I love it when the Old Testament speaks to me. As a Christian, I expect the New Testament to hold words of encouragement and direction but oftentimes I skip over the thousands of years worth of wisdom the Old Testament has to offer. I had decided to dive into 1 Samuel, the reasoning behind which slips my mind, but when I finished reading, it spoke to me.
Here’s a quick synopsis. Israel goes out to fight the Philistines. They of course bring along the Ark of God. Why not, right? Unfortunately for Israel, the Philistine army was victorious and took the ark. The Philistines, like a dog who finally catches a car, were excited but had no idea what to do with it. They put the ark in a temple to their god and their god’s statue kept falling over and breaking. So they moved it around from town to town. Wherever it went destruction and disease followed (tumors to be exact. gross). The Philistines finally realized the ark needed to go and sent it packing back to Israel.
Have you ever brought something into your life that you knew wasn’t for you? Then when bad things happened, instead of getting rid of it right away, you move it around as the Philistines did with the ark. You justify why you should keep it in your life. It took the Philistines 7 months before they got rid of the ark. They lost crops and people died but they held on stubbornly. You can’t see it, but I’m raising my hand. I’ve made excuses and moved junk/sin around in my life instead of just saying, this isn’t for me and letting go. Examine what is causing you pain. What is bringing destruction into your life? Is God trying to tell you to get rid of what doesn’t belong to you? Are you moving it around in your life to justify keeping it? Don’t be a Philistine.
What is your favorite book of the Old Testament and are you as guilty as I am at ignoring the first half of the bible?
Laughter is the hand of God on the shoulder of a troubled world. -unknown
The Latent Man 