God's Control and Correction

In our text today, however, we derive application for ourselves positively from the negative example of Israel’s elders in battle against the Philistines and Eli’s reaction to the bad news of losing the ark of the covenant:

1 Samuel 4:1–11 ESV

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. 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.” 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. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

From 4:1 a to b, some unknown period of time after Samuel’s conversation with Eli.

4:1b-7:1 ends up being the story of ark of the covenant, the first part of which shows the fulfillment of God’s judgment against the house of Eli. - In contrast to what we said before regarding Eli, God is not a passive Father but a present Father.

Defeat’s Opportunity (vv. 1-11)

“Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?” (v. 3)

- right question; unfortunately they’ll come up with the wrong answer

Right Question, Wrong Answer (vv. 1-4)

Philistines - “were a non-Semitic people whose origins were most likely in Crete or in some other part of the Aegean Sea area.... [map] They lived in five main towns on the southern Canaan coast—Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod.” - Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 436). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Now the Philistines were enemies of God, and a threat to God’s people.

But the Lord was bringing judgment on the sins of his people through a foreign army, as he promised he would do if they strayed from him (Lev 26:17 and Deut 28:25).

They had marched into battle without God (on their/your/our side) - So the elders were correct to think that since they lost, the Lord did not fight for them.

However, what they didn’t actually do is repent and seek God. At the end of all this fiasco with the ark, Samuel would instruct the people in a right response:

1 Samuel 7:3 ESV

And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

If you are returning, prove it, and he will deliver you.

Defeat then becomes an opportunity to see and name the point of our neglect, and to repent and return to God.

Instead, they take a different approach, a sort of superstitious one: “Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may save us from the power of our enemies.” (v. 3)

What’s luck got to do with it? (vv. 5-8)

I do not think we are led to conclude that the only problem with the second defeat is Hophni and Phinehas. - “Israel called for the Ark, instead of for the God of the Ark and of the nation.” - James Dunk in Biblical Illustrator

Was this an attempt to demonstrate commitment to the covenant or treating God like they could twist his arm into fighting for them if they brought along their good luck charm?

The Ark of the Covenant was not a talisman - It was a reminder of the presence of God and his power and authority to lead them and to keep his covenant with them.

What was the ark? It was a chest made of wood. It was overlaid with pure gold, within and without, and crowned with a mercy seat of pure gold. What was its purpose? It was a material thing representing a spiritual idea. It was a thing made with hands to symbolise things not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. It was a temporality pointing to a spirituality. - J.H. Jowett in Biblical Illustrator

If the Lord had instructed them to do so, and then they had carried it in faith and obedience… THAT would have mattered. But not like this!

High regard for the Ark was natural. Read its history. It was made on a Divine plan; and housed in the Holy of holies; it was the resting place of the Shekinah. By grand histories it had taken a deep place in their reverence and love. Here lay the danger. It is easy to cling to the visible loved symbol, whilst the invisible world of truth for which it stands is “let slip.” We may carry to life’s battlefields all our religious methods, and fail in the fight. Faith in God would have purified their hearts (Acts 15:9) and made them heroes in the fight. - James Dunk in Biblical Illustrator

There really is a difference: God honors those who honor him. Knowing and obeying God versus treating him like your talisman or hidden superpower (superstition, idolatry)

[Please allow me to caution you somewhere in here not to treat a cross symbol or Bible verses like a good luck charm. Now, I sincerely do not want to be overly harsh in this. But I must tell you honestly that I do not believe such things are a reflection of our maturity but our immaturity.]

You might even use the act of prayer or of reading your Bible or of giving to God’s work rather superstitiously than as an act of worship to God and building a relationship of trust with him. Or attending church… or taking the Lord’s Table, and so on.

And it’s never a good sign for our understanding of God when (pagans) the godless have a similar view. (Philistines fear bc of the ark)

Who is actually fearing God more at this point, even in their confused, polytheistic version? (6:8) - The mighty hand of God had reached their ears! :-)

So we see that Israel had prematurely celebrated when they brought the ark...

It proved to be an unwise move, bringing the ark. - As a consequence:

Lost Ark and Lost Lives (vv. 9-11)

*The danger of the form of religion rather than the spirit, the reality.

Defeat should drive us to God… to relent, repent, and return to God… not to some outward forms that supposedly put us on are the nice list instead of the naughty list… no, to a true spirit of dependence on God.

Defeat becomes advantage when the worthlessness of superstition is exposed and causes us to return to God.

We also see too that defeat becomes advantage when poor leadership is removed to make way for godly leadership. (that’s part of what takes place next)

1 Samuel 4:12–22 ESV

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. 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. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 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?” 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.” 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. 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. 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. 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. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Discipline’s Advantage (vv. 12-22)

I ask you: Is God just in his judgments? (as is the case in his punishment of Hophni and Phinehas)

Does God discipline vindictively or as a Father who loves his children? - Can there be any spiteful retribution in the heart of God? NO!

Hebrews 12:6 ESV

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

What is God’s aim with discipline?

Hebrews 12:10–11 ESV

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

And in the end, God's glory is the ultimate purpose of corrective discipline.

But in our text we find another negative example of failed response to God’s corrective discipline.

Deadly Bad News (vv. 12-18)

An interesting and dramatic retelling of the events… as the young man runs beyond Eli (who could not see him) to tell the townspeople and then back to Eli to give his report.

Eli’s main fear was for the ark (ultimately his responsibility) more than for his sons - “his heart trembled for the ark of God” (v. 13)

At the height of Eli’s dismay, he falls from his seat and breaks his neck. - The reader is likely mean to feel the “weight” of Eli’s death.

The Orphan Ichabod & the Glory of God (vv. 19-22)

The recently widowed wife of Phinehas gives birth to a son, whom she names, Ichabod, meaning “no glory.”

“The glory has departed from Israel” (vv. 21&22)

The glory has departed… There is no glory [true, but not true] - for the moment, the glory had been removed from Israel, true. But God’s glory is far from *tarnished? tainted? overturned?

Can God be captured in enemy hands? Is his glory gone because the ark is displaced? (Does God live in something built by human hands? Acts 7:48-49 - That’s the essence of idolatry: worshipping something creat-ed rather than the Creat-or.

Who Gets the Glory? In your life… whether in difficulties, defeat or discipline:

[Concluding Summary & Application]

Opportunity in Difficulties, Discipline, and Defeat

Does God not provide an alternate way to handle defeat, his loving discipline, and difficulties in our lives?

(the purifying/cleansing that leads to righteousness - change in the right direction; even the quitting or removal of harmful team members)

Idols of the heart

Repentance from the heart

We dare not let a pagan view of God crowd out a true understanding.

We can stand dependent and assured even in suffering:

1 Peter 4:16 ESV

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

Let defeat, discipline, and difficulty lead us to repentance and dependence on God.

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