For the past few years at Faith Church, one Sunday per quarter, I take a break from the sermon series, and I have a Current Events sermon. In those sermons, I scour the headlines, and study Scripture to try to help us think Christianly about the headlines. As always, I’ve blogged those sermons here. We’ve talked about war, Covid, politics, artificial intelligence, and even lawn care.
What I have been surprised to learn is how much the headlines are the same…quarter after quarter after quarter. Last quarter, in place of a Current Events sermon, I did a Question and Answer sermon. I invited my congregation to submit questions, and I tried to do the same as I do for Current Events sermons: study the Scripture to help us think Christianity in answering those questions.
This quarter, though, I did not receive any questions. But I still have one left over from last quarter, one that I didn’t have time for in the previous Q & A week. I started working on answering the question, thinking it would be brief, and then I thought I would tackle a current events issue as well. As I typed my answer the question, more and more and more came out. Frankly, entire books and seminary courses are about this.
The question I didn’t answer last quarter? “What do you wish you would’ve known before becoming a pastor?”
It feels very risky to answer that question in a sermon. Why? Join me on the blog next week to find out!
A few years ago I was in a doctoral class about leadership, and we were talking about the American presidential election coming soon. My professor made what I thought was a very irresponsible comment, “The person in the White House matters very little.” My professor is a deep thinker, so I was surprised to hear him make a suggestion that seemed so obviously wrong. Isn’t the President of the USA the most powerful person in the world? Doesn’t the President of the USA have immense influence?
I’ve come to agree with my professor. Why? Keep reading.
What have we learned this week about the story of Israel’s first king from 1st Samuel chapters 8-10? That Saul is the king who didn’t want to be king, it seems. That God chose Saul because he is tall. No doubt many people would consider Saul leadership material because of his imposing size. But physical dimensions of height and weight and muscles and speed and military skill do not guarantee a good king. How will things turn out for this king who doesn’t want to be king? In the coming weeks, we’ll find out. For now, let close out chapter 10.
Samuel tries to set the tone for the launch of Saul’s monarchy. In verse 25, we read, “Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.”
The rights and duties of kingship.
A few years ago I preached through Deuteronomy, which is a book where Moses reviews the Law of God with the people, right as they were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, which was decades, maybe even a century of so before the time of Saul. In Deuteronomy chapter 17, God talks with the people about a future time when they would ask for a king. He says that the king must write down his own copy of the Law and study it. The king, therefore, is to be basing their life, their thinking, their choices, on God’s law. God, then, is primary. The king is not to think of themselves in a self-sufficient way. Instead, the king was to depend on God. This gets us back to what we learned in 1st Samuel chapter 8: Israel’s king was supposed to see God as their true king.
At the conclusion of chapter 10, Saul, though king, goes home. There is no capital city, no palace, no throne at this point. We hear the good news that he already has some new friends, “whom hearts God has touched.” They are valiant men, so this seems like the beginning of Saul’s personal guard.
But look at verse 27, all is not well. Some scoundrels despise Saul, an ominous sign for the future, though the nation has its first king. We learn that in response to these scoundrels, Saul kept silent. Again, he is the king who is not acting like a king. The reality is that while there will be some good kings eventually in Israel, there is no king like God. There is no human that can act like the one true king.
This story calls us to evaluate if we have given our allegiance to the one true King. This story invites us to examine our hearts and minds. Have we put too much stock in earthly leaders? A political party or governmental ruler can do good. God works through people. But have we allowed other humans to occupy spaces in our desires, hopes and dreams that only God can truly occupy?
The person in the White House or Governor’s Mansion can do good, and they can do harm. But only Jesus is our king. What can it look like for you to live your life worshiping the King of kings and Lord of lords?
We’ve been hearing all our lives that whichever is the current election cycle is the most important in American history. One party will tell you that if the other party gets in the White House, or if the other party gets the majority, then the nation is going to fall apart. Every single election we hear that. Those kinds of dire predictions of disaster are rarely true. But we can allow our hearts and minds to become gripped with fear.
Instead, let us grip the King of kings, for he is our hope. He came to bring us life that is truly life: abundant flourishing life now, and the hope of eternal life in heaven.
