When we listen, we worship.

The Israelites didn’t listen to the LORD.  Instead, they brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle when it should have stayed in the Tabernacle at Shiloh.  The result: thirty thousand soldiers, the High Priest, and his sons all died as the Ark was captured by the Philistines.

The Philistines didn’t listen to the LORD.  Instead, they moved the Ark of the Covenant from town to town to keep from hurting and dying.  They kept standing up the statue of Dagon to worship him as a false god.  The result: death filled the cities with panic as God afflicted them with tumors.

When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place." They answered, "If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you." The Philistines asked, "What guilt offering should we send to him?" They replied, "Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel's god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel's god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance." (1 Samuel 6:1-9 NIV)

Listening is not just about hearing words.  It does not stop at understanding what is being communicated.  Listening is only complete when we do what the speaker wants us to do.  Listening includes obeying.  Listening to God is worship.

So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD. (1 Samuel 6:10-15 NIV)

How about you? Do you listen to the LORD?  Do you worship our King?

When we listen, we change.

I find it interesting that God does not just try to communicate with God’s chosen people, Israel.  God also tries to get through to the Philistines, the enemies of God and God’s people.  We saw in yesterday’s reading that God showed them that Dagon was not a god at all.

The LORD's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god." (1 Samuel 5:6-7 NIV)

The Philistines even started to see it.  When God inflicted enough pain on their rebellion and false-god worship, they decided to do something about it.

So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?" They answered, "Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. (1 Samuel 5:8 NIV)

When we listen to God, we start to see God’s perspective.  Sometimes, we find ourselves in sync with God.  We see our part in God’s plan.  We are encouraged to know we are walking together with God.  When we see God’s perspective at other times, though, we recognize that we are not walking with God.  Those are the moments when we need to make a decision.  Will we stay our course, or will we change?

But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people." (1 Samuel 5:9-10 NIV)

When we decide to stay the course, we know why we are experiencing the struggle.  We are fighting God.  When we change, though, what kind of change will we make.  Do we change just enough to minimize the pain and send it somewhere else?  Or do we change everything that is necessary to start walking together with God?

So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy on it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven. (1 Samuel 5:11-12 NIV)

How about you?  When you recognize that you are not walking together with God, do you change?  Do you change just enough to minimize the pain, or do you change everything so you are walking together with God?

When we listen, we see God’s perspective.

Israel did not take the time to listen to God.  Instead, they tried to devise their own plan to fight the Philistines and assumed God would join them.  Instead, they lost thirty thousand soldiers, their High Priests, and the Ark of the Covenant.  Overall, this was a bad day.  They did not see God’s perspective until it was too late.  That’s because they did not ask God.  More than that, they did not listen.

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. (1 Samuel 5:1-2 NIV)

Even when we do not listen, the LORD speaks to us.  God speaks to us in ways that we can understand.  To the Israelites, God sent prophets that they would hear and trust.  To non-Israelites, like the Philistines, God would often use other methods to get their attention.

When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. (1 Samuel 5:3 NIV)

To the Philistines, Dagon was a god.  The LORD started to show them that Dagon was not a god at all.  It was just a statue.  This statue bowed down to the one true God.  The Philistines did not listen.

But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. (1 Samuel 5:4 NIV)

Even though they did not listen, the LORD did not give up on them.  He showed them a second time that Dagon was not a god.  This time, the head and hands of the statue were broken off.  Only the LORD is God.  All other “gods” are false.  I love knowing that God does not give up on us, even when we don’t see His perspective right away.  Did the Philistines finally see?

That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. (1 Samuel 5:5 NIV)

No.  Rather than acknowledging YHWH (the LORD) as the only true God, they chose to make the threshold, where Dagon’s head and hands landed, sacred.  They did not listen to God.  They did not gain the LORD’s perspective.

How about you?  Does the LORD try to get your attention?  Do you listen?  Do you see God’s perspective?

Talking is different than listening.

Samuel is now growing up, listening to the LORD, and speaking prophecy to all of Israel.

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 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." (1 Samuel 4:1b-3 NIV)

It’s not bad for the Israelites to battle the Philistines.  God had instructed them to rid the land of the people who lived there before Israel.  Why, then, did they lose in battle?  That was also a good question to ask.  The problem, though is that they did not ask the LORD.  Instead they asked themselves.  Then, they came up with a plan that sounded good and acted on it.

