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.
Verse 1 shows that Samuel did not conceal the word that God gave to him, but communicated it to all Israel. But it is not said that it was this word that called them to battle with the Philistines. It seems the battle was initiated by Israel, however. They pitch near Eben-ezer, which means "the stone of help," evidently confident of God's help apart from His word and apart from the recognition of His rights among His people. The Philistines pitch in Aphek, meaning "restraint," which perhaps indicates that they were not so self-confident as Israel. Yet they gained a decisive victory, with a great slaughter of 4000 men.
This surely ought to have brought Israel down to their knees in broken humiliation, and with honest enquiring of God. They do not think of Samuel, the man of God, just as we too often forget to think of Christ and His word at times of facing serious problems for which only He is sufficient. The elders recognize that it is the Lord Himself who has smitten them before their enemies, but instead of seeking His face, they resort to mere fleshly planning, considering that if they bring the ark of the Lord to the battle, it would be a sacred charm to influence the Lord on their behalf! The ark was of course symbolical of Christ, the true Center of His people Israel, but on this occasion Israel thinks of it merely as an idol with magical powers to save them from their enemies.
Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark from Shiloh, having the official position of being in charge of it. The elders, though they knew well the moral corruption of the young men, were blinded to the fact that the living God could not possibly approve of their public identification with the ark, which we are reminded here was "the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim." This very expression insists on the absolute holiness of God.
The men of Israel were as blind as the elders: they remembered only that in the past the ark had led the nation into the land in conquest of their enemies, but they depend on past experience while harboring gross moral evil among them at present. Their great shout sounds like that of victory, but their loud noise does not influence God, though it alarmed the Philistines.
When the Philistines hear that Israel has shouted so loudly because the ark had come into the camp, their fear is increased, for they were idolaters, mere formal religion being very familiar to them. They assume (practically as did Israel at this time) that the ark was Israel's god, and are most apprehensive. For Israel had not used this before when fighting the Philistines, at least since their entrance into the land. They remember that God, whom they call "gods" had sent numerous plagues upon Egypt, but did not know that the ark had not even been in existence at that time! Thus men are often so dense that they can conceive of no god but one this is visible to their eyes, though it is a lifeless, inanimate thing!
Could the Philistines fight against the living God and expect to win? But they stir themselves to fight to the utmost against this mere immobile god. This was unnecessary, for God had already decided that Israel would badly lose. The Philistines gain a far more decisive victory than at first. 4000 men killed was a great loss for Israel, but 30,000 is over 7 times as many! The loss of life among the Philistines is not mentioned: it was likely small. But God will make Israel feel the results of their dishonoring Him.
Far more serious than the defeat, however, was the fact of the ark of God being captured by the Philistines. God's prophecy concerning Hophni and Phinehas is fulfilled too, both of them being killed. God has used the idolatrous Philistines as a rod to punish His people Israel, who had lapsed into an idolatrous state themselves.
A man of Benjamin brings the sad news to Shiloh, his clothes rent and earth on his head in token of repentant mourning. At this time Eli is again sitting, not at the temple door, but by the wayside for he was fearful of the whole matter, and specially for the ark, for which he felt some responsibility. The man's message causes a noisy tumult in the city, which stirs the questioning of Eli. In response the messenger tells him personally of his fleeing from the battle, and that Israel had suffered defeat and great slaughter Then he adds that Eli's sons had been killed and the ark of God taken.
The death of his sons did not have the same effect on Eli as did the loss of the ark. This was such a shock to him that he fainted and fell backward and broke his neck. Certainly it was serious that the ark had been captured, but Eli's mere formal religion placed more emphasis on the ark that on obedience to God's word: since the ark was taken, it was to him as though God Himself had been taken away! but God was caring more for His own glory than Eli was. Subsequent history tells us too that He was able to care for the ark among the Philistines when they had full possession of it. Meanwhile, however, it was necessary for God to shock the nation Israel to its depths by removing the three priests and the ark at the same time. Though Eli had lived 98 years, his end was sad, and he was the last of his family to live long. God had patiently borne with the evil of the priestly family for long time, but now Israel must be given the clear evidence that God's patience is far from indulgence. The sudden swiftness of God's judgment was intended to put the fear of God into the hearts of all Israel. True indeed were God's words to Samuel that the ears of every hearer would tingle at what would transpire -- the three prominent priests of Israel all killed in one day as well as the ark of God lost to the enemy!
Yet this was not all. The wife of Phinehas, having neared the time of childbirth, when she heard the news that the ark was taken and her husband and father-in-law killed, was so affected that this induced birth pains. Then she lived only long enough to name her child Ichabod (meaning "where is the glory?"). In her case it is sad too that it seemed a worse thing to her that the ark was captured than that her husband and his brother had made a practice of dishonoring God in connection with the ark and the temple. To her, as to the many in Israel, the ark itself was actually "the glory,": but it was really only a symbol of the glory. Not only had the symbol departed, but how could God's glory itself remain complacently among the people? As a general rule people have more abhorrence of God's righteous discipline on account of their sins than they have of their sins themselves. Such is the perversity of man's sinful nature! How much better if we feel our guilt and accept its results.