Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 4
first samuel chapter four thus far in our studies in samuel we have seen the early life of samuel his birth and then in chapter three his call specifically to the prophetic ministry uh... probably is a very young man around the age of twelve or thirteen during this time or this period when he was called to the ministry so i want to read beginning in chapter four at verse one And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and encamped beside Ebenezer. And the Philistines encamped in Aphek. Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel.
And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines who killed about 4,000 men of the army in the field. 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. So the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim.
And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 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.
Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. Now when he came, there was Eli sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, what does the sound of this tumult mean?
And the man came quickly and told Eli. Eli was 98 years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. Then the man said to Eli, I am he who came from the battle, and I fled today from the battle line. And he said, what happened, my son?
So the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured. Then it happened, when he made mention of the Ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died. For the man was old and heavy, and he had judged Israel forty years.
Now his daughter-in-law, Phineas' wife, was with child, due to be delivered. And when she heard the news that the Ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, She bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women who stood by her said to her, do not fear, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer, nor did she regard it.
And she named the child Ichabod, saying, the glory has departed from Israel. because the Ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, the glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured. Amen. Well,
Introduction
chapters 4, 5, and 6 deal primarily with the Ark of the Lord, the Ark of the Covenant. Specifically in chapter 4, we see that the Ark is captured. Chapter 5, the Ark is in Philistine territory. and then in chapter 6, the ark is returned back to Israel. So this is the central feature in 4-6.
Interestingly enough, Samuel is not mentioned at all. Chapter 4, verse 1, verse 1a. Notice, "...and the word of Samuel came to all Israel." That could go with what has preceded, or it could go with chapter 4. And if we take it with chapter 4, the idea may be that now there's a prophet of God Now there is a mouthpiece of God in Israel, but they don't make use of him.
After they are defeated by the Philistines, instead of checking with Samuel, instead of seeking out the word of the Lord, they rather trot out the covenant, or the Ark of the Covenant, as the means by which they will secure victory. So Samuel is not mentioned. in the entirety of 4, 5, and 6. He features again in chapter 7 at verse 3. This could be the author's way of disposing with Eli and his family.
I don't mean that in a grotesque way, but getting rid of Eli and his family so that the focus can resume upon Samuel. This is what Samarra says. He says, this is as if the author or narrator aims to remove Eli and his family before concentrating on Samuel. All these things resulted in the capture of the Ark of the Lord, the symbol and guarantee of the divine presence.
Such a disaster had never happened in the history of the covenant people of Israel. Certainly this was one of the darkest times for them. This also gives the background for Samuel's success. So the capture of the ark was very significant in terms of a blow. to Israel, both militarily to be sure, but specifically religiously.
The glory of God had indeed departed from Israel. This is a significant time in their history. It sets the stage for the coming of Samuel in a more official manner, as well politically. We learn from this particular section, specifically in verse 18, that Eli judged Israel.
He probably functioned as like one of those minor judges. The priests also had a place in judging appellate court case, or appellate court case laws, excuse me, in Israel. But then in chapter 7 at verse 6, it speaks of Samuel as well judging Israel. So there's a bit of overflow in terms of office. in terms of function.
Eli was a priest who had some judging capabilities. Samuel is a prophet who has some judging capabilities. But the point of this particular narrative is to see first the defeat of Israel indicated in verses 1 to 11, secondly the death of Eli in verses 12 to 18, and then finally the departure of Yahweh in verses 19 to 22. So
The Defeat of Israel
let's pick up first of all with the defeat of Israel.
Israel's Situation and Wrong Solution
The situation is described for us in the first three verses. Again, the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Matthew Henry indicated that perhaps because he was a young man, that's why they didn't seek him out. He was 12 or 13 as he'd been called to the prophetic ministry.
And all Israel knows that he is a prophet. Nevertheless, his youth may have kept them from seeking him out. As we go on in the narrative, the elders make a decision under Eli to go ahead and get the ark from Shiloh and take it into battle. So Samuel is not consulted at all.
And I think that one of the things we ought to appreciate here is that we ought to seek the word of the living God. When anything happens, when any difficulties come upon us, reflection upon, and study of God's Word is the best course of action. Specifically, the Philistines pose a threat. Remember, under Samson, previously, they had been subjugated to some degree.
