How to Relate to the King (1 Samuel 6-7)

Have you ever noticed how transactional our relationships can be? In our jobs, we assume that if we work hard enough, our bosses will value us.  

We’re fully committed to our marriages, but we still expect our spouse to do their fair share. And we don’t ask others for help because, even if we know it’s not true, we don’t want to feel like we owe anybody anything.  

We have this underlying assumption that, as long as I do enough, the people around me will be pleased with me. When you add sin to the equation, it makes sense why we have so many broken relationships. And the way we relate to others, we try to do the same thing in our relationship with God. 

The past few weeks, we’ve been looking at some of the conflicts between the Israelites and the Philistines, that lead them to ask for a King. But at the center of the story is really the problem of God’s presence. Wherever the Ark of the Lord is, things don’t go well for anyone. 

Today, we’re talking about what it means to have a relationship with God. Pick up with me in [ch6v1] – The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.  

Last week, we said the Philistines thought their victory over Israel meant they had defeated God. But it sure didn’t feel like it. In the time that the Ark of the Lord was under their control, the statue of Dagon had been broken, their temple desecrated, and the people plagued with tumors.  

They sought political solutions to their God-problem and ended up spreading disease to everyone. 7 months of tumors…for perspective, 7 months ago was mid-October. 

Political leaders didn’t help. How about religious leaders…? 

[v. 2] – And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn awayfrom you.” [4] And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? 

This is an interesting response from the priests because it shows that they’re paying attention to Israel’s God. And I think the same is true today.

People are often more aware of God’s work in the world than we give them credit for.  

Now, you probably interact with people every week who seem completely closed off to the idea of following Jesus. But the witness of Scripture tells us that the nations are paying more attention to God’s work in the world than you realize.  

And when things stop working out in their lives, they’re much more open to Jesus than you think.  

See, the Philistines are surprisingly humble here. They don’t know the Lord in a personal way. That’s why they’re acting like someone who’s come to visit for the first time. Do I need to take my shoes off when I come in? Do we sit down at a table or on the floor? Like, I don’t know the house rules. Sacrifice to the Lord. Okay, what’s an appropriate sacrifice to this God?  

So the priests and diviners tell them to make gold offerings shaped like the tumors from their sickness and like the mice that spread the disease. And they make 5 each, one for each city and lord the Ark’s been to. 

But then in [v. 6], they bring up what God did to the Egyptians. They basically say, “We’d be foolish not to take this God seriously.”  

• People: “But I thought we defeated him.” 
• Priests: “No, no…this God has real power. Look at what he did to Pharaoh when he refused to obey. And did he not get all that he wanted?” 

See, the nations are watching. Which is important for us to remember because one of the most direct ways God works today is through His Church. People are paying attention to how you’re live. What you care about. What you’re priorities are.  

Here at Garden City, we want to prioritize the gospel above all. We want to do whatever it takes to reach all people, we want to make whole disciples of Jesus, and we want to multiply disciples, leaders, and churches all across KL and beyond.  

How we steward our witness matters. Are we living in a way that shows our dependence on God and our trust in him, even when life is hard? 

Because people are watching, whether you realize it or not. 

Now, at this point, they’re still not sure if the tumors were really caused by God or if it was all just a coincidence. So they come up with a test. 

[v. 7] – Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

They take the Ark of the Lord and these golden guilt offerings and they place it on a cart and they yoke the cart to two nursing cows that have never pulled a cart before, which is a really smart idea because… 

For one, when it comes to taking up a yoke, normally you’d pair a new animal with an experienced one. You don’t put two beginners together because they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know how to walk side-by-side, so they won’t be able to get where you need them to go.  

But on top of that, the two cows are both nursing moms. They’re not about to run off to Singapore without their babies. That would go against their motherly instincts. So if these cows figure out how to carry off the Ark to Israel, and they leave their calves behind, then we know this is an act of God. So they lock the calves away, set the cows on the road, and watch what happens. 

The two cows beeline it straight to Israel. [v. 12] says, “They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.”

Now, I don’t know how often you’re trying to test God, but at the very least, we can say the Lord’s not trying to hide himself from anyone. 

1. God’s willing to do whatever it takes to make Himself known.  

Now, that might feel counter to your experience. Maybe you’ve wondered why it feels like God does stay hidden. Or why it seems like God makes himself known to some but not to others?  

I was at an event the other week where this guy asked me: Do you think it’s fair for God to judge people who’ve never had the chance to hear the gospel? And I’m like, man, that’s a really great question I didn’t know this was the setting for.  

But the more I read the Bible—the more I see stories like this—I think God’s posture toward the world is not one of hiddenness but of pursuit. Like, he’s not up in the clouds somewhere sitting on his hands waiting for people to discover some secret riddle. God wants to be known.  

When this life is all said and done, I don’t think we’re going to be asking God why he didn’t do more to reveal himself. But honestly, that’s all hypothetical anyway. Because the practical side of all this is, what about right now? God is a fair Judge, but what’s that to you? Because God’s making himself known to you right here. Do you want to know him? 

