Relics, Rituals & True Religion

And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”

~ 1 Samuel 4:3

The Israelites despite having rejected the LORD, disobeying His laws and going after other gods still foolishly wondered why God had let them be defeated by their enemies. To add to this, they assumed that having the physical Ark meant that God would give them victory, almost as if they could put Him on a leash and make Him do their bidding. But God gave them a wake-up call by allowing them to be defeated again by the Philistines.

My friends, let us also beware of putting our confidence in objects rather than in the Lord our God: There are those who preserve their Bibles as relics in the home, rarely opening it to study God's word and to know Him. Let us also beware of putting our trust in the outward externals of true religion: There are those who read their bible, pray everyday and attend a church weekly, and they have made a monument out of that ritual assuming that all these things mean that they are guaranteed heaven.

While there can be no spiritual growth if we neglect the study of the Bible, prayer, fellowship and service, it is important to always remind ourselves of why we do these things: it is not to relieve our guilt but rather it is to know God. We study the Bible to know His marvellous character and His excellent works. We pray so that we may commune with Him as a friend and fight temptation through Him. We fellowship so that we may encourage one another in Christ, receive counsel, and serve the Lord together.

Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life." So let us, in our study of the Bible embrace Jesus and in prayer cling to His nail-pierced hands and never let go!