Gimmicks Are Not Dependable

“Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30

God instructed His people on how to fight their battles (Deut 20) and made plain the blessings of obedience and the cursings of disobeying Him (Deut 28). But the Israelites disregarded God’s warning and were perplexed when the Philistines attacked them and killed about four thousand men. Their solution? They had two priests fetch the Ark of the Covenant (where God’s presence dwelt among His people–2 Sam 6:2) from Shiloh and walk before them in battle. They thought that would do the trick; it worked for Moses and Joshua and would be the answer to victory. But it wasn’t. The Philistines were afraid when they heard the Israelite God was in Israel’s camp but regrouped and attacked again, killing another thirty thousand men. What happened? Instead of confessing their sins and returning to God’s covenant, Israel had Eli’s wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas, unrightfully carry God’s Ark into battle before them. But the consequences of disobedience were costly. Thirty-four thousand Israelites died, and the enemy took God’s Ark; Eli’s sons died; Eli fell to his death when hearing of his sons’ deaths, and Phinehas’ wife died in childbirth after hearing of her husband’s death.

God can do what He wants, where and when He wants—He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. And God will not let anyone use Him for their purposes, no matter what approach we use. We can manipulate circumstances, make promises, and cry out loudly to God for help in our times of need and for Him to heal us and our country. Still, unless we go to Him with confession of sins and repentant hearts, our actions and voices are in the wind; we cannot carry His presence and mercy into our battles with sin-filled lives expecting victory. Defeat is sure when we do. God listens to His people’s pleas but will not act on their behalf until they humble themselves before Him, seek Him, and turn from their wicked ways. Only then will He hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land (OUR sins; OUR land) 2 Chron 7:14.