Well, here they're a threat again, and in verse 1b, it says, Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and encamped beside Ebenezer. and the Philistines encamped in Aphex. So they've come to the place where they're going to engage in battle. The battle is very briefly described in verse 2. The Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel, and when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines who killed about 4,000 men of the army. in the field so this was very bad this is a very difficult thing in the history of the covenant people and then we see the particular solution that they appealed to verse 3 says when the people had come into the camp The elders of Israel said, why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?
They seemed genuinely surprised that they had lost the battle. I don't believe they were expecting this. I don't believe that they thought they were going to lose to the Philistines. Perhaps some of the momentum of the Samson regime was in their blood and they thought certainly we can take these Philistines out between Ebenezer and Aphad.
They are genuinely surprised and they offer a theologically correct interpretation of the event. Notice what they say. Why? Has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?
That's a good sign. At least they're thinking theologically. Now, unfortunately, the solution that they propose betrays this, but this is accurate. The children of Israel are under a sovereign God, and when they are defeated in battle, they rightly ascribe this to God.
They rightly attach victory to Yahweh. They rightly attach defeat to Yahweh. Proverbs 21.31, a passage that I hope you're familiar with. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.
They understood that. They asked the right questions. They're wondering about this particular situation. But note the plan that they propose.
It says, 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. Now, it's ambiguous. When it says, it may save us from the hand of our enemies, it could be he may save us from the hand of our enemies. But the entirety of the context suggests that what we have in the New King James is accurate, that it may save us from the hand of our enemies.
In other words, the idea that just because the covenant or the Ark of the Covenant is there, we'll have victory. Just because we trot out this particular piece of holy furniture, we will have victory. So the elders fail to reflect properly on the situation. They ask the right question, why has it happened that we have been defeated by the Lord?
But they don't accurately reflect upon this.
Repentance, Not Magic
The answer in a situation like this was repentance and faith, not magic and manipulation. The answer was to seek God, to reform their ways, to repent under the Lord, and then to do what he called them to do through his prophet Samuel. The law is very specific in terms of disobedience. Had they reflected upon that law, they would have understood why it was the case that they had failed on the battlefield.
Leviticus 26.17, one of the curses for breaking the covenant. I will set my face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. Might have been a good thing to think about.
Might have been a good thing to rehearse. Might have been a good thing to recall so that they could humble themselves under the mighty hand of God and in due time be lifted up. Deuteronomy 28 says essentially the same thing. Again, remember Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are so foundational for the entirety of the Old Testament.
When the prophets come to prosecute the people of Israel, it is for violating the covenant that God stipulated with the nation of Israel. The curses are spelled out in Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, such that when you review Israel's history subsequent to these particular days when the law was given, it's almost as if you are seeing 26 and 28 fleshed out in Israel's history. When you go into the land and you break the covenant of God, these bad things are going to happen to you. Deuteronomy 28, 25, the Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies.
You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth." So they do not reflect properly on the situation. They do not seek the word of the Lord. Again, there's encouragement or at least exhortation for us here. Very often when bad things happen, we begin to chart a course without thinking through it. without pondering, without praying, without studying, without searching the scriptures?
What does that text in Proverbs 3 tell us? We are to trust in the Lord with all our heart. We're not to lean on our own understanding. In all our ways, we're to acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths.
Now, this isn't mysticism. This isn't subjectivism. This isn't tuning out and letting go. This is rather searching the scriptures and asking the questions in the proper sense.
They ask, why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? And immediately they answer, go fetch the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh and trot it out to the battlefield, for certainly then we'll have victory. Well, as we see as we move through this narrative, that was the wrong answer. That was absolutely incorrect and they should not have engaged in this particular situation.
So we ought to seek the word of the Lord to determine the reason for the defeat. That's what they should have done. As well, they should have sought the word of the Lord to determine the appropriate response to the judgment that he had imposed upon them. Again, I think 1A in many ways stands as sort of a warning to Israel.
You now have a prophet operative in the land of Israel. Remember prior to the call of Samuel, just before the Lord starts to make his call upon him, it tells us there was no widespread revelation in the land. So at the end of chapter 3, going into chapter 4, what are we to conclude with the call of Samuel to the prophetic ministry? There is now widespread revelation in the land.
You're not going to seek that. You're not going to ask. You're not going to find out. You're not going to pursue a course of action stipulated by God Most High.
You're going to reflect, or react rather, in your own flesh and concoct this particular plan that smacks of manipulation rather than obedient faith, you're not going to prosper in this way. And as brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, the pathway to God's blessing is not through manipulation. The pathway to God's blessing is not through magic. The pathway to God's blessing, and that really isn't what we ought to be seeking.
