David Bahn – Reflections

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Chronicles 3-5, Psalm 118.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” ¹⁰ Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

A brief mention in 1 Chronicles once captured the imagination of many. The prayer of Jabez became, for a time, something like a daily practice – a few words repeated with the hope that God would expand our influence and increase our blessing. It was simple, memorable, and appealing. But it also raised a question: Are we being invited into a posture of faith – or given a formula for results?

The prayer itself is faithful. Asking for God’s blessing, presence, and protection is a good thing. But Scripture presents Jabez’ prayer as a description, not a prescription. The danger is subtle: prayer can become a technique for securing outcomes, rather than a response of faith that rests in God’s gracious will. Jabez’s story is best received not as a method to replicate, but as a reminder that the Lord hears and answers according to his purposes – often in ways that go beyond what we ask or expect.

That tension shows up elsewhere in Scripture. In Genesis 48, Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasseh – not as a sentimental gesture, but as a decisive act that reshapes the future of Israel. With Reuben’s failure, the birthright is not lost but redirected (alluded to in our reading from 1 Chronicles 5). Joseph receives a double portion through his sons. And yet even here, expectations are overturned as the younger is set before the older. Once again, God’s purposes move forward – not by natural order, not by human expectation, but by his gracious choosing.

That is what makes the prayer of Jabez so easy to misunderstand. We can be tempted to believe that there might be a way – a set of words, a pattern of prayer – that ensures a certain outcome. But the story of Scripture points us in a different direction. As the 1 Samuel video pointed out in the incident of the stolen Ark of the Covenant, God is not a trophy.” God is not managed by our methods. He is to be trusted as our loving Father in heaven.

The good news is not that we have found the right prayer to unlock blessing, but that God has blessed us in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing in Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). God himself has drawn near in Jesus. In him, we are already blessed beyond measure – not according to a formula, but according to his amazingly abundant grace. And so we pray, not to secure a future of our own making, but to receive what he is pleased to give – trusting that his purposes, however surprising, are always good.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Chronicles (we’ll get to 2 Samuel later this May in our reading program).

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 2 Samuel 4, 1 Chronicles 1-2, Psalm 117.

2 Samuel 4:4

Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

When I am confronted with chapters like 1 Chronicles 1-2, I really have to buckle down to read through all those names. Most of them carry little meaning for me: Er, Zerah, Jerahmeel, Chelubai? These all stand in Judah’s line, but with very different legacies. Er is remembered for his wickedness, Zerah as the head of a family line, Jerahmeel as a largely forgotten clan ancestor, and Chelubai (Caleb) for faithfulness. Together, they reflect the mix of failure, obscurity, and trust through which God continues his work.

Then there’s Mephibosheth. Somehow I remember his name – Jonathan’s son whose feet were crippled and who is mentioned here in 2 Samuel 4. We will come across him several more times in 2 Samuel. He becomes a noteworthy example of the kindness of David – who remembers and provides for him for years. David is a type of Christ – one who gives us a hint or a picture of certain facets of Christ’s character. He was by no means perfect; in that he does not exhibit the character of Christ.

But David’s care for Mephibosheth is a picture of Christ’s care for the weak and broken, the humble and forgotten. Jesus showed that in his healing, comforting, loving, and encouraging of the least and last.

Even in lists of names we barely recognize, the Lord is quietly at work – carrying forward his purposes through generations that lived, died, and awaited what he would yet do. For God knew their names, and inspired the writers of the Sacred Scriptures to list them for our learning.

That learning is not merely to be an exercise in memorization. Christians are to reflect the character of Christ. We will not be content merely to remember people’s names – a good thing to do, no doubt – we will care for them as we are able, honor and respect, them as a reflection of God’s love for us all.

Next time you come across a list of names in the Bible, look carefully. You may find some people there who are actually important. But make no mistake, those whose names we read and quickly forget are not forgotten by God. Thanks be to God that he calls us by name into his kingdom of grace and life. He knows us, loves us, and has our names written in the book of life.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Chronicles (we’ll get to 2 Samuel later this May in our reading program).

