A Superstition Removed

As we saw yesterday, the arrival of the ark of the covenant in the Israelite camp initially terrifies the Philistines, who fear the God who afflicted the Egyptians. They pronounce woe upon themselves, realizing that they have no hope of defeating a people for whom such a powerful God fights (v. 8). But these are pagans, enemies of Israel and Israel’s God—even hopelessness will not drive them to submit to Him. Besides, they have had Israel under their subjugation in recent times, and they cannot bear the thought of submitting to their former vassals. Therefore, they resolve to fight and die rather than surrender. ” ‘Conduct yourselves like men, and fight,’ ” they say to one another. But there is more going on here than mere pagan pigheadedness. God is in the process of taking these Philistines into His hand to be His instrument in the fulfillment of His words of judgment to Eli.

And so the battle is joined—and once again, it goes against the Israelites. But this time the slaughter is much greater than in the first clash: Israel loses thirty thousand men, including the two priests, Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli. The sign has been given (2:34), and God will surely take away the strength of Eli’s line.

But most shocking of all is the capture of the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence among His people. Obviously, God has not been defeated and overcome by mere men. Rather, He has allowed this turn of events to teach His people that He, their God, is due all reverence and respect. It is a hard lesson, especially for people who have slipped so far from covenant faithfulness. Matthew Henry writes: “Now they are made to see their folly in trusting to their external privileges when they had by their wickedness forfeited them, and fancying that the ark would save them when God had departed from them. Now they are made to reflect, with the utmost regret, upon their own rashness and presumption in bringing the ark into the camp and so exposing it, and wish a thousand times they had left it where God had fixed it. Now they are convinced that God will not be prescribed to by vain and foolish men, and that though He has bound us to His ark He has not bound Himself to it, but will rather deliver it into the hands of His sworn enemies than suffer it to be profaned by His false friends, and countenance their superstition.”