Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot-soldiers. The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, October 18, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
You can’t win ‘em all. Despite being God’s chosen people, the Israelites were frequently overmatched, routed, conquered, and otherwise harried by their neighboring nations. Lots of real estate in the Hebrew Bible is dedicated to exploring how the Israelites brought this on themselves by rejecting God. But in this story, God doesn’t appear at all, and has nothing to say about what happens. The Philistines attack the Israelites, the Israelites bring in the ark thinking it will win the battle for them, the Philistines freak out and fight like maniacs and win. The punch line is that Eli’s two sons are killed, which God told Samuel would happen because they were awful people, but I can’t believe the entire military fiasco, which killed thirty thousand, was orchestrated by God to visit justice on two people.
So what are we to take from this passage (especially considering that the story continues on after this)? Bad things happen. Life is precarious. It doesn’t matter who you are, how strong your faith, or how charmed your life seems. It doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you or is punishing you. It just is. And God is there, holding, loving, and sustaining you through whatever life throws your way.
Where was God the last time something truly challenging happened in my life?