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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #145B: 1-5 “I Will Exalt You, God, My King” Song of Preparation: Hymnal #282: 1-2, 5 “I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art” Scripture & Text: 1 Samuel 4 Message: A Very Bad Idea *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #197 “Come, Take by Faith the Body of the Lord” *Song of Response: Hymnal #104A: 1, 3, 5 “Bless the Lord, My Soul!” *Doxology: Hymnal #570 “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow” |
Scripture Reading and Text: I Samuel 4
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
We are moving into a new phase of narrative here in our sermon series. The first three chapters of I Samuel dealt primarily with God providing Hannah a son named Samuel, who would be given to the Lord for service in God’s house. God then called Samuel to be his prophet. Now, we are moving to a section for the next few chapters which is often called the ark narrative. The ark of the covenant becomes the focus.
There has often been fascination with the ark of the covenant. Some have sought to find it, no one knows what happened to it after the exile to Babylon. In the fictional Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indie’s sidekick, Marcus Brody says of the ark, “an army which carries the ark before it is invincible.” I Samuel 4 is going to prove that theory devastatingly false. Israel thought that if the ark was with them, then there was no way they could fall to the Philistines. They used God as a commodity. As is always the case, God will have the last word.
Our theme this morning is Our God removes his glory from Israel as his purpose is accomplished.
I. The Ark is Captured
II. The Priests are Killed
III. The Glory Departs
I. The Ark is Captured
Our text begins by introducing us to the Philistines who went to war against Israel. The Philistines are often called the sea peoples. This is because they came to Israel on boats from the West. They were already present in Israel in the days of the patriarchs, but more came later in the 12th century B.C. and settled mostly along the Mediterranean Coast in Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza and then two towns further inland Ekron and Gath. We mostly find them in the Bible in judges and I and II Samuel. They ruled over Israel in the days of Samson.
Now in our text, these ever expanding people’s, the Philistines, go to war with Israel. They were encamped in Aphek, something of a border city and they defeat Israel. Our text says that they killed 4,000 men on the battle field. This was a humbling defeat and the elders of Israel ask a good question in verse 3 (read). They should have waited longer for the answer and they should have asked it in humility and on their knees before Yahweh. Instead, they concoct a seemingly great idea. They decide to fetch the ark from Shiloh and bring that into battle. There is no way God is going to be dishonored by letting his people lose again. After all, he was going to be with them in the ark of the covenant.
So, Hophni and Phineas come out with the ark and they bring the ark to the camp of Israel and they cry out so loud the Philistines hear them. They knew something great was there…even see how it is described in verse 4 “the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim.” The Philistines believed that Israel’s God had come into their camp…the same God who punished the Egyptians many years before. How are they going to fight against a god?
However, instead of getting scared and running away, the Philistines used this occasion to muster up their great strength. They said, “take courage, and be men….be men and fight.” This is what happened. Israel was defeated and scattered and they ran home and 30,000 more fell on the field of batted. The ark was captured and Hophni and Phineas were killed in battle.
Lets dig a bit deeper here. The Philistines of course had a wrong view of the ark. The ark was not an idol. It was a sign of God’s presence with his people. It was something of a mediator. Remember the top of the ark of the covenant contained the two cherubim, of which God is said to dwell between. On the top, the mercy seat, the blood of the lamb would be sprinkled to make atonement annually for the people of God. Think of the devastating irony that Hophni and Phineas, the wicked and worthless sons of Eli, carrying the ark, which contains the ten commandments and is adorned with gold and the mercy seat is central. These were the men who disregarded God’s law, who would not receive the Lord’s forgiveness, and who were about to be punished for it.
One commentator wrote that “Yahweh will suffer shame rather than allow you to carry out a false relationship with him.” When they asked their question in verse 3 why they lost, maybe they should have asked the old priest Eli, he knew.
The Israelites tried to use the ark of the covenant like a magic wand. It was the way to get what they wanted. But they were wrong. Would the church today ever use God that way? Yes and it is all too common. Dale Ralph Davis says, “Whenever the church stops confessing, ‘You are worthy’ and begins to chant, ‘You are useful’ well, you know the ark of God has been captured again.” People don’t have time for God unless they get sick, because he can heal all their diseases. People forget the Lord until their marriage is falling apart, because he can heal brokenness. People don’t need God until grief overwhelms, or finances get tight, or children start to stray, or whatever it might be. Israel used God like a drive thru ATM, something that was useful. God doesn’t desire lip service. He does not delight in the sacrifice of bulls and goats David concluded, but a broken and a contrite heart. Isn’t this so much of the tension with Jesus and the pharisees. They missed the heart of it all.
God isn’t surprised we aren’t perfect. We are sinners. But he does call us to faith, to trust him. He does provide atonement through the cross. The Israelites didn’t need the ark, they needed the cross and a recognition of their sins and a national humbling before God. It is as if they forgot the cycle of the judges. They sin, God sends adversity, they repent and God raises up a deliverer, they are thankful, then they fall back into sin and the cycle continues.
