The 1980’s blockbuster movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford, was a great adventure movie with truck loads of action, a little romance and scary special effects. But the true account of the Ark of the Covenant of God is much more exciting than the movie, it really is! It’s a good thing to study the true story of The Ark of the Covenant of God, because in studying it we can see the heart of God, His love for His people and His desire to presence Himself with them.
In 1 Samuel 5-6, The Ark of the Covenant of God had been on a journey into the enemy territory of the Philistines and back out again. The Philistines had acquired the Ark as a spoil of war at a time when the Israelites were dishonoring their covenant with God. But the Ark of the Covenant of God didn’t belong to the Philistines, it wasn’t theirs to keep, it belonged to the Hebrew people. So God made it very ‘uncomfortable’ for the Philistines to keep His Ark until finally, they gladly sent the Ark back home with gifts of gold. God would defend His honour in the midst of the Philistines, but He would not defend the Israelites when He was in their midst because they had ceased to honour Him.
As Christians, we need to honour God in our lives. Becoming a Christian is not about God being on OUR SIDE rather it is about US being on HIS. His is the only side that counts. The Israelites were not on God’s side; they were doing their own evil thing but still expecting God to keep His side of the Covenant when they needed protection. That’s not how it goes. If we want to stay under God’s umbrella of protection we must honour Him by being obedient to His Word. Jesus said in John 14:23 ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.’