Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
The Ark's Return
Stories from the Old Testament offer timeless wisdom that continues to shape our understanding of God today. The ancient account of the Ark of the Covenant's capture in 1 Samuel reveals profound truths about God's nature and our relationship with Him that remain startlingly relevant.
When Israel suffered defeat against the Philistines, they made a critical error in judgment – treating the sacred Ark of the Covenant as little more than a good luck charm they could deploy at will. . For seven months, the Philistines learned through suffering what happens when the true God is mocked or treated as a mere object to be manipulated.
This powerful narrative teaches us that God isn't a cosmic vending machine to be accessed only when we need something. What false gods might we be placing before the true God in our own lives? Where have we attempted to manipulate divine power rather than submit to divine will? Take five minutes today to reflect on these questions, and join me again tomorrow as we continue finding wisdom for modern living through ancient truth.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. In my personal devotional time, I've been reading through the Old Testament and I recently began the book of 1 Samuel. Now I need to tell you I really love the Old Testament. I love the stories, I love the characters, I love the way God worked. It just amazes me what these people went through and how God was so faithful and powerful in their lives. Even when they messed up themselves, god was there for them and I really enjoy it. It really speaks to me, it encourages me. I love the Old Testament. Well, in 1 Samuel there's a story that takes place in chapter 4 and chapter 5. Let me just tell you about it.
Speaker 1:Israel as a nation spent much of their time at war with the people around them, and one of their most common adversaries were the Philistines. They fought them many, many times. Well, in chapter 4, israel had just lost a battle to the Philistines. So they said to themselves well, let's go get the Ark of the Covenant and bring it with us. And if the Ark of the Covenant is with us, that means God is with us, and surely we can't lose the battle. So they went and brought the Ark of the Covenant to where they were. The problem was, when they went to battle, Israel lost. And not only did they lose the battle, they lost the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines captured it. In chapter 5, verse 1, it says this After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.
Speaker 1:They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. Now, let me just stop there for a moment. Dagon was the Philistine god, and by bringing the Ark of God or the Ark of the Covenant into Dagon's temple and placing it beside Dagon, they were stating that Dagon was the superior god. And in chapter 5, verse 3, it carries on. But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, dagon had fallen on his face into the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. Dagon had fallen on his face into the ground in front of the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him up in his place again, but the next morning the same thing happened. Dagon had fallen face down before the ark of the Lord again, and this time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.
Speaker 1:The God of Israel was not to be trifled with or be made to look less than any other god, and so, when the Ark of the Covenant was in Dagon's temple, god destroyed Dagon, but he didn't stop there. Verse 6 tells us this. Then the Lord's heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. The story goes on to tell us that the people of Ashdod, they became so terrified of God that they sent the Ark of the Covenant to Gath, but there God also inflicted that city with tumors. So the people of Gath took it to Ekron, and when the Ark arrived at Ekron, the people were in a complete panic and they had to figure out some way to send the Ark back to the people of Israel so that they wouldn't become afflicted and infected with the problem. The scripture tells us that the Ark of the Covenant, this Ark of God, stayed in the Philistine country for seven months and all during that time there were tumors that were brought upon the Philistine people and then finally, it was returned to Israel.
Speaker 1:To me, that's one of the great stories of the Old Testament. It tells us that you can't play games with God. God is not some good luck charm that you can ignore and then bring him out when you need to, and neither can he be manipulated or toyed with. The Philistines thought that having the Ark of the Covenant with them meant that they would now have God's favor, that they would be able to use this power, this mighty power that this Ark of the Covenant had shown. But they didn't realize how much the mocking of Israelite's God by bringing him before Dagon would really upset God. The story really speaks to us about how great God is, how powerful God is. He deserves not only our obedience and our love, but he deserves our respect.
Speaker 1:And throughout the Bible we are told to do something very specific. We're told to fear the Lord. And to fear the Lord means that you are in awe of His power, that you are actually afraid to be outside of His will and of His covering, because away from Him there can be no blessings working in your life. Proverbs 1.7 says Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge. Our relationship with God must be based upon an understanding that he is this almighty, all-powerful God who loves us, who works in us and through us. But he is not to be trifled with, he is not to be mocked. We cannot attempt to manipulate Him to do what we want. We are simply to live in obedience and devotion to Him. I hope you have a great day, my friends. Take care. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for joining us today and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday, right here at Starting Right with Danny Mac.
