So Long, Shiloh
God keeps His promises. Even the ones we wish He wouldn't.
In 1 Samuel chapters 2 and 3, God promised judgement on Eli and his house. And as we get to chapter 4 this morning, if we're tracking with the story, we're on the edge of our seats, waiting for that to happen.
But there's more than just Eli and his sons going on here. Remember the bigger story: God is preparing the way for David, His king, to arise and lead the people in righteousness. And a part of that process was clearing away Israel's corrupt system of worship, making way for a renewed priesthood alongside a renewed kingship.
Eli and his sons were a part of that corrupt system, but it involved the whole nation, and the whole way that they had been treating God and interacting with Him as His people. And so today we're going to see God's promises kept against Eli and his sons in a way that teaches some crucial lessons to the whole nation, which, not surprisingly, will echo on down through the ages to you and me today.
1. War with the Philistines (vv. 1-2)
And, like many great stories, it all starts with a battle. Verse 1 tells us that “Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek” (1 Samuel 4:1b).
That's not actually where verse 1 starts. Verse 1 begins with, “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Samuel 4:1a). This is one of those places where the people who added the verse numbers could have done a little better. Because that phrase about Samuel really belongs with the last verses of chapter 3, which gave us a preview of Samuel's life. He grew, verse 19 said, and became a well-respected prophet in all of Israel.
But when we read about Israel's battle with the Philistines, we've snapped back to Samuel, still a little boy in Shiloh. We know that because Eli is still around, Hophni and Phinehas are still around, and Samuel plays no role in this story at all.
What's about to happen is a major step in establishing Samuel as a prophet in Israel by fulfilling his words against Eli's house. 3:19 said that none of his words fell to the ground, and here's exhibit A, where his words against Eli's house come to pass.
And it starts with the Philistines. Now, if you've read the Bible a bunch, you might not be surprised by this. Of course, Israel was battling the Philistines. That's what they did.
But we need to connect the dots on Israel's history. They are in the days of the judges. Over and over again in the book of Judges, as they rebelled against the Lord, they fell into the hands of various enemies. The Philistines were the last in a long list who began to oppress Israel back before the days of Samson.
Originally from the Greek islands across the Mediterranean, the Philistines held five major cities in the land of Canaan, and we read in Joshua and Judges how they were one of the nations left in the land for Israel still to conquer. But guess what ended up happening instead? According to Judges 10:6, Israel began to worship the gods of the Philistines.
So it's no surprise that we read in Judges 13 that “the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.”
And basically from that point on, the Philistines are one of Israel's main enemies. All of Saul's and David's wars with the Philistines were just a continuation of this judges-era conflict. And even though David subdued the Philistines, taking one of their cities from them (2 Sam 8:1), and even though the Philistines were a part of Solomon's empire, they once again became enemies of Israel—like we heard in Isaiah last summer—and stuck around until Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them, right around the same time period he destroyed Jerusalem.
Right here in 1 Samuel 4, we're still back close to the beginning of that. The Philistines haven't been Israel's enemy for very long. We don't know exactly how many years it's been since Samson collapsed their temple on them—maybe only 40 years or so. And the Philistines are back trying to cause Israel trouble.
And it doesn't go so well. Verse 2: “The 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” (1 Samuel 4:2).
And if we're reading the Bible as a unit, we're going to remember God's promises to Israel, and know that their defeat before the Philistines is telling us something very sad but very important: Israel is in a spot of rebellion against God. Otherwise, He would have given them victory over their enemies. Israel needs to repent of their sin and turn back to the Lord if they want to have any hope of victory.
Which is exactly what Samuel will lead them to do in a few years, which we'll read about in chapter 7.
2. Get the Ark (vv. 3-5)
But we're not there yet. Israel is still under some pretty sad leadership, and we read about that in verse 3: “And 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’” (1 Samuel 4:3).
So sad. "Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?" They knew that God had something to do with it. And they should have known the answer! God had told them, and it was the job of the priests—Eli, Hophni, Phinehas—to teach Israel these things so they would know the answer.
