What an epitaph for the nation of Israel! Israel had wandered away from God in pursuit of the gods of other nations. Though they had the form of worship, their hearts were far from God. Even Eli the high priest who represented God before the people no longer heard the voice of God, and his sons who served as priests in the tabernacle were involved in greed, corruption, and immorality.
In 1 Samuel chapter 4, Israel went to war against the Philistines, “who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.” So, Israel brought out the Ark of the Covenant with great shouts that were so loud the earth shook and put fear in the hearts of the Philistines. But despite the Ark of the Covenant which strongly encouragedIsrael, they were defeated, thirty thousand foot soldiers were killed, the ark of God was captured, the sons of Eli were killed, and every man fled to his tent.
Why did such disaster come uponIsraeland the ark of God? It all began in 1 Samuel 3:1, “And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”Israel’s confidence was in their religious practices rather than the voice of God. Though they had the form of worship, their hearts were far from God. We to have to be careful that we do not substitute our religious practices and service to God for the voice of God.
In the midst of our age of information, we can become so caught up with learning and the voices in the world that we no longer hear the voice of God. Hearing from God takes more than quiet time alone. There is no formula for hearing God. There are no ten steps to follow. Before you can hear from God, He has to be talking to you, and he talks to those who have prepared their hearts to hear.
Christianity will not protect us from what is coming on the earth in these last days. When crises come, we can pull out the ark of God, our religious traditions that represent God, and give a shout of faith, but it will not save us. We cannot wait until the time of crisis to learn to hear the voice of God. Samuel had no deep theological knowledge of God when the Lord first spoke to him, but he had a tender, pure, devoted heart that was open to the Lord.
If there is ever a day we need to hear the voice of God, it is today. We need to humble ourselves, declare our dependence on Him, and prepare our hearts to hear, receive, and act on His voice.
Andy Clark