This week I’ve been blogging about the story of Israel asking for a king. God is their king, but they want a human king. Amazing God grants their wish, and in the last post we met the king. He’s a man name Saul.
As the story in 1st Samuel chapter unfolds, Saul searches for his father’s lost donkeys, who have wandered off. Saul and his assistants eventually come to the town where Samuel the prophet was staying. In chapter 9, verse 16, we read that God, the day before, had told Samuel about Saul. Samuel sees Saul, and we read in verse 17 that God confirms, “This is the man…he will govern my people.”
In verses 18-27, the two men have an encounter. Samuel doesn’t just launch right into the big news from God that Saul is to become king. Samuel takes it slowly. In verse 20 he says to says to Saul that Israel’s desire has turned to Saul, hinting at something bigger.
Saul is immediately hesitant. In verse 21, he basically says, “I’m a nobody from a nobody clan and tribe, what are you talking about?” Saul is from the tribe of Benjamin, and that is notable because it was the tribe of Benjamin that committed horrible atrocities which are detailed in the final chapters of the book of Judges. Those atrocities would have very much been in the memories of the people. Some people who had lived through those dark days were likely still alive in Saul’s day. In other words, the tribe of Benjamin had a bad reputation. Maybe Saul is ashamed.
But Samuel plows forward, undeterred by Saul’s hesitation. Samuel seats Saul at the head of a table at a party with 30 people and gives Saul a choice cut of meat in front of them. This seems like the moment to make the big announcement!
Still Samuel does not mention about Saul becoming king, though. Maybe Samuel is just wisely warming Saul up to the idea. The next morning before Saul heads home (because Samuel assured Saul the donkeys had been found), Samuel pulls Saul aside and says “I have a message for you from God.”
In chapter 10, finally, Samuel gives Saul the message from God that Saul is God’s choice to be king over Israel, and then Samuel anoints Saul as king. It’s a private ceremony. No one knows about this. Samuel then gives Saul very strange instructions for a newly anointed king. Saul will meet prophets who are prophesying, Samuel says. Then Samuel says this to Saul in chapter 10, verses 6 and 7,
“The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”
Sure enough, the Spirit empowers him, and Saul returns to Gibeah, his hometown. Saul starts prophesying just like the prophets. When the Scripture uses the word “prophesying” here, it does not mean “predicting the future.” It is more likely describing ecstatic speech, almost like speaking in tongues. The prophets and Saul, in other words, are worshiping and glorifying God. They are joyfully filled with the Spirit.
Eventually, Saul stops prophesying, and his uncle asks him what Samuel said to Saul. I would be very curious too! Saul met the famous judge of Israel, the prophet Samuel, and as a result, Saul starts prophesying! That’s not normal. Clearly something happened when Saul met Samuel. Of course Saul’s uncle wants to know what’s up? But Saul says nothing about being made king over all Israel! Surprising? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe Saul has a shy streak. Maybe he feels awkward.
There are plenty of times when we are with people who have big news, but they don’t tell it. Then when you’re with someone else who tells you about the first person’s big news, you think, “What? I was just with them, and they didn’t say anything about it.” Some people hate drawing attention to themselves. And they will not share things even with their closest friends, which can come across hurtful because even if you are shy, you should share life with your closest friends.
But the news eventually gets out. You can’t keep it quiet forever. In Saul’s case, Samuel gathers all the people of Israel to Mizpah, which was a traditional gathering place for meetings of great national importance. There he gives the people this message from God in verses 18-19,
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
Samuel has reviewed the belligerent attitude of the people that brought them to this point. Now it was time to make the choice of king public to the nation, but in verses 20-22, when Saul is chosen, he is nowhere to be found. It takes God to reveal where Saul is hiding! How about that? More unkingly behavior from the king.
In verses 23-24, some people find Saul, bring him out, and they notice that he is unusually tall. In front of all the people, Samuel confirms that God has chosen him, and the people shout, “Long live the king!”
What have we learned this week about Israel getting its first king? Check back to the next post, as we conclude this week’s blog series with some suggestions for how we might apply 1st Samuel 8-10 to our lives.