"We've been defeated by the Philistines because we've been worshipping the Philistines' gods! We need to repent and turn back to the Lord with all of our hearts."
But, like sheep without a shepherd, instead of repentance, they turn to superstition. They want to bring the ark of God out of Shiloh, thinking that it will save them from their enemies.
The ark of God was a golden box with two golden statues of angelic beings over the top, and it contained a copy of the Ten Commandments, the law of God, some manna, and Aaron's staff that budded in the wilderness—all reminders of God and His faithfulness to Israel from their time in the wilderness.
The ark also would have been splattered, caked even, with blood from the yearly Day of Atonement, where once a year the priest would enter into the Most Holy Place in the house of God—where the ark was kept—and sprinkle it with the blood of a bull and a goat to make atonement for the sin of the people.
See, the ark represented God's life-giving presence with His people. We can think of it like the core of a nuclear power plant in an otherwise frozen landscape, bringing heat and power and life, but also being dangerous to those who treat it carelessly.
So great was God's holiness that if anybody touched the ark—or even, sometimes, just looked at it—they would die. And it belonged there in the inner place of the tabernacle.
The people of Israel aren't totally making this up when they want to bring the ark into battle with them. The ark of God had led the way through the years in the wilderness. The people of Israel followed the ark into the Promised Land, and the ark had been prominent in their first battle there, circling the city of Jericho before the walls fell down, representing God's victory-giving presence with His people.
But that was because God specifically told them to do that. And that was it. After that, the ark rested in a place where the priests ministered before it.
So it wasn't like the ark was a magic box. The ark represented God who gave them the victory in that first battle and in every battle thereafter even when the ark wasn't present. And at this point in Israel's history, they've settled in the land, the ark has come to rest in the house of worship, and it wasn't supposed to get dragged out and around like this.
If the people of Israel had been taught properly, they would have known that their next step here did involve the ark. But not going and getting the ark—rather, going to where the ark was to offer sacrifices and sin offerings as they repented of their sins before the Lord so that the Lord, who rules over heaven and earth, would keep his covenant promises and protect them.
Unfortunately, we know just how much Hophni and Phinehas had corrupted the worship of God at Shiloh, turning the whole thing into a sham and leading Israel into this place where they were thinking just like their pagan neighbours, treating God like any other pagan god, treating his ark like an idol or a rabbit's foot or a magic box that they can bring with them wherever they need it for a little bit of good luck, as if God could be dragged around like any other idol.
And instead of correcting or trying to stop what's going on, Hophni and Phinehas go along with it. Verse 4: “So 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” (1 Samuel 4:4).
And then, verse 5: “As 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” (1 Samuel 4:5).
What's going on here is a picture of Israel's paganization. Instead of knowing God, they're just cheering for a golden box they think will give them good luck. They're thinking and acting just like the Philistines or any other of their pagan neighbours.
3. The Philistines Freak Out (vv. 5-9)
And that's what makes verses 5 and following so interesting. It shows us that, even though Israel has seemed to forget some things, the Philistines haven't. They remember God's reputation.
They remember what happened during the days of Joshua. And from their pagan perspective, God's ark in the Israelites’ camp is bad news for them.
“6 And 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, 7 the 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. 8 Woe 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. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight’” (1 Samuel 4:6–9).
They get a few things wrong here, thinking that Israel had "gods" and that the Egyptians were struck down with plagues in the wilderness. We'll give them a B on their history. They also are thinking like pagans in that they don't understand that Israel's God is God of the whole world, and whether His ark is in the camp or back in Shiloh, He has the whole world in His hands.
But this they do get right: like the people of Jericho, they know Yahweh's reputation, and they know that if Israel's God is against them, they're in big trouble.
And yet here we see the foolishness of sin and rebellion on full display. What should the Philistines be saying? Like Rahab of Jericho, they should be saying, "Israel, we know your God is the one true God, and nobody can stand against him, so teach us how to worship Him." Maybe if Israel had been more faithful and had enjoyed more of God's blessings, this kind of thing would have happened more.
