ESOCS Devotional 9 February 2023

ESOCS Devotional 9 February 2023

MEMORY VERSE: “And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” 1 Samuel 4:5

The Ark of the Covenant contained the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses. It was usually kept in the Most Holy Place – a sacred part of the Tabernacle that only the High Priest could enter once a year. “The Ark, which dwelleth between the Cherubim” is another way of saying that God’s presence rested on the Ark of the Covenant between the two golden Cherubim (or angels) attached to its lid. The Israelites believed it would give them victory when Hophni and Phinehas carried it into the battle, thus their great shout such that the “earth rang again”, that is, vibrated and the Philistines became afraid. The Ark of the Covenant in the camp signified God’s presence with the Israelites, so victory was assured, and that was because they turned back to serving God.

However, in this case, they had turned away from God and clung to a form of godliness, a symbol of former victories, and still expected victory to come. They relied on past glory when they were in tune with God, that He will do it again. They wrongly assumed that God did it in the past, He would do it again, not minding that they had strayed from Him.

People, families, churches, associations in churches, etc. often try to live on past glories, past memories of God’s blessings. But past victories from God should spur us to action – to know Him the more. We should not be in sin and still expect God to grant us victory based on past good records. Today, as in Bible times, spiritual victories come through a continually renewed relationship with God. Don’t live off the past. Keep your relationship with God new and fresh daily.