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DAILY WORD

3/11/23

10. Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.

11. The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.

1 Samuel 7: 10–11 NLT

Today’s Passage shows us what it looks like when God spreads His Wings of Protection over His people. To set up what happens in Today’s Passage, let’s do a quick review and see what has occurred to bring the Israelites to this point.

Eli, the priest of the day, had allowed his sons to corrupt the Sacrifice that God instituted to cover the people from the myriad dangers lurking around every corner in The Promised Land. Not only did they have to fear attack from the many enemies that surrounded them on literally every side, but they also had to deal with their propensity toward adopting the false idols their enemies worshiped.

You’d have figured the Israelites would have understood the devastating consequences of such rampant idolatry, but even given repeated warnings, the recalcitrant Israelites violated this particular Law repeatedly. Considering the catastrophic results, you’d think they’d have gotten the point. Not so!

Alright, so this time, it was the priests who were the catalyst for the people’s lapsed Protection, and as the Israelite army arrayed against their historical enemy, The Philistines, they suffered a devastating defeat. But that was not enough for them. They did not repent; they doubled down.

The people called the very priests that had violated God’s Law, dragging them into this situation in the first place, to bring The Ark of The covenant to the battlefield to bolster their flagging courage. It didn’t work! In fact, it seems God doubled down too.

The Israelite’s second defeat was far worse than the first, and what’s more, The Philistines captured The Ark. But what seemed like a victory for The Philistines turned out to be one of their most humbling losses. The Philistines gave their god, Dagon, the glory for their victory, not realizing it was the One True God who handed them their success.

To illustrate His Power and Dagon’s lack thereof, God tormented The Philistines until they returned The Ark, but they watched the Israelites closely to see what happened next. Well, what happened is that The Ark remained in the household of an ordinary farmer for over twenty years, prospering their family for their proximity to God’s Presence.

But in the two decades The Ark was absent from the Tabernacle, the Israelites devolved into degenerate idol worship to the degree that their new priest and judge, young Samuel called their entire congregation together as one nation and pleaded with them to repent.

They finally saw the error of their ways and did indeed atone for their sins, and Samuel performed his duties as their priest, reinstating God’s Protection through blood sacrifice. And, of course, the moment they perceived the Israelite’s redemption, The Philistines returned in force.

They did not want their enemies to prosper, so they thought to attack them before they could do the same to them. But this time, God heard the Israelite’s cry because Samuel interceded on their behalf, just like Jesus does when we repent and call on His Name!

And here’s what happened, God fought for the Israelites that day! They didn’t have to lift a finger to defeat their enemy, who last time they faced them, totally overwhelmed them. But that time, the Israelites did not have God’s Protection; this time, they did, and we see what happened!

Today’s Lesson is to NEVER go into battle (or anywhere else for that matter) without God’s Protection. If He’s got your back, you’re good no matter what. But if you don’t and you go in to fight without His Protection…good luck!

We can bank on winning every fight we ever engage in if we will only prepare properly. And if it has to be said, the Proper Preparation is to be under God’s Protection! With God at your back, you have nothing to fear because we serve the kind of God that likes to make a statement, and that statement is Power! There is no other place you can stand in the midst of Death and know True Peace.

Nothing can touch you if God has your back. In fact, you might not even have to lift a finger as He tears through whatever foes dare stand against you. But it was never you. It was always Him. Do not turn from Him, that’s throwing away your Protection, and that is never a good idea!

Have a Spectacular Saturday And Walk Protected, Or Walk Alone!

#dailyword