Reading today in 1 Samuel 6:1-18, we are given a lesson on getting advice and decision making. Each time the Philistines moved the arc of the Lord, the city it was placed in was devastated as the people were afflicted with plagues from rats and an outbreak of tumors so the Philistines demanded that the arc of the Lord be put back in its original place.

The Philistines inquired with the priests and diviners to determine what to do with the arc of the Lord. The priests recommend to send the ark back along with a gift. A guilt offering of five gold tumors and five gold rats so that the Lord would lift His hand from them and their land (v. 5).

Instructions were given to put the arc of the Lord in a cart and two cows would be chosen to carry the cart. If the cows took the cart to Beth Shemesh, it would be a sign that the Lord brought on the plagues but if they took the cart somewhere else, the plagues happened by chance.

In this reading, the cows provided the answer to their questions but God has been kind to us with the gift of His Son as the sacrifice for our sin. Our guilt is removed when we accept this gift and worship God as not one of many deities but the ONE who is the source of life.

It’s important to realize God’s power and that He has a plan for us. We have experts today to help with decisions but we must take into account that God’s expertise is greater so that’s why we open His Word, follow His will, and faithfully carry out His plan. We don’t let misinformation or bad science lead to awful choices. We gain wisdom and understanding with experience and go to God in prayer relying on the ONE who has all the answers.

Lord, You have all the answers and we rely on Your wisdom to guide us along the path. You have given us a plan and we grow to understand this plan each day. Lord, we trust in You to steer us along the path that is clear. The path cleared by Jesus. Amen.