Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Philistines Defeat Israel

Transcript

The Philistines Defeat Israel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: the ark of God is taken. 1 Samuel 4.22 Lord,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: through the power of this text I can see the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: message that you are speaking to me. I will not
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: allow myself to become complacent and smug in the calling
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: that you entrusted me with. When your hand of provision
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: sweeps over into my life, I will make sure to
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: mind my duties and stay committed and faithful to the
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: task you've called me to accomplish. I will remain alert
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: in my life and in my calling, so that the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: spirit of familiarity that Hofni and Phineas had for your
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Ark and your presence won't rest on me. I confess
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: that your presence is my priority. In the midst of
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: battles and circumstances, I will not abandon your presence. I
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: will not allow the enemy to separate me from you
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: and your covering. When you are with me, no opposition
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: can stand against me, because where you are, victory is.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Today I will cherish and protect my walk with you, Lord,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: because I know that with you by my side, I
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: am covered on all sides. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: The Philistines defeat Israel. In our last story, we learned
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: about the rise of Samuel. In contrast to Eli's son's,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Samuel was attentive to the voice of God. He served
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: the Lord and his people selflessly and was chosen by
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: God to guide Israel in a period of darkness and uncertainty.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about the Philistines re-emerging as
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: a threat to Israel. They take Israel's most prized possession,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines quickly learn that
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: even though the Israelites are weak, their God is not
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: to be trifled with. Inspired by the book of 1 Samuel.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our last reading, we heard the story
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: of how Hannah prayed for a child and promised God
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: to give her son back to him to serve God
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: his whole life. God granted Hannah's request and she gave
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: birth to Samuel. When Samuel was old enough, Hannah took
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: him to Eli the priest to raise him in the
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: temple as a servant of the Lord. Samuel grew up
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: knowing God and serving him, unlike Eli's own son. When
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: he was still young, God spoke to Samuel, telling him
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: that a new priesthood would be established. Samuel was to
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: be God's chosen man to lead Israel in a whole
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: new era. Today we'll see a familiar foe rising up
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: against Israel. The Philistines are once again a thorn, a
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: terrible pain in the side of Israel. Israel will call
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: upon God's presence, taking the Ark of the Covenant into battle.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: But it will be carried by Eli's sons, and we'll
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: see how God's judgment against these two wicked men would
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: cost the entire nation dearly and lead to the loss
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: of their most sacred symbol. Let's listen now to today's reading.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: The guidance of Samuel comforted the children of Israel. His
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: wisdom and closeness to God brought them great relief, for
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: they had been far from God for too long. His
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: words brought life, and the light of God's love was
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: slowly replacing the shadows that hovered over their hearts. Yet
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: a darkness was still present on the outskirts of Israel.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Miles away, the horde of Philistines lurked in the shadows
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: like a pack of wolves. They waited patiently for the
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: perfect moment to strike the sheep of Israel. The Philistines
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: approached the wilderness outside Israel and postured themselves in provocation.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Israel accepted their challenge and marched as one army against
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the Philistine menace. Israel camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: camped a little ways away at Aphek. Like tidal waves
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: against a lost ship, the Philistines crashed upon the armies
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: of Israel. The battle spread in many directions, and Israel
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: was tossed to and fro. Four thousand Israelite soldiers were crushed, stabbed,
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: and strangled under the hot Middle Eastern sun. Israel ran
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: for their lives, retreating back to a safe place to strategize.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: The Israelite elders writhed, dumbfounded that they would be defeated
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: so easily.' Why has God done this?' they shouted. Then
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: the elders remembered the stories of old, how Joshua brought
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: forth the Ark of the Covenant before the Jordan River
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: and the walls of Jericho.' They smiled and spoke again, saying,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: We must bring forth the Ark of the Covenant. If
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: God is before us, we shall have power over our enemies.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: The elders' intentions were pure and their ideas were sound,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: yet they overlooked the most important detail of all. The
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: sons of Eli were in charge of the Ark. The
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: two wicked priests, Hophni and Phinehas, were the overseers of
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant, and God had vowed to
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: destroy them for their wickedness. Ram's horns sounded in the distance.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: The beaten-up soldiers of Israel poked their heads out of
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: their tents. In the distance, the Ark of the Covenant
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: was being brought into the camp. Chills of hope crawled
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: up their spines. A new song was sung that day
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: among the children of Israel. They sang and shouted to God,
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: knowing that He would deliver them as He had hundreds
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: of times before. Hophni and Phinehas puffed their chests up
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: with pride as they heard the cheers of the soldiers.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: They craved the attention. Even though the worship was directed
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: towards God, they soaked up the praises of his people.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: As soon as the ark arrived, Israel's shouts resounded like
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: an earthquake across the land. The Philistines could hear their
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: battle cries and quivered with fear. They had caught word
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: that the ark of the covenant had made its way
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: into camp. The Philistines were no fools. They knew what
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: God had done to the Egyptians. They had been told
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: stories of their gods splitting seas and crushing armies. They
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: understood perhaps more than Israel what it truly meant to
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: fear God. Their God will strike us down by fire
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: or plague, some of them shouted. We have never faced
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: a threat like this. We are doomed, more of them exclaimed.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: One commander of the Philistine army stood tall among them
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: and shouted, Take heart, O Philistines! Do you wish to
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to us?