The pathway to God is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and humility before Him. It's not necessarily the blessings we are fetching, it is the God with whom we have to do that we seek communion. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then these things will be added to us. In that passage in Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples, don't fret about food, don't fret about clothing, don't fret about tomorrow, but rather seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
He doesn't say try to manipulate your environment such that you have food, that you have clothes, and that you have a carefree tomorrow. No, he says, seek God first. This is always the answer for the people of God in every circumstance, in every situation, whether it's good times or bad times, our recourse is to the word of the Lord. So the word of Samuel came to all Israel, but instead of seeking that word out, they go ahead and concoct this particular plan.
They attempt to manipulate the Lord. And at least from the surface level, it seems to have an appearance of piety, because after all, in battles previous, the Ark of the Covenant was with the people of God. It symbolized His presence with them. Numbers 10, also in Joshua 3, when they crossed the River Jordan, Joshua 6, when they went to battle at Jericho, the Ark of the Covenant featured significantly there.
So at least from a surface level place, they thought, well, you know, we've lost to the Philistines. Let's go get the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh. Let's bring it with us so that we'll win the battle. Again, the whole idea behind this is not, what does God want?
How do we honor the Lord? How do we bring glory to the Lord? But we want victory. And so we're going to use God to try and secure victory.
It is a faulty approach to the things of God most high. We are not in a position to manipulate the Lord. We are not in the position to be able to do it, and as people who have the Holy Spirit, it ought not to cross our minds. It is a true blight on the professing church today that there's so much technique involved to try and tie God's hand behind his back so that he'll pour out blessings to us.
In many places, God is treated more like he is Baal than as he is in reality Yahweh of Israel. We are trying to coach blessings from him. We are trying to make him perform. We are trying to get what we want all under the guise of piety.
Well, I did pray and I did fast and I did do this all in an attempt not to glorify God, not to honor God or cast ourselves fully upon his mercy, but because we want stuff. We've treated God, and I don't mean maybe all of us here specifically, probably though, but in a certain sense we have treated God like a genie in the bottle. We want three wishes. We want health, we want happiness, we want prosperity.
Or we want a better job, or we want a better car, or we want a better this, or we... That's wrong, brethren. God is not in heaven and he does not have his existence in himself to make you and I happy. His goals are much broader, namely his glory, his honor, his exaltation, his magnificence displayed.
So the ark is trotted out to battle as a means to get God to bless. Notice in 3B, 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.
The Ark as Holy Talisman
The use of the ark as a tool of magic. This is like a holy horseshoe. I think about that. Does everybody know that horseshoes supposedly have good luck?
If you display a horseshoe on your wall, they say you've got to turn it with the tines up so that the luck doesn't run out. If you put it with the tines down, the luck runs out of the horseshoe. I mean, that's pretty zany, isn't it? I know when I was a kid, the rabbit's foot was a lucky charm.
People had rabbit's feet. Why we think to have a rabbit's foot in our pocket, I really don't know. But it was somehow lucky. Or the four-leaf clover.
Those are lucky. If you find a four-leaf clover, That's a good thing. You're in a good position for that day. People cast salt over their shoulders so that they don't have bad luck.
All these things trying to manipulate the forces of nature so that things will go our way. Look what Israel is doing. They trot out the Ark of the Covenant that it may save us from the hand of our enemies. repentance and faith and humility before God was the path ultimately to defeating the Philistines, not bringing out this piece of furniture, not bringing out this which does symbolize the presence of God, but it does not confine the presence of God. He is not physically or spatially located in that box.
Just bringing him out there doesn't mean that the God of heaven and earth is actually there. And as we trace through the narrative, God would rather enable the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant than ever let Israel think that there is the possibility that they could manipulate him or that he is on the level of a holy horseshoe. God would rather see the Ark of the Covenant in enemy territory, which as we'll see as we move, the glory may have departed from Israel, but the glory never departs from Yahweh. What happens when that Ark goes to the Philistines?
They have nothing but problems with it. God the Lord is sovereign and supreme. That is what the passage is highlighting for us. The presence of the ark did not secure victory, but the presence of the Lord would secure victory.
They wanted to use God to get what they wanted. They didn't seek God to do as he commanded. Davis makes this observation. When we operate this way, when we take the piece of furniture out so that it may save us from the hand of our enemies.
