Questions of Power
This week I read the story of how the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and suffered disastrous results. I will give a brief summary of the story.
The army of Israel went to battle against the Philistines and saw that they were in trouble, so they sent for the ark in hopes that it would give them an advantage. They thought the ark would provide them with power from God. Possibly they thought the ark itself was a source of power or strength, and being in close proximity to the ark would salvage the victory. When the ark arrived, all of Israel shouted. The Philistines heard the great noise and discovered that the ark had arrived in the Israelite camp.
I will break from the summary to give you my thoughts about the Philistines’ unexpected response when they realized that the ark was with the camp of Israel. They were afraid! Why would they be frightened of a gold-covered box containing a couple of rocks with writing on them, a stick, and a pot of expired manna? To the Philistines, none of these things had any significance. They worshiped different gods and derived perceived blessings from them.
However, this was not the case. They knew that the ark represented the power of a god that plagued the Egyptians and played a significant role in the success of Israel. The exact quote is, “Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.” But then they sucked it up like men and fought and won.
Now, back to the story. The keepers of the ark were killed, and the ark was taken from Israel. What happened next was not good. People suffered in every place where the ark was taken over the next several months. Plagues of boils in very uncomfortable places came, and the image of their chief god Dagon was left a stump with head and palms removed. The heavy hand of God came down, spreading destruction throughout the city.
Side note: In the famous movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Germans were turned to wax and melted when they wanted to use the ark’s power to gain an advantage in the war.
The Philistines and the fictional German characters in the movie discovered that the ark indeed was powerful but not in a way they expected.
So, why would an object have the power to save and destroy depending on who possessed it? The obvious answer is that the object is only a representation of the real source of power. It was not the ark; it was and is the covenant. The power of the covenant is manifest to varying degrees and in different ways depending on the diligence and effort made in making and keeping covenants.
Covenants have both the power to save and to destroy. Those who take upon themselves certain covenants experience power in dealing with life’s challenges. Covenants require us to act in ways that always result in long-term well-being. They have the effect of giving us the power to succeed as human beings. Our focus is always aimed above our current circumstances and keeps us moving forward. We are not meant to be stagnant.
Those who abandon their covenants suffer consequences they may not realize immediately. Instead of constant progression, lateral moves in a search for meaning, often in pleasure rather than happiness, leave one mired in the mundane affairs of life.
All too often, some who have made covenants turn against them and openly mock them. It seems that critics of faith recognize a power in the covenants like the Philistines recognized the power of God associated with the ark and believed that if they could take a source of power from others by derisive speech and actions, they would prevail in some twisted way. Being so troubled by those who practice a faith unlike their own must be hard. Like the Philistines, they will realize that stealing the source of power for the people of the covenant, and hoping to gain some power for themselves, will see that power turning against them.
Power is in controlling yourself, not in controlling others. Those who possess the metaphorical ark do not always maintain a good kind of power, and it will probably result in their destruction.