When we are Compassionate we Love the Presence of God in our Homes

From: July 17-23, 2007 Study: # 501

TOPIC: “When we are Compassionate we Love the Presence of God in our Homes” 1 Samuel 4:19 - 22 When we are compassionate we love God’s house and we live with a desire to see His presence in the house. The people of God must seek for the manifestation of the glory of God; for this reason we must be aware of what we do. There are things we must do if we want to see the manifestation of God’s glory, but for this there are some requirements of spiritual value. As time goes by we pick up some bad habits, faith is lost and we become disturbed; for such reason it is best to have knowledge of the scriptures. Nowadays, in many churches, it has become a custom to have social celebrations for many given purposes; therefore, the glory of God can’t be manifested. The house of God is to praise God so that He will descend. In this mistaken way the honor of God is taken away little by little. We must take care of the sacred things and the reverent things that are in the house of God because that is the place where we adore and bless Him; it is the place where we come to listen to His word. It is the place that God has given us to glorify Himself, where we are healed and blessed by Him. When we understand the value of all that God has done in our lives and we see that He is present we won't be searching for His mercy but for His grace; this is the way we find God’s favor. Eli’s daughter-in-law was pregnant and she could not bare the bad news that she received. It concerned the sacred things; the Ark of God had been removed from Israel. The glory of God will always be present, because it does not depend on the way we feel or our illnesses that can prevent God to manifest to his people, because God is God. He is great and He will make himself present as He desires. Eli’s daughter-in-law was a compassionate woman, in spite of her impious husband, although he was a priest of Israel. This man and his brother lived in a complete disorder; they despised the sacred, they were adulterous, perverse, but this wife was not contaminated by anything because she loved God above all things. It is sad that the consequences of sin can affect others. God had already declared that He would remove them from the priesthood, but they didn't care. As Christians we cannot think that we are in the temple of the Lord but rather at all times we should understand that we are in the Lord of the temple. The Ark was not an amulet for the Philistines which God had to support. He was the God of Israel. But, the Philistines took the Ark. Since Eli’s daughter-in-law loved all that was sacred she showed how merciful she was. In that moment, she felt that she had lost everything. She had a noble and sensitive spirit. Eli represented for her the high priest, the maximum authority. The natural affection that she felt for Eli was real; losing her husband also, but there was something greater than the loss of her family. She had lost the Ark of Jehovah. This woman loved sacred things. The glory of Jehovah was removed, it was given to others and she went crazy because she knew how God felt. Her fear was so strong that she perished; there were no words of encouragement or consolation. Her son was born at the same place where the Ark was. Then, for this reason, before she died she called her son Icabod which means: the glory of Israel has been removed!

Are we thinking that life with God is a game? She understood that if the Philistines had the Ark the glory of God was no longer in Israel, then, what did her son have to gain, if the benefits existed when the glory of God descended? This dying woman said: "the glory of God has been removed". With so much calamity and shame the glory of God was removed. Something we must learn is that as long as we keep on seeking God in prayer and fasting God’s glory will be with us. It is not because of the amount of people but because of what we feel for God. If the glory of God leaves so does our well-being. We must not sell God’s glory for nothing or for anyone. We must search for the fountain of God in our lives. Le us have all the blessings that come from God. The sons of Eli did not fear God at all, for this reason they died. Psalm 26:8 David loved the place where Jehovah was. King David provoked the manifestation of God. We should love each part, each corner of the house of God because in this place we have received all the blessings for our lives. The church congregates the saints and chosen of the Earth. Some think of leaving God and no longer congregate. Be careful! We must also honor God in public. Psalm 27:4 In the temple we investigate, we examine all the benefits that there is on behalf of God for us. The person who has this thought deep inside will succeed. All our feelings should direct us towards celestial things. Whatever we ask for and whatever we seek, may it be our desire to remain in the house of Jehovah all the days of our lives. If this is the way it’s going to be with us, we will always contemplate the glory of Jehovah and His greatness. Nowadays we ask God for so many things; we ask to be prosperous, but Heaven is our dwelling, then how can we not love His house? Even death, for believers and for the saints, is pleasant. If we love Heaven we will get to know it while living in the house of God and see the beauty, the kindness and delight of our God, see His holiness. For David it was a delight to see all the sacred things of God; it was his custom to go before God with fear and reverence to examine and investigate everything about God in His temple. To scrutinize the sermon, to know and provoke God to descend should be our custom. The only sacrifice that God expects from us is our worship. This woman, the wife of Eli’s son, she no longer had nothing to examine because the Ark was gone. The glory of God was removed from Israel, she preferred to die. The clothes of the priests were removed and they were also removed from the kindness of God. God was no longer among those men. The true believers know that the security is not in the temple but in the God of the temple, in the sanctification, and in the communion with Him. Sometimes we think that there is no need for sanctification when we arrive to the house of God, but to see God’s glory it is necessary to be sanctified. Eli’s sons underestimated the sacred things and the power of God. They were only seeking evilness; they were deceivers and only cared about themselves. For this reason they perished and provoked God’s anger. Let us love God, His house; God has given us so many blessings. Let us love what we have and let us take care of it, and His grace and favor will always be with us. Amen.