Unfortunately, the Philistines respond just like Satan and every other rebellious sinner throughout all time: they know how powerful God is, so they brace for a fight. "Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight" (v. 9).
It's interesting that, for all that they get wrong, the Philistines do correctly understand the nature of manhood. "Be men" meant something specific. There was a certain type of behaviour that went along with being a man, which included courage in battle. There are some more reflections there for us which I hope to share on the blog this week. But for now, just notice that they lock themselves in to fight.
4. The End of Israel? (vv. 10-11)
What we find out next is that this little pep talk from the Philistines worked. “10 So 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. 11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died” (1 Samuel 4:10–11).
I don't think we can fully grasp how devastating this event would have been to the people of Israel. They brought in their secret weapon, and instead of giving them success, the enemy has it now.
This is like the United States sending their B-29 to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, but then the Japanese boarded the plane mid-air and took the atomic bomb back to Tokyo with them, and then killed a bunch of the army and the president all on the same day.
Or, we could say, this is like Frodo getting killed and Sauron taking the Ring. Point being, this is not just a little setback for Israel. Time and time again, God has been the only person in between Israel and their total annihilation. And now God's ark has been captured by the Philistines? Either the Philistines are stronger than God, or God has completely and totally abandoned Israel.
Either way, without God with them, Israel is done as a nation. And that's what this looks like to them.
This isn't just a battle lost. This is their Armageddon. This is the end of their world.
5. The End of Eli (vv. 12-18)
And the author of 1 Samuel helps us see and grasp and experience how absolute this devastation is as he zooms in on how some of the people of Israel experienced this total loss. Verse 12:
“12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, ‘What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli."
Now we can't forget the particular place that Eli has in this story. Twice, he's been warned about judgement against his house. He's been told that both his sons will be killed on the same day. How can Eli not have been tensely watching ever since both his sons went out with the ark into the field of battle? And now the news comes. Is it good? Is it bad?
Verse 15: "15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, ‘I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.’ And he said, ‘How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, ‘Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.’"
Imagine how this would have hit Eli. Perhaps he's expecting the news that his sons are dead. But when he hears that the ark—which he had protected and served before his whole life, the sun around which Israel orbited— was gone, that's when he reacts. "18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years” (1 Samuel 4:12–18).
It seems like the news made him physically jolt, he lost his balance, and he fell backward. And his great weight, which he had accumulated over the years eating too much of the meat that his sons stole from God, became his literal downfall as his neck breaks and there he dies in humiliation.
So passes Eli.
6. Ichabod (vv. 19-22)
But the devastation is not over. Verse 19: "Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her."
The news physically jolts her as well, propelling her body into traumatic labour. And, as often went on during that time in history, her act of bringing new life meant the end of her life. Verse 20 almost casually says, "And about the time of her death." It almost doesn't seem too big of a surprise, especially given how much tragedy and death happened that day.
"And about the time of her death, the women attending her said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.’ But she did not answer or pay attention" (v. 20). Remember how big of a deal sons were? "Don't be afraid, for even though your husband is dead, and you're about to die, you have a son to carry on your name after him." But she doesn't pay attention.
This could be because she's about to die. But the text points us in another direction. She doesn't answer or pay attention because what good is a son when the end has come upon Israel? Verse 21: "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory has departed from Israel!’ because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband."
The glory has departed. God has left us. The word for "departed" here is not just a word for a short trip. This is the word that, elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, is translated as "exile."
Sometimes Israel goes into exile by being removed from God's presence. Here, they experience exile by having God's presence removed from them.
And her last words are the last words of this chapter, which sum up the whole episode up until now. "And she said, ‘The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured’” (1 Samuel 4:22).
More than her husband, more than her father-in-law, the capture of the ark is the end as far as she's concerned.
Our Place in the Story
Now we know that this isn't the end. In undeserved grace, God will return the ark to Israel and restore his people under Samuel's leadership.