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: He raised his spear high in the air and shouted,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Be men and fight! The Philistine horde erupted in screams
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: of war and bloodthirst. Without hesitation, they descended upon Israel
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: like a tempest. The Philistines showed no mercy. They tore
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: men apart limb from limb. Complete chaos ensued across the
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: Israelite army and camp. Every man retreated to protect himself,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: and mighty warriors begged for mercy under the sword of
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: the Philistines. Hophni and Phinehas were in their tent eating
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: when the Philistines attacked. It was their responsibility to protect
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant. However, when the Philistines stormed
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: the camp, the two priests gathered their belongings and abandoned
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: the Ark. They ran for their lives, leaving the people
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: behind them. Their lungs heaved as they ran with their
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: fattened bodies, for they continually gorged themselves on the temple's food.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: They were immediately knocked to the ground by two Philistine soldiers.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Fumbling around in the dirt, the two brothers had no
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: time to collect their thoughts before an axe was lodged
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: into their skulls. By the hand of the Philistines, God
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: fulfilled his promise to rid Israel of their selfish and
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: wicked priests. The Philistines looked upon the abandoned Ark of
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: the Covenant. They laughed and drug it back to their
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: camp over the dead bodies of fallen Hebrews. The represented
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: and manifest presence of God was being taken back to
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: the Philistine camp, something they believed to be a victory.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Yet God cannot be captured. No, the Philistines would live
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: to regret ever touching a single finger on the sacred
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: relic of God. Unlike Israel, God can fight his own battles.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: A Benjamite boy ran for his life from the slaughter.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Dirt and blood caked his face, and his clothes were
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: torn to expose his wounded and bloodied body. Eli sat
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: beside the road a few miles away from battle, listening
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: to the cries of his people. Eli was 98 years old,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: and his body trembled constantly. He wept for his fallen
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: brothers and wondered about his son's safety. Eli spotted the
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: Benjamite boy hobbling his way towards the city to warn
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: the people. What is this uproar coming from the battlefield?
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Eli asked. The Benjamite could barely see straight. Gasping for air,
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: he mellowed. to recount the battle to eli with great
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: anguish he said israel has fallen to the philistines all
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: have fled in different directions your sons hofnay and phineas
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: have been slain and the ark of the covenant has
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: been stolen Eli clutched his heart upon hearing the news.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: His eyes rolled back and he stumbled backwards and fell
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: by the side.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: Of the gate.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: His neck fell on a curb and snapped. Eli, not
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: too long after his sons, perished. He had judged and
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: ministered over Israel for 40 years. Israel had lost over
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: 35,000 soldiers, their priests, and the Ark of the Covenant.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: The hope that once caused them to cheer... was replaced
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: with fear and panic. In many ways, they felt as
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: though God was taken captive. Yet God is captive to
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: no army, nor is he confined to a relic. The
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Philistines would soon learn to not trifle with the God
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: of Israel, and the Hebrews would behold God's sufficiency and power.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: When we begin today's reading, Samuel is already a leader
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: in Israel. His closeness with God has established him as
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: a trusted voice for God among the people. Israel has
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: been distant from God now for many years, but now,
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: under Samuel's leadership, they are turning back to the Lord.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: Still there is danger lurking, enemies intent on defeating God's people.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: And one of those is a familiar foe, the Philistines.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: The two clash in battle, and Israel is defeated by
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: the Philistines. They run to safety, but only after 4,000
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: Israelite soldiers die. The elders of Israel, of course, are
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: wondering why God allowed this terrible defeat. Then they remembered
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: their stories, how God went with Joshua into battle, handing
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: him victory after victory. So in 1 Samuel 4, 3,
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: they say, Let us bring the ark of the covenant
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: among us and save us from the power of our enemies.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: They knew they absolutely needed God in this fight. It,
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: of course, is a reminder for us today that the
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: battle is always the Lord's. We do not face our
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: battles alone. God has promised us victory in our Lord
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ, so He is our weapon. He is our defender.
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: The elders' hearts were in the right place. They wanted
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: God's presence, but there was a huge problem. Eli's sons,
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: Hophni and Phinehas, were in charge of the ark, and
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: they brought and carried this ark into battle. The mere
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: sight of the ark filled the troops with excitement, and
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: they shouted loudly. When the Philistines discovered the ark was
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: with Israel, they knew this battle would be different. There
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: was now a divine force with Israel. But they didn't retreat.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: They only fought more fiercely, determined not to be conquered
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: by the Hebrews. And once again they came out victorious,
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: sending terrified Israelis scurrying in fear. But Hophni and Phinehas,
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: along with 30,000 soldiers, were killed. Just as God had
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: told Samuel, Eli's sons were wiped off the face of
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: the earth and punished for their blasphemy. One thing we
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: can always know, God will execute his judgment when necessary.
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: These two men had abused and misused their position. They
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: had disrespected God and refused to change their hearts in repentance.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: So God dealt forcefully with their sin. Tragically, their sins
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: cost an entire nation, as Israel fell to the Philistines
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: in this battle despite the presence of the ark. Unresolved,
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: unrepentant of sin always has consequences. And God did not
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: give victory to his people on that day because of
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: the sins of Eli the priest's sons. The Philistines rejoiced
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: in victory, and when they saw the ark abandoned on
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: the battlefield, they took it as a prize because they
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: wanted a divine presence with them. But God will not
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: be used like that. And when unholy hands tried to
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: weaponize God's power for their own benefit, they will pay
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: a heavy price. The Philistines would soon discover just how
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: high that price would be. When Eli heard of the
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: defeat of Israel and the fate of his sons, He
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: fell out of his seat and broke his neck. God's
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: words to Samuel came true that day. To Israel, God's
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: glory had departed from them. The glory had departed. The
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: word is Ichabod. But God was not done with his people.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: And the next time we'll hear how the ark returns
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: to Israel. Dear God, first of all, we turn from
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: our sins and trust in you. We thank you for
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: the cross where you died for us. and for the resurrection.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: May we live in the power of Jesus and his resurrection.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: We know that we never in Christ fight our battles alone.
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: May we always look to you and trust in you
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: and experience a closeness to you and therefore victory in Jesus.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: And it is in his name that we pray. Amen.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily tasks and
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.