I Samuel – 1
Sunday, January 24, 2010
When All Else Fails
(I Samuel 4:1-5)
Even among Christians there is the strange tendency to apply for help from sources other than God. Rather than being the first line of defense, prayer—for many—is a “last resort,” something we do when all human resources have failed.
Israel had a history of appealing to sources other than Jehovah for her help. In today’s reading, we find the armies of Israel reeling from a stunning defeat. Rather than appeal to the Lord Himself, the faithless leaders blamed Him and then decided that what they really needed was an amulet, a “good luck” charm (3). Without further adieu, the people unceremoniously retrieved the ark from Shiloah (4).
That the “elders” were directly involved in these shenanigans seems surprising at first. The spiritual temperature of all of Israel’s leaders, however, had waned very low. Though the elders knew better, they apparently adopted the popular thinking, and—pressured by the people—led the chase after religious relics while studiously ignoring the Lord Himself. In essence, the old-time religion had been exchanged for mere religious objects—in and of themselves powerless to deliver.
And so it is today. The contemporary church heedlessly chases after the religious baubles of pop psychology and emergent church idolatry, seeking its power and deliverance from every conceivable source—except the Lord.
Perhaps when we find ourselves losing the battle, we would do well to avoid the temptation of the “quick fix,” and to repent—returning again to Him from “whom all blessings flow.”
