“After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?”” (1 Samuel 4:3a NLT)
The Isrealites had gotten whooped by the Philistines. Four thousand men lost their lives on the battlefield. (We must keep in mind, the Israelites were supposed to annihilate the Philistines four hundred years prior, when they first took possession of the Promised Land – an unfinished divine objective will continue to be an obstacle for God’s people.) After their disappointing battle, the remaining army returned home and the elders were puzzled. Why did God let them lose?
I had to flip back a few chapters in the book, what was the state of the nation at this point in history? The first four chapters of 1 Samuel are fairly silent on national happenings, but we know there was deep corruption in God’s house; Eli’s sons were rotten to the core. The preceding book of Ruth is a side vignette; an individual story about a particular family in this time period. The last indicator of the faith-state of the nation of Israel is found in Judges: the very final sentence paints a pretty dark picture.
“In those days, Israel had no king, all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25 NLT)
This is the spiritual state of Israel when they went to war with the Philistines. If we recall the events of Judges, we remember the cycle of apostacy – a downward spiral of national sin. Why did this divided, apostate nation believe they could go into battle without first inquiring of God? What led them to think that He would have their backs when they had all but forgotten about serving Him?
We can chide the Israelites for their insolent behavior or we can search our own stories for similar dissonance. The Israelites had rejected God on almost every front, yet they still expected Him to accompany and assist them in battle. There’s a lesson here that’s hard to hear: God lets them lose.
We forget that life apart from God is life apart from His blessings. We get carried away by our own appetites and agendas and ultimately find ourselves at war. And sometimes God lets us lose. But losing a battle here on earth is far better than losing the war for our souls in eternity.
Sometimes God lets us lose so we can come back to Him full throttle. Sometimes God lets us lose because there are lessons that can only be gained through subtraction. Sometimes God lets us lose because we failed to follow through on earlier instruction, and ultimately, God’s the boss, not us. Sometimes God lets us lose a skirmish today so we can repossess the resolve to win at what’s most crucial.
“Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in His kindness. But if you stop trusting, you will also be cut off.” (Romans 11:22 NLT)
Lord, please help us keep trusting You. We realize that trust isn’t passive, it’s active, exercising the instructions of Your Word. May we live with great regard for Your commands, intent on including You in every line and paragraph of our story. We call on You in the day of trouble, but also in the day of triumph, and every ordinary hour in between. Amen.