I know that the titular matchup isn’t even much of a battle and it’s obvious who will win, but bear with me for a bit while I amuse myself. This post was inspired by the following passage from 1 Samuel 4:1b-11:
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Now, besides being an interesting passage of scripture, this offers some useful insight into our Christian lives. It shows us the importance of remaining in God’s will, and not making decisions on our own.
The Israelites failed because they did not consult the Lord before going to battle originally. This cost them four thousand men. But after they suffered this defeat, they did not do the right thing and decide to pray to God to determine His will. Instead, they tried to force God’s will, telling Him what to do by taking His sacred ark of the covenant out on the battlefield. Because of the Israelites’ folly in this matter, they lost twenty thousand more men. This shows the consequences of not seeking God’s favor before committing to a matter.
This passage holds an important truth for us as followers of Christ. Sometimes we feel that we are doing the right thing, which may even be a good thing, but we don’t seek God’s will in the decision. Whether what we are doing is morally right or not, if we don’t understand God’s predetermined will for our lives, our efforts are as fruitless as those of the Israelites.
The Israelites became too confident in themselves and their power instead of trusting in and listening to the word of God. Let us not follow their example, and always try to do the right thing and remain in the will of God.
