6 Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians andPharaoh did? When Israel‘s god dealt harshly with them,
did they not send the Israelites out so they could go ontheir way?
6 Don‘t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the timeGod was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go. - P24
8 Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, andin a chest beside it put the gold objects you are send-ing back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way,
9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territo-ry, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has broughtthis great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we willknow that it was not his hand that struck us but that ithappened to us by chance." - P25
12 Then the cows went straight up toward BethShemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way;they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulersof the Philistines followed them as far as the border ofBeth Shemesh. - P25
The Philistines ask the priests and diviners how they can send the ark ofthe Lord back to its place. They advise that the ark be returned with a guiltoffering-five gold tumors and five gold rats. - P25
Then the Lord may lift His handfrom the Philistines and their land. So, they send the ark with the gold objectstoward Beth Shemesh on a cart drawn by two cows. - P25
The diviners of the Philistines wisely suggest that the ark be sent backto the Israelites along with a guilt offering. - P26
Their reasoning is influencedby their own religious culture as well as the stories of what happenedin Egypt, where the God of Israel displayed His anger in a similar way.
- P26
Even those who do not possess a direct revelation of God are able to discern
God‘s worthiness and their own sinfulness before Him. - P26
Humanity,in its natural state,
is fully aware of God‘s righteous requirements because of the divine law
that is written on their hearts. - P26
Therefore, whenwe share our faith with unbelievers, we might be surprised by howmuch they already understand. - P26
Let us boldly proclaim the truth thatwill set them free. - P26
Although humans have a natural knowledge of God and their dutybefore Him, they still need divine power to open their eyes and leadthem to saving faith. - P26
The Philistines, not knowing the proper way totransport the ark, place it on a cart and allow the cows to take it wherethe Lord wills. - P26
Without clear revelation, they have no choice but toimprovise and hope for God‘s favor. But not so for us. - P26
We have God‘sclear and infallible Word, breathed by His Spirit and useful for teach-ing, training, and equipping us with everything we need to serve Himeffectively. - P26
May we never take Scripture for granted but daily meditateon the Lord‘s ways. - P26
"You can believe a whole lot of foolish things, but God doesn‘t want you to dothat. He wants your faith to rest upon the Word of God." - J. Vernon McGee - P26
He is fullypresent and in control in each of our endeavors to make Him known. - P27
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