1 Samuel 4:5
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.
The Israelites witnessed the Ark of the Covenant come into their camp and they shouted in excitement. They were not necessarily shouting because God was with them, but because of the symbol of the Ark of the Covenant. They were into a religion, not relationship.
Somehow, the devil always wants to shift our focus from the Lord God that gave us something to the things He gave us, and we must never fall into that trap.
The enemies of the Israelites were equally fooled. The Philistines thought God had come into the camp of the Israelites and they were afraid and said,” Woe unto us”. The testimonies they heard about the Ark of the Covenant when the Israelites were in obedience with God, was that whenever the ark moved, God moved. They had heard of the plagues in Egypt, how Pharaoh and his host were sunk to the bottom of the river. They had heard of how Jericho and its mighty walls had fallen, so they were terrified.
However, the Philistines encouraged themselves, they decided to fight, and they discovered something strange, the Israelites were smitten. The enemy did not fully understand why. But God was not with the Israelites, they only had an ark, a symbol of his presence without His presence, they only had a religion.
1 Samuel 4:10
And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
PRAYER: Father, help me to always stay in an authentic relationship and always remain in your pleasure. The enemy will not uncover your displeasure in me.
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