In this sermon, the preacher discusses the significance of God speaking again after 350 years of silence. He emphasizes that God is revealing himself to Samuel and that this is a great day for Israel. The sermon focuses on the story of the Ark of the Covenant, picking up the narrative 400 years later. The preacher explains that God's movement and response to the cry of the womb and the desire for rest is the first step towards finding rest and ultimately locating the Ark of the Temple.

So thankful for this precious word and the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts to turn our eyes unto Christ. Lord God has given us much light for this we thank thee. We also know that we are still blind in the light of all there is to know about thee. And so we would ask thee Lord to meet us where we are. You know our capacities and our hungers and our needs, our background. You know all about us. And you know how to meet us. And so you speak we pray to our spirits. We pray that you would use human instruments. We pray that you would bypass human instruments. We just don't want flesh and blood to get in the way. And so we just wait upon thee and expect to be ministered unto by thee. Thank you in advance that you will meet us tonight because we ask it in Jesus precious name. Amen. Before we begin looking together at God's word, let me make a couple of announcements. I think all of you look in his word. This is the second lesson of a little series that we're doing. I really don't have a title for the series. I'll tell you what it's about but maybe by the time we're finished you can give me a title for it. We're following the ark. I don't really think that's a good title, following the ark. But that's what we're doing. We're following the ark of God, the ark of the covenant. And we're picking up the story not at the beginning where God begins it. But we're actually picking up the story of the ark about 400 years down the road. As far as the Bible record goes, there was a great flurry of inspiration. A lot of Bible space about the ark for the first 50 years. So when God instituted the ark and that ark of the covenant was built, that's almost all you heard about for a while. The ark, the ark, the ark, the ark. And then all of a sudden there was about 350 years of silence. And you don't hear about the ark all through the dark days of the judges. There is not a word about the ark. And all of a sudden it's almost as if the Holy Spirit comes in a second time and there's another flurry of inspiration. And the ark, the ark, the ark, the ark. And we're actually picking up in that second flurry about 400 years after God ordained the ark. And the question that we've asked and we're trying to answer, and this is what gave birth to this little series, is why all this attention about the ark of God? Why this sudden interest? Why does the Holy Spirit all of a sudden put the spotlight again on this marvelous box, this marvelous ark? And the answer to that question is really why we're looking at this little series. Now there's clear evidence that God himself is painting a picture in the history of the ark. In other words, as you can read stuff into the Bible, you know, anybody can almost read anything in. And we try not to do that. But I think there's so much here on the ark, I think you'll see that it's clear this isn't man's idea. God intended it. Now let me just give this much background. We introduced this last time. I'll get that before your heart again. Just to get us into the flow and then we'll pick up where we left off. The ark and the Lord are used interchangeably. In other words, they're synonyms. And sometimes you read the ark, sometimes you read the Lord. When the ark moved, the Lord moved. And when the ark went before him, the Lord went before him. And when the ark encamped in the center of the tribes, the Lord encamped in the center of the tribes. We don't follow the ark because we don't want to follow the Lord. It's insane. It's just a picture of following the Lord. Now it's instructed also that the ark was in the shape of an oriental throne. So we're not only following the Lord, we're following a certain aspect of the Lord. We're following the throne. We're following the king. And so when we follow the ark, we're following not only Jesus, we're following King Jesus. Now we follow the ark to follow the Lord and so the question has to arise, where is the ark going? You see, the ark had a destination. The ark had a goal. The ark was moving someplace. It wasn't just random. It wasn't just arbitrary. One day the ark just decided, I think I'll go north. I think I'll go south or something like that. It wasn't like that at all. The ark, like our Lord Jesus, set its face, if it had a face, in a direction, like a flint. Where was the ark going? Why was it on the move? Where was it heading? What was its final destination? And the Bible teaches that the ark had a goal, a place. Listen as I quote 2 Chronicles 5, 7. It says, Then the priest brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place into the inner sanctuary of the house, at Solomon's temple, to the holy of holies under the wings of the cherubim. The Bible teaches that the ark was looking for a resting place. Looking for a place to live. Looking for a place to settle down. Looking for a place to abide. Looking for a place that it could call home. And as you follow the ark and watch it move, its heading always deliberately, its moving toward a resting place where the ark could rest and from which the ark could reign. According to the record, Solomon's temple was that destination. And the heart of the temple is the holy of holies. The ark was moving, moving, moving, always toward the temple, always toward the heart of the temple. You see the glory of the Lord, the great glory cloud, that didn't fill the temple when the ark went in the temple. The glory cloud didn't fill the temple until the ark got to the heart of the temple. It was when the ark went into the holy of holies that the glory filled the temple. And we'll see in another connection how that applies to our life. But the ark moved from place to place until that one day when it finally aligned in the temple and in the heart of the temple. And then the Bible says the ark rested. It doesn't have to move anymore. The ark could settle down and from the heart of the temple, the holy of holies, the ark could rest and have deliverance and release its glory. And that's where the ark was going. Now I hope with that much just in the facts, I hope you see the spiritual significance of all of this because it's quite marvelous. Our Lord Jesus, pictured by the ark, like the ark of old, is ever moving, ever advancing. He has a destination also in mind and the Bible tells us that Christ is seeking a place to rest. A place to rest, a place to reign and have dominion, and a place that he can fill with his glory. I'm the temple, pictured by Solomon. You're the temple, pictured by Solomon. We, cooperatively, are the temple, pictured by Solomon. And the Lord wants to fill us and rest in us and reign from us and have dominion and fill us with his glory. And quite honestly, God will not rest until he comes to that place in your life, until he comes to that place in my life. And so whenever we decide to name this little series, that's the idea. Tom Lontrop suggested we call it God's quest for rest. Whenever we end up calling it, you got this idea that Christ is seeking a resting place. You see, so often we approach scriptural truth, and I don't mean this to judge it, but it's sort of a man-centered way. We relate everything to ourselves. We talk about, oh, I want to rest in the Lord. And amen, but you want to rest in the Lord. But he wants to rest in you too. And so we're not talking now about resting in the Lord. In fact, this whole series begins with us resting in the Lord. That's a starting point. That's not the goal. And once we're resting in the Lord, then God can come and rest in us. And so that's why we want to follow the ark, because I'm suggesting, and I think I can show you by God's grace and assistance, that the path of the ark is the path of the Lord Jesus. And the very path in the Bible and story form that the ark took is the path that the Lord Jesus takes before he reigns in our life. Of course, it's a very heavy study, because we have to ask the question, is it possible that I treat the dear Lord Jesus like they treated the ark? Is it possible? And when you read the record, your heart will marvel at the bumpy road that ark took. And oh, sometimes it was a bumpy road. How did they handle the ark? Or shall I say, mishandled the ark? Sometimes they mishandled it. Sometimes they treated it illegally. Sometimes superstitiously. Sometimes they just forgot about it. Sometimes they abandoned it to the enemy, and so on. Is that the road that the Lord has to come along before he finally rests in our heart? And of course, he answers very often. He accommodates his greatness. He humbles himself. He scoops and allows us to drag him down there until finally, and he'll work it in our lives, and he'll come to his resting place. If I were God, who would stop? I think I would have given up on me a long time ago. And I think maybe if you were God, you'd have given up on you a long time ago. But oh, the patience of God. You'll watch this ark, and you'll see where it goes and what it puts up with. Until finally, and oh, when you stutter. I can't wait to get to that last lesson. When it finally comes to Solomon's Temple, where the glory of God fills the temple, and the glory of God governs the temple, and oh, just a marvelous thing, where God finally comes to rest. Anyway, that's what this series is about. And so we'll be following that path of the ark. And I suppose that our deepest being, and I hope this is true of you, and I'm praying it's true of me as well, that I think we all pray for this profound reality that somehow in all this Christian jargon and all these things we read and hear and sing, I hope way down deep