ICONS

There was an interesting Old Testament reading read last Thursday I'll recount for you in my own vernacular.  It was a story about a few days in the war between the Philistines and the Israelites as related by Samuel which actually went on for many years.  The Philistines were non-Semitic. The Isrealites, like all Jews and Arabs, are Semite (people who spoke Semitic languages).

One day, the Philistines met the people of Israel on a battlefield.  After a fierce battle, the Philistines kicked butt and over 4,000 men of Israel were killed.  They each went back to their home bases to get ready for the next battle.

The soldiers of Israel wondered what they could do - they wondered why their God had let them down.  One of them came up with the idea of bringing the Arc of the Covenant to battle with them.  Good idea!  They sent men back to Jerusalem to pick it up and bring it to them.  When it got there, they let out a huge scream.  They knew they couldn't be defeated now.

The Philistines could hear the Israelites in the distance and wondered what they were all fired up about since they had just recently been defeated.  They sent scouts out to find out what was going on.  When the heard that they had the Ark, they were scared.  Oh, no!  This is the God that helped the Israelites defeat other armies.

The Philistines general said, "Don't worry about it.  Fight like men.  You don't want to be a slave of Israel, do you?"  So they all went into battle.

The Philistines fought like hell and kicked Israel's ass all over the place.  They killed thirty thousand soldiers of Israel and captured the Ark to boot.

So what did this story tell us?  Maybe this:  that cross you wear around your neck or that St Christopher sitting on your dashboard or the angel in your purse is not going to do the trick.  You need to better prepare yourself for the battles to come.  We all have our battles.  Be prepared.
*o*