OASIS – Spring 2024 – June 4, 2024 – The Ark is Captured “God will NOT be Manipulated” – 1 Samuel 4
The Samuel narratives (1 and 2 Samuel) tell the account of Samuel, Saul, and David.
• 1 Samuel begins with the birth narrative of Samuel to his mother Hannah. Hannah honored her vow to the LORD and took him at a young age (4-5 years old?) to enter service to the LORD at Shiloh with Eli the priest.
• Last week, the wicked sons of Eli the priest and his unacceptable inaction.\
• This week: Israel makes a FATAL decision involving the Ark of the Covenant.
Let’s begin with a deep dive into the history and function of the Ark of the Covenant
Context for Exodus 25: The LORD has given Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and the concept of the Tabernacle (sanctuary) has been introduced, with the specific directions for this house of worship to be disclosed in Exodus 26. We read in the middle of Exodus 25 about The Ark of the Covenant:
Exodus 25:10-17: 10 "Have them make a chest of acacia wood - two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high (52 inches by 31 inches by 31 inches). 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. 16 Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
17 "Make an atonement cover of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites
• Why does this matter? What is UNIQUE and SPECIFIC about the Ark?
o The Ark signifies God’s desire for PRESENCE with His people.
▪ In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit or presence dwelt AMONG His covenant people.
▪ In the New Testament, God’s Spirit – the Holy Spirit – dwells WITHIN His people.
▪ The Ark of the Covenant would become the PLACE where God’s PRESENCE dwelt.
o The Ark of the Covenant was a box about the size of a small file cabinet that was eventually kept inside the Tabernacle or the Temple, a place called the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place).
▪ “Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year. Place the Ark of the Covenant inside, and install the inner curtain to enclose the Ark within the Most Holy Place.” – Exodus 40:1-3
▪ Why does this matter? Because more than anything else, God is a God of HOLINESS, and the Ark of the Covenant reminds His people of God’s character and uniqueness.
o What does the Ark of the Covenant contain?
▪ In Exodus 25, we read only that “the Testimony” is to be placed into the Ark of the Covenant.
▪ “The Testimony” = the two tablets on where were inscribed the Ten Commandments as the basic stipulations of the Sinai covenant. The Hebrew word for “Testimony” is related to a Babylonian word meaning “covenant stipulations.”
▪ We read in Hebrews 9:4, we read that the ark contained “the gold jar of manna (Exodus 16:33-34), Aaron’s staff that had budded (Numbers 17:8-10), and the stone tablets of the covenant (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).”
o As we come to 1 Samuel 4, the Ark of the Covenant has been at Shiloh for 369 years, beginning in Joshua 18:1.
The Ark of the Covenant: What it is and what is it NOT:
• It was a reminder of God’s PRESENCE, as well as Yahweh’s continued PROVISION and PROTECTION
• Unfortunately, it appears in 1 Samuel 4 the Ark begins to be viewed as something like a GOOD LUCK CHARM. This is NOT good! More on this later.
1 Samuel 4: DEFEAT and DEATH visit God’s people.
• Remember the Judges Cycle: Sin; Oppression; Repentance; Deliverance. We see this continually through the period of the Judges.
• The first three chapters of 1 Samuel present a contrast between “the old guard” –Eli and his wicked sons Hophni and Phinehas; and the up-and-coming Samuel, who begins serving the LORD as a young boy.
• In studying chapter 2, we read about the Man of God (a prophet) who pronounced a coming judgment on Eli and his sons. In chapter 3, the LORD’s first word to Samuel involved this judgment. Chapter 4 will bring the judgment
1 Samuel 4:1-3: Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek 2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield 3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."
• Ebenezer means “stone of help.” This is not the same location where Samuel will place a stone symbolizing victory in 1 Samuel 7:12. Aphek is a coastal city located 12 miles northeast of Joppa. It is believed these two cities are short distance apart.
• Israel loses the battle to the attacking Philistines, and four thousand men die on the battlefield. This sounds terrible, but is nothing compared to what lies ahead
• Notice the elders of Israel are asking THEMSELVES why the defeat happened, even BLAMING the LORD for the defeat. It is interesting they do not INQUIRE of the LORD and ask about the battlefield setback.
• Instead of asking the LORD for clarity, they decide to BRING the ARK of the LORD’S COVENANT with them into battle. Their belief is the very PRESENCE of the Ark will “SAVE US” from the hands of our enemies. Why might this be considered both UNWISE PRACTICE and BAD THEOLOGY?
