1 Samuel 4:1-22
1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joineda battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
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 fetchb 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.c
8 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.
9 Be strong, and quitd 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.
10 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.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.e
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim,f that he could not see.
16 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?
17 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.
18 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.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered:g 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.
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
21 And she named the child Ichabod,h saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
1 Samuel 4:5. Israel shouted. But why had they not put away their sins? And why had they not enquired of God? Alas, these priests, like Saul in his last moments, were not fit persons to enquire of God. Their guilty consciences augured that God was about to inflict the punishment their father had failed to do. They lost the ark; they lost their country; they lost themselves!
1 Samuel 4:17. The ark of God is taken, by hands less profane than those of the two Hebrew priests. With Joshua and holy men, the ark had divided the Jordan, and had thrown down the walls of Jericho. What a lesson, not to trust in exterior privileges while our hearts are profane.
1 Samuel 4:18. His neck brake. The Septuagint, which is followed by many, says, He brake his back.
1 Samuel 4:21. I-chabod. Josephus writes αδοξια. But the Latin versions turn the word interrogatively, where is the glory? Elisha asked, where is the Lord God of Elijah. He is nigh to them that fear him; but here the glory is departed, and shame attends the nation.
REFLECTIONS.
In the hands of Eli, a soft, quiet, corpulent man, and in the hands of his two sons, consummate in wickedness, neither the civil nor the religious affairs of the people could prosper. The Philistines, long emboldened by Israel's supineness, and having now recovered from the terrors Samson inflicted upon them at his death, venture once more to invade the land. The Israelites assembled to repel the aggression; but knowing the character of their priests, they never dream of consulting God. The piety found in Greece and in Rome at the worst of times, is now not to be found in Israel: defeat is the consequence. God is ever faithful in his promises of support to the righteous, and in his menaces of punishment to the wicked. Next, the ark of God must be fetched, for it had divided the Jordan, and thrown down the walls of Jericho, therefore it is called the ark of his strength. But shall God glorify a priesthood which had not glorified him? Shall he defend a people who had not put away their sins, nor deigned to ask counsel at his throne, nor victory at his hand? And what was the ark, already dishonoured, to him, when the hearts of the people were departed from his law? For those causes the Lord had no delight in his inheritance. Mark well: that man who forsakes God cannot be saved in the day of trouble by privileges and opinions.
While thirty four thousand of Israel fall in disobedience and error, the two sons of Eli did not escape. This ark, this hallowed ark, they had long profaned with crimes; and now they fall, perhaps holding it by the staves, that they might purge their crimes with blood. Ah, if the zealous Phinehas had been there, God would have been there also. But now the guilty priests bleed, and the profaned ark is captured by the heathen. Thus Christ, the ark of the everlasting covenant, in the hands of profane priests, was delivered over to the gentiles, to be insulted and put to open shame.
These were calamities hitherto unknown in Israel; but they stopped not in the field of defeat; the tidings quickly reached Shiloh. Eli could not see, but he could hear the voice of weeping, therefore he required to be informed of the calamities which the people would have wished to conceal a little longer. He sat on his seat of judgment, and bore with fortitude the news of Israel's defeat, and the closer intelligence that both his sons were dead: but when the messenger added, “And the ark of God is taken,” down dropped the venerable priest, and finished together his life and his woes. He lived not to bewail his own errors. He had not power to say, I neglected to punish my sons, and now the Lord has taken the heavier vengeance into his own hands. But though dead, let him still speak to all supine and effeminate fathers who honour their sons above the laws of heaven, and above the gospel of Christ.
Death stopped not here. The wife of Phinehas, more worthy than her husband, travailed in premature labour, and named her son I-chabod, for the glory was departed from Israel. Ah, no; it is only eclipsed. There is yet a Samuel in the land; and God has neither forsaken his ark, nor lost sight of his covenant. He has permitted these calamities for the punishment of the wicked, and for the instruction of his people; but he will yet raise Israel to greater glory than the nation has hitherto known. Let us therefore hope at the worst of times, and never despair while we have a God to chasten and to save.