1 Samuel 4:5-11
5 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was coming into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise 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.
7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.
8 Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
9 Take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; so be men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
11 Moreover, the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Further Defeat
The arrival of the Ark of the Covenant
When the Ark of the Covenant arrived at the Israelite camp, all of Israel raised a great shout of joy, the earth resounded. The Israelite camp was in the hills, while the Philistine camp was in the lowlands. The roar from the hills echoed and carried over to the lowlands. Hearing this shout, the Philistines were disturbed. When they learned that the Ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp, they were afraid. (1) Until then, their victories over Israel had been in battles between humans. However, now the battle will be against the God of Israel. (2) They remembered that the God of Israel had inflicted ten plagues upon Egypt 300 years ago (during the Exodus). Their understanding was of pagan beliefs, but they still recognized that the God of Israel was a powerful deity, and thus they became afraid. (3) The leaders of the Philistines spoke to their people and exhorted them to fight, as there was no other option but to engage in fierce battle.
The Ark taken
Let’s look at the outcome of this battle. (1) The Philistines defeated the Israelites. (2) In this battle, 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers were killed. This was a significantly higher number of casualties compared to the 4,000 lost in the previous battle. (3) The Ark of God was taken. At that time, wars were perceived as battles between gods. In other words, it was believed that a battle was taking place in the heavens between the God of Israel and the gods of the Philistines. The victory of the Philistines was interpreted as their gods being stronger than the God of Israel. (4) At that time, the victors would often take the idols of their defeated enemies as war trophies. Since Israel had no idols, the Ark of God was taken as a substitute. (5) The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died as prophesied. Even though the Ark of God was taken, it did not mean that the God of Israel was taken captive. The Lord is greater than all other gods of the nations. The Philistines would soon come to realize this. We must not mistake God’s patience for weakness. Today, let’s offer our worship to the Almighty God with fear and trembling.
Today's prayer
O God of Israel, You are greater than any gods of the nations. Please let Your glory shine in this country as well. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.