“So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, ‘Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.’ For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.” I Sam 5:11,12 NIV
As this part of the story goes the Philistines had captured God’s Ark of the Covenant in a battle with the Hebrew people. God had determined that because of Israel’s sin His Ark would no longer dwell among them. But the Philistines gave Him even less reverence than the children of Abraham; So city by city God humbled the Philistine people with a plague until at last the Ark arrived at the city of Ekron as I Samuel 5:12 says:
“God’s hand was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.”
God is going to be glorified by humans either with shouts of triumph or cries terror. We do not determine whether or not our lives will bring Him glory only how! With Christ’s death and resurrection all mankind is given a choice to face or escape the wrath of God. We can either accept Jesus’ death as payment for our sins or continue in disbelief and face the penalty ourselves. This is the reason Christians proclaim Christ to every nation, so that every man and woman will know they have a choice!
What have you done with your choice?
Reinventing the We'll 