When we operate this way, our concern is not to seek God, but to control him. Not to submit to God, but to use him. So we prefer religious magic to spiritual holiness. We are interested in success, not repentance.
Man, if that doesn't indict a lot of people who name the name of Christ, and again, probably all of us to some degree or other, we want God for what God gives. We don't want God for God. You see, there's a functional difference in that particular approach. We want God for God, not for what he gives us.
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then these things will be added to you. John Gill makes this observation, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. He says, foolishly placing their confidence in an external symbol and not in the Lord himself, ascribing salvation to that which only belongs to him, whether of a temporal or spiritual kind. And such folly and vanity are men guilty of when they seek to make use of and trust in anything short of Christ for salvation, as in carnal descent, in the rituals of the law, in the ordinances of the gospel, in any religious exercises, private or public, or in any works of righteousness done by them.
In Christ alone is salvation from spiritual enemies, and indeed from the Lord only is salvation and deliverance from temporal enemies. You see, even us, with reference to baptism and the Lord's Supper. They are means of grace given by God for the good of His people. But it's not the external right that is everything.
It is not the function of that particular task that is somehow blessed to us. It is God the Lord who operates through the conduit of those particular means. We find God in those places. Those places are not God.
You see, the same was true with the Ark of the Covenant. We can find God and His presence among the Ark. But it's not as if the Ark is God. It's not as if that's all there is to God.
That is not the sole place where God reigns and rules. And this is fundamentally flawed as well. They use the Ark in an idolatrous manner. It's actually sad to see the way Israel responds. in verse 3, and compare it to the pagan Philistines in verse 8.
Notice what the Philistines say in verse 8. 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. Now, they are wrong theologically.
There wasn't gods. that freed Israel from Egypt. There was one solitary, sole, unique, independent God. I am that I am. But the pagans reasoned this way, that when the Ark of the Covenant comes into the camp, that's their gods.
Isn't that what Israel's doing? Isn't that essentially what Israel is saying? Go down to Shiloh, get the Ark and bring it to us that it may save us. They are identifying the Ark of the Covenant with God Himself.
And that is the fundamental flaw in pagan religion. And it does speak of idolatry. Matthew Henry says, note, it is common for those that have estranged themselves from the vitals of religion. I love that statement, the vitals of religion.
What are the vitals of religion? Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and repentance toward God. Those are the vitals of our religion. He says it is common for those that have estranged themselves from the vitals of religion to discover a great fondness for the rituals and external observances of it.
You see, this happens. People think they're okay because they were baptized as an infant. People think they're okay because their fathers taught Sunday school. People think they're okay because they participate in the Lord's Supper.
No, you're not okay because you participate in the Lord's Supper. You're okay because Jesus Christ has shed his blood. Jesus Christ has redeemed you, Jesus Christ has saved you, and Jesus Christ has blessed you with the privilege of feasting to remember that great redemptive work. He says, for those that even deny the power of godliness not only to have but to have in admiration the form of it.
He says, the temple of the Lord is cried up and the ark of the Lord stickled for with a great deal of seeming zeal by multitudes that have no regard at all for the Lord of the Temple and the God of the Ark, as if a fiery concern for the name of Christianity would atone for a profane contempt of the thing. And yet, indeed, they did but make an idol of the Ark and looked upon it to be as much an image of the God of Israel as those idols which the heathen worship were of their gods." You see, they have fallen into pagan thought. And that is wrong. Manipulation, magic, paganism, idolatry, all these things under the guise of piety.
Now may I suggest that when we engage in the same sorts of things, paganism, manipulation, magic, we often do it under the guise of paganism. We call them 40-day prayer vigils. Now it's not wrong to pray for 40 days, not wrong to pray for 1,000 days. I don't mean your daily prayers, but those seasons where churches gather and have these 40-day prayer vigils.
If we just want to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cast ourselves in dependence upon Him, That's great, but typically there's an end game with these vigils. We want a new building, so we're going to meet together and pray. Well, that's magic. That's manipulation.
That's put the quarter in the machine and pull the handle down and out spits the new building. If that is our goal, if we are trying to get from God, and we use fastings, or we use readings, or we use whatevers, we have fallen prey to this very thing. Magic, manipulation, and paganism, all under the garb of spirituality. Davis makes this particular comment.
He says, contemporary believers must beware of thinking they are immune from this rabbit-foot faith. What is behind a church's 24-hour prayer vigil? Is it a desire to be in earnest with God, to plead with Him in some matter? Or is there some thinking that if we simply organize and orchestrate such coverage, God will be forced to grant whatever we are praying about?