in your heart, your deep prayers, I really do want Christ to rest in His temple. I really do want Him to be at home in my life. And I do want Him to have dominion. Way down deep, I want His glory to fill me, and have betterment, and have dominion over me. In our last lesson, in our introduction lesson, we tried to hone in exactly on what it was that started the ark moving. See, we just sort of read these things, la la la, 350 years of history, and the ark just sat in silence. It did nothing. And then all of a sudden it starts to move. Why? What revived the ark? What got that ark moving again? Because what started the ark moving then, is what begins the ark moving now in our lives. What started the ark moving toward His rest, is exactly in principle form, the thing that begins God to move in your life now. You know, sometimes you might be saved in the wrong time, and you feel like the days are the judges, and you say, I know He's not moving. I accepted the world, but He's not moving. I don't see the world moving in my life. Why? What gets Him moving? And what will keep Him moving until the time He rests in my heart and fills me with His glory? Chapter 1, please. 1 Samuel. The story opens in the first three chapters of Samuel. In fact, look at chapter 3, verse 1. A word from the Lord was rare in those days. Visions were infrequent. At that time the priesthood had become corrupt. God wasn't speaking. God wasn't moving. No word from God. No dream. No vision. No voice. No prophecy. No intuition. Heaven was black. Heaven was closed. No word from God at all. The book of Samuel opens up, as you know, with a woman named Hannah. Praise God for Hannah. Because of Hannah, the ark revived. Because of Hannah, the ark started to move again. Something about Hannah. Something about her life. Something about her heart. Something about the spiritual crisis that she was in. Let me just remove, just review that principle of Hannah and her son Samuel, and then we'll pick up where we left off. I almost feel like I'm teaching last week's lesson. I didn't mean that, but I want to get us back into the flow. Hannah represents the deep cry of the woman's heart. The book of Samuel opens up, chapter 1, with a cry of a burned woman. Now, we're looking at this whole thing spiritually. This isn't just a woman desiring a baby. This isn't just a woman, a burned woman. A woman crying out to be a mother. But there's a spiritual reality here. And she represents the spiritual woman, crying out for spiritual fruit. In the chapter 1, she longs for a Masorette. A separated one. Her womb is closed, and she prays to God for fruit. What if, living fruit, that she can turn around and give back to God. She wants fruit from God, for God. Fruit, living fruit. And she has this passion to give God something living. But under the ark, sat up and took notice. Under the crowd like that, God rarely sits up and takes notice. God can't resist the crowd. You come into a Christian life, with a spiritual womb, and all of a sudden you say, I'm just sort of sick and tired, playing these dumb games, and going through the motions and the mechanics of this thing. And your heart cries out, I want to bear fruit. I want to live, I want life. I want life from God, that I can turn around and give back to God. I want my life. I want living fruit. As you know, Samuel was God's answer to that prayer. And Samuel became the life for the nation. I'm not going to go through Samuel's story then. But as she calls out for fruit, God gives a little child, who always starts with little children. That's a principle of God of the Father. And this little child, according to chapter 3, 3, had found his bedroom, his rest, before the ark of God. That always begins that way. With a child heart, with a resting heart, before the ark, before the throne of God. And then according to chapter 3, verse 11, a listening ear. And Samuel said, Speak, Lord, for thy servant is listening. And that last one moves. When you start off with a womb, a spiritual womb, saying, I want reality. I want to live. I want fruit from God to give back to God. God will begin to answer by a child heart, by a resting heart, by a listening ear. And when you have the child heart, the resting heart, the listening ear, God then begins to move. And now he will keep moving until he enters his rest. Until he finds the heart of the temple. That's where we left off last time, and so let's pick up the path from there. Now, when you do this little principle, this is the new material now, let me start by encouraging you to remember throughout this study that the physical will illustrate the spiritual. You should study almost all the time with your eye looking for the spiritual anyway. Because God has fossilized his wonderful truth in these histories. Otherwise, barren, just by himself, they're rocks. But you see what God has, if by the light of God, you can see the living truth that he's put in these stories. And we're going to follow the movement of the ark, and even the rock, to be