Brothers and sisters, God doesn’t want a superficial or fake relationship with you. He wants your heart and devotion, your true love and dependence upon him. When the going gets tough, God will be there, but he is also present when the going is easy or things go well. Seek him while he may be found.
II. The Priests are Killed
At the end of the battle, a young Benjaminite, who must have been in great shape ran to Shiloh. That is a 20 mile run, after having been in battle. His clothes were torn and his face was dirty and he brought the devastating news to the city and they cried out.
Old, obese Eli was sitting in his usual spot and he heard the cry. He couldn’t see the man approaching and he didn’t see his torn clothes or dirty face, but he heard the cry. When the Benjaminite arrived at Eli, he told him the news. Read verses 16-17. It happened as God had told Eli it would, back in chapters 2 and 3, his sons died on the same day. But something even worse has happened. Read verse 18. The worse thing was that the ark of God was captured. In one day, in one fell swoop, the sinful and unrepentant priests of God are dead. Needless to say, this was not a good day for Israel.
However, it did have a silver lining. We might wonder how God could let the Philistines capture the ark. They are going to desecrate it by treating it like a god and putting it alongside Dagon. But God’s purposes are greater. In the events of our text here, God is showing both grace and judgement. He showed his judgment and grace in something of an ironic way. Hophni, Phineas, and Eli are all dead. God has removed the false shepherds and by the devastation of Eli’s house, the way is opened up for the leadership of Samuel in Israel.
Remember that God sees the whole end from the beginning. In the small scheme of things, we might be surprised at God’s ways here, but in the end of it all, he has his purposes. The way to apply this to us in part, is to try to keep things in perspective. The question asked back in verse 3, why would God permit us to lose, is even more elevated in this part of our text, why would God permit the ark to be taken and his people to be slaughtered. You see, it not wrong for believers to ask the “why” questions in life. It can be an important part in working through trying events and times. But, those questions must be asked by faith. God doesn’t always bring difficulty to us because we are harboring some type of sin, but maybe we are. God is not cruel with his people. He will lovingly shepherd his people. But, it takes the eyes of faith to see that. It takes the eyes of faith for David to say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” It takes faith to believing understand Jesus statement, “I am the good shepherd….the sheep hear my voice.”
No matter the circumstances God brings us to, the Christian response should always be faith. If the same God so loved you when you were his sinful, ungrateful enemy, don’t you believe this God who has become your father will care for you, even if his works and ways are greater than you can comprehend. This tension of the life of a believer is what furnishes the list of faithful saints in Hebrews 11 with such importance. Everything seemed to be against them, including their friends, but in faith they trusted God. In Jesus Christ, let us do the same.
III. The Glory Departs
What a humbling concept that the glory of God would leave his people, the church. This was the conclusion of Phineas’ wife, who upon hearing of the ark, her husband, her father-in-law, she went into labor. The irony is again clear. Rarely in birth narratives does it mention the pain of childbirth, one of the consequences of the fall into sin. Her death would be another one. A day of normal rejoicing will be turning into a day of sorrow. She would die in childbirth. As she was nearing death, the women who were attending her tried to encourage her by letting her know she bore a son, something that would have been the height of a Jewish woman’s dignity, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t even listen to them. She focused rather on the naming of her son, Ichabod. It is hard to tell, but she might be the godliest person here in the text. We see this with her concern for the ark and the naming of her son. This son, who in the day of his birth lost both of his parents, his uncle, and his grandfather, would be a reminder of this devastating reality. The glory of God has departed from Israel.
The name Ichabod means “no glory” or “where is the glory?” Phineas’ wife wasn’t wrong. God was going to punish his people, but this wasn’t the end. God had made eternal promises to the people. Back in Exodus 6 he promised again this eternal covenant relationship. But, the dark days were there. This would repeat itself again. When a church becomes false, the glory of God departs from it. Look at the beautiful churches of Europe…so many of them are empty. Liberal theology stripped God of his power and glory, and God removed his presence from among them.
But there is hope. There is the prayer for Reformation. The glory of God might again shine. Pray that way.
Think of the greatest example of the glory of God being removed. Jesus Christ, the Immanuel, the visible image of the invisible God is crucified. The Lord of glory dies. But he does so as the sin bearer. He is raised on the third day as the victor. Man and the sin of man cannot snuff out the glory of God. He will have the final word. His ways might be mysterious to us, they are nevertheless good.
In this dark chapter of scripture, we are reminded of Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” But his ways are good. The glory might be concealed for a moment, as when the ark was captured and even more when the Lord of glory hung on the cross, but as we remember at the Lord’s Supper this morning, our God is a God of mercy who is worthy of worship. Again, “when the church stops confessing ‘you are worthy’ and begins chanting ‘you are useful’ well, you know the ark of God has been captured again.” He is worthy. Glory be to God alone. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Steven Swets
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