Perhaps individual Christians have observed that things go better with prayer. But what then is the drive behind their daily devotional exercises? Is it a delight in meeting with God or with things going better? You see, it's very subtle, brethren.
You're probably thinking, what's wrong with a 24-hour prayer vigil? Is it so that things will go better? Because that's what they're doing out here between Aphek and Ebenezer. They bring the Ark of the Covenant out so that things will go better.
It seems good, it's pious, it's holy. We have the Ark of the Covenant there. Davis says, But what then is the drive behind, I'm sorry, he says, whenever the church stops confessing, thou art worthy, and begins chanting, thou art useful, well then you know that the ark of God has been captured again. pragmatism, this idea that if we just do the formula, then God will bless us. Again, please pray, please read your Bibles, please take the Lord's Supper, please be baptized if you haven't been baptized, but don't put your faith in those things.
Your faith is in the Lord God most high. Your faith is in the Lord Christ. Your faith is in the Son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us. And we do not force God's hand.
We need to come to that place where we say with the hymn writer, whatever my God ordains is right. And this prayer, times of prayer, are a place for us to evidence that sort of dependence upon him. So that's what Israel does in terms of their solution.
The Ark Delivered and Israel Routed
Notice the judgment in verses 4 to 11. We're still under the defeat of Israel. Verses 4 to 11, the ark is delivered. Look at what we find.
Verse 4, so the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts. If you remember back to our studies in the book of Deuteronomy, you say, wait a minute, I'm having trough time with 1 Samuel 3 from last week. Remember back in Deuteronomy chapter 12, there was this emphasis upon a central sanctuary. God didn't want people hankering after him wherever they felt led.
He wanted the people to come to the house of God. So in other words, the Ark of the Covenant was certainly a mobile piece of holy furniture during the wanderings in the wilderness. But now that they've hunkered down, now that Shiloh has become the place where they worship, The idea is not that we take the Ark of the Covenant from there. The idea is that we leave the Ark of the Covenant there.
There seems to be an evidence of this in verse 13. Eli himself is concerned about the Ark, isn't he? Look at what he says, verse 13. His heart trembled for the Ark of God.
One wonders if Eli thought You know, maybe this isn't the best response. Maybe we should just leave the Ark of the Covenant alone. Maybe it's supposed to stay in the House of Shabbat. I don't know if he said all this.
I don't know if he thought all this. Certainly, as the priest, judge in Israel, the elders made this plan. He had to have signed off on it. Eli is not without blame, but Eli is concerned for the Ark of the Covenant.
Things like this hadn't been done before. We're trotting a new ground here. We're forging a new path. The Philistines have beaten us.
There's 4,000 dead Israelites. The response has not been humility. It's not been repentance. It's not been seeking the law.
It's not been seeking Samuel the prophet. It's been take the Ark of the Covenant out to the field of battle. There at least appears that Eli had some consternation of soul in him when this messenger returns. Is the Ark okay?
This is what's driving him. But then notice back in verse 4. So the people sent to Shiloh that they might bring from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts that dwells between the cherubim and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. Now, they're supposed to be because they're priests, right?
They're supposed to accompany the Ark. But what do we know about Hophni and Phinehas? This is not a good thing. These are wretches.
They do not know the Lord. There's not a lot in this particular mental image to bring home confidence to the faithful Israelite. We're going to take the Ark of the Covenant from the house of God at Shiloh. We're going to entrust it to two men who do not know the Lord, to two men who prostitute the sacrificial system in Israel, who threaten and faithful Israelites when they come to worship and lay with women outside of the tabernacle.
Hophni and Phinehas are probably not the best guys for this particular job. Maybe we should rethink this plan. It's almost as if the author is setting us up to say, this is not good. Stop.
Repent. Humble yourselves. Seek out Samuel. Fetch the word of the Lord.
Don't fetch the Ark of the Covenant. Fetch the God of the Covenant through his prophet Samuel. Now notice the response of the Philistines in verses 5 to 9. The Philistines, as I've already mentioned, reasoned the way that the Israelites did.
Verse 5, when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. They're fired up. They think this is the answer. You see, that, again, is something symptomatic of the manipulator.
We think that what we're doing is pious, godly, and good, and therefore the Lord's gonna bless us. I don't know if you've ever met charismatics, brethren, have you met people that have this view, that if I go through these motions, God has to bless me. There was a book written several years ago on this very theme because Jabez in one verse prayed to the Lord to enlarge his territory. It launched a book that was a bestseller in North America.
