This Sunday we will continue our sermon series on the Jewish monarchy will an important bit of history -- the first major defeat of the Israelites in the Promised Land. This defeat was the precipitating cause of the Israelites "crying out for a king." Oh, you can imagine the Israelites saying, who will save us from the mighty Philistines?
In this two-part battle against the Philistines (the invading Greeks), the Israelite army in thoroughly defeated. In the first part of the battle, the Israelites are routed, leading them to wonder why God was not helping them in the fight. They decide that God is not adequately represented, so they bring the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield. The ancient Ark not only led the Israelites from Mt. Sinai into the Promised Land; it was also thought by many to be the actual throne of God. By carrying the Ark into battle, they were ensuring that God would be with the army, which would insure a victory. The text of 1 Samuel 4 even suggests that the Philistines caught wind of this and were very much afraid.
But even then, the Israelites are defeated, and the Ark of the Covenant is captured. This is not only a terrible military defeat for the Israelites; it is a national embarrassment. Their most sacred artifact, which contained the actual stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, had been captured by an ungodly army.
What is interesting about this story is what happens next; by the end of the story in 1 Samuel 6, nobody wants anything to do with the Ark of the Covenant -- not the Philistines; not the Israelites. Sometimes the power of God is more terrifying than comforting, I guess.
On Sunday, we'll unpack some of this; my hunch is we'll even get to talk about Indiana Jones for good measure. Should be a fun start to the month of June.
By the way, my apologies for the delayed posting this week. My traveling schedule this week and last has really juggled my work, and I'm still playing catch-up. But I've been keeping a list of things I'd like to share with you on the blog, which I hope to get to in the next few days.
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3 comments:
Friend Josh, every capable & busy person plays catch-up constantly. I'm not sure if I'd know how to interact with someone whose life is so smooth that they don't play catch-up.
On to another topic, in an effort to reinforce my heretical status -- Why is it important that modern Christians care about Israeli monarchies and ancient battles? Is the loss of the Ark truly more important than the pointless slaughter that came about through and including the American Civil War over the guy carrying "the colors"? Some modern theologians (and I don't know if I use that term lightly or not) seem to have some sense that the heirs of Caiaphas et al. occupy some unique place in spiritual power. I confess to quite negative opinions of the modern nation called Israel, so perhaps I'm projecting something here. Anyway, I would love to hear an explanation of why we care about ancient middle eastern politics.
Lurking on the periphery,
Roger-the-Heretic
Roger,
The ancient Israelite monarchy is important for Christians for a couple of ways. First, the positive and negative Jewish experiences with the monarchy led directly to their expectations -- and more importantly, their descriptions -- of a Messiah. So some of the descriptions of Jesus come directly from the Jewish monarchy.
Secondly, and more broadly, the monarchy is a legendary story among the Jews, some of which Christians have inherited. The legacy/importance of the Temple gains its history from this meaning.
As for the loss of the Ark, it is important for several reasons. The first is that the loss and ultimate reclaiming of the Ark leads to the building of the Temple (a permanent holy place for God). And second, the lost battles to the Philistines set up the most dramatic battle of all -- one so famous we still tell it to our kids -- the battle of David and Goliath.
That's the short answer. I hope to continue exploring this issue throughout the sermon series.
Josh, I listened to your June 1 sermon last night. Not exactly a fun topic- bit of a bummer in fact, but very effective. I am glad that you are taking us on this journey of the monarchies so that we can better understand the legacy of Jesus through a historical perspective.
Your May 25 sermon was both intellectually enlightening and spiratually uplifting. In your sermon and your benediction that Sunday you hit on the basis of my personal faith: God loves me no matter what while challenging me to be better and to look beyond myself and my little world. Thanks, Josh. Keep challenging us!
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