The Philistines set the ark in the temple to their god,
Dagon and disasters begin to happen.
First the statue of Dagon falls and they set it back up. The next day it
is not only fallen, it is broken.
Following this the men are struck with some sort of tumors and they
determine that the ark is somehow responsible for this so they decide to remove
it elsewhere. Gath, the home of Goliath, and the same affect is seen
there. They then decide another
location, Ekron, is appropriate but this city is completely certain that isn't
a good idea at all and plead that it not be lodged there. There, we are told, the hand of God was heavy
and people died. The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom but it is not the sum total of wisdom. Humility and seeking this God would seem to
have been in order when they saw His power.
The idol was smashed, that should have told them something about
Israel's God, just as it should have told the Egyptians something in their
visitation but they would not forsake their idols and turn to this powerful
God.
The good news Jesus gives here is that if you know what you're
looking for and know what you're looking at you will not miss the coming of the
kingdom of God. The warning is to remain
awake, alert, and looking for those signs, don't let yourself be distracted or
become bored with looking for it over time when you fail to see it. I know that in our church I see signs that
the kingdom of God is breaking in and breaking through and those signs are
encouraging and exciting. We have had a long
season when we didn't see anything yet we never stopped looking and expecting. Expecting is key to faithful seeking. If we no longer expect God to move or to
come, we lose our focus and get distracted by other things. We need to know what we are looking for and
interpret what we see appropriately.
The apostles are bold to be in the temple precincts, in
Solomon's portico, teaching and doing signs and wonders as Jesus had done. He did not hide Himself from His critics and
so the apostles now act without fear as well.
The others, the newer converts, it seems, lack this boldness. The apostles boldness extended to even going
back after they were arrested by the temple police in what had to be a familiar
scene and which would earlier have scared them silly. Now, after the resurrection and the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit, these men are bold to go right back at the command of the
Lord. They have come to know and believe
in the complete sovereignty of God over their mission.
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