I’ve been reading and studying through 1 & 2 Samuel for a few weeks. A passage struck me odd when I read it and going back through some notes recently, it again strikes me as being odd. It’s 1 Samuel 4:1-11 (NLT).
1 And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.
At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek. 2 The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men. 3 After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.”
4 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. 5 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!
6 “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, 7 they panicked. “The gods have[b] come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! 8 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. 9 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!”
10 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. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
Having been defeated be the Philistines, Israel decides the answer to win this battle is to bring the ark of the covenant out to the battle field. With the ark comes Israel’s confidence, because the apparent answer to the question, “Why were we defeated?” is that Yahweh was not fully present. Armed with the ark, the Israelites are emboldened with confidence, convinced that the outcome will be very different the next time.
With the arrival of the ark, the soldiers on one side cheer. The Philistines, however, panicked. Realizing that the ark represented the presence of Israel’s God, the one who devastated Egypt, they tried to figure out what options they had. And the story presents us with the three options they believed they had: become slaves of Israel, pray their god would overcome Yahweh as the nations fought, or to die in battle.
Instead of running, they were emboldened. Faced with slavery, death or victory, they decided they would not go down quietly. Empowered, they fought to NOT be something: slaves. They fought for a very different future. Instead of being afraid and turning back, they faced their fear and moved forward.
In the battle Israel was devastated. They felt they brought Yahweh to the battle and LOST. It crushed them.
And yet we are not given any explanation. We can only consider both a practical and a theological explanation. Practically, Israel had misplaced their confidence in a thing, the ark, and not a relationship with a person, Yahweh. The Philistines had a misplaced fear. They also feared a thing because of its supposed representation. What they should be afraid of, as they would come to experience later, was the person behind the thing.
And theologically, we can only come to one conclusion. Brueggeman says that the defeat can only be understood as “the will of Yahweh.”
What happens when the basis for your belief system is knocked out from under you? Israel’s worldview has failed and they have no categories to understand this new situation. The brokenness of humanity induces misplaced trust. And often a misunderstood view of God. And even a misplaced understanding of God’s instructions.
Worldviews are made up of more than we anticipate. But with every crushed worldview, the opportunity exists to know God in a different way. Discovering that is the topic of a future post.
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