It wasn't as blatant health, wealth, and prosperity as Benny Hint. It wasn't as blatant as Joel Osteen, but that was the underlying message. Pray the prayer to get the blessing. Pray the prayer to get the enlarged territory.
Pray the prayer so that the God of heaven and earth will function as a genie and help your business to grow. I don't know if you've met those people, brethren, but I have, and it's an offense when we think that God is some sort of servant boy to us to do what we want. That's not the way this system is supposed to work. So the people of Israel are fired up.
I mean, you see them going to these revival meetings. You go and, yeah, the Lord, we're going to have a revival. You don't schedule revival. What is revival?
It is a supernatural act of God Most High. It is when the Spirit comes in power. Not because we say on Friday evening we're gonna set up a tent and at 7 p.m. we're gonna have a revival. That is Arminianism to the core.
It is Pelagian to the core. It gives no respect whatsoever to Jesus' teaching in John chapter 3. The Spirit is like the wind. You cannot control the Spirit any more than you can control the wind.
Brethren, these are manipulative techniques that the people of God are imposing upon the God of the people so that they can get what they want. That's wrong. It's not righteous stuff. Notice verse six, 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. That's good, they should be afraid, if indeed God has come into the camp. You see, Israelite is poised for victory.
The Philistines are poised for defeat. They're afraid. They're worrisome. They don't think it's going to go well this time.
The tables, at least as far as everybody involved is concerned, have turned. It's going to be victory for Yahweh on this particular day. Notice, verse 8, 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.
That's not accurate. It wasn't in the wilderness. It was in Egypt specifically. But again, they're pagan Philistines.
We don't expect them to get their theology right. We do expect Israelite covenantal members to get their theology right. When Israelites are acting like Philistines, things aren't good in Israel. Notice what they do.
Verse nine, be strong, 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. You see, this is their last-ditch attempt. As far as they're concerned, the God who destroyed the Egyptians are now coming after them, and they're saying, We gotta stand up.
We gotta just muster up all our courage. We gotta withstand that. The Israelites are fired up. They have their tool.
They think they're going to get victory. They've shouted so loud that it's shaken the ground and stirred up these Philistines. We expect victory at this point, don't we? We expect God to deliver, don't we?
We expect blessings to flow from on high, don't we? Look at what happens. Verse 10, so the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated. It's the point, Israel, don't try and manipulate God.
I would rather my ark end up in pagan Philistine hands than to let you think for a moment that I'm some genie. Now, this is a good lesson for the long run. Probably didn't feel so good at this particular time, but you know as well as I do that theological lessons that become practical don't always find their way in our minds and hearts in the most comfortable ways. We are a thick-headed, thick-hearted people and very often we need to learn things the hard way.
Notice every man fled to his tent He didn't flee back to military headquarters. He left military service. The defeat was so thorough going. The Philistines were so formidable, there was a very great slaughter.
These men, as I said, did not run back to their camp. They did not run back to their military place. They went AWOL. They bailed on military service.
They went back to their mothers. They went back to their wives. They went back to their children. They went back to their tents.
They threw their guns down. If we were using a modern analogy, they took their flat vests off. They threw their helmets away. They jumped out of their Bradley tanks, and they ran like little girls.
And they went back into their tents. They probably put the covers over their heads and slapped a thumb in their mouth, because they were decimated on the field of battle. Not only does the Philistines, or do the Philistines win, but the defeat is very thorough, because God is teaching theology in the midst of all of this. 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. So the Ark was captured. Matthew Henry again says, now they are made to reflect with the utmost regret upon their own rashness and presumption in bringing the Ark into the camp and so exposing it, and wish a thousand times they had left it where God had fixed it. You can hear it now.
Man, we should have left the art there. The shouldas and the wouldas and the couldas are enough to bury us, aren't they? I woulda, shoulda, coulda. Those words are typically never positive.
You never say I should have with a good spin. It's always negative. I should have done this, and I did it. I should have stopped hitting my head with a hammer, but I didn't.
I should have left the ark where it was, but I didn't. I should have thought twice before entering into that relationship. I should have thought twice before doing such and such. He says, now they are convinced that God will not be prescribed to by vain and foolish men, and that though he has bound us to his ark, he has not bound himself to it, but will rather deliver it into the hands of his sworn enemies than suffer it to be profaned by his false friends. and countenance their superstition." That's gold.