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 26-28, Psalm 114.

1 Samuel 28:8-19

Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” ⁹ The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” ¹⁶ And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

More than one question is brought to mind by today’s reading – especially around this encounter with the Witch of Endor. Why had Saul put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land, and yet, now consulting one of them? What would have been better for him to do in light of the fact that the LORD had been silent to him since Samuel had died? And what’s with Samuel’s appearing, scolding, and message? Was that a hallucination, an evil spirit speaking as though it was Samuel, or some contrivance by the Witch of Endor?

I have no questions about the advisability by Saul of seeking the input of the Witch of Endor: It was a bad idea. I have no questions about whether it was a good idea to have banished the necromancers and mediums: it was a good idea. I have no question about how far Saul had wandered from the LORD’s ways. I do wonder a bit about the implications of Samuel speaking from the dead. What does that say about life after death?

So let’s consider that just a bit. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Yet the souls of the martyrs under the altar in Revelation cry out, “How long, O Lord…?” Scripture also says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” And yet Lazarus had been in the tomb four days when Jesus called him to come out.

What are we to make of all this?

The Scriptures speak with a kind of clarity and restraint at the same time. When a believer dies, he is with the Lord. That much is sure. And yet that is not the end of the story. The body is laid in the grave, awaiting the resurrection of the dead on the Great Last Day. The life to come is not a disembodied existence, but the full restoration of the person – body and soul – raised by the power of God.

Which means that whatever we see in Saul’s encounter with Samuel, we are not being invited to explore or explain the mechanics of death and the dead. We are being shown how far Saul has drifted from trusting the LORD’s word, and how desperate he has become to hear any voice at all.

And in contrast to Saul, we are given something far better than a forbidden voice from the dead. We are given the living voice of Christ, who has entered death, overcome it, and who will raise us up on the Last Day. His word to us is, “Believe in God. Believe also in me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And so – by the power of the Spirit – we believe in him and come to him, drawn by his Good News of forgiveness, grace, and salvation to eternal life.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 23-25, Psalm 113.

1 Samuel 24:1-15 (selected verses)

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” So Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel to seek David at the Wildgoats’ Rocks. He came to the sheepfolds, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were in the inner part of the cave.

David’s men said, “Here is the day of which the LORD said, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But afterward David’s heart struck him, and he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him.” So David restrained his men and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up, left the cave, and went on his way.

Afterward David went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth. He said, “Why do you listen to those who say, ‘David seeks your harm’? This day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’

See, my father, the corner of your robe in my hand. By this you may know that there is no wrong or treason in me. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life. May the LORD judge between me and you, and avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.

In today’s reading, David quietly cuts a corner from Saul’s robe – and just as quickly, his heart is struck. It’s a small act, almost nothing, and yet not nothing. It made me think of another moment – a woman reaching out to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment, believing that even that would be enough. The two scenes could not be more different in intent. And yet both draw our attention to the One who is the Lord’s Anointed — and to what it means not to grasp, but to receive.

That detail that David cut off the corner of Saul’s garment matters. The “corner” of Saul’s robe was not just fabric, but a visible sign of his identity and authority as the Lord’s anointed. The Hebrew word here can mean edge or even wing. It’s the same word used in Ruth 3:9 when she says, to Boaz, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your kānāp (your garment/wing) over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” It is also used in Psalm 91:4, “[The LORD] will cover you with his pinions, under his wings (kānāp) you will find refuge.”

When David cut Saul’s garment he was laying hold of something that was not his to take. And David knows it. His heart strikes him, not because he has done great harm, but because he has come too close to grasping what only the Lord can give. And that, perhaps, is where the contrast with the woman becomes most striking — one act that reaches out and takes, and regrets it; another that reaches out in faith, and receives.

There is something to be said of David’s restraint. His resolve not to usurp Saul’s authority is noteworthy. He realizes that Saul is the LORD’s anointed. David is not. One day he will be. But he is not willing to put out his hand against his lord, for Saul is the LORD’s anointed. His power and authority was not for David to take.

