The Lord has been speaking to Samuel and Samuel has been telling Israel what the Lord has to say. During this time the Philistines decide to trouble the Israelites again. In the book of Judges we learned that several times the Philistines managed to get enough of an upper hand over Israel that they forced the Israelites to pay tribute to them. As we continue to move through the Old Testament we'll find the Philistines attacking the Israelites a number of times. We don't know what precipitated the attack of 1 Samuel 4 but I presume it was for the usual reasons that one nation invades another: the Philistines wanted control over a certain piece of land or over a certain people or both.
"The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 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." (1 Samuel 4:1b-2) Why did the Lord allow Israel to be defeated in this battle? It was likely for the same reason He allowed it earlier in the Old Testament: for the purpose of correction. We've already been told several times that during the era of the judges, "Everyone did as they saw fit," which means sin and lawlessness were creeping into the nation. We looked at several examples of sin and lawlessness while we studied the book of Judges. On top of that, the book of 1 Samuel has revealed to us the corruption within the priesthood of Israel. Whenever we find the nation of Israel being defeated in battle in the Old Testament we are going to see it happening because something has gone wrong spiritually. It happens when a sizable percentage of the people fall into idolatry. Or it happens when it isn't the will of the Lord for Israel to engage another nation in battle but they go ahead and do it anyway. Or it happens because corruption has crept into the priesthood or into the political leadership of the nation.
At no time in the Bible do all the citizens of Israel forsake the Lord in order to do their own thing, but that attitude became prevalent during the days of the judges, and the Lord is going to allow something to happen in Chapter 4 to remind the people that their security comes from Him, not from themselves. They can't rely on their own smarts or on their own strength. They can't just do what seems fit to them from a human point of view; they must obey the laws and commandments of a holy God. He is going to allow the visible symbol of His presence among them---the ark of the covenant---to be captured by the enemy.
"When the soldiers of Israel 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.'" (1 Samuel 4:3) The ark has been taken into battle before, but on the instructions of the Lord. When the people were taking over the promised land, they needed the bolster to their faith that seeing the symbol of the Lord's presence would give them. But in verse 3 the decision to take the ark into battle does not appear to be made by the Lord but by the elders of Israel. The way they word it: "Let's 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", sounds like their own idea. I get the feeling that they intend to use the ark as a good luck talisman.
The Lord is no one's errand boy. He is not obligated to get on board with man's plans, especially when man is going through a period of spiritual decline like we've seen taking place during the era of the judges. He doesn't have to give victory simply because the ark is going with them. Now, if they had prayed and searched their hearts and repented of any personal or national sins before going into battle, and if they had sought the Lord's advice regarding their battle plan, He might have told them to take the ark. Or He might have laid out a battle plan for success, as He has done many times before, while telling them to leave the ark at Shiloh.
But, from what information we're provided with in our text, we don't get the impression that the decision to take the ark was made in the manner described above. We don't get the feeling that fasting and praying took place while the elders sought the Lord's counsel. They don't even seek Samuel's counsel although we've been told he's recognized by all Israel as a prophet and that no word given to the people by Samuel has failed to come true. They could have come to him, asked him to inquire of the Lord, waited for his answer, and followed the answer to the letter. As King Solomon will later say, "Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance." (Proverbs 20:18) Guidance was not sought and as a result the battle will go horribly wrong---worse than the first battle did. The prophecy regarding Eli's two sons will come true due to the unwise retrieval of the ark.
"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. When the ark of the Lord's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, 'What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?'" (1 Samuel 4:4-6a) The soldiers begin to cheer when they see the ark coming into the camp. They believe victory is now assured. Surely, they reason, the Lord won't allow them to be defeated with His ark in their midst. They think this would besmirch the honor of His name. But He's way more concerned with the spiritual condition of everyone's souls than with what the heathen army might say about Him. He will allow defeat because it's for a purpose.
The Philistines don't know that the hearts of the nations' priests and elders are far from the Lord at this time. They don't know that the decision to bring the ark into the camp was not made on the instructions of God. "When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. 'A god has come into the camp,' they said. 'Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. 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. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!'" (1 Samuel 4:6b-9) The Philistines must not have heard that the ark of the Lord went with the Israelites when they conquered Jericho or that the ark of the Lord went with the Israelites when they fought the Midianites. This is the first time the ark has appeared in the Israelite camp during any conflict with the Philistines, which is why they say, "Nothing like this has happened before."
At first the news appears to make them lose heart and shake in their boots. But then the knowledge that the ark is in the Israelite camp has the opposite effect: it causes them to muster every ounce of courage they can. The leaders of the Philistine army say to the troops, "It's do or die! If we don't win this battle we'll be subject to the Israelites. We'll be humbled by people we've previously humbled. The shame of such a thing will kill us! How can we call ourselves men if we allow this to happen? We are going to go ahead with this battle and we are going to fight as if our lives depend on it, and as if our honor depends on it, and as if our nation depends on it---because that is the case! If we don't win this battle we might as well be dead, so fight it with all you've got."
"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. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died." (1 Samuel 4:10-11) The two most wicked men in Israel are dead, just as the Lord predicted by both Samuel and by an unnamed prophet. Israel lost thirty thousand soldiers in this battle and four thousand in the first battle. The ark of the covenant is in enemy hands. What a dark day for the nation! But the Lord, in His wisdom and mercy, has already called a prophet who will help guide them out of these dark times. The Lord is in the process of removing corrupt leaders from the nation and teaching the people to listen to godly counsel. In today's passage we've seen the elders using the ark as an object of superstition, believing that the Lord would have to fight on their side if His ark was at the battle, but He allowed the battle to be lost because He wants man to follow His plans, not the other way around. He wants a person's heart to be right with Him, not for them to use Him as a good luck charm when needed.
As I said earlier in today's study, it's not the case that all Israel is far from the Lord at this point in history. Samuel, obviously, is a godly young man. There are untold numbers of faithful people who regularly pray to the Lord and seek His counsel for their lives. But a general air of spiritual decay has invaded the nation. The priests and elders---the very ones who should be setting the best example---have been setting the worst example. That's something that can happen in any nation or organization, which is one reason sometimes things go wrong. But a lot of things are going to go right in the book of 1 Samuel. We will find some sad tales the next few days in this study but that doesn't mean all is lost. The Lord is up to something. The Lord has blessings in store. Just as in your life and in my life we go through dark times, it doesn't mean the skies will never clear. Some of my darkest times have occurred right before some of my biggest blessings.
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