And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.
2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.
10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.
17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the Lord. 1 Samuel 7
What is it that causes men to know, to come to understand without being fully taught that they have not been taught, that they lack? How does man know to miss God? It is 20 years that the ark stays put away, attended by a young man, who is set apart to the task, but it is not set up as before. God, why is this box holy to you? Unlike us, God's words are truth and pure, and the law is recorded on the tablets in this ark, which also is then, at that time, God among us. Yes, the ark is where God's presence resides among this people, it is the humility of God all along this experience, but not to be taken for granted. On those tablets it is written, "thou shalt have no other gods before me", and this people has amongst them Ashtoroth, but why? It makes no sense logically, unless man, in his fallen nature, truly loves darkness rather than light, that he is predisposed to evil, of a hardened heart, dead in his trespasses and sins. What is the appeal of Ashtoroth? It is a sensual representation, but since no idol is real, it is the projection of our hearts upon this figure of a goddess. Fertility is important to them, power, growing kingdoms and never is their an era without sexual depravity, but the Bible says that men call good evil and evil good. So what would your heroes look like if the act of procreation is atop the pedestal of your heart, if your ego and human worth are so linked, what would your resume look like? The people sacrificed their babies to Molech, so there is an extreme result of such a hierarchy that puts the act above the being, that reduces another life to beneath the value of your sex life. There are women that walk the streets not far from me, because men are willing to pay for their services, some of whom are already married, but willing to risk that and families. Such are their distorted priorities. The walkers have reduced a sacred value, often because of chemical addictions, for the lie of narcotics. Some of them have managers, my wife made me get out of the car to help a walker when she was being hit by what appeared from the conversation to be her pimp. It was a gross interpretation of her value as a human being. Is he really her protection? Pimps seem to take more than they give. I know not so long ago that my heroes were musicians, fighters, the guys that get the girl. It was probably a good 20 years that I held them high in my mind, that I thought myself more enlightened then church people, because I wasn't so inhibited like them. Call evil good right, that I was more enlightened when I could appreciate the ambiance of a strip club and the humor of porn, cause single moms gotta work too, right? Just because they have to take their clothes off doesn't mean I don't respect them, as long as I say I respect them, that's what matters? At the end of it all, I started to miss a God I didn't really know, but like Israel I was afraid when I went to Mizpeh, the world isn't going to like this. What about the people who define themselves by their sexuality, who interpret life through that lens, even the Bible? Israel was terrified by the Philistines, so they beg Samuel to not cease praying. He also offers up a single lamb, whole as a burnt offering. They lamented the presence, they put away the idols, this was a reformation, their was a prophet among them and he offered up a humble offering, worth more than every animal in all the world without the sincerity of repentance. God heard him and chased back the enemies of His people. I know, I said before that Samson was my favorite judge, but I changed my mind.
12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[b] 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.[c]
What is it that causes men to know, to come to understand without being fully taught that they have not been taught, that they lack? How does man know to miss God? It is 20 years that the ark stays put away, attended by a young man, who is set apart to the task, but it is not set up as before. God, why is this box holy to you? Unlike us, God's words are truth and pure, and the law is recorded on the tablets in this ark, which also is then, at that time, God among us. Yes, the ark is where God's presence resides among this people, it is the humility of God all along this experience, but not to be taken for granted. On those tablets it is written, "thou shalt have no other gods before me", and this people has amongst them Ashtoroth, but why? It makes no sense logically, unless man, in his fallen nature, truly loves darkness rather than light, that he is predisposed to evil, of a hardened heart, dead in his trespasses and sins. What is the appeal of Ashtoroth? It is a sensual representation, but since no idol is real, it is the projection of our hearts upon this figure of a goddess. Fertility is important to them, power, growing kingdoms and never is their an era without sexual depravity, but the Bible says that men call good evil and evil good. So what would your heroes look like if the act of procreation is atop the pedestal of your heart, if your ego and human worth are so linked, what would your resume look like? The people sacrificed their babies to Molech, so there is an extreme result of such a hierarchy that puts the act above the being, that reduces another life to beneath the value of your sex life. There are women that walk the streets not far from me, because men are willing to pay for their services, some of whom are already married, but willing to risk that and families. Such are their distorted priorities. The walkers have reduced a sacred value, often because of chemical addictions, for the lie of narcotics. Some of them have managers, my wife made me get out of the car to help a walker when she was being hit by what appeared from the conversation to be her pimp. It was a gross interpretation of her value as a human being. Is he really her protection? Pimps seem to take more than they give. I know not so long ago that my heroes were musicians, fighters, the guys that get the girl. It was probably a good 20 years that I held them high in my mind, that I thought myself more enlightened then church people, because I wasn't so inhibited like them. Call evil good right, that I was more enlightened when I could appreciate the ambiance of a strip club and the humor of porn, cause single moms gotta work too, right? Just because they have to take their clothes off doesn't mean I don't respect them, as long as I say I respect them, that's what matters? At the end of it all, I started to miss a God I didn't really know, but like Israel I was afraid when I went to Mizpeh, the world isn't going to like this. What about the people who define themselves by their sexuality, who interpret life through that lens, even the Bible? Israel was terrified by the Philistines, so they beg Samuel to not cease praying. He also offers up a single lamb, whole as a burnt offering. They lamented the presence, they put away the idols, this was a reformation, their was a prophet among them and he offered up a humble offering, worth more than every animal in all the world without the sincerity of repentance. God heard him and chased back the enemies of His people. I know, I said before that Samson was my favorite judge, but I changed my mind.
12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[b] 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.[c]
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.