1 Samuel 4:1b-22

…. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 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. 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 may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 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.

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. 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, 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. 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. 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 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.”

(ESV)

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While Samuel was still young, Israel went to battle with the Philistines at Aphek, about 25 miles west of Shiloh. When Israel began to lose, they sent men to Shiloh to fetch the ark of the covenant of God from Shiloh and bring it to the battlefield. This was a move of superstition presuming the ark to be like a good luck charm that would help them just because it was with them. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas came with the ark to the battlefield.

The presence of the ark gave Israel renewed courage and they gave a mighty shout. When the Philistines heard this they wondered what the shouting meant. When they learned that the ark had come into Israel’s camp, they were afraid. They too were superstitious. They knew about the “gods” who had helped Israel out of Egypt. But they summoned their courage and fought anyway. They fought and Israel was defeated and the ark of God was captured. Just as God had declared would be a sign (1 Sam 2:34), both of Eli’s sons died that day. For the first time, the ark of the covenant was taken into pagan hands. The Israelites had expected God to be an ally against the Philistines but God had other plans. He used the Philistines in judgment against Israel and their unfaithful priests.

Back at Shiloh, Eli heard the news about the defeat, his sons’ deaths, and that the ark of God had been captured. At the news of the ark of God being capture, Eli fell over backward and broke his neck. Shortly after that, his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife gave birth prematurely because of her reaction to the news. She gave birth to a son and named him Ichabod in her dying breath. The name she gave him meant “The glory has departed from Israel.” Israel’s superstition continued. To pagans, it was conceivable that a god could be taken into captivity (Isa 46:1-2) but Israel should have known that the Omnipresent God could not be taken away from them. This story shows how heathen Israel had become.

How have you or might you be tempted to see God in a superstitious way? Perhaps you’ve thought you need to manipulate God in some way—God if I (am better, pray more, go to church more, …) then you should (do the thing I desire). The more our faith is based on religious rites or practices, the more likely we are to treat God like this. The deeper our relationship with Him, the less likely we are to fall into this trap. Where are you on this continuum?


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