Sunday School Lesson 9.21.2008

Here is the lesson. Hope everyone has a good week.
Tim will be teaching next week. Make plans to be there and support him.

TW

Trusting in the Lord Alone
1 Samuel 4:1- 7:17

Introduction

Where do you put your trust?
Finances?
Retirements Plans?
Not a good idea after this week.
Our country and its military?
Your doctors?
Your medicines?
If you were to ask us, all of us would say God?
Where do most people put their trust?
Themselves!!!!
Hopefully we all know where we should put our trust.
Question is why don’t we?
Hasn’t He proven Himself trustworthy?


1 Sam 4:1
4:1 And Samuel's word came to all Israel.

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. 3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?"
NIV

First study question- 
Why did they get the ark?
To help them against their enemy.
What were they hoping would happen?
Just like with Joshua, they were hoping the ark would destroy their enemies.
Was their plan successful?
No
Why or why not?
They were practicing idolatry. Placing their faith in the ark versus in God.
In fact, when they brought the ark, it made the Philistines fight harder and the loss was even greater.
Are we ever guilty of wanting God to get us out of a mess, but not interested in changing our lives
God is not a 911 service.
Symbols of God such as the cross or a church have no power in of themselves.

1 Sam 4:6-9

When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. 9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"
10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
NIV


1 Sam 4:19-22

19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20 As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention.

21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"-because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
NIV

Study Question –
What was significant about Eli’s grandson name?
Ichabod- means the glory has departed.
Has God’s glory left our country?
Has God’s glory left our church, our families, etc


1 Sam 5:1-5
5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.
6 The LORD's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." 8 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?"
NIV

Study Question
What happened to the ark with the Philistines?
God doesn’t need our help to defend His name


1 Sam 6:7-9

7 "Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance."
NIV

Study Question
What test did the Philistines come up with to see if the ark was the source of all their problems?
Once again, God doesn’t need our help to “rescue” Him.

1 Sam 6:10-12

10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
NIV


1 Sam 6:19-20

19 But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them, 20 and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?"
NIV

Study Question
What happened to some of the Israelites who recovered the ark? They were killed for opening up to ark.
What can we learn about the holiness of God from these verses?
What about us? How casually do we take God?
One form of idolatry is to worship God for what we want Him to be instead of who He is.
He is a holy, all-powerful God who rules from heaven.

1 Sam 7:1-4
7:1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD.
2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
NIV

Study Question
What was Samuel’s instructions to the people who sought after God?
Notice his instructions were to the people who were searching after God.
Notice they were searching after God before the Philistines attacked.
The people were ready to hear what Samuel had to say.
They had tried other “gods” and they had failed.

First, they had to get rid of all the idols they had made and worshipped.
What idols do you have right now?
Are you ready to REALLY get rid of them?


Second, they had to dedicate themselves to the Lord.
They had to make a firm commitment of their hearts to follow and obey the Lord
Are we ready to make a serious commitment to follow and obey the Lord and HIM ONLY


Third, they were to worship God only.
When was the last time you worshipped God?
Why are you here today? What are your motives for being here?
Bring my kids to church
S0cial club?
Why are you at Fairview? Are you here for what the church can do for you OR it is because this is where God has called you to SERVE.

1 Sam 7:5-6

5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.
NIV

Study Question
What was significant about the people pouring water out before the Lord?
Several thoughts
Water was scare. It was a precious and limited commodity.
When the people poured it out, they were signifying their trust in the Lord my demonstrating their belief He would provide for them.
The Lord’s help was more important than life-giving water


Second thought.
Water that is poured out upon parched ground an never be retrieved, so the people vowed by this symbolic act that they would never “take back” the vows they had made before the Lord
Major point. The people were serious about the commitment they made.

1 Sam 7:7-9

7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.
Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14 The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
NIV

Study Question
What was the difference this time when the Philistines approached? Who did they put their trust in?
Notice the first time they wanted the ark to go with them. God, I want you with me as I fight against the enemy
This time they let God do the fighting. God, I cannot win this battle unless you do it. See the difference?


What does the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” have to do with these verses?
“Here I raise my Ebenezer” is in the second verse of the hymn
Ebenezer means a stone of help. It was a reminder to the Israelites to place their trust in the God of the ark, not in the ark of God.
Do we have any symbols to remind us where we are to place our trust?

Closing

Where do you put your trust?
Not just in crisis, but day by day
How serious are you about seeking the Lord
Lets be a people who trust God for everything and trust Him alone!