Hophni, Phinehas, And Me. (Or, "Nice Necklace.")

"God is looking for some people who will take Him at His word." -Rev. Althea Taylor

"Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines?" (from First Samuel 4:3)

First Samuel 4:3 relays a tough question asked by ancient Israel: "Why was God not with us?" In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Althea shared that there is no problem with asking God the "why" questions. But, sometimes, we are challenged because we may hear an answer that we didn't want to hear. God had an answer to the Israelites' question:

Why was I not with you? Because you disobeyed Me, and there are consequences to disobedience.

How sad is the life-story of Hophni and Phinehas. Surrounded by icons and articles of worship, these two men appropriated for themselves sacrifices that were reserved only for God. (In other words, they were stealing.) As their worship of God deteriorated, so did their watch-care over God's people: their narrative became one of spiritual and sexual abuse of the people who came to Shiloh for worship (see First Samuel 2:12-25). It's an shocking decline in faith and practice.

And, after years of stealing sacrifices and engaging in fornication in the doorway of the temple, Hophni and Phinehas boldly took the ark to the battlefield. The First Samuel 4 passage shows that they, and all Israel, made an amazing assumption: they believed that the mere presence of the ark of God would bring victory. There was no indication that anyone had prayed for God's help. There was no indication of repentance from Hophni and Phinehas. In a way, the ark of God had become a sort of amulet or good-luck charm; the people seemed not to take into account their own lives and behavior as factors in God's presence being with them.

Let's turn the story to ourselves. Icons are valuable, meaningful tools when God leads us to use them as symbolic expressions of our worship life. The function of an icon is to usher us into the worship and adoration of our God. But perhaps we, too, are guilty of embracing icons without engaging worship. It's easy to put a cross on the wall or to wear a cross necklace. It's not as easy to set aside time for prayer to our Lord who went to the cross. In this country, it's usually an easy thing to have access to the Bible. It's not as easy to be intentional in reading God's word and remembering what we've read. It's easy for us to listen to Christian music, but perhaps not as easy to live the Christian life.

Are we like Hophni and Phinehas, who neglected to obey God but then assumed that the ark would ensure His presence with them?

Lord God, You have asked us to give our lives to You. So, today, we give ourselves to You once again. Please help us to live out every aspect of our lives-- in worship, through service, at work, and at home-- in ways that are honorable and pleasing to You.