honest with you. It's sort of a study of geography. And you'll be studying the ark in Israel. And then the ark goes to the land of the Philistine. We'll see the ark in Ashdod. We'll see the ark in Ekron. We'll see the ark in Gath. We'll see the ark in Beth-shemesh. We'll see the ark in Kedath-Jerim. We'll see the ark in the house of Abed-Edan. We'll see the ark in the house of Abed-Ean. We're going to follow this ark all over the land. Now, don't get the idea, well, spiritually, Israel, city of Pentecost, that's in here. And then the Philistine, that's out there. The world, the flesh, the blood, that's out there. But no, Israel is in here. The land of the Philistines is in here. Ekron is in here. Ashdod is in here. Gath is in here. There's an Abed-Edan somewhere in here. There's a house of Abed-Dan someplace in here. Well, here's Kedath-Jerim. Someplace in here. There's a whole lot of places. And so, we'll follow the ark all over the land. We'll go up and down the countryside, north, south, east, and west. And think, oh, what does that mean in my life? We're talking the ark moving all around the countryside is the way of moving all around my life. It's all taking place in here. And you need to understand that at the beginning. So, when you begin to unfurl this, you'll say, oh, yeah, I recognize that Philistine part of me. And I see why God went where I'm at, and God went where I'm at, and so on. And so, we're going to look at the whole thing. This ark moving everywhere. As hard as God moved in my life. Until it finally settles in the heart of the temple. When you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, when you first trusted in Christ, the ark came in. Bless God, the ark came in, and it was still there forever. The ark is in your life. But that doesn't mean that the ark is resting in the heart of the temple. There's a temple. Doesn't mean it's in the heart of the temple. He may not yet have dominion over you. He has potential dominion, but he may not have actual dominion over you. The ark in your life doesn't necessarily mean the glory fills the temple. Maybe you haven't experienced that yet. When the glory fills the temple and drives the priests out. That's a glorious time when the priests are given out. And maybe you're not in the place yet where the glory governs the temple. What a tremendous thing. To be in the place where the glory of God governs. The ark is in you. The Lord may have a long way to go in your spiritual geography before he comes to that. So the path Christ takes in me. The path Christ takes in you. The path the Lord takes in us. I believe is laid out here in picture form. We'll follow it out. We'll see the path. Now you may have been saved a long time. And yet you may say, you know. When it comes to reality and the life of God and fruit and bearing Samuel, Maserat before that. Quite honestly, if we could just clap right from the shoulder. Sometime I think, you know, the ark is dominant. God's just not good at anything. He's not meeting. He's not saying yes. He's not saying no. Sooner or later in your Christian life. And I promise you this is so. Sooner or later in your Christian life. You are going to get so sick of playing games. So sick of having plastic food. That your spiritual wound is going to call out like like Hannah's did. And someday, someplace, and only God can engineer the circumstances and may I encourage you to respond quickly. God's going to do it and sometime, whatever it takes. I'll tell you, whatever it takes. Because he's determined to last. And God won't rest until he rests. He's not going to rest until he rests. And sooner or later you will be engineered to the place where you just cry out, your wound cries out. I can't take it anymore, but Lord, I want reality. I want life. I want food. That's when God begins to create center in you. The child heart. The resting heart. The healing heart. And then God will begin to move. So we're assuming and I don't want to assume anything, but we are assuming that you've come that far. Because this series begins with the crying of the wound. It begins with the child heart and the resting heart and the listening ear begins there. That's not the goal. The goal is, oh someday I hope God gives me a healing heart. That's not the goal. That's the starting point. That's where it begins. And then God then begins to move to the place where he can rest. So I'm assuming and I pray that it's already been true in your life. If not, then listen to this as something you will experience. If you haven't already, you will. And those of us, or those, I don't mean to include myself in that. Those who have been into some of these things, I pray you will recognize your experience as we go through this. I honestly believe if you would view it this way, the physical and the spiritual, it will be a blessing to your heart. May God help us. You see what I want to show you, you know what caused God to start to move. He was responding to that which he had initiated, of course, but he was responding to the cry that I am. And that child rest and being, uh-huh. But now, what is the first step toward rest? After my heart cries out, after I am unfulfilled, after I have this passionate desire, what is God's beginning? How does he start? 