Taste and See that the Lord is Good

Synopsis     1Sam 6:4-11     8/21/2018

The Philistine leaders were struggling. They weren’t sure what to do with the Ark of the Lord they had captured at the battle of Aphek. However, the people were afraid because whichever city received the captured ark, a plague broke out.

So, their religious leaders devised a plan. The Philistines made an offering of golden tumors and golden mice, to commemorate the plagues that had beset the people. And, they placed these beside the Ark as their commemorative offering.

And then, they built a brand new wagon. They hitched two milking cows to pull the wagon and separated the cows from their calves. After this, they placed the Ark of the Lord on the wagon and set it on its way.

Testing the Supernatural

One part of the Philistine plan to get rid of the Ark was really a test. On the one hand, they were wary enough to reverence the mysterious power of the God of Israel. They were aware of all that had happened to the Egyptians centuries earlier. On the other hand, they wanted to be sure that it was truly the God of Israel that they were dealing with.

So, they offered the reparation offering and made a cart sacred to the purpose of transporting the Ark. But they hitched it to two milking cows. They knew a milk cow would never naturally walk away from its calf. So, if the cows pulled the cart back to Israel, then they could be sure the God of Israel had acted in a supernatural way.

Nothing had been revealed to the Philistines. They were not a party to the Mosaic covenant between God and the Israelites. They were figuring things out for themselves.

Taste and See that the Lord is Good

Maybe you feel unsure about God. Maybe you doubt His existence. Or, maybe you doubt that it’s possible to know Him. You need to know that God’s OK with your legitimate questions. He understands your honest doubts. And, He is never intimidated.

Instead, His encouragement is to test Him. Hence the passage that says, “Put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, And see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you”. (Mal 3:10)

So, do like the Philistines. Do an honest experiment. Follow Him in accordance with His word. And see if He doesn’t bless you. See if He doesn’t make Himself known to you.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:9