17 March | Kids
«The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.» 1 Samuel 6:21
God desired Israel to be a model nation for others. They should be obedient and not follow pagan practices. But they disobeyed God and their enemies fought against them and defeated them.
Do you remember the ark where the tablets of the commandments were kept? It was a sacred object that could only be carried in a special way and at special times. Out of irreverence they took the ark to war, thinking that they would win. But the Philistines took it and put it in the temple of Dagon.
Do you know what happened? The Philistines found the statue of Dagon broken in front of the ark twice. Then the ark went to other cities, but people began to get sick and die. God had done this because of their irreverence toward the ark.
So, they decided to return the ark to the Israelites.
Let’s practice!
How should we behave when we enter the house of God?