Post on 13-Apr-2017
1 Samuel 51-6 611-16
Worthy
June 19 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson Mississippi
USA
Whatrsquos the number one thing
httpberylloebfileswordpresscom201101one-fingerjpg
The glory of God
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g
1 Corinthians 1031 ESV 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God
http3bpblogspotcom-HdKEr1hZ7iITWY2eWJdLoIAAAAAAAAAgwV0dVLTrGG1gs1600Gloryjpg
First Baptist Church Jackson Mission
Multiply Disciples to Live Like Jesus
June Memory Verse
1 Corinthians 1558 ESV 58 Therefore my beloved brothers be steadfast immovable always abounding
in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain
One Camp June 23-June 27
Pray for the 114 students attending One Camp June 23-June 27
We have students attending who are so close to accepting Christ as their Savior
May Godrsquos Spirit move like never before
Every Wednesday from
06222016 to 08032016
Sunday July 3 1030 am
Sunday July 3 1030 am
ldquoLet Freedom Ringrdquo
Invite people to Sunday School and then attend the Worship Service
Community Service Day
Sunday July 10th
We Love Jackson
Our goal is 700
Register at the Go Center at the Kiosk online or in Sunday School
Sunday - July 17
First Baptist Jackson
at
The Mississippi Braves
500 pm
Tickets available on Sunday June 26th
$500 each
Sunday
httptse2mmbingnetthid=JNYeZK4m9R0ZovA7PRca4vagamppid=151
1 Samuel 84-9 19-22
King
June 26 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson Mississippi
USA
Today
1 Samuel 51-6 611-16
Worthy
Jon Coursons
Application NT Commentary
Jon and Tammy Courson
httpblobAC102410-43B9-4409-B828-3FBA7FEAD7DF
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Ark of the Covenant is a chest 31rdquotimes31rdquotimes52rdquo (lt3rsquoxlt3rsquoxgt4rsquo) gold-plated
acacia wood (shittim wood mimosa same wood as the burning bush)
A golden lid the kapporet (traditionally mercy seat) which is covered with 2
golden cherubim was placed above the Ark
httpcdnisciencetimescomdataimagesfull201401105818-ark-of-the-covenantjpg
When carried the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and
blue cloth always carefully concealed even from the eyes of the priests who
carried it
httpsveritasdomainfileswordpresscom201205uzzahjpg
httplamblioncomimagespublicationsarticlesark_travelmapjpg
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon (father of Baal)
httpuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthumbcc3Dagon1jpg220px-Dagon1jpg
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
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=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
First Baptist Church Jackson Mission
Multiply Disciples to Live Like Jesus
June Memory Verse
1 Corinthians 1558 ESV 58 Therefore my beloved brothers be steadfast immovable always abounding
in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain
One Camp June 23-June 27
Pray for the 114 students attending One Camp June 23-June 27
We have students attending who are so close to accepting Christ as their Savior
May Godrsquos Spirit move like never before
Every Wednesday from
06222016 to 08032016
Sunday July 3 1030 am
Sunday July 3 1030 am
ldquoLet Freedom Ringrdquo
Invite people to Sunday School and then attend the Worship Service
Community Service Day
Sunday July 10th
We Love Jackson
Our goal is 700
Register at the Go Center at the Kiosk online or in Sunday School
Sunday - July 17
First Baptist Jackson
at
The Mississippi Braves
500 pm
Tickets available on Sunday June 26th
$500 each
Sunday
httptse2mmbingnetthid=JNYeZK4m9R0ZovA7PRca4vagamppid=151
1 Samuel 84-9 19-22
King
June 26 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson Mississippi
USA
Today
1 Samuel 51-6 611-16
Worthy
Jon Coursons
Application NT Commentary
Jon and Tammy Courson
httpblobAC102410-43B9-4409-B828-3FBA7FEAD7DF
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Ark of the Covenant is a chest 31rdquotimes31rdquotimes52rdquo (lt3rsquoxlt3rsquoxgt4rsquo) gold-plated
acacia wood (shittim wood mimosa same wood as the burning bush)
A golden lid the kapporet (traditionally mercy seat) which is covered with 2
golden cherubim was placed above the Ark
httpcdnisciencetimescomdataimagesfull201401105818-ark-of-the-covenantjpg
When carried the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and
blue cloth always carefully concealed even from the eyes of the priests who
carried it
httpsveritasdomainfileswordpresscom201205uzzahjpg
httplamblioncomimagespublicationsarticlesark_travelmapjpg
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon (father of Baal)
httpuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthumbcc3Dagon1jpg220px-Dagon1jpg
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Sunday July 3 1030 am
ldquoLet Freedom Ringrdquo
Invite people to Sunday School and then attend the Worship Service
Community Service Day
Sunday July 10th
We Love Jackson
Our goal is 700
Register at the Go Center at the Kiosk online or in Sunday School
Sunday - July 17
First Baptist Jackson
at
The Mississippi Braves
500 pm
Tickets available on Sunday June 26th
$500 each
Sunday
httptse2mmbingnetthid=JNYeZK4m9R0ZovA7PRca4vagamppid=151
1 Samuel 84-9 19-22
King
June 26 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson Mississippi
USA
Today
1 Samuel 51-6 611-16
Worthy
Jon Coursons
Application NT Commentary
Jon and Tammy Courson
httpblobAC102410-43B9-4409-B828-3FBA7FEAD7DF
