Joel M Bradshaw

1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.–1 Samuel 4

In God’s sovereign plan, he was ending the careers of Eli and his two evil sons as priests. And you can see where lackadaisical leadership had led the people regarding God.

1. They didn’t talk to God or seek his direction. They had the priests who were to intercede before God for the people. But they seemed like an afterthought to the story. God seemed like an afterthought to the leaders.
2. They talked about God instead. They pondered the will of God rather than praying. Talking about God is gossip. Better had they lamented and talked to God about their situation.
3. The Philistines seemed to fear Israel’s God more than Israel did. Israel seemed to only see the ark as a weapon to deploy.

Israel needed to hear from God. Maybe a prophetic role like Samuel will begin to make the difference. The temptation here is to treat God like an afterthought. They didn’t seek his will. They talked about God and not to God. They treated God as an object. We have the Bible. It is sufficient to direct us regarding all matters of faith and practice. But are you led by God? Do you follow his direction and leading? Or is God simply like Israel here something you add to your life?–JMB