God Is Not Legalistic

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites faced many adversaries. When Joshua was close to the end of his life, he warned the Israelites that the land of the Philistines was one of the areas they still needed to defeat (Josh. 13:1–3). Because the Philistines were not completely removed as God had commanded, Israel faced them as constant enemies.

The long history of wars between the Israelites and Philistines makes it unsurprising to read the account in 1 Samuel 4 of a battle between the two nations. But this particular battle launches a series of events that seem very confusing at first.

At the beginning of the battle, Israel lost 4,000 men and decided to bring the ark of the covenant to the battlefield. This was a significant decision because they did so without God’s direction or permission. The ark was where the presence of the Lord rested (Ex. 25:21-22).

By bringing the presence of God into battle with them without God’s agreement, they lost both the war and the ark. First Samuel 4:5-11 says:

When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. (NIV)

Chaos ensued after this war. The Philistines brought the ark to Ashdod to the temple of Dagon. They placed it next to a statue of their god. First Samuel 5-7 reveals that God’s presence produced havoc everywhere the Philistines moved the ark.

The morning after they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside the statue, Scripture says, “there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold” (1 Sam. 5:4). Next, the ark was moved to the cities of Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, and in each town, God brought devastation on the people and afflicted them with tumors.

Eventually, the Philistines put the ark on a cart and let a cow pull it back to the Israelites. The ark crossed paths with a group of Levites who were thrilled to receive it, even with the addition of tumors cast in gold as offerings from the Philistines. That is, until the Levites opened the ark, and seventy people died (1 Sam. 6).

We could read this section of Scripture, look at how people were handling the ark, and determine that God valued protecting the lives of the Philistines more than the lives of the Israelites. Sure, he tortured the Philistines with tumors, but no one died. God didn’t require the Philistines to abide by the correct transportation laws for the ark outlined for Moses in Numbers 4. But he did hold the Levites accountable to his laws.

We could read this story and determine that God is hypocritical. But we need to dig deeper. In 1 Samuel 4, we learn that the Philistines knew a little about the history of the ark, but they also feared the Lord.

It seems the Israelites weren’t living God-centered lives. The Philistines didn’t need to fear the Israelites because the Israelites didn’t reflect the glory and power of God.

In 1 Samuel 4, God shows he is consistent and compassionate. The Philistines learned to fear the Lord through the presence of the ark. God didn’t need the Israelites to teach the Philistines this lesson. He taught them they should fear the ark without punishing them for not abiding by laws they didn’t know or understand. This was compassionate, and it shows us that God is fair in his dealings with all people.

God is not legalistic. But God expected the Levites to live up to their calling. They may not have been living aligned with God, but they recognized the ark and understood its significance.

Even if the Levites couldn’t remember every rule about transporting the ark, they had direct access to God. The Levites knew they were God’s chosen people. They could have taken the time necessary to discern how to treat the ark. God held them accountable for their foolishness and disobedience.

As we increase in our knowledge of God, his expectation of us grows. This was true of the first believers as well. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, Paul writes to the church of Corinth:

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” (NIV)

As we read more about God and learn more about his character, we need to apply this to our responses to our relationship with him and others. As we understand more about Jesus’s ministry and the foundation he established during his time with the disciples, we must absorb and apply what we are learning. This is a challenging aspect of the Christian life because there are times when we need to adjust our personal preferences to align with God’s laws. The writer of Hebrews also addressed this. Hebrews 5:11-14 says:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (NIV)

God is not legalistic. But he is consistent. I’m grateful for a God who loves me so much he expects me to deepen my relationship with him for my entire life. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it!

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © Brett Jordan, used with permission