In the previous post, we learned that after the Israelite elders ask Samuel to give them a king, God warns them that while having a king might sound effective or powerful like the nations around them, it could easily backfire. That warning didn’t make a dent in the elders’ desire for a king. In 1st Samuel 8 verses 19-20, the people seem to intensify their request for a king, citing how a king will lead them and fight their battles.
What are they talking about? It sounds to me like they want a super soldier. A super hero. One man to go out before them and fight their battles? Perhaps they are blinded by desire. They want a king so badly, they have become totally unrealistic in their expectations. One man cannot possibly fight their battles for them.
Before we get too hard on the Israelites, do we not do the same? We American Christians can fool ourselves into believe that if so-and-so gets elected, then they will make things better in our country. “If our guy becomes President,” we say or we feel inside, “then finally we’ll be okay.” We, too, can put way too much emphasis and hope in humans to bring peace and flourishing around us. We should look ourselves in the mirror and ask, are we guilty of the same misplaced hopes that they Israelites are demonstrating in this passage?
Despite their unrealistic expectations, chapter 8 concludes with God instructing Samuel to give the people a king. God’s words in verse 22 are some of the saddest words in the Bible. There is God, the one true king, the only one worthy to be king, the only one with power, and he and says, “Listen to them and give them a king.” I suspect there is a disappointment in God’s tone.
It reminds me teenage or young adult kids explaining a business idea to their parents, then asking their parents for a loan. Inwardly, the parents are thinking “That’s the stupidest idea I ever heard,” but outwardly they say, “Okay, I’ll loan you the money,” knowing they aren’t getting any money back from this venture.
It reminds me of Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son who says to his father, “Give me my share of the inheritance now,” which is culturally-speaking equivalent to saying, “Father, I want you dead now.” But the Father gives the son the money, knowing the son is not in any place emotionally, spiritually, or in maturity to use the money wisely.
So in verse 22, Samuel tells the people to go home, and in chapter 9, verses 1-2, we meet an Israelite man named Saul, who is both handsome and tall. That means he was recognizable. He might be assumed to be intimidating or capable with a sword. Maybe he could be the superhero king the Israelite elders desire?
We’ll find out how Saul responds in the next post.
What comes out of you when you are hurting? When someone treats you poorly or says something unkind to you, how do you react?
The elders of Israel have just come to Samuel, asking for a king. See the previous post for all the details. What will Samuel say? Samuel’s response is in verse 6, “But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.”
I wonder if Samuel took the elder’s request personally. Samuel was their leader. Are the elders essentially saying, “We don’t want you anymore?” Is this an attack on Samuel? A vote of no confidence?
Yes! Of course it is. They already said that they felt he was too old, and they clearly do not support his sons, which insinuates that they believe Samuel did a poor job as father. We know nothing of Samuel’s parenting skills or involvement in his son’s lives. We only know that the elders of Israel don’t like what they see in either Samuel or his sons, and they want a change, which makes Samuel mad. But Samuel’s response is perfect, he takes it to God.
When we are hurting or angered, the proper response is not to lash out, but to go to God in prayer. Cry out to him. I love that Samuel does not seem to have become jaded by years of leading the people. He still has a soft heart for God. When he is wounded by the words of the people, just like you and I can be wounded by harsh or difficult words, Samuel goes to God, and prays. We’re not told the content of his prayer, but we can easily guess what Samuel said to God based on God’s response. Here’s what God says to Samuel in verses 7-9,
“And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
Verse 7 is serious: “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” Samuel felt rejected, but God says, “Samuel, you’re not king. You never were. I chose you to judge the people, to be my prophet, to serve me. I am the king. I always was the king. The people are rejecting me.”
Not only that, God declares that the people’s behavior is nothing new. The people have been forsaking him repeatedly for decades. When we review the account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, their wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, their conquest of the Promised Land, and especially their behavior during the time of the Judges, there is ample evidence to prove that what God says here is true. God is their king, and the people have repeatedly forsaken him and served other gods.
This is a searing indictment of the people. If Samuel, who wasn’t king, was so frustrated by the people’s rejection, imagine how God felt. God was their king, and they had been rejecting him for a long time. You’d think God would be really upset by the elders’ request for a human king. “You want a human king, when you already have the Almighty, loving God of the universe as your king?” That’s a massive slap in God’s face. Which is why God’s decision to give them a human king is shocking.
