One God.

This morning I was reading about the Philistines 
who captured the Ark of the Covenant 
the 'secret weapon' of Israel...     
that didn't kinda work that time...   
and so the Philistines ended up with it.  

The Holiness of The Creator of the Universe's  
presence...     
I would have thought it would be a pleasant thing  
for anyone who experienced it... 
....Apparently NOT.     

The Stone Idol of Dagon didn't fair well in the Ark's presence
Then each city that the Ark was in
experienced serious trauma
Tumors and Rats mysteriously began to appear and people died...

so they did the 'cow test'
to see if the problems were actually from the Ark
and they were...
Read about it in 1 Sam 5:1 - 6:12

Sooo.....
I was wondering.
The Ark was a blessing to those who had it on Israel's side
(most of the time)
But a curse on the other side....

What's the diff?
What's the big deal?
Wouldn't God want the Philistines to like Him too?

Hmm...

Mixing allegiances.
Making a 'god' to look after whatever
whenever we need it...

The Ark was 'the God of Israel' to the Philistines
But
not the God of the Universe
It was just a 'box' that had a strong spirit in it.
and they took it from Israel
so they could win the battle.....

And Jehovah God
Master of the Universe
Creator of all things great
and small...
requires so much more than that.
so much more....

Lord Jesus
You call me to be a disciple
to step away from all that I trust in
so I must trust in You
alone.

no other 'gods' in my box of things to 'fix life'
Finance
Medical
Government
Family
even Church.

Just You.
alone.

Yes.

PJ