2018-12-30T11:00:00-06:00
5:1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.”
13 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.”
7:1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the LORD. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
How would you describe the message of Christmas? The birth of Jesus is such a significant event that God’s word gives us many ways to comprehend the incomprehensible. The Word became flesh. The light shines in the darkness. The Savior is born. The promised Messiah has come. God has sent good news of great joy. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul reaches into the language of riches and poverty to help us see another angle of the Incarnation. The Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, for our sake became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich. If we understand the reality and gravity of sin, we should not be surprised that God is rich and we are poor. What separates Christianity from every other approach to life is the shocking statement that follows: Jesus Christ voluntary became poor so that we might become rich in Him. As the hymn highlights, our King was “rich beyond all splendor”, “God beyond all praising”, and “love beyond all telling”. But “all for love’s sake” He became poor. Do we see God as “rich beyond all splendor” and ourselves as poor by comparison?
We are like young children trying to grasp the monetary system. Children don’t really have a concept for currency. The difference between $1, $100, $10,000, and $1,000,000 is lost on them—which is why you should let them play with your wallet. We struggle to grasp God’s strange accounting. When we’re swimming in the world’s currency and values, we are fish out of water in the King’s economy. Did you know that a person making around $34,000 is in the top 1% of the richest people in the world? Our cultural obsession with worldly riches makes it difficult to appreciate how well many of us are doing. It also makes it difficult to see God’s true riches and our own poverty.
If Paul’s statement of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 8:9 rings hollow, we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. As the Lord graciously reveals our poverty to us, we can pray that His riches will appear all the more impressive to us, too. When we see His riches and our poverty, we also are prepared to be amazed by His love—that He would make Himself poor for our sake. Let’s slow down, take our time, and pray through the questions below. Perhaps one or two will stand out to us and warrant further reflection.
Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for Yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life. (Psalm 139:23-24, The Message)
Lord, are we more impressed with earthly riches than Your riches?
Do we find our identity and value in what we have?
Show us our poverty apart from You.
Lord, are we more focused on material things than relationships?
Do we love work and success and stuff more than we love people?
Show us our poverty apart from You.
Lord, do we ever confess the sin of greed?
Are our lives more about greed or generosity?
Have you given us so much…and it’s still not enough?
Show us our poverty apart from You.
Lord, are we so satisfied with the security that money brings,
that we don’t realize that we depend on you for every meal and every breath?
Are we really successful in the world…and still unsatisfied?
Show us our poverty apart from You.
Lord, as you reveal our true poverty to us, make us poor in spirit. Nothing in our hands we bring; simply to Your cross we cling. We praise You for the riches of grace that are ours in Christ. Help us to see ourselves as You see us. Save us from a life of gaining the whole world and losing our soul. Help us to see the joy of following You, of making ourselves poor that others might become rich in You. May Your lavish generosity make us a generous people. Savior and King, we worship You!