He says, “You want a king? Okay. I’ll give you a king, but get ready because you do not know what you are asking for.” See that last phrase in verse 9, “Let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” What does that mean?
The elders are looking at the nations around them, all with their kings, and the elders are thinking, “That monarchical system is great! We need that.” But God says to Samuel, “Tell them what it will really be like.” The people of Israel shouldn’t have to think too hard about what it will really be like. For 400 years they lived in slavery to a king. That was the defining story of their nation’s history. God did astounding miracles to get them out from under the heavy hand of a king. The Egyptian Pharaoh was a king who was awful to the people of Israel. And God showed that Pharaoh that he, God, was far more powerful than Pharaoh, freeing his people from slavery, leading them to the Promised Land, to independence, to flourishing. Now the people are saying, “We want a king.”
Of course, they could be thinking, “This time it will be different. In Egypt, we were in slavery because we were a different ethnicity than the Pharaoh. Now our king will be one of us.” Maybe. God doesn’t seem so sure. He has a strong warning for the people, which Samuel gives them in verses 10 through 18, describing all the ways a king could take advantage of the people, like a dictator. In fact, in verses 17-18, Samuel says, “You yourselves will become his slaves…you will cry out for relief…but the Lord will not answer.”
That’s a stern warning. How will the Israelite elders respond? We find out in the next post.
Take a look at these nicknames in the list below. Do you know the people they are referring to. They are all famous people from the 1900s and 2000s. The answers are at the conclusion of the post. See how many you can guess!
The King of Rock & Roll
King James
The King of Pop
The King of Swing
The King of Hollywood
The King of Country music
The King of Blues
And there are a bunch of others who were just called “The King”. Can you think of others? There is actually a Wikipedia page dedicated this nickname!
I don’t know if any of the people gave themselves the label “King,” and I don’t know if they really wanted that label or liked that label. This week on the blog, we meet a man who didn’t want to be king in 1st Samuel chapters 8 through 10.
In 1st Samuel 8 verse 1, we learn that time has passed from where we left off in chapter 7 (post here). I know it seems we only just studied Samuel’s birth and childhood. But now we read in verse 1, that he is old. How old we don’t know. Estimates are in the 55 to 65 year old range. In his day, age 55-65, is elderly. Life expectancy was much shorter. He could pass at any time.
We typically call Samuel the last judge of Israel, but we learn in verses 1-2 that he has sons whom he appoints as judges. The Old Testament mentions little about them again. We learn that they are dishonest, accept bribes and pervert justice. This sounds very familiar. Samuel’s mentor, Eli, had two wicked sons as well.
This time, as we read in verses 4 and 5, the elders of Israel come to Samuel and they ask for a king. They believe they have a good rationale too: Samuel’s age, and his sons. (As I write this in 2024, I’m wondering if we can get some elders to come talk to our two American presidential candidates who are old and have sons with questionable behavior.) To the elders of Israel, their rationale makes sense. The nation should not be led by leaders who are wicked. And they believe Samuel is too old. So the elders of the people think they are making a suggestion that is wise. Or are they? Is there more to their motivation?
Notice in verse 5, that they do seem to have other motivation when they ask for a king to lead or judge them, “such as all the other nations have.” They want to be like the grown-up nations around them. They want to get a new car like their neighbors. Keepin’ up with the Joneses. You can almost hear them thinking, “All the neighboring nations have monarchs, why can’t we? It’s not fair.”
Or maybe the elders of Israel have thought this through and believe that having a king is a really good and wise choice. Is it perhaps wise to have a leader, a authority, a hierarchy. We hear that sentiment still today. I’m guessing you’ve heard it too: “There has to be a leader.” In a marriage, there has to be a leader. In a church, there has to be a leader. In any organization, you need a leader.
But do you have to have one single leader in any of those relationships or organizations?
What about a flat hierarchy? A team approach? For example, consider a house church where there is no lead pastor, but instead a team of elders. Even at Faith Church, though I am the pastor, on our Leadership Team, I am one vote of ten. We are not a pastor-led church. There are some pastor-led churches in my local ministerium, and I am amazed at how those pastors can unilaterally make all sorts of decisions.
