1 Samuel 4
Pastor David Groendyk

This chapter is a low-point in the first section of 1 Samuel which focuses on Samuel as a prophet, priest, and judge. So far we’ve seen the sorry state of the spiritual leadership Israel has in the form of Eli and his two sons, and we’ve seen God working his redemptive plans in the midst of darkness in the form of Samuel. Chapter 4 is a form of God’s judgment upon Israel for their disobedience.

The first half of this chapter (vv. 1–11) takes place on the battle field. Israel has suffered a defeat at the hands of the Philistines (v. 2), but more important than that initial defeat is what Israel does afterwards. Rather than being humbled and seeking God’s counsel through prayer, they decide to trot the ark of the covenant out onto the battle field. Most of the time, the ark sat in the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle, and it was considered the very seat of God (v. 4; cf. Ex. 25:22). In theory, then, Israel was bringing the Lord’s very presence into battle. However, these elders were using the ark as a good luck charm rather than actually relying upon God’s presence. One warning that comes from this chapter is to beware of the temptation to trust certain objects and rituals in our lives rather than trusting God himself. Our religious objects (e.g., the cross, the church building) and our religious rituals (e.g., weekly corporate worship, daily morning devotions) are not means of manipulating God to get what we want. God is not a genie who’s obligated to do what we want as long as we do x-y-z. We must be careful to remember that every aspect of practicing Christianity, from weekly worship to daily Bible reading to prayer and everything in between, ought to be done purely as acts of worship and obedience to God.

The Philistines see the ark brought out, they’ve heard of the reputation of Yahweh, and they start shaking. But rather than run, they give a motivational speech for the ages. It’s actually a little shocking—this is usually the kind of speech we overhear from Israel’s camp rather than their enemy’s camp. The Philistines are the ones who rally their courage in the face of tremendous danger, perhaps signaling that God really is on their side in this fight (see v. 3). And Israel ends up fleeing (vv. 10, 17). This is the exact promise of God for what would happen if Israel were unfaithful in their covenant with God (Deut. 28:25). God is bringing about the exact covenant curses he said he would. Moreover, the name of wicked Phinehas’ son is an object lesson for us as well (vv. 19–22). The name ‘Ichabod’ means ‘Where is the glory?’ thus signaling that the glory of God had left Israel. In fact, you may have a footnote in your Bible at verse 21 which says that “departed” could also be translated as “gone into exile”, meaning that the result of this battle was that God’s glory had gone into exile. It’s a foretaste of what would come hundreds of years later, and it’s the exact same imagery that Ezekiel would use in his prophecy that foretold of Judah going into exile (Ezek. 10:18). Now, what’s the upshot of all this? Israel has clearly abandoned God. This is far more serious than a simple defeat in battle and a wooden box being stolen. They desperately need God’s grace to save them from their own sin and utter rejection of God. Do you desperately rely on God’s grace to continue working in you every day? Has your religion become merely a ritual? We need his grace every day if we want to stay faithful. Keep humbly relying on him. How will Israel respond to their humiliation? We’ll have to wait to find out.