Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2239
“And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! For there has not been such a thing before” 1 Samuel 4:7.
ISRAEL was out of gear with God. The people had forgotten the Most High and had gone aside to the worship of Baal. They had neglected the things of God and, therefore, they were given up to their enemies. When Jehovah had brought them out of Egypt, He instructed them how they were to live in the land to which He would bring them, and warned them that if they forsook Him, they would be chastened. His words were very plain—“If you will not, for all this, hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.” In fulfillment of this threat, the Philistines had been Divinely permitted to make great havoc of the idolatrous Israelites and to hold them in cruel slavery.
The only way for them to get out of their trouble was to return to God, who, by His judgments, seemed to say, “Hear you the rod, and who has appointed it.” The only cure for their hurt was to go back with repentance and renew their faith and their covenant with God. Then all would have been right. But this is the last thing that men will do! Our minds, by nature, love not spiritual things. We will attend to any outward duty, or to any external rite—but to bring our hearts into subjection to the Divine will, to bow our minds to the Most High and to serve the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul—the natural man abhors! Yet nothing less than this will suffice to turn our captivity.
Instead of attempting to get right with God, these Israelites set about devising superstitious means of securing the victory over their foes. In this respect, most of us have imitated them. We think of a thousand inventions, but we neglect the one thing necessary. I may be addressing some who, at this time, are passing through sore trials and who, therefore, think that they must have forgotten some little thing in connection with external religion, instead of seeing that it matters little what outward observance they may neglect, so long as they do not possess the faith, without which, it is impossible to please God! They forgot the main matter, which is to enthrone God in the life and to seek to do His will by faith in Christ Jesus. Get right with God! Confess your sin! Believe in Jesus Christ, the appointed Savior! Be reconciled to God by the death of His Son—then all will be right between you and the Father in Heaven. We cannot bring men to this, apart from the Spirit of God.
In this sermon I shall have to show you how often and in how many ways men seek other methods of cure than the only one, namely, to take the case to God. They heal their hurt slightly. They cry, “Peace! Peace!” where there is no peace, and adopt a thousand devious devices rather than accept the only remedy provided by the Great Physician for sin-sick souls. Instead of seeking to become right with God, these Israelites thought that if they could get the Ark of the Covenant, which had been the symbol of Jehovah’s Presence, and bring it from the tent of Shiloh into the midst of their camp, they would then be certain of victory. So they sent and fetched the Ark—and when it came into the camp, they were enthusiastic as if their banners already waved over a victorious host! They lifted up their voices so loudly that the earth rang, again, with their shouts, while the Philistines, hearing their exulting shout and finding out the reason, were greatly afraid. With fearful hearts and trembling lips, already counting that all was lost, their enemies turned to one another and said, “God has come into the camp. Woe unto us! For there has not been such a thing before.”
In considering this subject, we will think, first, of the great mistake which both Israel and the Philistines made. In the second place, we will consider the great truth of which their mistake was a caricature. God does come into the camp when
His people go forth to fight in His name. And when He really comes, the tide of battle is turned. When I have spoken on these two things, I shall close, as God shall help me, by speaking upon the great lessons which lie almost upon the very surface of the narrative.
I. First, then, let us consider THE GREAT MISTAKE which both the Israelites and Philistines made. The Israelites, instead of seeing to God, Himself, went to Shiloh to fetch the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the sacred place where God revealed Himself in the days when His people truly served Him. But it was devoid of power without the Presence of Him who dwelt between the cherubim. The Israelites were mistaken, for they shouted long before they were “out of the woods.” Before they had won any victory, the sight of the Ark made them boastful and confident. The Philistines fell into an error of a different kind, for they were frightened without any real cause. They said, “God has come into the camp,” whereas God had not come at all! It was only the Ark with the cherubim on it—God was not there.