There are pros and cons to all leadership structures. But let’s face it, when there is a king, that person has all authority to do what they want.
When I am the only parent at home, I can really enjoy being the sole authority. Years ago when my wife Michelle was traveling to Cambodia 2-3 times per year for work, and our kids were little, while I missed her and totally believe that single parenting is more difficult than two-parent parenting, there were times when it was super convenient to be the sole person responsible for decision-making. I didn’t have to discuss anything with Michelle. Kings have that kind of decision-making freedom, and if they are benevolent, it can be a very helpful freedom.
So Israel’s request for a king is a mixed bag. It might be partly a wise request, might be partly selfish. No matter their motivation, we learn Samuel’s response in the next post, and here’s a hint, he is not happy.
It was one year ago, May 6, 2023, that Prince Charles III of England was crowned King Charles (though he had acceded to the throne the previous September 22, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, passed). Charles had been waiting for that moment for a long time. When his mother became queen, Charles was 4 years old. He was 73 at his coronation.
Charles’ wait was uncommonly protracted, first because his mother became queen so young (25 years old), and she was aged when she passed (96 years old). Throughout his mother’s reign, and especially as she entered her elderly years, there were plenty of calls for the queen to abdicate and allow her son to take the throne. Whispers told stories of Charles’ eager anticipation to become King.
Yet, all that desire to become king has to be seen in light of the reality that the British king is largely a figurehead. What power does Charles have? He and the rest of the members of the royal family are certainly popular. They truly have wealth and some measure of influence. But Charles, as king, is not running the government, is not directing the military, and is not deciding how his nation’s wealth is used. There are many nations with kings and queens in our world still today, and they are mostly like Charles: famous, but without the power of presidents, prime ministers, judges, and other government officials. It wasn’t always that way.
Our American experiment was launched protesting the overreaching power of monarchy. “No taxation without representation,” we said to King George, declaring our independence in 1776. Our forefathers believed the kings could all too easily become dictators. We wanted separation of powers. We wanted self-rule, so we could organize our colonies in a way we believed was best, including having slavery. So we fought our way out from under monarchical rule. We did not want a king!
Or did we? Did we trade one King George for another? Are we Americans king-makers, disguised in democracy?
Interestingly, in the next section in my blog series through 1st and 2nd Samuel, the people of Israel declare that they do want a king. There is no disguising it. They are bold about it. They want a king, and they make their wishes known. Why do they want a king? Is Israel growing up, perhaps? And what does God have to say about this? Join me on the blog next week as we study 1st Samuel chapters 8, 9, and 10. Read the chapters ahead of time, and then I look forward to talking about it further with you.
After the first three chapters of 1st Samuel focusing on Samuel’s birth and childhood, we’ve now read through more chapters, 4 through 6, with no mention of Samuel. Where is Samuel through all the craziness of the Ark of the Covenant’s capture? The narrative doesn’t tell us, so we can safely guess that during those seven months, Samuel continued ministry at the tabernacle in Shiloh.
In 1 Samuel 7, starting in the middle of verse 2, however, the narrative returns to the story of Samuel. Here is 1st Samuel, chapter 7, verses 2 through 7,
“Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. So Samuel said to all the Israelites, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.’ When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.
Finally, the people return to God, following his way of holiness.
When the Philistines learn about Israel gathering at Mizpah, they see an opportunity. Maybe Philistia can finally wipe out Israel in one fell swoop. Israel learns about the Philistine advance, and they are afraid. But something has changed. They have repented of their sins. They have turned their hearts to God.
Now having repented, notice how differently they respond compared to their arrogant approach in chapter 4. In chapter 4 they took matters into their own hands, believing that if they whipped out the Ark of the Covenant, God was obligated to defeat the Philistines.
Now in chapter 7, verse 8, they have a very different response: “They said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.’ Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.”
They submit themselves to the Lord. They cry out to him. They see God not as obligated to help them, but they see God as he is, holy. Because the people are humble, submitting themselves to God as they should be, Samuel cries out to God for help and God answers.
In the rest of the chapter we learn that God gives Israel a great victory. First, God thunders, sending the Philistine military into a panic, leaving the Israelite army an easy mop-up job. Samuel sets up a stone of remembrance, calling it “Ebenezer,” a “stone of help,” because God helped them.