That describes it to a T. He would rather deliver the ark into the hands of his sworn enemies than suffer it to be profaned by his false friends, Israel, and countenance their superstition. You see,
Faithfulness of God's Word Fulfilled
what else we have in verse 11 is the faithfulness of God's Word. We see the faithfulness of God's Word, the fidelity, the fulfillment of that Word. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Remember back in chapter 2. that man of God, I'm sorry, in chapter 2 at verse 34, that man of God who'd come to the house of Eli, verse 34, now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons on Hophni and Phinehas in one day, they shall die, both of them.
And then in 3, 12 to 14, God reveals himself to Samuel. Samuel is told in that day, chapter 3, verse 12, I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for. by sacrifice or offering forever.
You see, even in the midst of God's judgment, we see God's mercy. You say, well, what kind of a mercy is that? It's mercy that Hophni and Phinehas, false shepherds, are taken away from Israel. That is a blessing when bad men die.
That is a blessing when God purges his church of men who lie, or men who steal sacrifices, or men who lay with women that are not their wives. Davis says, indeed, though in fulfilling his word, he acts in judgment, he nevertheless acts in grace, for in his judgment he is removing false shepherds who cause his people to go astray. So that's the defeat of Israel.
The Death of Eli
Notice the death of Eli in verses 12 to 18. Verse 12, then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day. Some of the Jewish interpreters thought this was Saul. He was a Benjamite.
There's no need to believe that. There's not any compelling evidence to suggest that that is the case. But a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. Now when he came, there was Eli sitting on a seat by the wayside watching.
Again, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. You know, there's these hints along the way that Eli wasn't a bad man. He made some bad decisions. He did some bad things.
But he was concerned about the ark of the Lord. I mean, he had some semblance of this. Back in chapter 3, after Samuel pronounces the word of judgment against Eli, what does Eli say? It is the Lord.
Let him do what seems good to him. He doesn't say, well, that's not fair. I didn't do it. No, he owns his sin, he understands that he has sinned, he understands that the judgment of God is sure and just.
Here he's concerned for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. The man comes into the city and he tells them what happened. We lost 30,000 soldiers.
We lost the Ark of God. Hophni and Phinehas are dead. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, what is the sound of this tumult mean? And the man came quickly and told Eli.
Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so dim that he could not see. Eli hears this uproar in the cities. What's going on?
What's happening? Tell me about the ark. Tell me what's happened in the battle. And the man said to Eli, I am he who came from the battle, and I fled today from the battle line.
He said, what happened, my son? So the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. The Ark of God has been captured.
One wonders if he knew what would be that which most seriously disturbed Eli. He puts it at the end, right? He says, there has been a great slaughter. Hophni and Phineas are dead.
The Ark of God has been captured. Perhaps the messenger, wanting not to upset Eli, would think, Hophni and Phineas, my sons, are dead. That's not what pushes Eli literally over the edge. What pushes Eli literally over the edge is the Ark of the Covenant is now in Philistine hands.
Verse 18, then it happened when he made mention of the ark of God that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate and his neck was broken and he died for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel 40 years. It wasn't the news of the great slaughter, the 30,000 foot soldiers dead. It wasn't the news of his own sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
It was the news that the ark of the covenant of God most high was now in Philistine hands. Those filthy pagans were touching the Ark of the Covenant of God. That sent him over the edge. He had judged Israel 40 years.
The Departure of Yahweh
Notice, finally, the departure of Yahweh. This is a very sad scene. This is very sad. His daughter-in-law, Phineas' wife, was with child, due to be delivered.
And when she heard the news that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth. for her labor pains came upon her." She's grieving. The Ark is gone. Again, notice conspicuously the particular order. She heard the news that the Ark of God was captured.
One wonders if she, in fact, was a faithful Israelite. You see, faithful Israelites, faithful believers, are concerned more when God is not with them than when blessings not with them. Faithful Israelites are more concerned about the absence of God than the absence of victory or the absence of stuff or the absence of benefit. True Christians want God more than what God gives them.
And this is indicative of that. Verse 20, about the time of her death, I'm sorry, for her labor pains came upon her. About the time of her death, the women who stood by her said to her, do not fear, for you have born a son. But she did not answer, nor did she regard it.
Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, the glory has departed from Israel." Literally, the glory has gone into exile. That's what's happened here. The glory has gone into exile because the Ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, the glory has departed from Israel for the Ark of God has been captured.
