My name is Jaehyun Park, and I serve as the youth pastor at Wooridul Church. We are currently studying the book of Samuel, and I believe that reading your book, 'The One Who Heard the Word,' will lead us to a deeper meditation, and I hope that 'The One Who Heard the Word' will be a time of salvation for you and me to recover the lost Ark of the Covenant. Today, lets meditate together on what it will take for the Ark of the Covenant to return.
First, the time of unbearable suffering must be filled.
The Philistines are constantly harassing Israel, and in the face of repeated defeats, Israel brings the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolizes Gods presence, to the battlefield. Instead of seeking Gods will as to why they are losing this battle, they hold on to the belief that the Ark of the Covenant is all they need to win: 'My business will always be successful because I prayed today, my children will always be successful because I worshiped and offered sacrifices today, and my children will always be successful because I worshiped and offered sacrifices today.' As a result, they lose the battle and the Ark of the Covenant is taken away. The consequence of using Gods name as a means to success is that Israels worship is broken. Worship for success equals broken worship.
The Philistines had been worshiping the god Dagon, who symbolized the abundance and material things of Canaan, and now that they have the Ark of the Covenant, they want to use it to fulfill their greed and ambition. So after much deliberation, they place the Ark of the Covenant next to the temple of Dagon, but God judges their god by breaking off the hands and feet of the statue of Dagon, leaving only the torso. And for seven months, God judges the Philistines with a vicious boil, the sound of which is said to have reached the heavens. For seven months, Gods plagues were perfect, like a perfect seven. When the Philistines time of suffering was overwhelming and Gods time of seven months had been fulfilled, they decided to return the Ark of the Covenant to Israel. I believe that if you repent and turn to God through a time of suffering in your life that you cannot handle, it is a time of salvation, not disaster.
Second, we should not turn to the left or right.
The Philistines decide to bring the ark of the covenant back to the house of God by calling in the priests and the magicians, and they dont hear the word, so when disaster comes, they dont go to the place of repentance, they go to the place of problem-solving. They have the ark of the covenant carried by two heifers who have just given birth to a calf and have never been yoked before, and they test God by trying to maternalize him, saying that if the heifers go to Bethshemesh, the house of God, its a disaster from God, and if they go back to their own house because they miss their calf, its an accident.No one is leading the heifer, shes completely led by God, and she walks in tears.My nature wants to go home, but I go where God calls and leads, so mission is a call, not a volunteer. Jesus obeyed Gods call like a cow, taking up the cross and going up to Golgotha hill, walking in tears thinking of us as sinners. It is said that the cows went to Gods house without deviating to the left or right. To not deviate to the left or right is to express absolute obedience. In the same way, a person who takes on Gods mission does not deviate to the left or right, but walks all the way to the cross with the word as the center.
Third, they should be offered as burnt offerings.
The two heifers arrive at their destination, Bethshemesh, without veering to the left or right, but their mission does not end with carrying the ark of the covenant they are offered to the Lord as burnt offerings (v. 14). Because the animals touched the holy things of God, they cannot be used for secular purposes again, so they are offered as burnt offerings.A burnt offering is a complete burning without any residue, and our final mission is to burn our lives completely with the fire of the Holy Spirit and make a complete commitment. After the two heifers are offered as burnt offerings, worship is restored in the land of Israel.God restores the broken worship of the land of Israel by using two unblemished heifers, not priests.
Restored worship means salvation, and when our worship is restored, saving grace comes. We believe that God has restored our worship and our lives by the blood of Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God, for our salvation.
My mother suffered tremendous hardship and persecution as a result of her infidel marriage to my alcoholic father in the faith of her day. He persecuted my church-going sister and me, and my parents, who were always calling for a divorce, decided to get one when I was in high school. When the paperwork was done and my maternal uncle asked, 'Who are you guys going to live with?' I replied, 'Im not going to my mom or my dad, so send me to daycare!' The pent-up anger at my parents decision to divorce against their childrens wishes was unleashed. The time of hardship caused by the family discord was fulfilled and God began to work then, and my parents rescinded their divorce. After that, my father joined the church and is now sober and an ordained minister in another church. My mother, who persevered to keep the family together, is now undergoing cancer treatment for evil boils on her body and mind. Because my mother was offered as a burnt offering, worship was restored in our home, saving grace came upon us, and I was able to carry on the line of Jesus. And my suffering is being used as a salvation medicine to comfort my teenage children and save my family.
For the Ark of the Covenant to return, the time of unbearable suffering must be filled, and we must walk the way of the cross without turning to the right or left. Our lives must be offered as burnt offerings. I believe that when my life is offered as a burnt offering for one soul, the ark of Gods covenant will come into my family and the grace of salvation will be manifested. I earnestly hope that I will be a saint who will carry the ark of Gods covenant all my life and walk the way of the cross until the end.