The narrative in chapter 7 concludes by scanning through the next few decades, and we learn that throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord was against the Philistines, Israel gained territory, and they had peace with other neighboring nations. Samuel continued his ministry for many years, a circuit riding preaching, serving the Lord as prophet and judge of the people of Israel.
As we conclude this week’s series of posts on 1st Samuel 4:1b-7:17, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we have learned.
In the story of the Ark of the Covenant’s capture, we learn to submit ourselves before God, because he is holy. Instead of taking matters into our own hands, instead of thinking that we can use him for our purposes, we turn away from any arrogance, and we inquire of him. We seek his ways, we seek to live according to his heart.
So what does it mean to submit ourselves to God? It means we have humble hearts, seeing ourselves in relationship with God and loved by God. That humble heart posture brings us to trust in God, even in the midst of pain. Even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Trusting him that he is for us, even when life doesn’t seem to be going how we hope.
Submitting ourselves to God is choosing to look to him and his ways for our next steps. Submitting to God is asking God to evaluate our thoughts, attitudes and actions. We go to him in listening prayer, in reading and studying the Bible, in conversation with others, with open hearts and minds.
Submitting ourselves to God avoids an attitude of checking the spiritual religious boxes, as if they are a guarantee of blessing. Israel thought the Ark was a weapon they could use as they saw fit. We can do this too. We can do our daily devotions, go to church, put money in the offering basket, sing the songs, and believe that God is duty bound to bless us.
Submitting ourselves to God means we are in relationship with him, and healthy relationships don’t involve forcing or manipulating the other. Instead, we say, as Jesus taught, “Lord, apart from you I can do nothing. I want to abide in you, remain in you, be led by you.”
Does the Ark of the Covenant have power? In the previous post, we learned that the Israelites thought all they needed to do was bring the Ark out to the battlefield, and God would give them victory over the Philistines. We learned the Israelites were wrong. Instead of the Ark destroying the Philistines, the Philistines destroy the Israelites and capture the Ark. But in this post, some very curious events happen around the Ark, almost as if the Ark does have power. Keep reading to find out.
First, we survey the rest of 1st Samuel chapter 4, which is an extended account of Eli hearing the news that his wicked sons passed away in the battle (which we learned about here), and in shock Eli falls off his chair, breaks his neck and dies. At the very end of chapter, we learn that one of his sons, Phinehas’ wife heard the news, and the shock caused her to go into labor and give birth. She dies in labor, her last words used to name her baby boy “Ichabod” which means “No Glory,” for in this story she saw that God’s glory had departed from Israel. Ichabod’s name reminds us that the arrogant Israelites, including her own husband, allowed the Ark to be captured by the Philistines.
At this point in the story, the narrative follows the Ark, which goes on an unusual journey and seems to emanate power. Chapter 5 takes place in Philistine territory. The Philistines transport the Ark of the Covenant to their city of Ashdod, and they place the Ark in the temple of their god Dagon. The next morning the Philistines find the statue of Dagon fallen face-down before the Ark, as if Dagon is worshiping the Ark.
The Philistines put Dagon back, but the next day it happens again, this time, though, the idol’s face and hands break off in the fall. Then God afflicts the people of Ashdod with tumors. In response, the Philistines move the Ark to their town of Gath, and the same affliction happens there. Next they carry the Ark to Ekron, and again affliction breaks out in Ekron. The people of Philistia begin to panic and cry out.
In chapter 6, the Philistines have had possession of the Ark for seven awful months, and they can’t take the resulting affliction any longer. They send the Ark back to Israel with a gift of gold. As they did in chapter 4 before the battle when they captured the Ark, the Philistines show they are very aware of Israel’s God’s reputation when he freed the people from slavery in Egypt. Look at 1st Samuel chapter 6, verse 6, where the Philistines say,
“Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s God dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?”
The Philistines believe what is happening is similar to what God did to Egypt when he afflicted Egypt with ten plagues. The Philistines think God is now sending plagues on them. They do not want to fall prey to the same attitude of the Egyptian Pharaoh, hardness of heart. Arrogance.
