The Philistines Steal the Ark of God
v1 When Samuel spoke, all the Israelites listened to him. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistine nation. The Israelites had their camp at a place called Ebenezer. The Philistines camped at the town of Aphek. v2 The Philistines went out to have a battle with the Israelites. As the battle spread, the Philistines defeated the Israelites. The Philistines killed about 4,000 Israelites in the battle. v3 The Israelite soldiers went back to their camp. The leaders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant here from Shiloh. We will take it into battle with us. Then God will save us from our enemies."
v4 So the people sent men to Shiloh and they brought back the ark of the covenant. The most powerful Lord appears between the cherubim (angels) on the ark. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. v5 The men brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord into the camp. The Israelites gave a great shout of joy that made the ground shake. v6 The Philistines heard all the shouting. They asked, ‘Why is all this shouting happening in the Israelite camp?’
Then the Philistines found out that the ark of the Lord had come into the Israelite camp. v7 They were afraid. They said, "A god has come into the camp. We are in trouble. Nothing like this has happened before. v8 This will be terrible for us. No one can save us from these powerful gods. They sent terrible troubles on the Egyptians and killed them in the desert. v9 Have courage, Philistines. Be strong men. In the past, then Israelites were our slaves. Now you must fight like men or we will become their slaves."
v10 So the Philistines fought hard and defeated them. The Israelites ran back to their own tents. This was a great defeat for them. The Philistines killed 30,000 Israelite soldiers. v11 The Philistines stole the ark of God. Also, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s two sons, died.
Commentary
The Philistines were Israel’s main enemy at this time. They lived in 5 towns near the Mediterranean Sea. The Philistines trained their army well to defeat the nations who lived around them. They were more skilled than those nations, especially in the way that they used iron. The Philistines had many gods but their main god was Dagon. The country that we now call Palestine gets its name from the Philistines.
The Israelites were afraid that the Philistines would attack Shiloh. The ark of God was in Shiloh. The Israelites had not trained their army very much. So it was quite easy for the Philistines to defeat them. The Lord allowed the Philistines to defeat them in the first battle. The leaders of Israel knew that the Lord let it happen. But they did not understand why. In the past, God gave them success when they fought their enemies. But God gave the Israelites success only when they obeyed him.
The Philistines believed that their gods lived in the idols. So they thought that the God of Israel lived in the ark (verse 7). The Philistines were afraid of God's power (verse 8). Then they remembered that they had beaten the Israelites, according to the book of Judges. In those days, only soldiers fought in battles. When they won a battle, they could rule the defeated nation. The Philistines did not want to become slaves of the Israelites.
The two wicked priests, Hophni and Phinehas, went to look after the ark. The Israelites in the camp were happy when they saw the ark. They expected the Lord to give them success. But they did not win the battle. Verses 10-11 describe the terrible things that happened.
Eli Dies
v12 That day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle to Shiloh. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head. He did that to show how sad he was. v13 Eli was by the side of the road when the man arrived in Shiloh. Eli was sitting on his chair waiting for news. He was worried about the ark of God. The man of Benjamin came into the town. He told the people what had happened. All the people cried aloud.
v14 Eli heard the people crying. He asked, ‘What is all this noise about?’ The man quickly went over to tell Eli. v15 Eli was now 98 years old and he was blind. v16 The man of Benjamin said, "I have come from the battle. I ran here from the battle today." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"
v17 The man who brought the news said, "The Israelites ran away from the Philistines. The Philistines killed many of the Israelite soldiers. Both your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. The Philistines took the ark of God."
v18 Eli was sitting next to the gate. When the man mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell back off his chair. Eli broke his neck and died when he fell. This happened because he was old and fat. He had led the people of Israel for 40 years.
Commentary
The man who brought the message ran at least 20 miles to Shiloh. The battle was in the flat valley but Shiloh was in the mountains. So most of the way he ran up hills. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head. Israelite people behaved in this way when they were very, very sad. Eli was waiting for news from the battle. It was dangerous to take the ark into the battle. God had not told them to do it. Eli was worried about the ark of God. Everyone knew that the man of Benjamin had bad news. But Eli was blind so he could not see the man, but he heard the people crying.
Eli served God as a priest all his adult life. He knew God although his sons did not. In verse 16 Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" The man was not his real son. An old man sometimes speaks this way to a young man. All the news in verse 17 was very bad. Hophni and Phinehas died on the same day. The prophecy from God in 2:27-36 had come true. But when Eli heard about the ark he fell and died because he cared about the ark. He was fat because he ate the best pieces of meat with his wicked sons (2:29).
Eli led the people of Israel for 40 years. When people had big arguments, Eli acted as a judge. He used God’s law to decide who was right or wrong. After Joshua’s time, the Israelites called their leaders '‘judges." So, Eli was a leader and not just a priest. Eli and Samuel were the last two judges before Israel had a king.
The Glory Left Israel
v19 Phinehas had a wife. She was expecting a baby. It was nearly time for the baby to be born. She heard that Philistines had taken away the ark of God. She also heard that Phinehas and Eli were dead. This news made her start to give birth to her baby. But she had a very difficult time. v20, In fact, she was dying. Some women helped her to give birth. Just before she died, they said, "Do not be afraid. You have had a son." However, she did not answer or give them attention.
v21 She named the boy Ichabod. She said, "The glory has left Israel." She said this because the Philistines took the ark of God. Also because Eli and her husband were dead. v22 She said, "The glory has left Israel because the Philistines took the ark of God."
Commentary
The wife of Phinehas had a shock at the bad news that the Philistines stole the ark. The birth of a son is good news. She should have been happy. But she thought more about the ark of God than about her son. She would not talk to the women who helped her. She believed that God had gone from Israel too. So she called her son "Ichabod." His name means "no glory." The wife of Phinehas died after her baby was born. Another person in Eli’s family had now died when they were young as God had told Samuel when he was a boy.
The Philistines ruined Shiloh after they won the battle. Also, they probably destroyed the house of the Lord. The ark of God never went back to Shiloh. So Shiloh was no longer an important place where people worshipped God as Elkanah, his family and others went to worship every year.
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