1 Samuel 4-5

1 Samuel: God and Kings

Hebron Church of Hope

1 Samuel 4-5

October 11th, 2026

Initial Outline - Structure

Setting vv. 1-2.

Conflict vv. 3-9

Resolution vv. 10-11

Setting vv.12-13.

Conflict vv.14-17.

Resolution v.18.

Setting v.19

Conflict vv.20-21

Resolution v.22.

Emphasis: Fulfillment of God’s Word against Eli’s house.

Context 

Literary Context

Passage Before - 1 Samuel 3 - God calls Samuel into his ministry to serve the word and visions to the people. The people had been without words from God and visions for quite some time. With his coming into this role, this would also mean the transition of Eli’s family and leadership out of a place of prominence.

Passage After - 1 Samuel 5 - The Philistines have captured the Ark of the covenant and they’ve tried to take it back to their cities. They bring it to the temple of Dagon and the living God breaks up their little idols. The people freak out and they desire to send the ark back to Israel.

Historical and Cultural Context

What is significant culturally historically? 

Historic - circumstances of the author and audience.

The Philistines were known to have migrated to the coastal regions of Southwest Israel in large numbers during the twelfth century BC.

Cultural - details and circumstances within the text.

The build up of this section has been told from Chapter 2:11 all the way to this point. It was the undergirding of the previous two chapters and is now coming to fruition.

There were 4,000 who died at battle in verse 2. 30,000 who died in battle in verse 10.

Repetition of death in v.2, 10, 18, and 20.

Biblical Context 

Are there any biblical quotations? 

Author’s Aim 

God will bring about his purposes for his glory.

Sermon Crafting Stage

Conclusion - Draft Argument: 

God’s glory doesn’t depend on human glory.

Draft Outline - Version 1

The death of Hophni and Phinehas vv.1-11.

The death of Eli vv.12-22.

The death of Dagon 5:1-12.

Connecting to the Gospel 

Insert Here 

Applications

4:1-3 - Bad theology = faith in things rather than faith in God.

4:5-11 - Don’t celebrate too early. God will not be manipulated to do your will.

“A Heavy Glory”

Argument: God’s glory does not depend on the glory of humans.

 Introduction

Hook: In 2000 the Houston Astros opened a new ballpark. A big energy company paid a lot of money to put its name on it, so the stadium was called Enron Field. At the time, that name stood for success and power.

Within two years Enron had collapsed in one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history. The Astros paid millions of dollars just to get the name off their stadium. Nobody wanted that glory anymore. It turned out to be as fragile as the people behind it.

That’s how human glory works. It’s borrowed, it’s temporary, and it goes down with whoever holds it.

Here’s the danger for God’s people. We start to think God’s glory works the same way. When the church grows and our side is winning, God looks great. When we fail, we quietly fear that God’s reputation fails with us. Or we act as if God’s presence were something we can carry into our battles to guarantee a win.

So here’s the question this passage forces on us. When God’s people fall, does God’s glory fall with them?

Here’s how our sermon passage for this morning answers that: God’s glory does not depend on human glory. He doesn’t need our success to be great, and he’s not diminished by our failure. We’ll see this in three ways: First, (4:1–11)God will humiliate human pride for his glory. That includes the religious pride of people who think they can use him. Second, (4:12–22) God will bring about justice for his glory. He keeps his word even when it means judgment on his own house. Third, (5:1–12). God will destroy his enemies for his glory. No idol stands before him.

Argument: God’s glory does not depend on human glory.

First, God will humiliate human pride for his glory vv.1-11

Exposition

Philistines migrated in droves during the 12th century BC. Known as the Sea Peoples. According to Judges 13 there was a period of 40 years of oppression from the Philistines. The place they were encamped was called Ebenezer - meaning stone of help

The defeat was interpreted as judgment from the Lord. However, it doesn’t seem like they dwelt on why they may have been judged.

Their solution - bring the ark to the battlefield. This may have been a way for them to try to force God’s hand into helping them.

They treated the ark like a lucky charm. One commentator notes the way the people spoke of it: bring it — that is the ark is something they can control. Here — where they’re in the center of focus. They think the ark’s presence is a guarantee that they will win.

They didn’t trust in the ark for power, they trusted in the Lord.

Theres a problem with their theology, but the problem is actually more about Hophni and Phineas from chapters 2-3.

The arrival of the ark brought shouts so great from the people that the Philistines were trembling.

They had some sort of understanding of what God had done in history, misunderstood as it was.

The shouts of Israel’s joy were premature. The loss of human life was significant - 30,000 men. Even more significant - for the first time ver the most sacred material possession was in the hands of pagans.

Shiloh was destroyed

Four proofs: it is never mentioned again in 1-2 Samuel. The ark was not returned there in chapter 7. Samuel moved his activities back to Ramah. Psalm 78:60 and Jeremiah 7:12-14 cite its destruction.

Applications

Honestly examine where you are with the Lord. Think of the beginning of the passage. The elders asked “why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines?” It’s a good question, but it doesn’t seem like they did good investigating.

What does good self examination look like?

Are you distant from Christ? Are you near him?

Using God versus trusting God. The Israelites thought the presence of the ark would defeat the Philistines, but what they needed was God among them.

What or who could you be trusting in? Are you trusting God?

Are you relying on your own strength?

Second, God will bring about justice for his glory vv.12-22.

Exposition

Death of the Eli vv.12-18.

The battle was devastating. Eli couldn’t see, but he could hear the cries. His heart was concerned on the ark. Not the return of his sons, but the ark of God.

The writer heightens the drama by allowing us to listen in on the dialogue.

Eli dies falling out of his chair and breaking his neck. The writing is using a play on words to point us to the weight of the situation.

The word for heavy here has a spectrum of meaning — honor, heavy, or burdensome.

Eli was a man with much social weight and significance. The text itself says he is also fat, pointing back to the sin of 2:11-36. The sins of his house were also heavy as a burden. He brought a burden upon Israel in his leadership.

The glory has left vv.19-22.

The death of Eli and his sons was quick. Phinehas’ wife went into labor and the text tells us that she was headed toward her own death too.

This is also a picture to the misalignment of the family. The women attending to her bring the delightful news of the birth of a son - the continuance of their family line. Yet she doesn’t answer or pay attention.

She names the child Ichabod meaning “the glory has departed.”

Her concern is with the fact that Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas’ are dead.

Application

Warning: don’t fall for the shadow of glory. Hophni, Phineas, and Eli are examples of those who had a outward display of godliness and righteousness, but the shadow was the same as the substance. Outward appearances aren’t all that matters. Jesus gives a warning to the church in Revelation about this.

Third, God will destroy his enemies for his glory 5:1-12.

Exposition

God and Dagon vv.1-5.

The Philistines had gone from fear and trembling to victory. They must have really felt great about themselves!

They took the ark to Ashdod - which was one of the five major Philistine cities. They took it here because of the temple of Dagon. Dagon was a meterological and military deity that they worshipped.

By placing the ark in the house of Dagon they were in essence trying to say that the God of Israel was incomparable to Dagon.

God displayed his power to the pagans by the continuous destruction of Dagon.

Dagon fell face down on the ground before the ark. So they put him back.

The next morning Dagon fell downward again before the ark and his head and hands were cut off.

This posture pointed out that their god could only eat dirt compared to the true God of the scripture.

The priests of Dagon do not tread on the door threshold from this.

God and the people vv.6-12.

The hand of God was heavy against the people of Ashdod.

He terrified and afflicted them with tumors.

These things are very reminiscent of what we know from Exodus with how God afflicted the Egyptians.

The tumors they had were a lesson” don’t mess with God.

The elders recommended sending it on to Gath and then to Ekron.

Not sure the exact reason. Maybe they had a population of Israelites?

The move didn’t stop anything from happening. Terror came to Gath too and then to Ekron.

The intensity continued.

The shouts of victory were now cries for deliverance.

Application

Conclusion

That’s exactly where Israel was in 1 Samuel 4. The Philistines had them pinned down. They lost a battle at a place ironically named Ebenezer, “stone of help.” So the elders came up with a plan: bring the ark of the covenant down from Shiloh. If God’s box is with us, God has to fight for us.

It didn’t work. By the end of the day, thirty thousand soldiers were dead. Eli’s two sons were dead. The old priest fell backward and broke his neck. Worst of all, the ark of God was sitting as a war trophy in the temple of a pagan god.

A young mother, dying in childbirth, named her baby Ichabod: “the glory has departed.”

If there was ever a day when it looked like God’s glory had gone down with his people, this was it. So here’s the question this passage forces on us. When God’s people fall, does God’s glory fall with them?

Chapter 5 answers with a resounding no. The Hebrew word for glory, kabod, carries the idea of weight. In chapter 4, Israel’s glory turns out to be light and empty. But in chapter 5, the hand of the Lord is heavy on the Philistines. The glory hadn’t disappeared. It had simply moved into enemy territory, and it was doing just fine on its own.