Israel Defeated By The Philistines

Samson had not taken God’s commands seriously, doing pretty much as he pleased and the people had followed his example.  While Eli had personally been much more inclined to follow God’s commands, he had allowed his sons to abuse their priesthood, causing people to despise God’s requirements and turn away from God.   While he had destroyed the Philistine leadership, Samson had not completely destroyed the Philistines like other Judges had destroyed other groups.   During Eli’s forty year administration, they had rebuilt, and as Israel turned away from God, they began to raid them. 

 

In an attempt to stop the raids, Israel attacked the Philistines and were defeated, as I Samuel 4:1b-2 describes.  “Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.”

 

Shocked by their defeat, and remembering that it was God who had given them the victory in the past, the leadership decided they needed his help again and called for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought, convinced it would give them the victory, as described in I Samuel 4:3-%.  “And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: 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 with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.”

 

Knowing how God had fought for Israel in the past, the Philistines were terrified and determined to fight their hardest.  As a result they defeated Israel, as I Samuel 4:6-11 tells us.  “And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

 

Convinced that the Ark of the Covenant would give them victory, Israel was devastated by an even worse defeat, and especially when the Ark was seized by the Philistines.  They fed, sending a messenger to Shiloh to tell Eli what had happened, in I Samuel 4:12-18.  “And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.  And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult?

 

And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.  Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.  And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army.

 

And he said, What is there done, my son?

 

And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.  And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.”

 

The deaths of Hophni and Phineas were exactly what both the prophet and Samuel had warned about, but Eli had not expected the loss of the Ark of the Covenant.  Hearing that, he fell back in shock, tumbling off the wall and breaking his neck.  The shock caused Phineas’ wife to go into premature labor, and just before she died, she expressed the common feelings of the people, in I Samuel 4:19-22.  “And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.  And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.  And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.” Because the Ark had been taken, the Israelites feared God had left them. 

 

Unfortunately a lot of people make similar mistakes today.  The Ark contained the tablets of stone that the law was written on, and was designed to remind them of God and his power.  The people had begun to worship the Ark itself, rather than God.  In itself, the ark had no power to save them.  Many people today have made the mistake of worshipping the Bible, a church or some pastor or religious creed rather than God himself.  Those things are intended to teach and remind us who God is, but they are not to be worshipped.  When we begin to worship them, God may take them away for a time to remind us that those things are not to be worshipped.   We are not to worship anything other than God himself.