Sad scene. I mean, this poor lady, she probably goes into premature labor She gives birth to little Ichabod, and then she dies. Her last statement, Davis says, she probably taught more theology in her death than Phineas had done in his whole life. This was significant expression of her faith in the living God.
Application
Well, brethren, I hope that we see in this particular passage first the importance of the Word of God. Chapter 4, verse 1a stands as something of a warning or something of a statement concerning all that follows. The Word of Samuel came to all Israel, but all Israel didn't come to Samuel. They didn't seek him out.
They didn't ask what we should do. They didn't ask for an interpretation of the events that had befallen them between Ebenezer and Aphek. They did not ask. They simply decided with rashness to go ahead to fetch the art from Shiloh and to trot it out to the field of battle.
As well, I hope that we have seen in Chapter 4, probably it won't kill it from us completely, but we ought not to seek to manipulate God. We ought not to seek to get things from God. Again, we are to pray for our daily bread. We are to pray for our forgiveness.
We are to pray for His protection. Lead us not into temptation. I'm not suggesting we don't present petitions. I'm not suggesting we don't bring brethren to the throne of grace and say, Lord God, please heal this particular person.
Those are all legitimate things, but there is a mindset that some adopt that think that the formula or think that the approach or think that the means or think that the manner is somehow the path to victory. I mean you see Christian books like this, books are written how to have a better this. How to have a happier this? Christianity cannot be reduced to an algebraic formula.
Brethren, there are times and seasons when the best of God's people are seeking faithfully to honor Him and they suffer. Look at the Apostle Paul, was there ever a more tireless servant of God most high? I mean this brother literally canvassed thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of miles preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Certainly, formulaically, he was doing everything right.
We know he's a man of prayer because he tells us he prays. We know he's a man who knows his Bible because he quotes it all the time. We know he's a man who serves the Lord because he's always out doing it. Certainly, that pathway, that formula, will ensure great blessing and great happiness and great joy and great prosperity for the brother.
No, it didn't. He ended up in prison, a prisoner of the Lord. He always understood that. He wasn't a prisoner of Caesar.
He was a prisoner of the Lord. He knew what it was to have a messenger from Satan buffet him in the flesh. He knew what it was to carry a thorn in his side. He knew what it was to be beaten with the Roman rod.
He knew what it was to be beaten with the Jewish whip. He knew what it was to suffer deprivation. So you see, there's no formula or pathway to perfection in terms of blessing. There's no formulaic approach in Christianity that we get the blessings we always want and deserve.
And then you see some pretty miserable Christians not always doing what they should be doing, not always being faithful. And God seems to bless them. So do we do adopt that? Well, I'm not going to read my Bible.
I'm not going to pray. I'm going to miss church because they're getting blessed. We would never argue that way. So why do we argue the other way?
I'm going to do X, Y, and Z so that God will bless me. J. Gressam Machen made this observation, and we'll end here. He says, we value God solely for the things he can do.
We make of him a mere means to an ulterior end. And God refuses to be treated so. Such a religion always fails in the hour of need. If we have regarded religion merely as a means of getting things, even lofty and unselfish things, then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed, our faith will fail.
When loved ones are taken away, when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried religion. We say we have tried prayer, and it has failed. He says, of course it has failed.
God is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our beck and call. He is not content to minister to the worldly needs of those who care not a bit for him. That is what 1st Samuel 4 teaches us.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for this, Your Word. We thank You for these prophets. We thank You for the Old Testament and the great riches that it gives to us in terms of theology.
We thank You, God, for who You are. We confess our sin that we don't always live in light of that as we ought. Help us to be humble under Your mighty hand. Help us to be faithful in terms of Scripture reading, in terms of obedience to You.
God, help us never to look at these things as a means to get what we want. Help us, Father, to do the things that you call us to do in a manner that you call us to do them. And even now, Lord God, go with us, grant us grace and peace through the remainder of this week. Again, we pray for our persecuted brethren, Our prayers for that little boy that was pushed into the fire by those wicked men, God.
We just pray for his healing. We pray that you would bless this little fellow. We pray for his family. We pray, God, that you would be merciful to them.
And bring such wicked men to judgment, even as you did with Hophni and Phinehas. We know that this is the execution of your righteousness, of your justice, of your judgment, and a sign that truly God is the king. of kings and the Lord of lords. And we pray these things through Christ Jesus. Amen.