Today’s Scripture Reading (November
26, 2012): 1 Samuel 4
When I was a
kid I went out hunting with my Dad and some of his friends. Now, even though I
lived in a red neck part of the country, hunting was not part of what we did in
my family. We did not even own a gun. But on this day I remember getting up
early so that we could meet my Dad’s friends and head out for a day of hunting.
I do not even really remember what it was that we were hunting for. But I do
remember one animal that we shot.
As we were
looking for game to hunt, we came along a fence line. And there was a racket
happening from somewhere along the fence line, so we explored the fence until
we found the problem. An owl had got caught in the fence. As much as the bird
wanted to fly away, it could not move. All it could do was cry out. I remember we
tried to free the bird, but it would not let us get close enough to let it go
free. Every time we approached the owl it lashed out, as much as it could, at
the ones who only wanted to save it. So, finally, we did the humane thing. We
shot the owl.
One of my
Dad’s friends cut off one of the owls claws and tossed it to me to remember the
experience. For a while, I carried that claw with me wherever I went. It became
my lucky charm, even though it was not that lucky for the poor owl. For
significant occasions, I would often have the owl claw somewhere on my person.
I know, as Christian’s we do not believe in luck. But, somehow, it just felt
right.
The soldiers
had lost the battle, but the war was very much still in doubt. So the soldiers
of Israel’s army were looking for something that might be able to turn the
battle. They believed that they needed to find a lucky charm, something that
would turn the results in their favor. And one of the generals, I think he was
called Indiana Joneseth (a great ancestor of our Indiana Jones), decides that
he has the answer to the problem. In Shiloh, in the Tabernacle, sat the Ark of
the Covenant; the very seat of God. And the seat was not doing anything – other
than being God’s seat. What could be luckier than the chair that the Almighty God
sits on?
They had
totally missed the idea of the Ark of the Covenant. Somehow, they had never
been taught about the Holiness of God and that God had said that the Holy of
Holies could be entered into only once a year, and then it could be entered
only by the High priest. But they did not seem to know any of that. (Besides,
in what world does stealing the seat of God sound like a good – or lucky –
idea.) But, we still do it. Too often God seems to be nothing more than a lucky
charm that will let our battles go our way. Somehow, we have forgotten that we
serve a Holy God. He can never be our lucky charm. We serve him – at his
pleasure.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Samuel 5
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