1 Samuel 4:4-11: 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.
6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, 7 the
Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert 9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"
10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty-thousand-foot soldiers 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
• The decision to bring the Ark into the battlefield camp, as well as the sons of Eli the priest, seems to be positive at first: “all of Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.”
• The initial reaction of the Philistines seems to be positive for Israel as well. The Philistines, who just won a great victory, are AFRAID, and declaring a series of fatalistic decrees:
o “a god has come into the camp;”
o “we are in trouble!”
o “nothing like this has happened before;”
o “woe to us!”
o “who will deliver us?”
• The Philistines are history majors! They know all about the events of the book of Exodus and how Yahweh FOUGHT for His people against the Pharaoh and the Egyptians four centuries earlier!
• All of this would seem to predict certain VICTORY for Israel! They have brought the Ark – the very PRESENCE of Yahweh – with them onto the battlefield! They have stirred up FEAR and SPECULATION among the enemy! But along the way, they FORGOT what truly matters most: They did NOT seek the LORD and his great PROVISION and PROTECTION!
• But the author lets us know the tide will turn, and the slaughter will be enormous! Israel will lose 32,000 “foot soldiers” and both Hophni and Phinehas will die in the battle on the same day, fulfilling the prophecy of 1 Samuel 2:34.
• But the most devastating reality of all? The Philistines CAPTURE the Ark of the Covenant! For the first time in 369 years, the PRESENCE of Yahweh via the Ark will reside in ENEMY territory!
1 Samuel 4:12-18: 12 That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting
on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. 14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see 16 He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" 17 The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
• A messenger comes to Shiloh with “his clothes torn and dust on his head” = these are signals of GRIEF and SORROW, marking this individual as a bearer of bad news.
• In this text, we see in Eli the priest a sobering yet admirable attitude: Israel’s spiritual leader is worried and concerned MOST about the Ark of God, even more than the deaths of his two sons Hophni and Phinehas.
o Could it be that Eli was resigned to the fate of his sons? It seems to be the case when we look back at his reaction to both the prophet in chapter 2 and the word of the LORD to Samuel in chapter 3.
• Eli dies a painful death at the very old age of 98. This marks the end of an era that had begun with the death of Joshua and the elders who served with him.
o Eli the priest is an apt symbol of this flawed period. Although he led (or “judged”) Israel for 40 years, he was unable or unwilling to restrain his wicked sons, and was weakened and blinded by old age.
o Why does the author of Samuel let us know Eli was “heavy?” It might be addressing the sin of his sons in chapter 2 where they indulged in meat brought to sacrifices at Shiloh, “Eli got FAT consuming much more meat than he needed at the expense of Yahweh.”
1 Samuel 4:19-22: 19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20 As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel" - because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of
her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
• The chapter concludes with a terrible picture: the death of the wife of Phinehas during the delivery of her baby. The attendants try to encourage and console her but to no avail.
• She names her newborn baby Ichabod, which simply means “NO GLORY.” Like her father-in-law Eli, she is overwhelmed at the thought of the Ark of the Covenant being captured and residing with the enemy.
• The author shares this phrase twice to reinforce the mindset at Shiloh: “the glory has departed from Israel.” This of course is bad theology, as we will see next week, for the loss of the ark did NOT mean that God was inseparably bound to the ark, a box! Yet the spiritual reality for the people of God at this point in time seems to be at an all-time LOW! Might this be the POWER of SIN at work?
Bottom Line for chapter 4: God cannot and will not be MANIPULATED!
Lessons from 1 Samuel 4, a chapter of DEFEAT and DEATH:
#1: God is a God of HOLINESS! This is both great news, and a devastating reminder, for fallen and broken people.
Question: How do we embrace or dismiss the HOLINESS of God in 2024?
#2: God is a God of JUDGMENT! God cannot be mocked! We REAP what we SOW!
• Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
Question: Are we guilty of being deceived at the impact of sin in our lives and our culture today? How will history judge us 100 years from now?
#3: God cannot and will not be MANIPULATED!
Question: How do we attempt to “manipulate” God in our lives and even in our church?
Oasis June11: 1 Samuel 5-6: The Ark of God in the land of the Philistines
NO Oasis on July 2 or 9 this summer Dr. Fred Johnson from Lincoln Christian Institute will be our guest teacher on July 16, 23 and 30.
This summer in Main Auditorium: The Samuel narratives Sunday June 9 brings a study of 1 Samuel 24/26 and the Integrity of David.