What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
Jump Start
1. Do you have any superstitions or “good luck” items? When do you tend to feel more superstitious?
2. Read 1 Samuel 4:3-4. What circumstance has the Israelites in turmoil? Why was the Ark brought into battle? Who did the people ask, “Why?” Who did they not consult? Why were their actions sinful?
3. Own our part. Read 1 Samuel 7:2-6. The Ark was returned to Israel’s land but not to the Tabernacle; the Philistines were still pressing upon the Hebrews. What did the people do and confess? What actions have you taken as a result of a blind spot God revealed to you?
4. Seek God first. Read 1 Samuel 4:3 and 1 Samuel 7:8. What was the huge shift in their focus? In their trust? What do you occasionally trust more than you trust God? What person, place, or thing is first in your priorities?
5. Final Point: When the unimaginable happens, does your faith stay constant no matter what is going on? Are you able to say, “God, I trust You, no matter what I see”? Or are you swayed by circumstances and by your feelings? Share ways you have shifted this.
Deeper
6. Read 1 Samuel 4:1-11. Think about the following questions.
- Who was God using to speak to and lead the Hebrews?
- When the people were defeated, where/who did they go to for direction?
- How did the people of Israel react? How did the Philistines react?
- How did the Philistines turn their fear into victory?
- What were the effects of the battle?
7. The deaths of Eli’s sons were foretold in Samuel’s initial conversation with the Lord when he first heard God’s voice. Take time to read this in 1 Samuel 3:10-14.
8. Read Hebrews 9:3-5 and Romans 8:9-11. What replaces the Ark in the New Covenant? What is it to be treated as holy? How do you apply this in practical ways in your life?