1 Samuel 4

So I decided to start reading 1 Samuel to Frank at the breakfast table each morning. We are on the fourth chapter today, and each day, I have been moved by the words. I have been noting especially how much more I related to Eli's "worthless" sons than I want to. When the Israelites would come to worship the Lord at Shiloh, the priests (Eli's sons) would always take the choicest parts of the meat offering for themselves. They were getting fat off of the gifts meant for God. And when the Israelites were losing in battle with the Philistines, it was Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas who brought the Ark of the Covenant down to the battlefield. They knew the power of God, but they didn't revere him. It is such a picture of how I sometimes live my life. I know the mighty power of God, but my sin nature still wants all the best for me.

Well, I don't have to tell you what happens to Hophni and Phineas. They don't ever come home from the battlefield. And even though the mighty Ark of the Lord was at the battle, the Lord let the Israelites loose and the Ark to be captured. What of old Eli the 98 year old priest? He had served as a Israel's judge for 40 years, but he wasn't able to discipline his own sons. When he heard that the Ark had been captured, he fell off his chair, broke his neck and died. The Lord did not take their lack of reverence lightly.

What does he think now of me? I have every comfort that I could ever need or want, yet I want more. I have been blessed with an amazing family, wonderful friends, good health, and awesome children. Yet I still want more for me. I want the praise and respect for the good things that God has done. Eli's sons had their eyes on themselves, too. They probably thought that they would march into the battle with the Ark of the Covenant and be the big shot heroes. But God is holy and that is what they forgot. He knew that they did not revere Him, and he would not bless their selfish motives.

I am thankful today for grace.

Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redeption that is in Christ Jesus"

I am thankful that he walked in our shoes and knew the temptations we face. He knew our hunger and our desires to be self-important, and he had compassion on us. He didn't condone our sins, but he died for us to be free from them.
So simple and so complex.