1 Samuel chapter 4, please. Sure, my glasses are downstairs. 1 Samuel chapter 4. This has been probably one of the saddest chapters in the Old Testament. And I can see where people get that. See, my daughter responded to that little clue. I can see where people get that. But those who say that chapter 4 is the saddest chapter in the Old Testament, I don't think they really understood the chapter. If you look at it one way, yes, it's sad, very sad. But if you look at it in the context of the ark, what has the ark been? Where has the ark been? It's not only not the saddest chapter, it's gospel. It's good news. There's some tremendous good news in this chapter. Rather than read the whole chapter at once, I'm going to look at portions of the text as I expand it. Thank you. I'll ask you to turn, please, to chapter 3. And let's read the end of 3 and the beginning of 4. 3.19 Thus Samuel grew, the Lord was within, and let none of his words fail. And all Israel, from Dan to Bethsheba, that's from north to south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Let's stop there in the reading. It's a tremendous change for Israel. If you notice how chapter 3 begins, it's a lot different than it ends. Chapter 3 verse 1 says the word from the Lord was rare in those days. There was no word from God. Infrequent. And then in verse 20 and 21 it says, All Israel, from Dan to Bethsheba, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself. He revealed Himself now to Samuel. And then verse 1 of chapter 4, Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Don't just read this lie, lie, lie. Folks, God is speaking again. After 350 years. He's talking. He's opening the heavens. He's revealing Himself to Samuel. And Samuel is showing that we've been people of God. We're all of Israel. I tell you, it's a great day. And I want you to take spiritually now. It's a great day. When God starts to speak again. See, you can't force God to talk. You can't force Him to talk. And it's a glorious day when all of a sudden the Bible is. It's a glorious day when the Spirit of God begins to move and to speak again. Beginning of the chapter, God wasn't speaking. Now there's a long way to go from God speaking again and God resting in His temple. But that's the starting point. It all begins with God beginning again to speak. But Israel doesn't know at this point In fact, they don't have a clue that God is going to find a resting place. They don't know this ark is on the move. They don't know God's looking for a temple in the heart of the temple. All they know is He's talking again. God has opened heaven. He has responded to my womb. He has responded to my child spirit. He has responded to my resting before the ark and my listening ear. And now God is talking again. Let me tell you a little more in the background. In Acts chapter 13 verse 20 In Paul's sermon at Antioch He said, and then after these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Now pay attention to that history because in time Samuel is really a continuation of the judges. And until the time of the judges and then he gave them Samuel. The book of Judges ends with the story of Samson. Now you say, let me look at the last chapter and I see Samson. No, because the last four chapters of Judges actually go back to the beginning of the book and then cover the whole book again. So the end of Judges as far as the history is concerned and chronology ends with the story of Samson chapter 15 and 16. Chapter 14 and 1 of Judges It says, the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. At Samson we read Judges 13 and 5 He shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Samson didn't deliver Israel from the Philistines. He only began to deliver Israel from the Philistines. And so by the time you come to the book of Samuel the Philistines were still around. And it continued all the way from Samson these Philistines were plaguing God's people. And with the death of Samson the power of the Philistines was not broken. In fact, we just say, oh yeah, Philistines are still around. Let me tell you how it all may work. Listen from the lips of the Philistines. 