PWNED!

1 Samuel 4: Epilogue

After the terrible outcome in the battle between Israel and the Philistines chronicled in 1 Samuel 4, it would seem that Israel was done for.  They had been defeated on the battlefield, they had lost thirty four thousand men (which doesn’t even count the wounded), the High Priest and his two sons were dead, and worst of all: The holy ark of the Lord had been captured by the Philistines.  I can imagine that the people were pretty depressed. The scene in 1 Sam 4:19-22 says it all:  “[Ichabod] The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

But in the midst of this terrible situation, something rather incredible is about to happen. You see, when things look terrible, when it looks as though life as we know it is finished, there is one thing we need to always remember:  God is not finished! God is always working, always moving, in spite of the circumstances. God is about to reveal Himself: To the Philistines, and to Israel, if they’ll listen.

One of my boys likes to play video games, and he's pretty sick (in other words, he's really good). During a game when he totally dominates an opponent, the appropriate term to describe the victory is "PWNED" (sounds like "owned" but with a "P").  It basically means "to own" or to totally dominate an opponent or situation, as if by some god-like force (E.G. "dude, you've been PWNED!).

So the ark is now in the possession of the Philistines, but it doesn’t turn out quite the way the Philistines expected.  The Philistines had brought the ark and placed it into the temple of their main god, Dagon.  Sort of a victory thing, as in "our God took out your god!" But once the ark is placed into the temple, let’s just say PWNED is the right word to describe what happens next.

Join us Sunday for 1 Samuel 5-7, “PWNED!”

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay