When God Abandoned His People
Notes
Transcript
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
And when the people had come into 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 from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”
So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.
Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound 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.
So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.
Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”
I. Why did God Defeat Us?
I. Why did God Defeat Us?
Location - Israel Battled the Philistines at Ebenezer. It is not certain where Ebenezer is. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel names a place closer to Mizpah “Ebenezer” to commemorate his victory over the Philistines. The name means “Stone of Help,” and it represents a recognition that God helped them. Here, the name “Ebenezer” is given before it is actually called that. Archaeologists have found a little hamlet about two miles east of Aphek; that may be “beside Ebenezer”. Perhaps the place they camped at didn’t have any name until Samuel named it later. At any rate, the author mentions their location as being near Ebenezer deliberately - God has already been helping Israel. Yet here Israel makes choices so wrong-headed and sinful, that the best way to help them is to abandon them.
Question - “why did the Lord Defeat us?”
It is the right question - it recognizes God’s sovereignty.
It is the wrong answer -
the Ark is the presence of God on earth, not a magic box. God is “enthroned between the Cherubim” (v. 4)
The Ark is the physical reminder of the Mosaic Covenant (v.3). The whole point of the Covenant was that Israel as a nation would be rewarded or punished depending on how faithfully the whole nation followed God.
In the Battle of Jericho, the Ark of the Covenant went before the people as the physical symbol of God’s presence with them to win their battles. It only worked because at that time Israel did everything God told them to do.
The right answer to the question is that Israel sinned Ps 78:56-64 .
Why do you do religious things?
There is a danger of substituting the symbol for the reality.
There is the danger of virtue signaling - substituting a symbolic action for genuine repentance and change.
Result
The Israelite’s misplaced confidence in the Ark alerts the Philistines to the present of God in the camp
The Philistines’ muddled knowledge of God and his actions against Egypt 500 years earlier actually motivate them to fight better.
The global impact of the Red Sea Crossing and ten Plagues was great. 500 years later a different people in a different place still remember it.
They fear God. Though it is not quite the right kind of fear, their respect for God is at least as good as the Israelites.
Their knowledge is a bit muddled.
They think the Israelites are polytheistic, and that the Ark represents multiple gods.
They think the Egyptians fell to the plagues in the wilderness. In reality, they suffered in their own country, and the army fell at the crossing of the Red Sea.
Their fear strengthens them to fight better. Contrast that with the disorganized chaos that the same information causes for the Canaanites Josh 2:9-11. Why? Because God fought against Israel. He could have done any number of things to disrupt the Philistines, but he wanted the Philistines to win the fight, so they did.
God fought with the Philistines, so it was a complete rout, and 30,000 Israelites died. God fulfilled his word to Eli.
God had promised that Hophni and Phinehas would die in one day. (1 Sam 2:34)
God had promised that there would be trouble in his house. (1 Samuel 2:32)
II. His Heart Trembled for the Ark of God
II. His Heart Trembled for the Ark of God
Eli’s worry - He is obviously afraid that the Ark is going to be captured. At one level, this is clearly a legitimate fear, since that is exactly what happens. It also shows that his character is better than his sons - he does care about God’s honor. But it also shows his spiritual weakness. God cannot be captured unless he chooses to be. So Eli should have been more afraid of what God would do to Israel, than about what the Philistines would do to God. If God didn’t want the ark captured, it wouldn’t be captured. If he did want the ark captured, then it’s going to happen, no sense worrying about it.
Eli’s age - He is superlatively old. 98 and still in possession of his reason! And this despite an unhealthy diet of fatty meat, which he wasn’t supposed to have. A diet that left him overweight. Being blind, he also would not be exercising, either. So there’s only one reason he managed to be in such good health at that advanced age. God blessed him with an unusually strong constitution.
Eli’s relationship with his sons. He does nothing when he hears that his sons are both dead. It seems his relationship with them had soured after he confronted them about their sleeping with the temple women. Eli’s rebuke (2:25-27) there was actually exactly right. He properly warned them about the consequences of their behavior, and it was a pretty mild rebuke considering the seriousness of the sin. Yet they didn’t listen, so it didn’t go over that well. This is quite depressing. He lost his relationship with his sons, and never managed to get it back. So why bother? God never rebuked him for that particular failure, since he did the right thing. But what if he had rebuked his sons for the sacrificial system too, and refused to participate in it? Perhaps 30000 of other people’s sons would still be alive. If your children have wandered away from God, I cannot guarantee that doing the right thing will mean the results you want. But I can say that doing the right thing will have positive results somehow, and avoiding the hard things will have negative consequences.
Eli’s Death - though God allowed him forty years of authority, his death partly resulted from his sins. the fall was fatal not only because he was old, but because he was overweight. He was overweight because he continued to participate in the illegitimate practice of taking the best random cuts of meat from the sacrificial system.
III. The Glory of God has Departed
III. The Glory of God has Departed
Both this section and the previous emphasize the seismic shift that the loss of the ark had on Israel.
The Glory of God’s presence inhabited the Tabernacle in the Ark. Exodus 40:34, 35
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
The Presence of God’s Glory was what distinguished Israel from the other nations, and without God’s Presence, they were just another nation and therefore would quickly fall before the many, larger nations around them Exod 33:16; Deut 4:7
For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
When the messenger announced the capture of the ark, the outcry was so great that blind Eli knew something bad was happening.
Eli himself cared more about the loss of the Ark than the loss of his own sons.
Phinehas’ wife went into shock at the loss of her husband/brother-in-law, and the Ark, but she mourned the loss of the ark so much she named her kid Ichabod “inglorious.”
God’s Glory also inhabited Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:11) until it departed just before the exile (Ezekiel 8-11). It never returned, and will not return until the Millennial Temple is built.
During Jesus’ lifetime, the Glory of God was manifested through Jesus. Usually it was seen by the Grace and Truth that poured from his life and teaching (John 1:14), but once it was also seen physically, at the mount of Transfiguration.
However, while the physical manifestation of God’s glory is absent, God’s Glory is still manifested ideologically, since the church is the temple of God (Eph 2:21-22) , and Christians individually 1 Cor 3:16-17. Israel suffered greatly because they sinned. The Glory of God departed from them, because of their sins. When we sin, the glory of God is defiled in us, and we will endure the consequences of the marring of God’s Glory.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Conclusion - God is still in control. He was still in control when the Ark was captured, an event that seemed tailor made to prove that he was not in control. So if you think the world is falling apart, well, you may be right. But it isn’t falling apart because God somehow slipped. It’s falling apart at his choice, and to ultimately promote his glory and to purify and strengthen the church, which is where his glory is displayed at present. So how are you doing at displaying his glory? Let us be faithful, for the glory of God rests upon us, and we can uphold his glory to a dying world, or blur the image by a worldly lifestyle.