1 Samuel 4

1 Samuel 4

There are two sides to the battle mentioned in 1 Samuel 4. On one hand it seems as if Israel did something right in battle. They were being defeated by the Philistines, and instead of depending on their own strength, they realized that they needed to turn to God instead. So they went to retrieve the Ark and bring it into battle. The Philistines were curious as to what brought about the sudden excitement in Israel’s camp, and when they found out it was the Ark of God, they became frightened. They knew all the stories of what God had done for Israel from the time that they had left Egypt through their eventual conquest of the land. However, the Philistines did not let the presence of the Ark scare them.


The other side of this story is the fact that God had sent a message of destruction through His prophet Samuel that promised destruction. Because of the sins of Eli’s two sons, and the fact that Eli had not really done anything about it, God had promised destruction on Eli’s house. So it had already been decided that Israel would not win this battle. Samuel had told Eli and all of Israel the message that God had sent him. So why would they bring the Ark out into a battle that they had been told they would lose? Well considering that Eli’s sons are the two that brought it, it is understandable. As Samuel had told them, the Philistines defeated Israel that day, capturing the Ark and killing both of Eli’s sons.

When the news of this defeat came back to Israel and to Eli, they all cried out in anguish. The loss itself was not as a big of a deal when considering that Israel had also lost the Ark of the Covenant, the most precious piece of the tabernacle. Eli’s reaction to this news was devastating. Like Israel, he was upset with the loss, and he was also upset over the fact that his two sons were killed. But what brought him the most pain was the fact that the Ark had been captured. Upon hearing this news, he fell out of his chair and died. Then, when his daughter-in-law was told the news of her husband, father-in-law, and the Ark, she reacted in the same way. She was pregnant, and she immediately went into labor, but the grief of losing the Ark of the Covenant was greatest for her as well, and she died.

As a result, Ichabod was born, and he received his name because the common consensus throughout Israel was that the “Glory of God had departed from Israel.” They had allowed the one artifact that meant so much to them get taken away because of carelessness. The Ark of the Covenant was the most holy piece of the tabernacle, containing the Ten Commandments, some manna, and Aaron’s rod. It was a physical representation of where they had been and how God had protected them, provided for them, and delivered them out of slavery and into freedom. Instead of being careful to guard it, they let it slip away.

We no longer have anything such as the Ark in the New Testament era. We do not go to the tabernacle or the temple to worship God. We do not have to perform sacrifices. We do, however, have to obey God and worship Him. It is much more than a duty as well. We should also have the desire to obey and worship the one true God who created us, who protects and provides for us, who has delivered us out of our sin and given us the free gift of salvation. We must guard that salvation carefully. No, we cannot lose our salvation, and our salvation cannot be seen in direct correlation with the Ark of the Covenant, but we must realize how special it is to us. Therefore, we should not be careless with the gift by living life however we want to. We must obey God’s commands and choose to live for Him. May it never be said that the “Glory of God has departed from us!” People should be able to see God in us as we live for and worship Him. Our lives should be evidence that God is still active in this world, drawing people to Himself, and we should be in the world proclaiming the truth by spreading the Gospel.

Matt