So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake! “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived, they panicked.
“The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!” So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed. – 1 Samuel 4:4-11 (NLT)
That day when the Philistine army routed the Israelites and killed 4000 of their men, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow this to happen?” It was certainly the right question to ask, but unfortunately for Israel it was asked rhetorically, as the elders neglected to seek the answer from God Himself. Instead they foolishly decided to take matters into their own hands. “Go get the Ark of the Covenant from the tabernacle in Shiloh and bring it into our camp. Surely God will be with us then.”
Have you ever noticed how irrational fear most always leads to irrational decision making? We see it quite often in the reality cop shows on tv. Someone gets pulled over for speeding, but the fear of going to jail is far greater than the fear of actually dying in a high-speed chase.
We clearly see the Israelites experiencing this same sort of irrational fear. Their lack of faith in God in this matter led them to making arguably the most sacrilegious blunder in all of the Old Testament – using the sacred Ark of the Covenant in the most profane manner: as a good luck charm.
God was not amused.
As the Israelite army gathered around the sacred Ark like a team of college players rallying around the team mascot, the Philistine army heard all of the commotion. After learning that the Ark was there with their enemies, they became emboldened and went into the battle with even more determination.
It was a blowout. Again. Except 30,000 Israelite soldiers would die this time around, and the Philistine army would capture the Ark and take this impressive sacred trophy back home with them as a symbol of their victory.
It was a brutally harsh lesson for Israel, except this time I don’t think anyone was bold enough to pose the question once again about why the Lord allowed it to happen.
God is indeed full of mercy and grace, friends. He delights in showering his love and blessings upon His creation. He is forgiving, indeed. But He isn’t a rabbit’s foot we keep in our pockets. May we never lose sight of the fact that He is holy, righteous, and just God who hates sin.
May we never take His abundant grace for granted.
Former Blackout Artist 