1 Samuel chapter 4 Jump ahead a little, verse 9. The Philistines are not in the battle. And listen to this sentence. Take courage and be merry, Philistines lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been slaves to you. It's not only that they're out there but they are the ascendancy over Israel. Israel are their slaves. To understand this, you've got to see that the living people of God are under the dominion of the Philistines. They're paying ransom to stay alive. The Philistines are the lords. Now, with our study of the path of the Ark we're going to be talking a lot about the Philistines because that's a big part of me. In my life, somehow, there's a big whole bunch of Philistines. And there's a Philistine part of me and a Philistine part of you. And part of God's moving toward the heart of the temple. Somewhere along the line, he's going to have to deal with the Philistines. In you and in me. And we're going to see this unfold as we get into this. But for now, let me generally identify the Philistines. And then next time, in another connection, I'll be more specific. The Philistine part of me will represent the natural part of me. There are all kinds of ways to express that. You can fill in the blanks in your own background. Some say the flesh. The old Adam. The old man. The carnal. The human side. That which is not spiritual. The way we live. That which is at enmity with God and so on. At this point in Israel's history, yes, they've cried for food. Yes, they've come in a charged spirit. Yes, they've leaned a little bit to the rest of the world. Yes, they're listening. But they don't have a clue what it means to have victory over the Philistines. They are still slaves to the Philistines. They're in bondage to the flesh. They don't have a clue what it means to live a spiritual life. And they're crying out. And you've got to remember now that the Philistines are Lord. At this point in their experience, the Philistines are ruling the Lord. Israel is in bondage to the Philistines. Now, to Israel, when the fifth day begins to happen, they don't know anything about Philistines, quite honestly. They lay their own bondage to Him. But the only thing that's touching them right now is He's speaking again. That's a big deal. He doesn't speak. And all of a sudden, God is speaking. And God tells Samuel. And Samuel tells them. And for the first time, there's life. There's revelation. God's revealing Himself. God is speaking. Now, we're going to look at this. And I want you to look at it as if Israel made a great big blunder here. They don't have all the light yet. They're seeing things differently. They've got a lot to learn. And God is going to be patient to teach them. They're a little bit baffled. But try to enter into this. And I think if you've been this far in the Lord, you might very well enter into it. They drew sort of a profound spiritual conclusion. They said, God wasn't talking. And now He is. And He seems to have heard my prayer. And He's speaking to them. And He's using Samuel. Praise God for that beautiful elder. And He's using this brother. And He's talking to us. And we've been blessed by God. And He's listening. Chapter 4, verse 1. Now, Israel, they're about to meet the Philistines in battle. You see, it just sort of happens. Try to get into their heart. Israel is saying, God back. God's speaking. The heaven's open. I've had it with the Philistines. No, no. And Israel attacked them. They didn't attack Israel. Israel attacked the Philistines. And with this whole attitude, they were saying, we are finished with this bombing. I'm a Christian now. And God's talking. God's speaking. And I don't have to be a slave anymore. Goodbye, Philistines. Goodbye, slavery. Goodbye, dominion. And Israel then, with this new urge, that God is speaking, and God's alive, and God's talking, and the heavens are open, and I pray, and He listens. They decide that they're going to go to war. Verse 2. And the Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. And then the battle spread. Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about 4,000 men on the battlefield. Again, brothers and sisters in Christ, they read this, la, la, la. Israel expected to win. They did not expect to lose this battle. They expected to win, because God was talking again, and there was revelation from God. And all of a sudden, something went wrong. Something went wrong. Something backfired. They were defeated. And a terrible crisis began to happen in the heart of God's people. They were totally baffled about this. And so they went back to camp, and they began to discuss it with the elders. That's what you're supposed to do. They didn't know what was happening. Verse 3. When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Where has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Again, try to get into their shoes. They lost 4,000 men. That's a lot of Philistines, folks. That's a lot of grieving families. This was no little defeat. And the elders did not ask, Why did the Philistines defeat us? They knew the Philistines didn't defeat them. They went to that question, Why did the Lord defeat us? We confused God. We trusted Him. We put our faith in Him. We believed He would end up defeating us. We have Samuel. We have the open heavens. We have the revelation of God. God's on our side. We know it's not God's will, that we're enslaved to the Philistines. We know He wants us free. And so they began to talk later, and they concluded, You know what must have happened? We probably were trusting in ourselves. I mean, they're giving honor to God alone. So, verse 3 and 4, Let's take ourselves from Shiloh.