Glory in Exile

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. After suffering a catastrophic defeat, the Israelites get desperate. This time, they go into battle bearing the ark of the covenant of God. Surely this will guarantee their success! But 1 Samuel 4 shows the folly of treating God's power as something that can be manipulated to our own advantage. Our text exposes how possessing a form of godliness without the power leads inevitably to spiritual superstition. His grace toward sinners carries a call to glory in him for who he is and the greatness of our salvation, not merely for his usefulness to us.