Good Morning!
In the sermon that was delivered Sunday, our Associate
Pastor, Chris Barnard, talked about how Israel brought the Ark of the Covenant
out to battle the Philistines … thinking that the presence of the Ark would
lead them to victory. Unfortunately, they were wrong. And the Israelites were
defeated in battle … and the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the
Philistines.
Let’s take a look at what was written in the
history book we call 1st Samuel …
1 Samuel 4 English
Standard Version (ESV)
4 And the word
of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out to battle
against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines
encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the
battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about
four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the
people came to 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 here from Shiloh, that it[a] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people
sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of
hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni
and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came
into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the
Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great
shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had
come to the camp, 7 the
Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the
wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to
the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and
they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for
thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 And the ark
of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12 A man of
Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with
his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he
arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart
trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the
news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was
ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man
said to Eli, “I am he who
has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 He who
brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a
great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are
dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he
mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side
of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and
heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about
to give birth. 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 and gave birth,
for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to
her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named
the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed[b] from Israel!” because the
ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said,
“The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has
been captured.”
Footnotes:
1 Samuel 4:3 Or he
1 Samuel 4:21 Or gone
into exile; also verse 22
What was the problem that led to the defeat of
Israel? They were depending upon an icon
for victory rather than depending upon God. They misplaced their trust …
thinking that God would intervene to protect the Ark of the Covenant. Imagine their surprise when the battle went
even worse than before. Why didn’t God step in and defeat the Philistines? Could it be that the Israelites had the wrong
idea of who was truly in charge … them or God?
Before we start blaming Israel for their
presumption, we must hold up the mirror of our own lives and check to see if
there haven’t been instances where, when we haven’t taken the time to inquire of
God for His wisdom, we have called on Him to get us out of a negative
situation. In my own life, I know there
are times I have acted before asking … and THEN called upon God to get me out of
the mess I created.
As you can see, the result of a misplaced
trust was disaster. 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. Eli’s corrupt sons, Phineas and Hophni, both
were killed in battle. Eli, upon hearing
of the capture of the Ark, fell over and broke his neck and died. And the Ark … the very thing that Israel had misplaced
its trust … was captured by the Philistines.
Devastating!
Is “devastated” how we feel when God doesn’t “back
us up” when we step outside His care and find ourselves in a mess? Shouldn’t we recognize our error … not seeking
God before we acted? And shouldn’t we learn that we are subject to God and not He
to us?
God is God … and not me. I am His child. I am His bondservant. My trust should be placed in Him … and in Him
alone. I should never put my trust in an
idol or an icon. And that is our lesson for today.
Agape’
Mr. Jim
Prayer: Father, remind me to be careful in my
choices to first seek Your face … to hear Your voice. And, when I fail, teach
me to admit my wrong, bear the consequences, and return to You. In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
Scripture for today: 1st Samuel 4
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