May 15, 2024 | Be God's Light
The Philistines Capture the Ark
Scripture: 1 Samuel 4 (NIV)
1 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.
Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. 3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”
When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12 That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.
14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”
The man hurried over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. 16 He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20 As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.
21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
Devotional
Recall that “the gold-covered ark of the covenant… contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant” (Hebrews 9:4). Each of these three objects represented miraculous works by the hand of God as the people wandered in the desert between Egyptian slavery and Promised Land sovereignty. The ark embodied the very presence of God.
It was natural for them to think that bringing the ark of the covenant into battle would give them victory where they had only experienced defeat. The problem is that Eli’s wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were in charge of the ark. God had already spoken against them. The result? They and their dad all died, Israel was defeated again, and the ark of God’s covenant was captured by the enemy.
God is more interested in our inward character than our outward authority. Hophni and Phinehas were priests, sons of their father Eli who was the recognized priest of the people. But let’s not forget that “Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12). They profaned the sacrifices by greedily taking more than their share, and they desecrated the tent of meeting by sleeping with the women who served there.
In the New Testament, the book of Galatians was written to people who had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Paul warned them to walk by the Spirit, not by the desires of the flesh. Take a look at these passages, and think about what it means to have Godly character in life:
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)
Poem
Correction
God will not be an amulet
God will not be a charm
God is not “luck” to lace your neck
Or wear upon your arm
God is not bottled genie
A prayer, Your wish and will
God’s cause is not your easy life
Nor magic healing pill
Instead, your life belongs to God
God’s glory to display
It is not for our selfish rights
But built for Kingdom ways
So let your prayers be not for self
A Santa Claus like list
But know ‘tis God’s will to desire
For Him you do exist
Your place is not upon a throne
Ordering your will and way
Your place is at the feet of Christ
Your longing, to obey