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Ark of the Covenant is a chest 31rdquotimes31rdquotimes52rdquo (lt3rsquoxlt3rsquoxgt4rsquo) gold-plated
acacia wood (shittim wood mimosa same wood as the burning bush)
A golden lid the kapporet (traditionally mercy seat) which is covered with 2
golden cherubim was placed above the Ark
httpcdnisciencetimescomdataimagesfull201401105818-ark-of-the-covenantjpg
When carried the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and
blue cloth always carefully concealed even from the eyes of the priests who
carried it
httpsveritasdomainfileswordpresscom201205uzzahjpg
httplamblioncomimagespublicationsarticlesark_travelmapjpg
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon (father of Baal)
httpuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthumbcc3Dagon1jpg220px-Dagon1jpg
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Today
1 Samuel 51-6 611-16
Worthy
Jon Coursons
Application NT Commentary
Jon and Tammy Courson
httpblobAC102410-43B9-4409-B828-3FBA7FEAD7DF
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Ark of the Covenant is a chest 31rdquotimes31rdquotimes52rdquo (lt3rsquoxlt3rsquoxgt4rsquo) gold-plated
acacia wood (shittim wood mimosa same wood as the burning bush)
A golden lid the kapporet (traditionally mercy seat) which is covered with 2
golden cherubim was placed above the Ark
httpcdnisciencetimescomdataimagesfull201401105818-ark-of-the-covenantjpg
When carried the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and
blue cloth always carefully concealed even from the eyes of the priests who
carried it
httpsveritasdomainfileswordpresscom201205uzzahjpg
httplamblioncomimagespublicationsarticlesark_travelmapjpg
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon (father of Baal)
httpuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthumbcc3Dagon1jpg220px-Dagon1jpg
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
When carried the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and
blue cloth always carefully concealed even from the eyes of the priests who
carried it
httpsveritasdomainfileswordpresscom201205uzzahjpg
httplamblioncomimagespublicationsarticlesark_travelmapjpg
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon (father of Baal)
httpuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthumbcc3Dagon1jpg220px-Dagon1jpg
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
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 (hemorrhoids) both Ashdod and its territory
1 Samuel 52-6 ESV
So God struck the Philistines He spanked them ndash with hemorrhoids ndash all of them
Since they wouldnrsquot stand before God now they would not be able to sit before
Dagon
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh 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
1 Samuel 611-13 ESV
httpbiblestudyoutlinesorgwp-contentuploads201207img_309372_9374709_3jpeg
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV 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
1 Samuel 614-16 ESV
The Israelites had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh and in it the Ark of the
Covenant was kept
Joshua used this location as the place where he divided the land for the
Israelites
Shiloh was the major cultic center of Israel before the first Temple was built in
Jerusalem
httpferrelljenkinsfileswordpresscom201307tabernacle_timna_fjenkins082708_958tjpg
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and
set up the tent of meeting there The land lay subdued before them
10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord And there Joshua
apportioned the land to the people of Israel to each his portion
Joshua 181 and 10 ESV
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Joshua 1951 ESV 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun
and the heads of the fathers houses of the tribes of the people of Israel
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting
So they finished dividing the land
Joshua 1951 ESV
Shiloh is located in the hill country about 30 miles north of Jerusalem
The Ark remained at Shiloh for a few hundred years (369 years) through most of
the time period that we know as the ldquoperiod of the judgesrdquo
Shiloh is where Samuel grew up
bull When Samuel was born Hannah his mother promised to give the child
back to God
bull When Samuel was old enough she took him to live with Eli who lived in
Shiloh
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
(1093 BC at Shiloh in the temple)
2 At that time Eli whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not
see was lying down in his own place 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was
1 Samuel 32-3 ESV
httpwwwgodsoutreachministryintorgSamuelHearsVoiceOfGod1JPG
In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark was taken from Shiloh to a battle against the Philistines at
Ebenezer
This decision turned out to be a bad one because the Ark was captured by the
Philistines at Aphek
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
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r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
When the news of this reached Eli who was an old man by this time he fell off
his chair in the gate of the city of Shiloh and died
The Ark never returned to Shiloh again
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines They encamped at
Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek 2 The Philistines drew up in
line against Israel and when the battle spread Israel was defeated before the
Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle 3 And when
the people came to the camp the elders of Israel said ldquoWhy has the Lord
defeated us today before the Philistines Let us bring the ark of the covenant of
the Lord here from Shiloh that it may come among us and save us from the
power of our enemiesrdquo 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts Who is enthroned on the cherubim
1 Samuel 41-4a ESV
That was their big mistake looking unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of looking unto the Lord
When we look to an ldquoitrdquo (a program a procedure a discipline) it leads to a
defeat
This is the key
Are we going to read ldquoitrdquo (read the Bible in a year) or go to a place (the church
building) to find victory
Both of those are a means unto an end not the end itself
The end itself is God (John 1)
It is God Who brings about victory
The Bible and church are to be vehicles for us to come into His presence to talk
with Him and to hear from Him not just a box to check off
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
They had a box the ark of the covenant and they were looking unto ldquoitrdquo instead
of looking unto Him
http3bpblogspotcom_jUfLW3zpeE8SptDWy1aG-IAAAAAAAAAiozBkUH_ipxTss400Looking+Unto+Jesuspng
1 Samuel 410-11a ESV 10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and they fled every man to
his home And there was a very great slaughter for thirty thousand foot soldiers
of Israel fell 11a And the ark of God was captured
They looked unto an ldquoitrdquo instead of unto God and they lost 30000 men that day
in addition to losing ldquoitrdquo
The victory is in our relationship with Him not in the vehicle that brings us into His
presence
Check with the Lord donrsquot just check the box
httpwwwspecialeducationadvisorcomwp-contentuploads201203check-the-box-e1333060260467jpg
Todayrsquos text
1 Samuel 51
1 Samuel 51 ESV
The Philistines and the Ark
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
The Philistines were a mighty enemy of Israel much more of a threat than the
Amalekites were
It would have been more like having the USSR as an enemy than just some local
border skirmish
Ebenezer and Ashdod were two of the five major Philistine cities
Each one of those cities had its own ruler
1 Samuel 52 ESV 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon
and set it up beside Dagon
Dagon was an idol that the Philistines worshiped and considered him to be the
father of Baal
Dagonrsquos upper half was human and his lower half was a fish
1 Samuel 53 ESV 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
They came in the next morning to the scene ldquoHelp Irsquove fallen and canrsquot get uprdquo
And they said ldquoDag gone it how did this happenrdquo
They hit the reset button
Isnrsquot that a sad story that people choose a god who canrsquot even get up by himself
over the Living God that created them and this fantastic universe
http3bpblogspotcom-_IFOVkaLlWwUlbqaLyN9aIAAAAAAAAALQPwwxNE7dXsIs1600slide-12-creator-godjpg
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV 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 (the
fishy part) 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
1 Samuel 54-5 ESV
When they saw this the second day they said ldquoWait a minute this ainrsquot right
Something is fishy is going on hererdquo
The truth is that Dagon could not stand in the presence of the Lord
Exodus 203-6 ESV 3 ldquoYou shall have no other gods before Me
4 ldquoYou shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything
that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the water
under the earth (fish) 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My
commandments
Exodus 203-6 ESV
They should have admitted right then and there that Dagon was no god at all
and repented and turned to the One True God but instead they chose to honor
the spot where Dagonrsquos head quit rolling ndash the threshold
Why try to justify and honor a so-called god who just lost his head and couldnrsquot
even take care of himself
httpwwwhcsharvardedu~ichthuswordpresswp-contentuploads201311dagon2jpg
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
People are enticed by Satan to make up religious systems that enable them to
live the immoral lives that they want to live
httprepresentationsofantiquityfileswordpresscom201202passion-3png
They knew Dagon was no real god but they wanted to indulge their flesh so they
kept this god alive in their minds and in their culture
They wanted to do what their flesh wanted to do
Romans 122-25 ESV 22 Claiming to be wise they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and
creeping things
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves 25 because they exchanged the
truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator Who is blessed forever Amen
Romans 122-25 ESV
Even though evolution is a weak lie it is an effective lie because people want an
alternative to God being our Creator
When you believe in a Creator you are responsible to Him and subject to living
the way He wants you to live
But many people want to live life on their terms not on His terms
The Philistinesrsquo god was powerless Dagon had lost his head yet they chose to
honor the spot where his head quit rolling rather than to honor the True and
Living God
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Idols in your heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple
http4bpblogspotcom-p-pm8JKaO0ET96M9gBEuSIAAAAAAAAWJQxSV5P-5Vchgs1600idols-of-the-heart+(1)jpg
Pastor Tim Keller describes idolatry as ldquoturning a good thing into an ultimate
thing
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPMa9000a1da94409a3423f054e2c077559o2ampw=217amph=299ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0ampr
=0
Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues we in the West usually
commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that
we canrsquot live without
This might happen with technology (iPhone) relationships money comforts
possessions etc
Such an act is evil because you and I were made to worship the one true Living
God of the Bible
Idolatry is an act of rebellion and anarchy against our Creatorndashit is telling God
that I refuse to worship You even though You created me for this very purpose
Itrsquos also self-destructive as these false gods only enslave us and lead to our
ultimate ruin and death
A good way to know this is happening is to ask yourself Am I trusting in (fill in the
blank) rather than God for my lsquohope and happiness significance and securityrsquordquo
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Consider getting Kellerrsquos book
httpcdn2-
bexaminercomsitesdefaultfilesstylesimage_content_widthhash2b292b291226f8eeebb14d7c4e757f2a9543jpgit
ok=KRaE6jxJ
20 Idol Crushing Questions to Diagnose Heart Idols
by Tim Keller says JA Medders --
ldquoLife only has meaningI only have worth ifhellip
1 I have power and influence over othersrdquo (Power Idolatry)
2 I am loved and respected by _____rdquo (Approval Idolatry)
3 I have this kind of pleasure experience a particular quality of liferdquo
(Comfort idolatry)
4 I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____rdquo (Control
Idolatry)
5 people are dependent on me and need merdquo (Helping Idolatry)
6 someone is there to protect me and keep me saferdquo (Dependence
Idolatry)
7 I am completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of
someonerdquo (Independence idolatry)
8 I am highly productive and getting a lot donerdquo (Work idolatry)
9 I am being recognized for my accomplishments and I am excelling in my
workrdquo (Achievement idolatry)
10 I have a certain level of wealth financial freedom and very nice
possessionsrdquo (Materialism idolatry)
11 I am adhering to my religionrsquos moral codes and accomplished in its
activitiesrdquo (Religion idolatry)
12 this one person is in my life and happy to be there andor happy with
merdquo (Individual person idolatry)
13 I feel I am totally independent of organized religion and am living by a
self-made moralityrdquo (Irreligion idolatry)
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
14 my race and culture is ascendant and recognized as superiorrdquo
(Racialcultural idolatry)
15 a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group lets
me inrdquo (Inner ring idolatry)
16 my children andor my parents are happy and happy with merdquo (Family
idolatry)
17 Mr or Ms ldquoRightrdquo is in love with merdquo (Relationship Idolatry)
18 I am hurting in a problem only then do I feel worthy of love or able to
deal with guiltrdquo (Suffering idolatry)
19 my political or social cause is making progress and ascending in
influence or powerrdquo (Ideology idolatry)
20 I have a particular kind of look or body imagerdquo (Image idolatry)
On page 176 of his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller says ldquoWe think wersquove
learned about grace set our idols aside and reached a place where wersquore
serving God not for what wersquore going to get from Him but for Who He is Therersquos a
certain sense in which we spend our entire lives thinking wersquove reached the
bottom of our hearts and finding it is a false bottom Mature Christians are not
people who have completely hit the bedrock I do not believe that is possible in
this life Rather they are people who know how to keep drilling and are getting
closer and closerrdquo
Tim Keller
Prayer ldquoFather keep my hart teachable May I never stop drilling but spend my
whole life shedding the things that get in the way of Yourdquo
http1bpblogspotcom-bz3oRReRDxIUhlw6DwnYBIAAAAAAAAAqUsA6SNWTzmdcs16002jpg
1 Samuel 56 ESV 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
The men of Ashdod said ldquoThis isnrsquot working out this has not ended well Our
affliction is problematic we are not in a comfortable situation so somebody has
got to gordquo So they decided to go with the fishy one the headless god Dagon
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
The key should have been to focus on God not on their problem
Bring the Lordrsquos peace into your life when you are faced with a difficulty focus
on Him not on the difficulty
Bring the Ark (God) in and watch Dagon fall
Bring God into the picture and watch Dagon go down see Godrsquos victory
triumph
1 Samuel 58 - What shall we do with the Ark Letrsquos send it to Gath But they got
spanked in Gath too
1 Samuel 510 - Ekron also - 3 of the 5 Philistine cities got the ark and they all
said ldquoWe got to get rid of this thingrdquo
Instead of turning to the Lord when He spanked them they turned their backs on
