It is a dark day for Israel – they are defeated twice in battle against the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant is captured, and roughly 34000 Israelites perish including Eli and his two sons.
“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.’ 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. 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. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.” (v3-4,10-11)
What makes the day so dark, is not just the loss of life and the Ark, but the loss of faith that led to Israel’s downfall – they relied on their own wisdom, strength, and strategy, rather than relying on God to fight their battles for them. Notice they how they state the Ark will “save us from the power of our enemies”. The Ark will save them? Really? Um, I think you’re forgetting about your God in heaven to whom the Ark belongs – without Him the Ark is an object, it cannot save you (much like the idols they consistently worshiped in the age of judges).
Eli has an odd few verses where he “was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God.” (v13b) A messenger returns from the battle and informs Eli his sons died, and the Ark was lost. And it says: “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”. (v18a) Eli fell over and died because of the Ark was lost, not because of his deceased sons… it’s possible Eli too may have had more faith in the Ark than in God Himself, though that’s not clearly spelled out in the text, it’s simply a possibility.
There’s also this very sad section of text which I didn’t paste in, where Israel cheers over the Ark’s arrival at the battlefront. The Philistines hear the cheering and fear the God of the Hebrews who sent the plagues among the Egyptians (see v5-9). The Philistines fear God more than Israel does at this point, and God allows Israel to be defeated because of their lack of faith and reverence for Him.
My question for today is where does our hope lie? Is our security found in “stuff”, or in God? Maybe we feel security from our career, our relationships, our influence, our financial wealth, our country, etc. Those things are okay to have, but if they provide more peace of mind than God does, we will have a serious problem. We, like Israel, will face a crushing defeat one day if we don’t rely on God for our deliverance.
All the security this world can offer, cannot protect us from our enemy – Satan and an eternal separation from God. Only God can offer us the ultimate security, a place in heaven with Him and protection from the temptations of this world.
“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Psa 33:16-19)
Psalm 33 confirms that which Israel learned the hard way, and that which we need to remember – we cannot deliver ourselves, only God can deliver us. So I encourage us to make sure our greatest hope is in God alone. Everything else that gives the illusion of security should come a distant second to the eternal and spiritual security God offers.
I want to close a little differently today, and pray the first few verses of Psalm 33:
We who are righteous shout for joy in you O Lord! Praise befits us who are upright. We give thanks to You, Lord with instruments; we make melodies to You with the harp of ten strings! We sing to You a new song; we play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For Your word is upright, and all Your work is done in faithfulness. You love righteousness and justice; the earth is full of Your steadfast love. By Your word the heavens were made, and by the breath of Your mouth all their host. You gathered the waters of the sea as a heap; You put the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear You Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of You! (Psa 33:1-8 par)
~ Conqueror in Training