Where is God in all this

is the question that Lawson has been asking this week here and here. He is looking at the destruction of Shiloh and wondering why it happened. Of course, we all know why it happened, but Lawson gives lots of good details in the first post, which you should definitely read.

But, where was God? He still didn't answer that until today when he—well, I'll let him tell it in his own words:

God often speaks through the contrarian voice, the voice questioning all our assumptions, challenging our most basic ideas, the ones we take for granted. Even as the sons of Eli defile the women of the sanctuary and despise the Lord’s offerings (1 Sam. 2:29) we, the readers, know that these two men had a death-warrant on them, straigh from God. I once practically emptied a room full of clergy by preaching a sermon on 1 Samuel 2:25b…”for the Lord was minded to slay them.” Two clergy whom God wanted to kill! Admittedly, presumptuous for a young man, but God had a strong opinion about these two, and when Eli failed miserably at confronting them, God brought the Mysterious Stranger to remind them that long ago, he had revealed his truth. God is often in the last voice we really want to hear, reminding us of truths we have never really found false, just been false to…

God is also present in the form of his call to a young man, Samuel. He lived at the epicenter of the corruption and degeneration of Israel. In a mongrelized sanctuary, in a messed up liturgy, among corrupt or indifferent priests, one young guy hears God’s voice. Eli has been awakened just enough to know in the voices coming to Samuel, God is at work. Eli at least remembers how one is supposed to answer when God calls. That much we can give old Eli. At least when confronted with the real thing (for the second time!) he knows how to tell the kid what to do.

And last…that captured ark, hauled off to Philistia…God is present in his ark! I love this. When the Israelites tried to manipulate the ark for their own purposes, it was just a funky box. But as soon as it arrives in Philistia, the ark declares war! You can read about it 1 Samuel 5-6. While the Israelites are moaning and groaning in defeat, the ark is cleaning out a Philistine temple, scoring two knock-downs and a KO against Dagan, the Philistine corn-king deity. Then the ark books itself a free trip back to Israel courtesy a couple of Philistine milk-cows! It’s almost comic.

A beat-down, hurting, praying woman; a cranky, contrary stranger saying all the inconvenient stuff; a kid swimming alone in a sea of corrupt mediocrity and outright evil, learning to say “Yes, Lord” for the first time; A sacred artifact that is more alive than anyone realized, that still serves God’s purposes (not his peoples!)…

God, it seems, is busier than we had realized. We just have to look in the right places.

<idle musing>
We frequently are looking in the wrong direction—usually because "God is often in the last voice we really want to hear, reminding us of truths we have never really found false, just been false to…"

Good stuff to chew on...
</idle musing>