www.rossvillechurch.com

781 Salem Road, Rossville, GA 307411

Fifth Sunday October 30

October 2, 2011

Concert December 4, 2011

Not onlyNot only the Philistines, but some IsraeliteIsraelites played hot hot potatopotato with the Ark of God.

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The Philistines returnedreturned the Ark to Israel.

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13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.

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15 And the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.

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16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

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18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the Ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.

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19 And He smoteHe smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lordlooked into the Ark of the Lord, even He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

50,070 Israelites dead.

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But truly they were killedkilled because of their indifferenceindifference to the Word of God.

God had toldtold them howhow to handle His Ark.

He had taughttaught them how to show reverenceshow reverence.

But they handled it like a noveltynovelty,

Pawing Pawing through it with indifference to its holinessholiness.

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20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this Holy Lord God? and to whom shall He go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the Ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

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When the reapers saw the ark, they rejoiced; their joy for that was greater than the joy of harvest. The return of the ark, and the revival of holy ordinances, after days of restraint and trouble, are matters of great joy.

Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary.

WorshipWorship of the Great Provider is more important than workingworking for

provision.Psalms 127 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep.

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Unfortunately the people of Beth Shemesh not only rejoiced at the return of the ark and offered... sacrifices in worship, but they desecrateddesecrated it by opening it and looking inside perhaps to see if the stone tablets of the Law were still there. This violated the Mosaic statute that only Levitesonly Levites could handle the ark and not even they could touch it not even they could touch it directly, to say nothing of looking within itdirectly, to say nothing of looking within it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

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The men of Bethshemesh responded wronglyresponded wrongly to God's Judgment.

They chose to get ridget rid of the Ark because of the 50,070 deaths.

What shouldshould they have done?

RepentedRepented for their mishandling of the Ark,

And learned to carecare properly for it.

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When they sent wordsent word to Kirjath-Jearim that the Ark had been returned,

They didn't mentiondidn't mention the 50,070 deaths.

They just wanted the Ark goneArk gone.

If they had learnedlearned from their mishandling of the Ark, and studiedstudied the Scriptures to learnlearn

proper handling,

They could have received They could have received great great blessingblessing.

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Why is it so hard to admit culpabilityadmit culpability and accept accept responsibilityresponsibility for our wrong-doing?

When we admitadmit that we are wrong, we are confessing a need to changechange.

Most people don'tdon't want to change.

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Most people want their circumstances to change.

They want their troublestroubles to end.

But they love their own way.

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God's Way isis the Way of blessing.

Every WordPower and Direction

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When we go our own wayown way, seeking peace, seeking joy, seeking love and affection

through humanthrough human logic and effort,

We find, at bestat best, a poor substitute.And we often find troubletrouble, turmoilturmoil, and lustlust.

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The Way of blessing

Proverbs 3 7-8 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.