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him
Sad to say we often do likewise
1 Samuel 61-2 - The Ark had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months
and they said ldquoThis thing is a pain in the drain how do we get rid of itrdquo
The priests told them ndash ldquoDonrsquot return it emptyrdquo
The men then asked ldquoWhat shall the trespass offering berdquo
The answer was ldquoFive golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden micerdquo
Five golden tumors (hemorrhoids) and five golden mice
Five because that equaled the number of the lords of the Philistines
Mice because they may have been the vector that transmitted the disease
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
The lost see God as a pain in their rears and they want to send Him away
They want to get Him out of their culture just as the Philistines did not want to
deal with the reason for their disease and difficulties
They wanted relief but they did not want to get to the bottom of the disease
The same is true of the US today people want God out of our culture out of our
government out of our schools out of our marketplaces
They donrsquot want the mass shootings and terrorism that comes when God
removes His hand of protection the pain ndash but they do not want to do what it
takes to bring God back into their culture
1 Samuel 6 7 ndash New cart two nursing cows that had never been yoked
1 Samuel 69 ndash If they go to Israel then God had a hand in this if not then all this
was by chance This test was set up against God so the outcome would be
supernatural ndash holy cows
1 Samuel 611-12 ESV 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice
and the images of their tumors 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway lowing as they went They turned neither to
the right nor to the left and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as
the border of Beth-shemesh
The cows took the road straight to Israel lowing all the way ndash they did not turn to
the left nor to the right
The Philistines utterly ignored this supernatural outcome
Jon Courson said that he had to milk these analogies for all they were worth
httpbibleencyclopediacompicturesjpegArk_returns_1168-36jpg
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
1 Samuel 613 ESV 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
Verse 13 ndash Beth-shemesh in the month of June the Israelites rejoiced greatly ndash in
the field of Joshua during the wheat harvest they took the wood from the cart
and offered the cows (female animals were not to be sacrificed)
1 Samuel 616 ESV 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it they returned that day to Ekron
Verse 16 ndash Watched at a distance and returned to Palestine ndash one ruler for each
of the five cities (represented by the golden emrod) and the gold mice
(represented each of the rulers over that city)
Verse 19 ndash The Lord smote Beth-shemesh because they looked in the ark
Who is able to stand before the holy Lord
30000 slain in battle and now 50070 more slain ndash a great slaughter
This was Horrific price for removing the mercy seat
They looked inside to see if the law was still there
Donrsquot attempt to remove mercy from the law
You canrsquot remove mercy from the equation
It will kill you if you try to remove Godrsquos mercy from His plan
It will rob you of your joy
Your joy will be killed
Be careful
We all know it brings misery and depression and sadness of soul
The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew word kapporeth
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar which is often considered to mean
cover the literal meaning of kaphar however is wipe out implying that
kapporeth means thing of wiping outthing of cleansing
The ark and mercy seat were associated with the presence of Yahweh
httptse1mmbingnetthampid=OIPM30600e211a2bf6e1b9ecb7e80deeabd8o0ampw=299amph=224ampc=0amppid=19amprs=0ampp=0amp
r=0
The Yom Kippur ritual was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 101)
The continual sacrifice for sin became obsolete once Jesus had died
Exodus 2518 KJV
And thou shalt make two angels of gold of beaten work shalt thou make them
in the two ends of the mercy seat
John 2012 KJV
And seeth two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the
feet where the body of Jesus had lain
Genesis 4910 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be
Jesus replaced the Ark of the Covenant with Gods New Covenant because the
Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or
during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC
In anticipation of the Arks disappearance the prophet Jeremiah wrote
Jeremiah 316 KJV
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those
days saith the LORD they shall say no more the ark of the covenant of the LORD
neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it
neither shall that be done any more
Jeremiah 316 KJV
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Even before Jesus Jeremiahs prophecy revealed that there would be no more
need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future
God had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His
Son Jesus Christ
Even though sin has been forgiven and washed away we still try to say ldquoYeah
but what they did to me was really badrdquo
Forget about it
Jesus paid for it keep mercy over the law ndash even if the law was broken and your