The other day, I heard this Iranian-American guy share how he became a Christian. Grew up Muslim. His family fled Iran when he was 9; came to the US when he was 10.  

When he was a teenager, one of his school friends used to invite him to church all the time. Used to annoy him. He’s like, “Dude, do you not get that I’m a Muslim?”  

One day, this same friend was hanging around his house, and he invited him to church again. Well, his dad was home, so he thought this will be the perfect opportunity to get my friend to stop inviting me to church. He knew his dad would never let him go to church in a million years. There’s the TEST. 

So he went to his dad’s room. He said, “Hey dad, I’m sorry about this, but my friend keeps asking me if I can go to church with him. I know what you’re gonna say. He’s in the next room. Can you just answer loud enough so he can hear you?” But his dad said, “What’s the name of the church?”  

See, this guy was part of a typical Iranian family. His dad never shared much about anything. Well, his dad owned a struggling restaurant. A few weeks before this, some guys from a local church came to eat at his restaurant and noticed he needed help. So after eating, they got up and started waiting and busing tables for free. They came back the next day; same thing. 

They ended up inviting his dad to choir practice at their church. Then, after choir practice, they passed around a sign-up sheet for more people from the church to go volunteer at the restaurant.  

The son had no idea about any of that. His dad asked, “What’s the name of the church?” – it ended up being the same church that had been coming to help him over the last few weeks.  

So his dad told him, “That’s the only church you’re allowed to go to.” The son couldn’t believe it. Told his friend, my dad said I can go to church with you. That church ended up being the place where he would hear the gospel and give his life to Jesus.  

See, God makes himself known to everyone. He knows what he’s up against. He can make hard-hearted fathers give their sons permission to attend church. He can make nursing cows cart an Ark back to Israel. God’s willing to do whatever it takes to make himself known.  

The question is, How will we respond when he does? 

[v. 13] – Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

[v. 19] – And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.  

When the Israelites see the return of the Ark, they’re excited! The cows stop right in front of this huge stone. The priests come and handle the Ark. 

They use the cart for wood and offer up the cows as a burnt offering. Everybody’s rejoicing. They’re happy.  

But then, the people start dying. 70 men get struck down, just for looking in the Ark, which kinda seems unfair. I mean, the Ark of God was with the Philistines for 7 months, and no mention of death by sight. The text doesn’t clearly state what was so offensive to God.  

Whatever they did, it brings us back to the problem of God’s holy presence. See, God makes himself known to all, but he wants a special kind of relationship with those who actually surrender to him. 

2. God holds His followers to a different standard.  

This is the thing about relating to a holy God. To be holy means God is set apart. He’s not like us. He gets to define the relationship on his terms. And these aren’t just some arbitrary rules, even when they don’t make sense to us. 

Sometimes my kids complain that I get to make the rules in my home. Emphasis on the “my” because it’s not “theirs.” Their voice is valued, but it’s not equal.  

But you know, the vast majority of these “rules” we place on their lives are for their good. I mean, we’re talking brush your teeth, wear clothes, eat food, go to bed, don’t hit other people. I feel like this is a low bar.  

God’s bar is much higher. See, he wants a special kind of relationship with us. That doesn’t mean Christians are superior to non-Christians. Far from it! But there should be a distinction.  

It wouldn’t make sense for us to expect non-Christians to act like Christians, and neither should we expect Christians to act like everybody else. Freedom in Christ, yes! But freedom to do whatever you want, no! 

Too often Christians embrace a mindset that is far too casual toward God in the sense that they think, why would God care how I live? Like, big picture stuff, sure. But he’s not gonna get lost in the details. As long as I give some money to the church, God doesn’t care how I use the rest. As long as I spend some time doing Christian things, he doesn’t care how worldly the rest of my life looks. 

Maybe that’s what the Israelites thought. God doesn’t care how we handle the Ark. He doesn’t care if we disobey his rules as long as we make up for it with sacrifices.  

But Psalm 8:4 says, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” It’s actually surprising how much God does care about us.  

He wants us to “be holy as He’s holy” and to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”²

Why does God care so much? Because He wants a relationship with you. And a relationship with God is meant to be both personal and public.  

See, God wants us to be like him, and the way you become like someone is by spending time together. Do stuff together. They rub off on you.  

My son is really into basketball right now. We have a little hoop at home, and he always wants to play. He likes playing against his mom because she lets him win. He likes being on my team because I don’t. I’ve told him he has plenty of years ahead to become better than me, but right now this is still my era. 

He hates losing, but I keep telling him that losing hasn’t stopped him from improving. And through those times, we’ve gotten to overcome a lot of lies and doubts together. And honestly, he’s gotten a lot better. I’ve told him before that one day he’ll be better than me in every way. He thinks that’s not possible, but I’ve told him I’m committed to it.  

That’s the Christian life. See, in this special kind of relationship, God commits himself to us, except we can’t be better than God. But we can become like him, and that’s what he promises.  