So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. 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. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We're doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness…" (1 Samuel 4:4-8 NIV)

I’m just going to pause right here to say it.  Rebellion against God often sounds like a good idea at the time.  I’m going to say it again.  Rebellion against God often sounds like a good idea at the time.  We can come up with really good ideas and plans.  The plans can sound good, right, and holy.  The plans can sound churchy, with all the right words and trappings.  The problem, though, is that they are our plans.  We come up with plans on our own and, if we pray about them, we ask God to bless them.  When we do that, we talk at God.  Maybe, we talk to God.  But we are certainly not listening to God.  Talking is different than listening.  The Israelites came up with a plan.  They got everyone in Israel excited about the plan.  The Philistines were frightened as a result of the plan.  It was not God’s plan.  The Israelites talked.  They did not listen.

Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. (1 Samuel 4:9-11 NIV)

God’s plans are not necessarily our plans.  God’s ways are not necessarily our ways.  The only way to make them the same is to listen.  God will not be impressed by our great wisdom, our eloquent arguments, or our passionate persistence.  When the LORD has a plan in place, we need to get on board with His plan – even when it does not match our own.

That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years. (1 Samuel 4:12-18 NIV)

Eli died heartbroken.  His sons died on the same day, just as the LORD said would happen.  The LORD shared this plan through his prophet…Samuel.  This was the first prophecy given to the young boy, Samuel.  He knew that talking was different from listening.  He listened.

How about you?  Do you go to God in prayer?  Do you talk at God?  Do you talk with God?  Do you listen?

Listening to Our King

I’m writing this a little later in the day than normal because I’m writing this after a second sleepless night battling cold and flu symptoms.  I finally fell asleep just before 6am, messing up my 7am Hebrew class attendance.  I was able to sleep until about 10:30, when I felt well enough to make a cup of coffee and come down here to my basement-office. 

Now, I’m listening to worship music, reading 1 Samuel, and blogging what I read for myself and for you who like catching a glimpse of my process.  Why is the first thing I did today, even when I’m sick and my schedule is all thrown off?  Simple.  God is my King.  I want to walk today, just as I want to walk any other day, with God.  Samuel understood this.

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground. (1 Samuel 3:19 NIV)

I love that sentence.  The LORD did not let any of Samuel’s words “fall to the ground.”  Things fall to the ground when they are dead, like leaves falling from trees.  Samuel’s words were living and active.  That’s because Samuel was not speaking his own words.  He was speaking God’s Words.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

Samuel had become a prophet of God.  That’s what prophets do.  They speak new words that were given to them by the LORD.  These revelations had never been heard before, so they weren’t contained in the pages of Scripture yet.  They were the words that eventually built Scripture.

And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3:20 NIV)

Moses was a prophet of the LORD.  God spoke to Moses and Moses gave the message to the rest of Israel – millions of them.  The Israelites saw God working through Moses with plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, encounters at Mt. Sinai, water from a rock, manna, quail, and much more.  When Moses told them, “Thus says the LORD,” they knew it was from the LORD.

Before Moses died, he received words from the LORD about future prophets.  The LORD told them that there would be future prophets who gave the people instructions.  These prophets would always follow two patters.  First, the prophet would have a sign, wonder, or miraculous short-term prediction that comes true one hundred percent of the time (Deuteronomy 18:15-22).  Secondly, even if the person who claims to be a prophet does have a sign, wonder, or short term prediction that comes true, compare what they say to previous revelation from the LORD.  “Prophets” who try to get us to follow a God other than the One Revealed by Moses and other true prophets are, well, not prophets at all (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).  Do not listen to them.

Samuel was a true prophet.  His words did not fall to the ground.  His words matched previous revelation from the LORD.  Samuel became a prophet because he learned to listen to the LORD through God’s written word (Scriptures) and through God’s Spirit.  When Samuel spoke, his words did not fall to the ground because he listened first.  He listened to the LORD.  Then he spoke.

The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel's word came to all Israel. (1 Samuel 3:21-4:1a NIV)

Why is this the first thing I do each morning, even when I had a sleepless night and I am battling illness?  I want to be like Samuel.  No, the LORD had not seen fit to give me the gift of prophecy like Samuel.  God has, however, empowered me to read, understand, and teach His Word to others who are willing to listen and learn.  God has made me into a theologian, teacher, and preacher.

Just like Samuel, though, I want none of my words to fall to the ground.  So, I read.  I pray.  I listen to the LORD.  I listen to my Lord.  I listen to my King.

How about you?  Are you listening to our King?