“Mystery and Hope” 2012

1 Samuel 5:1-4. 6-8,11 Ephesians 6:10-17

1 Samuel 5:1-4, 6-8,11

5When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; 2then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 6The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its territory. 7And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us; for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” 8So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” The inhabitants of Gath replied, “Let the ark of God be moved on to us.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;

Ephesians 6:10-17

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

During seminary, I was visiting another student one time

and his two little boys were playing in a back bedroom.

Suddenly one of his sons came charging in,

and through his tears he sobbed,

“Jacob hit me with the breastplate of righteousness.”

Then Jacob, also crying, explained,

“But Dad, he hit me first with the shield of faith

and poked me with the sword of truth.”

Noting my quizzical look, Frank explained,

that the boys’ grandmother had given each of them

a plastic “armor of God” play set,

and they’d been fighting “spiritual battles” ever since.

I am not sure conflict and fighting of that sort

are exactly the intent of this Ephesians 6 passage …

… though I have seen Christians

use their righteousness and sword of truth

in some similar ways, with similar results.

Ephesians is one of the later letters

presumed to have been written by Paul or one of his followers.

During that time, there was an intense and concerted effort

to wipe out Christianity and persecute the church …

… and it was a discouraging and difficult time for believers,

going against the overwhelming power of the Roman Empire.

If you think about it from their perspective, and what they saw,

it appeared to be a pretty hopeless & impossible situation …

… trying to be faithful in an incredibly pagan culture,

and trying to proclaim the Gospel against

the overwhelming power and might of Rome.

And instead of preaching, teaching and proclaiming God’s word,

the Apostle finds himself chained in a dank, dark dungeon.

It’s not looking very promising or hopeful,…

so how can the Apostle, or the church possibly succeed?

But then, perhaps noticing the Roman soldier guarding him,

in a moment of inspiration, he realizes that more is in play

than just the obvious and physical that meets the eye.

It is out of the sure defeat and hopelessness of the situation,

and the absolute impossibility of fighting harder to victory,

that the true power and hope become crystal clear.

vs. 10~12

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, … For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but … against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Perhaps the guard’s armor got him thinking about God’s protection

which inspires a very different perspective. vs. 13

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The Apostle recognizes, the only option is to trust the Lord

knowing that the real battle is not with the prison guard,

and it’s not even against the might of Rome …

* … for the enemy is not the flesh and blood we content with.

The Apostle recognizes,

since we cannot defeat the forces of evil on our own,

it is only God’s gracious care, love and goodness

that can protect and enables us to stand fast;

and drawing from the image of the soldier guarding him,

he encourages his readers facing the power of Rome.

vs. 14-17

Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. … take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. … take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

‘fasten the belt of truth around your waist’

A Roman soldier wore a belt

that held all the other pieces of armor together…

…just as our Christian life is held together by God's truth,

which is, that that God loves us and seeks to bless us;

and everything else about our faith and how we live,

builds on the truth of God's love and gracious purpose.

That also means that our efforts must be truthful and honorable,

for that which is hidden, sneaky or lacks integrity,

cannot be of God, or pleasing to God,

and certainly is not the victory that our God seeks.

‘and put on the breastplate of righteousness’

The breastplate was the important armor that covered the chest.

But it is not our righteousness that protects us from harm,

rather it is entirely God's righteousness

which we receive by grace through Jesus Christ…

… it is being in a right relationship with God through Christ.

‘take the shield of faith’

There are different words in the Greek

that specifically describe different kinds of shields.

This particular one, was a large rectangular leather shield

that could be soaked in water before a battle

so it could defend against the enemy’s flaming arrows.

The frame

of each shield could also interlock with the one next to it,

and by placing their shields together,

the soldiers could form a wall or a shell,

that together, protected them from all harm.

Though of course we do make an individual

faith-decision about responding to God’s love and grace

that is offered and given through Jesus Christ;

that faith decision also, simultaneously,

connects us by that faith to other believers

making us a part of the community of faith …

… where we combine our shields of faith with others.

More times than I can remember, when my faith was wavering,

and my walk with God was weak, frail and failing,à

God always send another servant, another shield of faith,

to strengthen, encourage and uphold me,

or sometimes to question or challenge me ---

- someone to put their shield of faith next to mine, to support me

against the fiery darts of doubt, temptation, resentment, …

And so it goes with all of the pieces of armor mentioned,

they are not to attack or fight by our own strength, for à

the battle isn’t won on our own terms or by our hard work.

It’s not our achievement, but entirely God's gracious gift,

for there is always far more going on than we can perceive.

Also notice that all of the pieces of armor

relate to having a committed and true walk of faith with God.

Victory is not an achievement of our armor or our efforts…

… it’s grace, for putting on the armor is putting on Jesus Christ.

The victory is when we are in alignment with the Lord’s will,

for it is our God who protects and does the actual fighting.

Our call is not to fight the battle by attacking evil on our own,

but by seeking a growing and deepening relationship with God,

by trying to discern

and keep up with whatever God is doing. It’s not us.

It is, in humble obedience,

trying to serve faithfully as the Lord leads,

and not attempting to enlist God to join in our agenda…

… for the battle is not the flesh and blood we can see,

but always God is up to some purpose and good

far beyond our wisdom or understanding…

… which is the same lesson I glean from the 1^st Samuel text.

It’s a great story about the Ark, long before Indiana Jones movie.

The Philistine armies of the Old Testament were always stronger

and far better equipped than any army of Israel.

They fought with iron, Israel only had bronze.

They had chariots, bigger armies and Goliath.

So the Israelites decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant,

thinking that would surely get God to fight for them,

and assure Israel of a victory on the battlefield.

Now our God is sovereign and refuses to be manipulated,

even by Israel bringing the Ark out onto the battlefield.

The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred and holy symbol,

but not a magical assurance of victory in battle.

The army of Israel was defeated and slaughtered,

and the Philistine army captured the Ark in battle …

… and the Philistines assumed

it was because their gods were mightier than the God of Israel…

… so as a tribute to their god and temple,

they placed the Ark before the idol of their god Dagon.

They got up early the next morning to see their plunder,

but the idol of Dagon was flat on its face before the Ark.

They set Dagon back on his pedestal again

and the next morning they found Dagon lying in pieces ---

--- so the leaders of Ashdod sent the Ark to Gath,

so that they could celebrate the victory.

In Scripture, it says that the Lord’s hand was heavy against Gath,

so they sent the Ark on to Ekron,

so that they could celebrate the victory.

When the Lord’s hand fell heavy against Ekron,

they’d had enough and sent the Ark back to Israel.

So what did Israel do that recaptured the Ark of the Covenant?

Nothing.

Not a thing, it was entirely the purpose and work of God.

* The Israelites learned, that God will not be used or managed,

that God will not be controlled or manipulated…

… bringing the Ark did not guarantee a victory from God.

* The Philistines learned that neither they nor their god Dagon

could not stand against the God of Israel,

and the Ark was not a magical power

that they could work and use for their own purpose.

When Israel lost the Ark in battle to the powerful Philistines,

it seemed hopeless, they’d never be able to win it back…

… but God was up to something far more

than they could ever imagine, understand or control.

How hopeless the world seemed to the Ephesian Christians

facing the persecution, the might and power of Rome.

The Apostle, the prison seeing the guard arrayed in his armor

recognized a perspective of hope,

that it’s not all flesh and blood, circumstances we see,

for there are possibilities beyond the obvious and expected.

My experience is, that I become a lot more effective

once I realize and accept who is doing the heavy lifting.

I have a Timken M88048 sitting on my desk. It’s a paperweight.

A few years ago we were having trouble with one of the church vans,

so before it went out on a mission trip, we had it inspected.

The mechanic estimated the cost to repair the van,

and it was way more than the van was worth.

It looked like a hopeless situation.

Then a church member had another mechanic look at the van,

and found that the problem was really just a worn bearing

that was fairly inexpensive to repair…

… and I’ve kept that worn-out wheel bearing on my desk ever since.

I don’t want to forget that things aren’t always as they appear,

and that God is up to something mysteriously more wonderful,

that is often way beyond my understanding or comprehension.

Sometimes when our problems seem most impossible and daunting,

it turns out that God is present, in control and at work

and accomplishing way more than we think possible…

… such as repairing a van back into useful service…

… or as we read in Ephesians 1:4, 3:20, Joshua 1:5,9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing … who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine… So I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.