1 Samuel Chapter 4 Part One (Verses 1-11)

A. The Ark is captured

1. (1 Sam 4:1-2) Israel is defeated by the Philistines
Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 

Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel: This clause is most likely incorrectly placed. And in the Latin Vulgate and the Syriac texts, this clause belongs with the last verse of Chapter 3. Verse 21 of Chapter 3 should be: "And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel." Attaching this clause to the fourth chapter gives a wrong pretense, mainly that Samuel gave the command for all Israel to assemble for battle against the Philistines.

Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle: Now after we have been introduced to the main characters in this part of Scripture, God picks the narrative right back up where He left off. The period of the Judges ends with Samson fighting against the Philistines. Samson was lead astray from his mission of destroying the Philistines by women, but during his last act of faith, he kills several thousand Philistines (Judges 16:27-30). However, not all the Philistines were killed. During the early years of Eli's priesthood, it is likely the Philistines used this time to re-group (and re-populate) their diminished army. Now, the Philistines have grown in numbers and are set to once again resume their campaigns against Israel. The Philistines were a formidable force because they were the first in the land of Canaan to use and perfect iron smithing in creating military equipment--swords, shields, helmets, etc.

Ebenezer: This translates as "the stone of help". The name is not actually given to the location until 20 years later when the Israelites have a great victory over the Philistines and in celebration, set up a stone to commemorate the event. ("The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us'" (1 Samuel 7:11-12).)

Aphek: This translates as "stronghold" or "fortress". The Philistine camp would have been located in Judah, near Mizpah and Ebenezer.

2. (1 Sam 4:3-4) The elders of Israel respond with a superstitious trust in the Ark.
When the people came into the camp, the elders said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies." So the people went sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

Why has the LORD defeated us today: The Israelites express surprise that they lost this battle. They have an attitude of expected victory and are surprised God has allowed them to be defeated. Instead of seeking the LORD with prayer and asking for intercession by Eli, his sons and/or Samuel, the elders hatch a brilliant plan (absent of God's approval) to guarantee a victory against the Philistines. If only the elders of Israel would have taken counsel from their ancestors such as Joshua, they would have been instructed in the way they should go. ("Joshua said, 'Alas, O Lord GOD, why did you ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the generations of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?' So the LORD said to Joshua, 'Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them...therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies" (Joshua 7:7-12).

Ark of the covenant: This was the representation of the throne of God among the people of Israel. Kept in the holy of holies in the tabernacle, it was never seen by the people. Only the high priest, once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) would enter the holy of holies and see the ark and minister before God. Yet, they wanted to take this representation of the throne of God out of the holy of holies, and take it into battle with them. It would give them confidence God was really with them.

The ark had gone into battle before: The ark went in front of the marchers around the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:6-8). Moses told the priests to lead the ark into battle against the Midianites (Numbers 31:6). Later, Saul brought the ark into battle (1 Samuel 14:18), as did David (2 Samuel 11:11). Later, during the rebellion launched by Absalom, David knew the ark was not a "lucky charm", so he sent it back to Jerusalem when he fled from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24-25).

The elders of Israel were right in seeing they needed help from God to win the battle. But they were wrong in the way they went about getting help. Instead of humbly repenting and seeking God, they turned to methods that God never approved. They decide to tempt God. This is the very thing Satan encouraged Jesus to do in His wilderness temptation, trying to "force" God into a miracle by suggesting Jesus leap off the pinnacle of the temple (Matthew 4:5-7). They must have been pleased to arrive at such a great solution. However, their major pitfall was not consulting God. How often are we guilty of this ourselves? We have a great plan we think God will approve of. Instead of seeking Him in prayer and through His word, we often act in haste and then wonder why we fail miserably.

That it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies: Viewing the Ark of the covenant as a lucky charm or a talisman, the Israelites believe the power of God is in this earthly vessel. They have again sunk into the depths of idolatry worshiping an item made with human hands instead of God. This often makes me think of many folks who have "lucky" underwear or a rabbit's foot or other non-sense which they carry around hoping these lifeless objects will give them deliverance from their enemies.

Hophni and Phinehas were there with the ark of the covenant of God: Wanting to the right thing, the elders of Israel sent to Shiloh to have the Ark brought to them. God had commanded the Ark be carried and cared for by priests. The elders did the right thing in having priests to carry the Ark, but there actions were all wrong. Although the elders hatched this brilliant plan to move the Ark of the covenant, I cannot help but also cast blame on Hophni, Phinehas and Eli. Being priests in charge of the Ark, they should have consulted the LORD before moving the Ark. Again, we see how far away from God the priesthood had become under the direction of Eli and his sons.

3. (1 Sam 4:5) Israel's confidence in the Ark of the covenant
As the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so the the earth resounded.

