1 Samuel 4

The Word of God came to Samuel, and through Samuel the Word came to all Israel.

Did this mean that no tragedy would befall the nation? Far from it. The Lord had already brought a warning to the house of Israel about the trouble that lay ahead. Now that trouble came. Israel was defeated by their oppressors, the two sons of Eli were killed in battle, and the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines. When Eli heard the report of this loss, especially the capture of the ark, he fell over and died.

How was it that the ark was taken into battle at all? The Israelites had suffered a loss before this devastating battle and imagined that their fight against their enemies would go well with the ark on the field. Will the church take a copy of the Bible into battle or some other holy object of the faith? But God is not an object to carry out with us so that we will win our wars.

We are told that Eli trembled for the ark. We know from the prior chapter that He also had a certain reverence for the Word of the Lord. But would he stop sinning? His sons were there in battle with the ark and with the shouts of religious confidence in the Lord from all the soldiers when that holy place of God's presence came into the camp. But would they repent of their wickedness? The kind of deliverance that we need cannot be accomplished by a religious symbol or even by an outward hearing of the true Word of God. We need something more. We need to hear the Word deeply in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.

After His atoning death and His powerful resurrection, Jesus granted us a gift of great power, His Spirit. When the people heard Peter's preaching at Pentecost, they were cut to the heart by the Spirit of God. They knew that they had put to death the Lord of glory. What could they do now? The apostle spoke a Word of hope, a Word of repentance and faith, a Word of promise and grace to all who would call upon the Name of the Lord, a Word of the gift of the Holy Spirit that brought deliverance to thousands that day.

We don't want to hear a Word and then fall over dead. We want to hear a Word of faith, receive it, and live with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Why can't that be our experience? This is the will of God for us, our sanctification. Christ has done everything necessary for us to walk in life, granting us new birth from above and the daily blessing of receiving Him and following His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. This is of far greater worth than anything that we could pick up and carry in our hands.

Jesus is in you, the hope of glory. Ask and you will receive. Receive and follow this true Word. His Name is above every name. In His salvation, the glory of the Lord has not departed from the church, but has settled upon the people of God. Why should He not dwell richly within us now? Why should He not bring deliverance to those who live too often in darkness and despair?