[1 John 3:1] – See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

² 1 Peter 1:16; Philippians 2:12-13 

God wants us to live a certain way because he wants us to become more like him. But he also wants our faith to be visible to others, so they can see the change God is making in us and give glory to him. And the growth God produces in our lives is meant to attract people toward him, so that he can move in their lives too. 

Now, sometimes we might wonder what it even looks like to have a personal relationship with this God. Like, am I walking with God? Am I growing in my relationship with him?  

There’s some people here this morning who’ve been Christians their whole life, but for some reason, you’ve never grown in your faith. So even when you go to church, you feel like you stay the same. God was near, but it didn’t really do anything. That’s the camp the Israelites are in in our story. 

Getting God back in Israel isn’t the same thing as God having rule over their lives. And when they realize there’s still a gap between them and God…[v. 20] – the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “ThePhilistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

They recognize that God is holy, but they’re fine to drive him away. They still have a superficial faith. How do they change that?  

3. The only way to know and grow in your faith is to make Jesus your King.  

The question is: Who’s able to stand before the holy God? This is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. It’s the difference between a cheap imitation and having the real thing, and there’s just some things you don’t buy cheap. [Beds, floss, saviors] 

The way you answer that question changes everything. The great religions of the world will tell you that the way to enter the presence of God comes through a list of all the things you must do. It’s very transactional. It’s why it eventually just wastes away like an old appliance.  

But what makes the Christian faith so radically different is the gospel. See, in every other religion, the Teacher tells you all the things you must DO to earn God’s favor. But in Christianity, you get the story of how Jesus has DONE everything necessary to save you.  

Jesus is the only one holy enough to enter the presence of God. He lived the life we were meant to live but couldn’t. And he died the death we were condemned to die in our place.  

Who can stand before the Lord? Religion says no one can because we could never do enough. But the gospel says you can because Christ was enough for you.  

That’s also why we’d say the way to start and grow in the Christian life is the same. JDG says, “Gowth in Christ is never going beyond the gospel, but going deeper into the gospel.” That can be applied in so many ways… 

• How do I start a relationship with God? Through faith in the finished work of Jesus.   
• How often should I forgive those who wrong me? Only as often as God’s forgiven you in Christ.  
• How do I honor God in my workplace? See yourself, first and foremost, as working for God and not man, and live sent just like God sent His only Son to lay down his life for you.  

The gospel is the means by which we’re saved. It’s also the message God continues to use to purge sin out of our lives and to transform us into the image of his Son. Unfortunately for Israel, there’s a lot of purging to do. It takes a long time…

[7v1] – And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

For perspective, 20 years ago was May 2006. Imagine telling yourself since May 2006, I don’t go to church. I don’t pray. I don’t read the Bible. I don’t rely on God. I don’t do anything for God. I don’t tell others about God. But I’m a Christian.  

Meanwhile, God’s presence was available to them. The Ark was there. It was just sitting tucked away for 20 years. But you know what’s worse than waiting 20 years to come to God? Coming never.  

But in all that waiting, the people’s hunger for God grows. They lament. They become discontent with the lack of God in their lives. You know when the best time to come back to the Lord is? Today.  

Maybe God’s doing that work in your life right now. It’s been 7 months. It’s been 20 years. It doesn’t matter. It’s not too late to repent and return to the Lord. How do I do that?  

[v. 3] – And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only. 5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel atMizpah.

How do I come to the Lord? Confess your sin and surrender your whole heart to him. Commit to making Jesus your King. You cannot come to him with a divided heart. That means he gets say over all of life.  

So ask yourself: What other things have I given control to besides God? What voices compete with Jesus in my life? My career? My family? Other religions? Make them subordinate to Jesus and then obey him as he puts these things in their proper place in your life. Trust him, even when it’s hard. Even when you don’t understand his ways you know that he’s good. 

But let me also warn you: When the people do turn back to the Lord, you know what the first thing that happens is?  

They face opposition. This is one of those things we know on paper to be true, but we struggle to believe in practice: The strength of our faith shouldn’t be measured by how easy or hard our lives are.  

Failure doesn’t mean God’s against me, and success doesn’t mean that He’s for me. But we struggle with that.  

The Philistines were successful. But God wasn’t showing them favor; he was using them to judge his people. On the flipside, Israel has a genuine come-to-Jesus moment, and then the very next thing that happens is they get attacked by the Philistines. [v. 7] says they were afraid, but where in the past they used God as a good luck charm to get what they wanted, here they cast their fears onto the Lord. 

[v. 8] – And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.  

He heard their cries and fought for them. Even in their fear, their faith grew because they leaned on the Lord and trusted him. And the same God who answered them then is still fighting for us today. He wants us to rely on him. That’s what I want to call us to now.

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^[1] Works Consulted:  

The First Book of Samuel – Tsumura; 1 & 2 Samuel – Vannoy; “How You Relate to the Lord” – Lowe; “Dagon’s Killer App” – Atwood