heart was broken ndash yoursquoll never win by trying to remove the mercy
Jesus went on to say in Luke 6 ldquoHow you show mercy to others is the same
degree and it is given to you when you need mercyrdquo
Put a lid on it
It is merciful to neutralize these terrorist and mass murderers
Mercy requires it
With each person that they kill they are digging a deeper hole for themselves in
Hell
Jesus said ndash Some are beaten with a few stripes and some are beaten with many
stripes
There are degrees in Hell
You are doing a murderer a favor by stopping him from killing others
It is not a vindictive action because he is damaging himself and others - so it is
an act of mercy
God was merciful when He said to Joshua ldquoI want you to destroy every
Canaanite in the landrdquo because God had given the Canaanites 400 years to
repent and they didnrsquot and wouldnrsquot
Their culture had become so polluted by sin by deviant sexual activity that they
were doomed and damned and needed to be taken out
Thatrsquos mercy
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
If a rabid dog entered your house and attacked your children the merciful thing
to do would be to kill the dog
He was dying anyway and there is no reason to allow him to harm your family
It is not right to allow certain things to continue
That is why God will take an errant Christian home to Heaven when he is
attacking Godrsquos man (the pastor) or hindering Godrsquos work
The Israelites knew that God did not want them to look in the law because He
always wants mercy covering the law
He never wants mercy lifted off nor set aside
He always wants mercy to be covering the law
They lifted the lid and died that day
As a matter of fact 50070 died that day
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV 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
1 Samuel 71-2 ESV
Everyone feared the ark
They had heard what happened to the Philistines and they had seen what it did
to the men of Beth-shemesh and they were very cautious
They had the fear of the Lord something that is lacking in our culture today
God is love and good and grace and merciful but He is also awesome
They knew that He must be respected and deeply revered and that is the place
that they were in
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
Samuel Judges Israel
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel ldquoIf you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among
you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistinesrdquo 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals
and the Ashtaroth and they served the Lord only
1 Samuel 73-4 ESV
God told them to get rid of the other gods and He would deliver them from the
Philistines
If there ever was a verse that we need today it is this one
If we want to be free from the terror of our enemies the key is to serve the Lord
only
The USA is now celebrating plurality when it comes to gods
We now say ldquoAny god any religion it is OK since we are unitedrdquo
It is politically correct but it breaks Godrsquos heart and it should break our hearts
also
The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob was the God that the pilgrims relied on
and it was never a question of Who God was - but that is not true today
Jesus clearly stated
John 146 ESV 6 ldquoI am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except
through Merdquo
The extremist of other faiths and their radical actions cause the world to lump
dedicated Christians who believe that Jesus is the only way into the same
category
Satan wants us to backpedal and give in to the ldquomodern thoughtrdquo
Political correctness puts pressure on us to capitulate to not be so exclusive
Satan would love to get us to deny what Jesus said so clearly ldquoI am the only
wayrdquo
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
The lesson here in 1 Samuel is if you want Godrsquos blessing you must put away all
other gods and serve the Lord only
The sin of Israel was not in turning their back on God but in adding other gods to
the land
End Jon Courson
The Plan of Hope amp Salvation
John 316 ESV 16 ldquoFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal liferdquo
John 146 ESV 6 Jesus said to him ldquoI am the way and the truth and the life No one comes to
the Father except through merdquo
Romans 323 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 623a ESV 23a For the wages of sin is death
Death in this life (the first death) is 100
Even Jesus the one who doesnrsquot deserve death died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins
The death referred to in Romans 623a is the second death explained in
Revelation 218
Revelation 218 ESV 8 ldquoBut as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the
sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second deathrdquo
Romans 623b ESV 23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 58 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact
Revelation 217 ESV 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will
be my sonrdquo
Romans 109-10 explains to us how to be conquerors
Romans 109-10 ESV 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 1013 ESV 13 For ldquoeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedrdquo
If you have questions or would like to know more please contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or httpfirstbaptistjacksonorgcontact