take the ark to another city but, there too, the men of the city are stricken with tumors. they decide to take it to a third city but the people of the town stop them saying that God is angry because they have the ark and they do not wish to face His wrath.

Unfortunately, this is not a story of redemption. One can assume that these people, even after seeing and recognizing God's power, went back to worshiping their different gods. How does this compare with our own lives? Even though billions of people see God's work everyday and many of those even acknowledge that power, their lives remain unchanged.

Do we know who will accept Christ when confronted with the Truth? Of course not. But we must continue to spread the Word of God to all who will listen. Do not be discouraged by those who hear it and still reject it. Rather, be encouraged by the lives of those who are changed by Almighty God.

Hoss