I Samuel 4:3  And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

Spend very much time online and you will encounter people who might be known as the grammar police. These people find great enjoyment of pointing out the grammatical errors of other people’s posts. They know it’s annoying, but they persist. Maybe they feel they are performing a vital service. If only they had been with Israel on the battlefield that day as they were losing to the Philistines. They could really have helped!

Israel was faring hard against their enemy. Some 4,000 men had been lost in battle and they met to discuss what their next move should be. They should have been able to trust the elders, but the elders made a serious grammatical error - they chose the wrong pronoun. They stated that what was needed, what would turn the tide in battle was ‘it’. They thought the ark of the covenant was the answer. “When IT comes, IT will save us.” How wrong they were. 30,000 men were lost and the ark of the covenant. All because they chose the wrong pronoun. They never stopped to consider that depending upon an IT is really a form of idolatry.

What they should have said was, “Let’s ask HIM what we should do. HE will guide us as HE always has. HE will save us from the hand of our enemies.”

People still get this grammar wrong. Too often they desperately scramble around searching for some ‘it’ that will alleviate their problem. As long as we try to solve the problems of our lives with some ‘it’, we will never know true peace. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. HE did that. Jesus was born in a manger. But we don’t trust in a manger. He died on a cross. But we don’t lean on a cross. We don’t need an IT, when we can turn to HIM.

Blessings,

Pastor Russ