From these Bible texts we can learn some principles of truth about our victory (I Samuel 4:1 b-11; 7:3-14):
1. Our victory is determined by how great God is working in our midst, not how great the accessories/attributes of divinity that we have (I Samuel 4:1b-11).
The people of Israel lost against the Philistines, and they asked why did God let them lose? Then they searched for ideas and methods to win, and they came out with a brilliant idea and method: the Ark of God! Bring the Ark of God to the battlefield.
When they got a new idea and method, they became enthusiastic. When the Ark of God arrived on the battlefield they cheered and were confident that they would win this time.
Elsewhere, the Philistines heard the call for victory in the tents of Israel, and they found out what caused it.
When they knew that the Ark of God was in the tents of Israel, they became afraid, because they feared the God of Israel who had delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery by sending various plagues.
But there were some people who gave encouragement to them and eventually they went out against the Israelites.
The position now was Israel went to war with the confidence to win, whereas the Philistines went to war with doubt to win. The result: Israel lost! Even worse than the previous lost.
Why? Was not there the Ark of God there? Yes! But the problem was there was no God! The Ark of God is a symbol of God’s presence, but the Ark of God is not the same as God and not God. The Ark of God is the accessory/attribute of divinity, but not God!
We may use various attributes of divinity, but we still don’t live victoriously. All the attributes of divinity/spirituality, such as cross, oil, prayer, worship, Bible, etc., if there is no life of God that accompanies them, they are only accessories. That which makes it powerful is the existence of God himself.
Church without the move of God is an accessory that is not powerful. What determines our victory is not the accessory but the existence of God itself. When God moves in our midst, our enemies will surely be defeated and we definitely win!
2. Our victory is determined by who our leader is, not by the existence of our enemy and us.
Israel lost even though they had the Ark of God and they were confident to win, while the enemy was not confident to win. Why? Because God didn’t move in their midst.
Why God didn’t move? Because they were led by Hophni and Phinehas, the two leaders who had been rejected by God. This two leaders could not draw God to move in their midst.
If we compare it to I Samuel 7:3-14, the event happened differently. Israel faced the same enemy, and now there was no Ark of God there. Then the Philistines attacked with confident to win while Israel was afraid. But the result? Israel won!
Why did Israel win? Because God was moving in their midst. Why did God move in their midst? Because they were led by Samuel. God was moving because of Samuel.
“And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel” (I Sam. 7:9-10).
Our victory is not determined by the existence of enemies/us, but by who our leader is. Samuel was a leader who was chosen by God to represent His own existence.
That’s why if Samuel led, the Lord moved; but if Hophni and Phinehas led, God didn’t move, even if there was the Ark of God. All the spirituality attributes that we bring cannot force God to move. If God is willing, He will move!
We need to have a leader who acts in accordance with God’s heart and soul like Samuel, because our victory is determined by the existence of our leader before God.
Whatever your existence or your enemy
as long as you are led by a leader
that can function properly
YOU SURELY WIN!
Also read: The Foundation of Our Lives.
