DAILY READINGS: Joshua 3; Hosea 11:12 to 14:9; Luke 20:20 to 21:4
The elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 1 Samuel 4:3b
Routed by their enemies, Israel discerned that their defeat was ordained by the Lord. Instead of examining themselves to see where they had sinned, they tried to manipulate God into helping them by bringing the Ark to the army. Although it was the Almighty’s symbolic throne in that day, this box could never save them. Neither will man’s programs or methods deliver the Church from its problems. We must repent and trust in the Lord alone. The answer lies in a personal God, never in an “it”. —K. R. Keyser
The Lord alone defends His own, when earth or hell oppresses;
Omnipotent Redeemer, our ransomed souls adore Thee. —C. Wesley