Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends on this Tuesday,
With the cloud of recent events both in Israel and Ukraine still hovering over us, no matter where we live in the world, no matter your sense of freedom or fear, the two chapters of 1 Samuel 4 & 5 seem amazingly relevant!
Yesterday we met Hannah and her miracle son Samuel. Some years after those events, when Samuel was likely a young man perhaps in his early twenties, the horrible prediction God had made about Eli the High Priest, and his two wicked sons became a terrifying reality. (1 Samuel 2:30-34)
The 1 Samuel 4 record tells us the vicious Philistines, who lived in what we know today as the ‘Gaza Strip’ region of Israel, refused to live peacefully with Israel and frequent violent skirmishes turned to actual battlefield warfare. But this historic event, recorded for us in 1 Samuel 4 & 5, takes all Biblical records of war to a new low for on this occasion the poor spiritual leadership of Eli and his priestly sons failed the nation of Israel unlike at any other time in Israel’s history. When the military battle plan was going badly the elders of Israel appealed to Eli’s sons for help and the decision was made to send to the battle lines what they believed to be the great secret weapon of Israel… the sacred Ark of the Covenant!
By God’s instructions, this Ark had led the weaponless Israelites as they walked around Jericho more than 300 years before and God had crashed down those Jericho walls. (Joshua 6:1-5) And the Ark had been carried into the Jordan river by God’s instructions as God stopped the flow of the Jordan so the Israelites could cross over from the desert into the Land of God’s Promise (Joshua 3:3,4,13) But at no time had God even hinted that this sacred Ark, containing the tablets of the Covenant which Moses had brought down from Mount Sinai, should be brought to the battlefield of war.
The Ark was not a weapon of warfare; it was a sacred part of the Tabernacle of God’s Presence and the worship of the God of Israel. But desperate times call for desperate action and while young Samuel watched, the Ark was taken out of the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle at Shiloh, I presume either by Eli’s sons or certainly under their oversight. Nothing like this had ever happened in Israel before!!
Sadly, it’s only one further step in the absolute disregard Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas had for God; God’s Word the Torah; the worship instructions God had given to Moses as recorded in Leviticus; and the priestly lineage going all the way back to Aaron. There’s an important lesson here friends… disaster and despair are usually at the end of the pathway of slow drift away from God. While God described priests Hophni and Phinehas as ‘scoundrels‘ in 1 Sam. 2:12, this defilement of the sacred Ark, and the Most Holy place, was the ultimate in leadership failure and decadent defilement of God’s Worship.
Naturally, with the Ark’s arrival the Israelite soldiers experienced an adrenaline rush of confidence! But in their desperation the Philistines warriors slaughtered 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers and the Israelite army fled in fear and defeat. (1 Samuel 4:5-10) Worse than that, the record says: “The Ark of God was captured…” and true to God’s warning both priests Hophni and Phinehas, who evidently had accompanied the Ark to the battlefield, died that day! God had clearly withdrawn His hand of protection from Israel’s army and applied His hand of profound discipline upon the failed spiritual leadership. But the story doesn’t end there, God was not finished yet!
A runner came from the battlefield and shared the heartbreaking news with the people of Shiloh and of course an uproar arose. Hearing the cries of the people, old High Priest Eli, who was nearly blind, cried out for an explanation and the runner poured out the news to Eli with these dreadful words: “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.“ (1 Samuel 4:17) Stunned by this news Eli fell backward off his chair and died as his neck was broken. At the same time his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, went into early child labor and gave birth to her child. As she was dying, she named her son “Ichabod” and proclaimed “The Glory of the LORD has departed from Israel.” (1 Samuel 4:19-21)
I believe that moment in history was similar in spiritual significance for Israel as when God incarnate, Jesus Christ, hanging on the cross in the darkness hovering over Jerusalem, proclaimed “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me.” (Matt. 27:45,46) Israel’s leadership in Samuel’s day had totally turned away from God, as did Israel’s leadership that Passover weekend when they sent Jesus to the cross to die.
This stunning event challenges us to look closely at our own lives. Have we ever drifted or more seriously intentionally turned our back on God and experienced the withdrawal of God’s Presence from us? “Ichabod”!! It’s a profound declaration of darkness and a preview of the place of the rebellious dead called Hades, and perhaps even a foretaste of Hell, and the total absence of God!
With the dramatic events of that day suddenly young Samuel was alone as a young man who was being prepared by God for such a time as this. We have no record of exactly what Samuel did in that crisis, but I suspect he spent extended time in the Tabernacle worshiping, praying and seeking God’s guidance for this “Ichabod” moment.
I May I ask what you and I do when we find ourselves in desperately dark times or places? Are you confident the throne room of God is open to you and the ultimate Advocate Jesus is at the right hand of God ready to intercede for your situation and for you? (Romans 8:34)
The focus on this remarkable story turns suddenly from Samuel to following the captured Ark into Philistine territory and as you read 1 Samuel 5 you might be shocked to discover the Philistines took the Ark to one of their five main cities, Ashdod and placed it into the temple of their false god Dagon! Yes, that is the same town Ashdod that we hear often in reports coming to us from Israel in recent months! The man-made statue Dagon fell over on its face before the Ark of God not once but twice and people started getting sick and dying in Ashdod as God’s powerful judgment fell on that city. (1 Samuel 5:1-9)
In great fear the people sent the Ark to Gath, another of the Philistine great cities, and God’s judgment came on that city causing fear and death. So, the Philistines sent the Ark to Ekron with similar judgment results. Fear, illness and death followed the Ark in Philistine territory no matter where it was taken as God’s judgment fell upon them! These two chapters are a picture my friends, a frightening, terrifying picture of what happens when Holy, Almighty God pours out His judgement upon any people who mock and defile His holiness…be they pagans or God’s people!
It’s vital we understand this, and so we pause here to reflect deeply and consider how close the place where you live might be to such an outpouring of God’s judgment!? Important notes for further reflection are available at the Grand Narrative link below and I’ve found a powerful worship song from “Songs of Wisdom” which fits well with what we have seen today. That song link is at the bottom of this page, and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow in 1 Samuel 6!
Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 4, 5.
Choose below to read or listen.
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1 Samuel 5
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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