The worst things are not the last things. The people of Israel took the ark of the covenant into battle, assuming its presence would give them victory. But God is not a good luck charm, and especially not for those who are living in disobedience. Israel lost and the ark which symbolized God’s presence was taken by the Philistine armies. On the same day the ark of the covenant was captured in battle, the high priest Eli and both of his disobedient sons died. The same news of military defeat that prompted Eli’s death caused his daughter-in-law to go into labor. She named the boy Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel.” Even the birth of a child seemed to her a harbinger of bad news. I write to remind you that the Christian worldview does not lead to despair. Sometimes we forget.
What do you do when you capture a god? Put it in a temple, I suppose. But what if the ark belongs to the one true God? Watch out. The Philistines put the ark in their tiny temple in front of their district deity Dagon. The next day they found Dagon, their fish-faced God had fallen face down in front of the ark. They propped up their false God, but the next day found him similarly prostrate with head and hands fractured on the floor. False gods never fail to fail and fall. But the true God stands.
While the Aaronic dynasty of high priests tumbled to the ground like a false fish-faced god, the Lord was already working through young Samuel. We do not finally break God’s laws, but we may break ourselves over God’s laws. As the Israelites continued in disobedience, God was preparing to raise up a shepherd boy named David to be King. The lineage of Boaz and Ruth would lead all the way to a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem, many generations later. So the whole Bible with its many mini-stories is one story of God redeeming a fallen humanity. In God’s story, the worst things are not the last things. Even when we don’t see it, God is working. He never stops. He never stops working. I write to remind you and myself as well, because sometimes we forget and think the worst things will have the final say. We who walk with God in relationship with Jesus Christ win in the end. Let us align ourselves with him, and fall face-down while his glory shines around. We either fall before him in worship, or in disgrace. Which will it be?
