1 Samuel 6:1-6: a reflection

1The LORD’s ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the LORD’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.” 3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it empty; but by all means return a trespass offering to him. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.” 4Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn’t they let the people go, and they departed?

When the Philistines, afflicted while they held the captured ark of God, seek to send it back, even their own priests and diviners give a striking piece of counsel, drawn from history: do not harden your hearts as Pharaoh did. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? they ask. When God had worked wonderfully among them, didn't they let the people go? Even these pagan advisers had learned the lesson of Pharaoh's ruinous example: that hardening the heart against God, refusing to yield when God is clearly at work, leads only to greater trouble. They urge the Philistines not to repeat Pharaoh's mistake but to learn from it. There is wisdom here: to learn from the ruinous example of those who hardened their hearts against God, rather than repeating it. The hardened heart of Pharaoh brought ruin; the wise learn from such an example rather than repeating it. To learn from others' ruinous example of hardening the heart is wiser than repeating it. We can learn from the hardened hearts of the past rather than repeat them. Pharaoh's example warns us not to harden our own hearts.

Notice the counsel given, and where it came from: do not harden your hearts as Pharaoh did, drawn from the lesson of history. Even the Philistines' priests and diviners, no worshipers of the true God, had learned from Pharaoh's example that hardening the heart against God, resisting him when he is clearly at work, brings only greater ruin. They urge their people to learn from Pharaoh's mistake rather than repeat it. This is a wisdom worth noting: that we can learn from the ruinous examples of those who hardened their hearts against God, rather than repeating their mistakes. History holds up warnings, examples of those whose hardened hearts brought them to ruin; and the wise take heed, learning not to repeat them. Pharaoh's hardened heart, resisting God again and again, brought him and his people to ruin; and this stands as a warning to all who come after. To learn from such a warning, to be softened by the example of another's ruinous hardness rather than repeating it, is wisdom. We do not have to repeat the mistakes of the past; we can learn from them. The hardened hearts of the past are warnings to us, not patterns to follow. Wisdom learns from ruinous examples rather than repeating them.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can learn from the ruinous example of hardened hearts rather than repeating it. We can harden our hearts against God, resisting him when he is clearly at work, repeating the very mistakes that brought others to ruin; but even the Philistines' advisers urged learning from Pharaoh's example rather than repeating it. There is wisdom in taking warning from the ruinous examples of those who hardened their hearts against God. Do not harden your heart against God, repeating the mistakes that brought others to ruin; learn from their example, as even the Philistines were urged not to harden their hearts as Pharaoh did. Learn from the ruinous example of hardened hearts rather than repeating it, taking warning from those whose resistance to God brought them to ruin, as even the Philistines' advisers urged their people not to harden their hearts as Pharaoh and the Egyptians had; for we can harden our hearts against God, resisting him when he is clearly at work, and repeat the very mistakes that brought others to ruin, but there is wisdom in learning from the past, taking the hardened hearts of history as warnings rather than patterns, so that we need not repeat the ruinous mistakes of those who resisted God, but can be softened by their example and yield to God rather than hardening our hearts as they did.

Lord, when the Philistines, afflicted while they held the captured ark, seek to send it back, even their own priests and diviners give a striking piece of counsel, drawn from history: do not harden your hearts as Pharaoh did. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? they ask. When God had worked wonderfully among them, didn't they let the people go? Even these pagan advisers had learned the lesson of Pharaoh's ruinous example: that hardening the heart against you, refusing to yield when you are clearly at work, leads only to greater trouble. They urge their people not to repeat Pharaoh's mistake but to learn from it. Show me the counsel given, and where it came from: do not harden your hearts as Pharaoh did, drawn from the lesson of history. Even the Philistines' priests and diviners had learned from Pharaoh's example that hardening the heart against you brings only greater ruin. They urge their people to learn from Pharaoh's mistake rather than repeat it. This is a wisdom worth noting: that I can learn from the ruinous examples of those who hardened their hearts against you, rather than repeating their mistakes. History holds up warnings; and the wise take heed. Pharaoh's hardened heart brought him and his people to ruin; and this stands as a warning to all who come after. Take that to my heart, for I can learn from the ruinous example of hardened hearts rather than repeating it. I can harden my heart against you, resisting you when you are clearly at work, repeating the very mistakes that brought others to ruin; but even the Philistines' advisers urged learning from Pharaoh's example. Keep me from hardening my heart against you, repeating the mistakes that brought others to ruin; help me learn from their example, Lord, as even the Philistines were urged not to harden their hearts as Pharaoh did, taking the hardened hearts of the past as warnings rather than patterns, and yielding to you.