The Philistines place the Ark on a cart pulled by calves, and they send it back to Israel, following it to the Israelite border town of Beth Shemesh. There the people of Israel rejoice at the Ark’s return, and they sacrifice to the Lord, which is their way of expressing repentance to God.
But in a scene reminiscent of the final moments of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazis open the Ark and die (depicted above), seventy people of the town of Beth Shemesh decide to open the Ark, look inside and die. When they do this, they die because they arrogantly disrespect the holiness of God. Notice 1 Samuel chapter 6, verse 20,
“And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, ‘Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?’”
Hold that thought about the holiness of God, as we’ll focus more on that in the next post. For now, as we conclude this post, let’s turn to the beginning of chapter 7 where we learn the how the story of the travels of the Ark finishes.
As we can see in the verse I quoted above, the people of Beth Shemesh have just asked where the Ark will go. We learn in chapter 7 where the Ark goes. In verses 1-2, surprisingly, the Ark does not go back to the tabernacle in Shiloh. Instead, the Ark goes to the town of Kiriath Jearim, to the house of a man named Abinadab, and there it will stay for 20 years.
The Philistines have encountered the holiness of God. The people of Beth Shemesh in Israel have experienced, painfully, the holiness of God. The wicked priests have been killed. But what about the rest of Israel? And where is Samuel? We find out in the next post.
After a stinging defeat at the hands of the Philistines, the elders of Israel have a plan to strike back. It’s their secret super weapon. Why they didn’t bring out the weapon in the first place, we don’t know. But now they do, and the super weapon has a profound effect on the Philistines. Let’s read starting in 1 Samuel 4, verse 4,
“So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.”
This is a big moment. The priests Hophni and Phinehas lead the Ark out onto the battlefield as the Israelite soldiers cheer loudly. Hophni and Phinehas probably have huge arrogant smiles on their faces.
The Israelite elders and priests have made an assumption that it is automatic and guaranteed that where the Ark goes, God goes, and he is required to do whatever they want him to do. The Israelites believe they are pulling out an unstoppable weapon.
Let’s keep reading in verse 6,
“Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, ‘What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?’ When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. ‘A god has come into the camp,’ they said. ‘Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!’”
The Philistines heard the stories of how Israel’s God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. The Philistines are like nearly all people in the ancient near east. They believe that behind-the-scenes spiritual beings, gods, are at work. So if they can just manipulate the gods in the right way, they will have victory. The Philistines are scared that the Israelites have just pulled out a god-weapon, the Ark, that is more powerful than their Philistine gods. Interestingly, the Philistines’ fear of the god-weapon, the Ark, leads to more fear, the thought of becoming subject to Israel. What happens next is a shocker to everyone on the battlefield that day. It is Israel’s super weapon versus the Philistines. Here’s the result, in verses 10-11,
“So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”
What the Philistines didn’t know is that God is not with the Ark. They don’t know that God isn’t required to do what Israel wants him to do. This is not a genie in a bottle situation.
Though the Philistines think they are about to face the tremendous power of God, God is not there, and the Philistines deal another blow to Israel, this time significantly more severe.
It wasn’t just the Philistines who didn’t know that God wasn’t with the Ark. The Israelites did not know that either. They should have known that. The priests Hophni and Phinehas especially should have known about how God is or is not connected to the Ark. The priests should never have allowed the Ark to be brought into battle.
What the priests and elders of Israel failed to realize is that God cannot be manipulated. He is a holy God, and he is deeply saddened by the lack of holiness that Hophni and Phinehas had been perpetrating on the people (read more here and here). Remember what we read last week in 1st Samuel chapter 2? Hophni and Phinehas were ripping people off, and sleeping with the women who served at the tabernacle.
Also their father Eli was not taking action to stop them. When he finally did confront them, which only occurred after Eli himself was confronted by an unnamed prophet, Eli’s son refused to listen to him. We learned that word spread far and wide that there was evil in the tabernacle. Now the wicked priests Hophni and Phinehas commit the sin of arrogantly trying to use the Ark of the Covenant, to use God, without consulting him and hearing his wishes and inquiring of his wisdom.
God has shown that he is deeply concerned about this sin. He is not going to overlook the sin and allow the elders and wicked priests to use him as a super weapon in battle. God is far more concerned about the heart of the people, about repentance.
Engaging Scripture 