“Be strong and conduct yourselves like men”

1 Samuel 4:9-11 “And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.

So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”

“So, the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. Also, the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”

My note: This is a sad account of Israel foolishly bringing the Ark of the Covenant into battle, thinking that it was like a good luck charm. They had already been beaten by the Philistines, losing 4000 men. So, they were going to give it another try. When they engaged in battle again, they lost 30,000 foot soldiers and the Ark of God was captured.

Back in verse 9, when the Ark came into the camp, Israel created such a tumult that it shook the earth and frightened the Philistines. The reaction of the leaders of the Philistines was to encourage their men to conduct themselves as men. Twice they were told this.

Today, we find the shoe on the other foot. We Christians are hearing the earthshaking tumult being created by the enemies of God, as chaos reigns in our major cities. They are loud and intimidating. Our ability to worship & serve the Lord is under assault. The enemy wants us to cower in fear, and surrender and be silent.

Our Christian leaders, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are telling us, “Be strong and conduct yourselves like men”.
Many times, Israel was faced with overwhelming odds. When they sought & obeyed the Lord, He gave them victory. When they lived in sin and idolatry, and behaved arrogantly and self-willed, they suffered loss.

We don’t know how much farther God is going to have us go through these last days before the Rapture & beginning of the Tribulation. No matter what comes, the Lord desires us to trust Him, to be holy as He is holy, to put off the works of the flesh and walk in the Spirit. We are to conduct ourselves as men and women of God. We re to be spiritually strong in the Lord.

This is from an article recently posted, on Facebook, by a Christian sister about apostasy in the Christian church in these last days, by Matt Slick 11/24/2008

“As Christians, we need to be very sure that we are clinging to the Truth of God’s word and resisting the inclusion of liberalism, moral relativism, and the oncoming secularism that is all around us. We need to stand on the word of God and never be ashamed of the Truth of the Gospel.”

Finally, it is written in Joshua 24:15 “…..choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,….as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

- Brother Scott

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

There is so much going on in our country. There is confusion, anger, frustration, destruction, and fear. Confusion and fear are generating a very real feeling of oppression. We are continuing to be subjected to restrictions caused by a virus; our economy is in crisis; political and racial tensions are dividing our nation. Who has an answer for what is happening, who has a solution? Can people find common ground for cooperation and healing?

There’s an element in our society that believe that sowing discord and destruction is necessary to bring about a new world order. The foundations of our country are being destroyed, and our leaders and politicians seem powerless to stop it. Or, unwilling to stop it for some political gain. But, if the chaos is allowed to continue, it may get so out of hand that no one will be able to control it or stop it.

There’s a scripture that says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Proverb 13:12a

The things happening in our nation are making many “heart sick”, and our hope for peace and security are being deferred, or being destroyed. What or Who are we putting our hope in?

In our Saturday Men’s Prayer meeting, I shared the scripture, Psalm 11:3 “If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”

When studying the word of God, it’s important to understand the scriptures within their context. Verse 3 is a cry from someone that’s distressed by what they are witnessing in their country. What can he do? Does he flee into the wilderness to escape the insanity? The wicked are rampant and unrestrained. The writer feels threatened as a weapon seems to be aimed at him. Just as we feel our peace and security are being threatened.

Psalm 11

“In the LORD I put my trust; how can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

Verses 4 thru 7 is God’s answer to our dilemma, to our fear and distress.

Verses 4-7, “The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.”

What about the present distress? “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” Psalm 73:16-17


This is the full rendering of Proverb 13:12, ”Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Our greatest desire is to be with Jesus. This is our blessed hope. One day our hope will be realized.

God tells us the end of the ungodly, and it's not good. He confirms to us our glorious inheritance. Our present distress cannot be compared to the glory that is awaiting us. Be encouraged!!

-Bro. Scott