Then I think of the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. Power went out from him, and she was healed. Her desire was for restoration from a twelve-year ordeal of unimaginable pain, shame, and isolation. Jesus takes on her uncleanness, and she receives his restoring wholeness.

We may be tempted to take matters into our own hands when the moment seems to justify it, but it is much better to rely on God’s grace and mercy, seeking the shelter of his protective wings – not grasping what is not ours to take, but receiving what Christ freely gives.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 20-22, Psalm 112.

1 Samuel 22:11-23

Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. ¹² And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” ¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? ¹⁵ Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” ¹⁶ And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” ¹⁷ And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

Randy Alcorn’s book, If God is Good wrestles honestly with the reality of suffering while holding firmly to two truths: God is completely good and fully sovereign. While not all suffering may be explained, none of it is meaningless in God’s hands; he uses it for purposes we may not fully see and promises ultimate justice and restoration. In the end, Alcorn points us not to tidy answers, but to trust – grounded in the goodness of God, what he has done in Christ, and the certainty that he will make all things right.

The classical Lutheran answer for suffering in the world is the unholy trinity: the fallen world, the devil, and our sinful flesh. Here we can see the ruthless evil of Saul as evidence of the sinful flesh run rampant in the reign of Saul. Not satisfied to call David an enemy, he resorts to the vindictive slaughter of Ahimelech and 85 other priests. Then we read that at Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. Saul is not just insecure. He is evil through and through.

David remains faithful – at least in his direct dealings with Saul. He flees, seeks help from Ahimelech (the occasion that incites Saul’s ire), and eventually takes Abiathar under his wing and promises protection for him in the face of Saul’s relentless ruthlessness.

It’s difficult for me to imagine such vile and violent actions as Saul undertakes. Surely he was in danger of being replaced by David – if only because David had such a strong following. But before we are too quick to point the finger, we must admit that there is a little of Saul in every one of us. We may not order the killing of 85 priests and then a whole city. We may not hunt down our supposed enemies in order to kill them. But we can wish people dead all too easily. We can hold ourselves unaccountable while demanding justice for our enemies. The difference is not the quality of our evil, but the extent to which we will go to carry it out.

This is why we need a Savior and a Sanctifier. We need a Savior so that our sins may be forgiven. We need a Sanctifier so that we don’t carry out every evil desire or idea that comes to mind. We face evil in this fallen world because of human sin, yet God is not distant from our pain – he has entered it in Jesus Christ. The cross becomes the clearest answer, where the worst evil is turned to the greatest good. May the Holy Spirit keep us in true faith and sustain us in the face of temptation and evil. We do well to pray Jesus’ words: Lead us…not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 17-19, Psalm 111.

1 Samuel 17:48-50; 18:5-9

When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

^18:5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,

“Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands.”

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

David is brought before King Saul after offering to fight Goliath. Though Saul doubts him, David points to the Lord’s past faithfulness – delivering him from lion and bear – and trusts that the Lord will deliver him again.

Rejecting Saul’s armor, David goes out with a sling and stones. Goliath mocks him, but David declares that the battle belongs to the Lord, not to human strength or weapons.

As Goliath advances, David runs toward him, slings a stone, and strikes him down. Using Goliath’s own sword, he completes the victory the LORD has given.

David is initially celebrated by Saul. He becomes the head of Saul’s armies. He leads them in one victory after another. All is going David’s way. Even the women celebrate his greatness. But their extravagant celebration is a bit too much for Saul.

The thrill of David’s victory is real, but it does not last. What begins as celebration becomes suspicion. Saul no longer sees a champion but a rival – one who threatens his glory. The ensuing events play out in a sad mixture of Saul’s insecurity and David’s faithfulness. David does the right thing – including refusing to lift his hand against the king. For his loyalty Saul will try to kill David, and that more than once.

Saul seems ready for any excuse to resent David and fear for his own future.

