Be Real - Heart Check
Today, our text will be 1 Samuel 7:1-4 and our study will pick up from yesterday’s blog “We Need a Mediator!”, where a group of Israelites mistakenly opened the Ark of the Covenant of God and looked inside. These 70 were struck down and we were reminded that no one can stand before God by based on their own efforts. When we are real, find deep joy in the Gospel because through Jesus we can stand before God. Today, in our text the people of Israel are called to repentance from worshipping other gods and walking away from the LORD. Repentance requires a change in all of me away from myself to God.
Verse 1 serves as a bridge from the last chapter because the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim who had been asked to take the ark have now come and retrieved it. Fast forward 20 years and the Israelites are lamenting after the Lord. Why were they lamenting? because they were under the powerful threat and rule of the Philistines as a result of their rebellion and disobedience to God. Furthermore, the Philistines were preparing to conquest against them anew and more suffering was sure to come.
In response to the cries of the people, Samuel says “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart then put the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” This is today’s key verse and notice that this is a conditional statement. If the Israelites will return to God with all their heart, then He will rescue them. God’s covenant with His people was conditional meaning that enjoying God’s blessings was dependent on their obedience.
The key thought today is that the LORD is far more interested in having all of our hearts than merely our good works and religious rituals. One can do acts of service for the Lord with a heart that is far from Him and this may look good to other people, but it is not pleasing to the Lord. When we love God with all our heart, He has all of us! The heart is the core of who we are housing our desires, informing what we say, think, and do.
If the people truly are coming back to the LORD with all their heart than their actions will follow. In other words, the fruit don’t lie! How to I ensure my heart is wholly given to the Lord? Our primary means is through reading, studying, and obeying His Word. The Word of God through the Spirit of God enables my life to be transformed as I align my heart, thinking, and actions with the Bible.
Today, God’s favor is not dependent on our ability to keep the Law. God’s favor is poured out on those who have trusted in Christ and are being conformed into His image. At the same time, if I am reading and obeying God’s Word, my actions will be pleasing to Him.
Be Real – what does the fruit (words, thoughts, and actions) of my life indicate? Am I wholly devoted to God or do I need to repent and seek Him?