CHAPTER 4

(1141 B.C.)

THE PHILISTINES

¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel (this phrase, according to the manuscripts, belongs at the conclusion of the last Verse of the last Chapter; it makes it seem here as if the Lord through Samuel is calling Israel to battle, which is not the case). Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek (it seems that Israel had enjoyed comparative freedom and peace for a period of time, up to now).

²And 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.

³And when the people were come into the camp, the Elders of Israel said, Wherefore has 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 comes among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. (They didnt ask the Lord if they could take the Ark of the Covenant, neither did the Lord tell them to do so. If Israel had fallen on their faces before God in weeping and contrition, repenting of their sins before the door of the Tabernacle, the future could have been different. Instead, they would try to use the Ark as a magic symbol, thinking, somehow, it would atone for their evil and guarantee the Presence and Blessings of God. How so much today does the modern Church follow suit!)

⁴So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwells between the Cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God (two evil men accompanied the Ark, which should tell us something about the spiritual condition of Israel).

⁵And 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. (As the heart gets further and further from God, symbols and ceremonies become very important. As Israel, many try to cover up the barrenness of their possession by the loudness of their profession. Israel had nothing to shout about. They needed to repent.)

⁶And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What means 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.

⁷And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore. (How wonderful it would have been if God had actually come into the camp!)

⁸Woe 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. (The Ark was but a symbol of the Divine Presence. Now, when confronted by the enemy, the symbol was made to displace the Substance; however, such was not to be, even as such could not be. Had God overthrown the Philistines at Aphek, He would thereby have associated Himself with the evil of His people. God can make no compromise with evil; for the Lord to have granted victory that day would have shown that God thought lightly of sin; and that He was willing to identify Himself with the moral condition of a people living in willing bondage to the most gross of evils Williams.)

⁹Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O you Philistines, that you be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. (The Philistine was a domestic, not a foreign, enemy. He illustrates the power of the enemy inside the professing Christian Church, and is more to be dreaded than any enemy who stands outside.)

¹⁰And 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 (a terrible slaughter! They are called footmen because the Israelites had neither cavalry nor chariots).

THE ARK CAPTURED

¹¹And the Ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain (exactly as the Lord had said [2:34]; the greater tragedy was that the Ark of God was taken by the enemy).

THE DEATH OF ELI

¹²And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh (where the Tabernacle was located) the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head (a sign of tragedy).

¹³And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the Ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

¹⁴And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What means the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.

¹⁵Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see (couldnt see well).

¹⁶And the man said unto Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

¹⁷And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the Ark of God is taken.

¹⁸And it came to pass, when he made mention of the Ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. (Had he judged in fellowship with God, and in obedience to the Scriptures, the disasters that took place on this day of his death would never have happened; and yet, in his death, he showed that the interests of Gods Kingdom had a true place in his heart. Three messages were given to Eli: 1. The battle is lost, and thirty thousand Israelites are dead; 2. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and, 3. The Ark of God is taken. While each message was tragic, the loss of the Ark of God was the most tragic of all!)

ICHABOD

¹⁹And his daughter in law, Phinehas wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the Ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

²⁰And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for you have born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

²¹And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the Ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

²²And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the Ark of God is taken. (Concerning this, Williams says, The last four Verses of this Chapter throw a shaft of light across the darkness; and the detail into which the Holy Spirit enters in the narrative shows how precious to Him was the measure of Divine life in the soul of this true-hearted woman. She is placed here upon the face of the Divine record with great vividness. The Holy Spirit recalls her affection for her aged father-in-law, and for her godless and faithless husband, but points with emphasis to the fact that grief for Gods Kingdom swallowed up the joy of motherhood [Jn. 16:21].)