When it comes to great victories, Jesus’ death and resurrection stand at the head of any list I would make. His was accomplished through great sacrifice and confirmed by God’s own exaltation. Sadly there are many who think little of it or mock the cross and despise the empty tomb. David will have his share of failures, but Jesus was everything David was not. And his victory more far reaching than any human feat will ever be.

David is to be admired as a man after God’s own heart. And Jesus is the One who captures the hearts of men and women for God for all eternity.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 14-16, Psalm 110.

1 Samuel 14:6-15

Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

This is one of my favorite – if obscure – Old Testament stories. It’s a favorite because of three words, “it may be,” (or “perhaps” as in another translation) and the implications of that frame of mind.

I’m not a fan of Possibility Thinking, per se. That’s the idea that if we think positively enough, or believe strongly enough, we can create a better outcome. It tends to place the weight on us – our outlook, our effort, our determination.

But Jonathan’s words point us in a different direction. He is not confident in the outcome. He is confident in the Lord. That is very different from both a scarcity mindset that assumes nothing can be done and a kind of optimism that assumes everything will work out. Jonathan lives in the tension between those two – seeing things as they are, and yet leaving room for what God may do.

Another way of thinking about this is the Stockdale Paradox. Admiral Stockdale, a POW in the Vietnam War, determined to face the brutal facts while holding on to hope. In other words, he acknowledged the challenges before him while not losing sight of what might yet be. That is something like Jonathan’s “it may be.” For those three words are followed by some very important ones: “It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

Jonathan could say, “it may be,” because he did not know what the Lord would choose to do in that moment. But he knew that the LORD would be the decisive factor in the outcome. He acted in faith, leaving the result in God’s hands.

But we are given something even more certain.

In Jesus Christ, God has already acted. There is no “may be” about his mercy, his forgiveness, or his saving work. The cross and the empty tomb are not possibilities; they are promises fulfilled.

So we live much as Jonathan did – not paralyzed by fear, not presuming upon God, but stepping forward in faith. And we do so with confidence, not in ourselves, but in the God who has already shown himself faithful.

Rather than embracing impossibility thinking or naïve possibility thinking, those who trust in the Lord are called to a faithful “it may be” way of living – seeing things as they are, and yet moving forward in the confidence of what God has already done for us in Jesus.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 5-7, Psalm 107.

1 Samuel 6:13-21

Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

¹⁷ These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, ¹⁸ and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

¹⁹ And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. ²⁰ Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

This incident is almost hard not to smile at. The Philistines capture the Ark of the LORD and place it in the temple of Dagon – their god of grain and provision. His name is likely related to dagan, the Hebrew word for grain. But Dagon is quickly shown to be nothing. The very next morning, his statue lies fallen before the Ark. And by the following day, his head and hands are broken off, lying on the threshold (1 Samuel 5:4). His supposed power is exposed as empty.

So much is revealed here. The LORD does not bow to idols. Dagon cannot speak, cannot act, cannot stand. It is a sad moment for the Philistines – but more is coming than the symbolic fall of their god. As they keep the Ark, the LORD afflicts them with painful tumors. Their trophy of victory becomes a heavy reminder of his sovereignty.

I remember first hearing this described – based on the King James translation – as a case of severe hemorrhoids. Whatever the exact nature of the affliction, it was no minor inconvenience. It may well have been something far more serious, perhaps even a plague, suggested by the offering of golden tumors and rats when they finally send the Ark away.

And yet, when the Ark returns to Israel, even God’s people do not fully understand. They begin to treat it as something of a talisman – a way to secure blessing or protection on their own terms.

That is a danger for us as well. As Paul writes in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked.” He is not a genie to be summoned, nor a power to be managed. He is the Lord – the God of creation, redemption, and judgment.

The men of Beth-shemesh ask the right question: “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God?” It is a question we must also ask. And the answer is not found in anything we bring or control, but in what God himself provides.

We stand before him in humility and faith – with thankful hearts – trusting that this holy God has also shown himself to be gracious, merciful, and faithful. He is not only to be feared, but to be loved and trusted.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.