All Israel shouted with a great shout: As far as we know, this was the first time since the establishment of the people in Canaan that the Ark had been brought from the permanent sanctuary into the camp. And thus, the shout from the Israelites would have been in the confidence which they placed in the appearance of the Ark. Someone passing by Israel's camp would have thought something tremendous was happening. Certainly, this would have been considered a great church service, and many would think they were really trusting in God. But for all the appearances, it was really NOTHING!!! All their noise and excitement meant nothing because it wasn't grounded in God's truth.

4. (1 Sam 4:6-9) The Philistines fear the Ark of the covenant 
When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? There are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kings of plagues in the wilderness. Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight."

The Philistine reactions: It is interesting reading the remarks made by the Philistines. They seem to be very familiar with the history of Israel. The Philistines knew about the Ark of the covenant. The Philistines had never seen the Ark in battle before and knew this was a rare event. They knew the God of the Israelites slew the Egyptians with plague. It is interesting to postulate why the Philistines knew about the Ark of the covenant. We are told the Israelites shout was earth shaking. Although we do not know how far the Philistines camp was from the Israelites, we can assume it was likely not very far, as who wants to walk a great distance and get tired out before having to fight your enemy? So, we can assume the Philistines were fairly close to the Israelites. It is very likely the Philistines, upon hearing the shout of joy (and being very confused why a defeated army would have something to celebrate) sent spies into Israel's camp to find out what the commotion was all about. The spies then relayed the information they gathered back to their camp.

These mighty gods: Even though the Philistines did not understand very much about God, the Philistines recognized the superiority of the God of Israel. Yet, despite their recognition of the superiority of the God of Israel, they become more determined to fight against Him. If they really believed their gods were greater than the God of Israel was, they should not have been worried, for their gods should have been able to easily defeat the God of Israel. If, however, they believed the God of Israel to be greater than their gods, they should have submitted to Him. We, like the Philistines, often know God is greater than anything else in the world and deserves our submission. Yet, we often resist God as well, instead of submitting to Him. Like the Philistines, knowledge isn't our problem--submission to God is. 

Take courage and be men: The presence of the Ark has not made the Philistines feel like giving up. Instead, it has made them feel they must fight all the harder to overcome the odds. They show the courage that comes from desperation. The godless Philistines can teach us something. Christians need to show more of this courage. Instead of giving up when things look bad, why not, trusting the LORD, fight all the harder? Why not dedicate yourself in submission to God all the more? Why not decide, God giving you the strength, you will not give up? Courage and persistence win many victories. Shouldn't we show the same kind of courage and persistence for the LORD? 

5.(1 Sam 4:10-11) The Ark goes into battle, and the Israelites are defeated worse then before. 

So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Israel was defeated: There were three reasons for the great defeat. First, the Philistines fought with the courage of underdogs. Second, the Israelites felt that the battle would be easy with the ark of the Covenant there, and did not try as hard. Finally, God did not bless Israel's superstitious belief in the power of the ark instead of the power of God. We often make the same mistake the Israelites did. We believe that if God is with us, we don't need to try so hard. We think if God is on our side, the work will be easy. That may not be true at all! As it turned out, God did not feel obligated to bless the Israelites just because they took the ark into battle. He did not allow His arm to be twisted by the superstitions of the Israelites. 

Every man fled to his tent: This does not mean that the Israelites fled back to their tents in the camp at Ebenezer; rather, it means that every man fled away in every direction, each toward his own home.

Thirty thousand foot soldiers: A horrible defeat. Not only did Israel lose, they lost far worse than they did before taking the ark into battle. The loss which prompted them to take the ark saw about four thousand men of Israel fall (1 Samuel 4:2). Here, more than seven times as many men of Israel are killed. The Israelites are called foot soldiers because they had neither horses nor chariots.

Side note: In the late 1970's, a five-line inscription was found on a grain silo in the ruins of Izbet Sarteh. When deciphered, it was found to contain a Philistine account of this battle, the capture of the Ark, even specifically mentioning the priest Hophni. This is the earliest known extra-biblical reference to an Old Testament event. 

The ark of God was taken: The very "thing" the Israelites thought would win the battle was taken away from them! And in His majesty, God revealed an important truth--the living God does not bind His presence to a work of man's hands. Israel had made an idol of the Ark. God often breaks of our idolatry by taking the idol away. There was nothing wrong with the Ark. God commanded Israel to make it. It was important to Israel. Yet, even a good thing like the Ark can be made an idol, and God won't tolerate our idols. Even thought the Ark was capture, the God of the Ark was still on the throne in heaven, and guiding these circumstances for His glory. Israel thought they could ignore the God of the Ark and find deliverance in the Ark of God. But God showed He was greater than the Ark. 

The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died: This was in direct fulfillment of the prophecy given by the man of God in 1 Samuel 2:34. It is very probable that the sons of Eli stood by the Ark during the battle. They probably chose to die rather than give up the Ark to the Philistines. If this is so, how tragic it is that Hophni and Phinehas would fiercely defend an idol; yet, they would not adhere to the commandments of the LORD their God.