THE POWER OF THE ARK

“After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.”

1 Samuel 5:1-5

At that moment, the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines on several occasions, in the last battle

they decided to take the Ark of God with them because they thought they would be invincible in that

way, what they did not noticed was that the presence of God was no longer with them, because of 

their disobedience and rebellion.

The Ark of God, also known as the Ark of the Covenant, was a symbol of the presence of God among

His people.

Two reasons why the Lord allowed the Philistines to steal the ark from the Israelites:

1) To give a lesson to the Israelites:

At that time, God had turned away from the Israelites because they were doing evil, idolizing false gods, disobeying his commands, inside and outside the temple. That was why the Lord left them alone and the Philistines defeated them.

God showed to them that carrying the Ark (the physical object) did not guarantee victory.  Their attitude separated them from the Lord and therefore nullified the power of the Ark.

In our times, we carry the Ark of the Covenant to those homes that open their doors to establish cell groups, and it is certainly a great blessing for those families. But if those who are in charge of establishing it (Leader, Timothy, Host) do not have a close relationship with the Lord, the Ark they will be carrying will only be physical, without any spiritual power.

2) To give a lesson to the Philistines:

The Philistines annihilated 34,000 Israelites, but also hijacked their most precious possession: the Ark

of the Covenant. However, God showed them his great power by laying his false gods before the ark,

and sending sickness and death to every Philistine city to where they took the Ark. This made the

Philistines to believe in the great power of the God of Israel, and also be eager to return the Ark to the

Israelites.

Nowadays, our spiritual enemies also will have to be terrified by God´s power manifestation, and it will do so through a cell group, established by people who love God and keep an intimate relationship with Him (prayer, fasting, obedience to His Word). The enemy will flee from that home because there will be the presence of the Lord.

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

12/03/2017

@fotala10