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March 25 - Morning
"When the soldiers returned to camp,
the elders of Israel asked,
'Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.'
So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there
with the ark of the covenant of God.
When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came
into the camp, all Israel raised such
a great shout that the ground shook.
Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked,
'What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?'
When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid.
'A god has come into the camp,' they said. 'Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!'
So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent.
The slaughter was very great;
Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and
Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died."
- First Samuel 4:3-11 |
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| The Importance of Knowledge and Obedience |
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The theologically illiterate Israelite elders were confused concerning Israel’s defeat on the battle field. They wondered why the Lord had allowed such a disaster. Because they did not understand the teaching of the Lord and the Lord’s demand for holiness, the elders quickly assumed they did not have the presence of the Lord because the Ark of the Covenant was not with them.
The erroneous theology of the elders led them to send orders to Shiloh to have the Ark brought out of the Tabernacle and into the Israelite’s military camp. Since the Israelite troop's theology was equally confused, the arrival of the Ark brought great hope and emotional energy into the camp of Israel. The troops cheered loudly and the rumbling of the "praise and worship service" resounded through the hill country. The Philistines heard this sound and discovered that the Ark of the God who had destroyed Egypt had come to dwell with the Israelite soldiers. And, the Philistines feared.
Worse than the Israelite’s military defeat was their loss of spiritual insight and wisdom delivered to them by Moses and maintained in the proper execution of the Tabernacle rituals. The Israelites faith in the presence of the Ark and the hope they carried with them into battle was mere vanity since it was based in a false theology and a religion confused with Canaanite theology. Even though the Israelites had the Promises, the Covenants, the Presence of God, the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, they did not know truth and their faith was in a false reality.
The Israelites were defeated and the Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken into the pagan temple of Dagon. Here God would manifest his power without the Israelites. But, the lesson the Israelites were to learn was they could not manifest the power of the Lord without knowing the Lord’s truth and living in obedience to the Lord’s reality. |
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"A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within. He may be known by his warfare as well as by his peace.”
- J. C. Ryle |
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In 2005 there were 81,302 students enrolled in 251 accredited seminaries and theological schools in the United States and Canada. This total number of theological schools included 141 Protestant,
53 non-denominational,
54 Roman Catholic and
3 Orthodox.
(215 or the 251 were
in the USA.) (details) |
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Nacham (Hb) – Repent (Eng) – nacham is the Hebrew word that means “to repent” and “to comfort.” Nacham is used to refer to God changing his mind in response to men’s change of heart or change of action as in Jeremiah 18:8 and Joel 2:13. God changed his mind when Moses interceded in
Exodus 32:12-14. More than sixty times nacham means “comfort” as in Ezekiel 14:23.
In 2 Samuel 12:24 David “comforted” Bathsheba. Forty times nacham means
to repent from sin as in Jeremiah 8:6 and 3:19-20. |
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Greek philosophy, the Gnostics and philosophers such as Origen and Augustine made the text of Scripture fit their Greek worldview (see Paul's struggle with Greek philosophy concerning the physical resurrection in
1 Cor. 15:12-58) For example, Karen Armstrong willing says in Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life,
“Saint Augustine … insisted that scripture taught nothing but charity. Whatever the biblical author may have intended, any passage that seemed to preach hatred and was not conducive to love must be interpreted allegorically and made to speak of charity."
This corrupt worldview of Greek philosophy made a mark on the theology concerning the physical world, eschatology, soteriology, the ordinances, interpretation of scripture and much more. |
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Do I know God's word and obey his commands?
Or, do I treat God like a good luck charm, a magic wand or genie in a bottle?
I will learn God's ways and obey his commands as I trust his presence and
look for his manifestation in my life. |
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"What you have seen with your eyes
do not bring hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you
to shame?"
-Proverbs 25:7-8 |
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Children |
Discernment |
Jobs |
Cambodia |
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| Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening. |
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