But what has happened here is a crucial lesson for Israel to learn—for us to learn. The lesson is that God hates false worship. God hates disobedient worship.
God didn't look at what was happening at Shiloh—with Hophni and Phinehas turning the worship of God into an all-you-can-eat and whoever-you-want-to-sleep-with buffet, while Israel continued to worship idols alongside the Lord—and think "well, that's better than nothing." No, as far as He was concerned, nothing would be better.
And by refusing to be treated like a good-luck charm, and letting the ark be captured, God was putting an end to that place of worship. The ark would return to Israel, but never to Shiloh. Shiloh is done. And Psalm 78 reflects on this as the climactic act of judgement to Israel's sin in the days of the judges.
We also can't miss how this one day fulfilled the prophecy against Eli and his sons. They both did die on the same day, just like God promised. Eli is finished. The rest of his line won't be removed until a few years from then, but this is the first step in a judgement that's been a long time coming.
God keeps His promises, even the ones we wish He wouldn't.
So what about us? Is there anything we have to learn from this?
First, we can learn that God refuses to be treated like a good-luck charm. His ark provided no protection in the hands of a disobedient people, because He is a person and not a genie in a bottle.
Christians today don't have an ark of the covenant we can pull out, but could there be other ways we treat God in a similar way? One example might be the way that Christians tend to think of Jesus' name as a magic word that they can use to get things done.
Many Christians think that just saying the syllables "Jesus" has power to accomplish things. A popular song called "I Speak Jesus" from the last few years embodies this idea. One of the verses says:
I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
'cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus
I just want to speak the name of Jesus
Till every dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom
I speak Jesus
So, that's just not how it works. Jesus' name isn't a magic word. "Jesus" is a translation of "Yeshua," which was a very popular first name in the first century. There are lots of people named Joshua today, which is another, maybe even better, way of translating that name into English.
There is nothing inherently more special about the name "Jesus" than "Joshua."
And when the Bible talks about the name of Jesus, it's not talking about just the act of saying that name. We know that because of Acts 19, where some people who didn't actually believe in Jesus tried to cast out demons in Jesus' name. And verse 15 says that “15 the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?'” And then the man with the demon pounced on them and beat their pants off, literally. Just like the Philistines did to the Israelites. Those guys "spoke Jesus," and it got them beaten and bloody.
See, Jesus' name in the Bible speaks about His person and His authority, and His people who trust in Him doing the things He has authorized them to do. We find peace in Jesus' presence by knowing His word, trusting His promises, believing in who He is—not by just speaking certain syllables like magic words.
And we certainly can't use Jesus' name like the Israelites used the ark—as a cover-up for our disobedience or unbelief. Particularly when it comes to our worship of God. Which is important because, just like back then, God still hates false and disobedient worship. And even in the New Testament, He regularly brings judgement on those who think they can worship Him in their own way.
Like Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit and were killed by God. Or the Corinthians, in these well-known words:
“27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:27–30).
Or think about the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, and how the risen Jesus threatens them with being completely removed from His presence if they don't repent of their sins. God is God and He has not changed.
These were all people who used Jesus' name a lot. But they didn't do what He told them to do. “‘Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?’ said Jesus (Luke 6:46).
So, let's bring this close to home. Four weeks from today, this church turns 60 years old. That's incredible. We should praise God for that. But we should also not assume that our past guarantees our future. If we fall into disobedience, if we start prioritizing our appetites and preferences over the pure worship of the living God, if we begin to forget that our God is a consuming fire, then we should expect the discipline of Jesus just as much as Corinth or Jerusalem or Shiloh.
“12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:12–14).
This isn't a call to live in anxiety and paranoia, waiting for Jesus to pounce on us. It is a call to repent of smugness and apathy. And it's a call to not just use His name like a trinket, but to truly look to the person, the risen Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whose blood was brought into the real temple in the heavenly places for us, and who intercedes for His people today. Let's turn to Him now together.