It doesn't help just to see that God has done something or to acknowledge that you have done wrong. What is important is whether this changes you? The Philistines know that they have done wrong. The Philistines sent a trespass offering, a sign of repentance. They see that God has passed their test and, once seeing the power of God, go back to Eckron and to their own lives. Just a simple thought exercise should say if this God is more powerful, then would you not want to become his follower? No, they offered the equivalent of an apology to God, but went back to worshipping their own gods and to their own lives.
Before we criticize them too much, look at the men of Beth Shemesh. There are Levites here, the ones who are supposed to understand the things of God and the need to reverence them. Yet, they look into the Ark with God had commanded them not to do. When judgment falls, what do they say? “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” or to say it another way, This is God's fault, let's get rid of Him. The correct response should have been admitting they had sinned and rejoicing that God came into their midst, but what happens is little different from what the Philistines did. They sent God away and went back to the way they lived before.
Here is a truth. Seeing God's power isn't a guarantee that a life will be changed. A changed heart is what changes lives, not power. As I heard once, He that complies against his will / Is of his own opinion still" (Samuel Butler's Hudibras).
Photo by Dana Fallentine on Unsplash
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