1 Samuel 4:1 says, 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. The statement that the word of Samuel does not seem to have any relationship to the rest of the story here. The people of Israel decided to go to war against the Philistines, Matthew Henry says probably about halfway through their captivity by the Philistines. We are not told that they consulted God about this. As Christians, if we find ourselves once again captive to any sin today, we need to first go to God in repentance. Verse two adds, And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. When the people of Israel went to war against the Philistines without God's guidance and power, they were soundly defeated, having about four thousand men killed. We are just as powerless when we go into battle against the evil of the world without God's guidance and power. Verse three declares, 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 fetch 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. When the rest of the army of Israel returned to camp, they asked the elders where God had been during the battle, but they still didn't consult God. If we don't consult God before we take any action today, we should not ask anyone, even religious leaders, where He as if we fail. Still without consulting God, they decided to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them. All the symbols that represent God today are not going to make us more powerful if God is not directing us in our actions. Verse four adds, 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. They sent to Shiloh to get the Ark of the Covenant, while Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas the corrupt priests, were with the Ark. The people were acting without God's guidance and were relying on corrupt priests to empower them simply by having something that was symbolic of the presence of God with them. We cannot afford to make the same mistake today. Verse five continues, 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. When the Ark of the Covenant came into their camp, the people of Israel shouted so loudly that the ground shook. They were zealous, but they were misguided in their zeal. We may be caught up in zeal today over what seems to be success over the evil of the world, but if God is not in it, all our zeal will get us nowhere. Verse six states, 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. When the Philistines heard the great shout of the people of Israel, they asked what it meant and realized that the Ark of the Covenant had come into the camp of Israel. This had been a symbol of God's power before the people of Israel before so the Philistines recognized it as such at that time. Once more, things that are symbolic of God today, even if recognized by the people of the world as such, will not empower us if we have not sought God's guidance and endorsement of our actions. Verse seven adds, 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. The Philistines were initially afraid, because they said God had come into the camp of Israel, and nothing like this had ever happened before. Verse eight continues, 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. Though they recognized the power of God, Who had indeed delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt, they did not really know Who God is, referring to Him in the plural instead instead of the One and only true God. The people of the world today can never truly understand Who God is, because this knowledge only comes from putting one's faith in Jesus Christ. Verse nine states, Be strong, and quit 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. Even recognizing the power of God, the Philistines called on their army to be strong and fight like men. Even if they have heard of God's powerful actions in the past, the people of the world are still willing to go into battle against God's people today. Verse ten adds, 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. This time, the army of Israel was once again soundly defeated, having thirty thousand soldiers killed and the rest fleeing. All their zeal at the symbolic presence of God did them no good without God's actual presence with them, nor will God's symbolic presence do us any good today. Verse eleven continues, And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. Not only did they lose the battle and thirty thousand men, the people of Israel also lost the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines. Though this represented the presence of God, it was not God, but had evidently become somewhat of an idol to the people of Israel. We cannot afford to allow things symbolic of God to replace a real relationship with Him. Hophni and Phinehas, who were to take care of the Ark, were also killed at this time. They had evidently proven themselves to be corrupt priests, and they brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle without seeking God's guidance in the situation. Spiritual death and everlasting punishment is the fate of all who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ alone as the only way to salvation.
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