Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

The Israelites were not following God. They weren’t worshipping like they should. They weren’t being led by the priesthood like they should. There was no real leadership in the country. There was no one acting as the spokesman of God. Samuel was learning and developing into that role, but he wasn’t there yet. The country was rudderless. They had a form of godliness, but they weren’t giving God His due. They were denying His power (2 Timothy 3:5) – unless it served them.

The Israelites went out to battle against the Philistines. No one consulted God. No one asked permission. They just went out. Naturally, operating in their own strength, they got tanned. Four thousand of them were struck down. This WAS a great tragedy. It was NOT a good thing. So – again not consulting God – they went to Shiloh and got Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas. They had the boys bring the Ark of the Covenant and come down to the camp. Now Eli was a man of God, he just missed it when it came to his boys (none of us are perfect). He had disobedience and rebellion in that area. But he DID love God and he DID serve God. He was old, blind, and very fat. I don’t think he knew they took it. I think he would have said something. I don’t think he was aware of it until it was gone. I think he would have protested (but maybe weakly like in 1 Samuel 22-25). That’s opinion, the Word doesn’t say one way or another. But I think that’s in line with his character. He gave those boys so much leeway, he didn’t even know what they were doing.

The ark came into the camp and everyone shouted. Everyone was joyful. The ark that had wrought so many miracles was here, they said. But it wasn’t the ark that did the things. It was God. Ironically, the ark symbolised the judgment of God. It contained the Law. The rules to follow in order to be able to take advantage of the Mercy Seat. These Israelites who were NOT following God had just brought the physical symbol of His judgment and righteous presence into the camp with them. And they were not worshipping their God, but His box.

The Philistines heard the shout and boy did THEY panic. They were hardcore idolaters and from their point of view the Israelites had just brought their god into the camp. The statement: this has never happened before (1 Samuel 4:7). Meaning that since Joshua’s time and Jericho the ark had never gone before them into battle. They had not been following God, putting Him first, or letting themselves be led by the system He had set up – and the Philistines recognized it. They remembered the stories out of Egypt. They were convinced it was about to happen again here. Someone stood up and rallied them. Told them if they didn’t fight like they had never fought before they would be slaves. That person was a great leader. He channelled their fear from a negative into a huge positive force. And when they joined battle, the Philistines killed thirty thousand Israelites. The ark was just a box. It did not save them. Neither did God, who they had rejected except as some dancing monkey to do what they wanted and when they wanted. That day they discovered: God doesn’t dance to man’s tune.

A Benjaminite who survived the battle rushed back to Shiloh. He came across Eli who had figured everything out and was sitting by the road waiting for the return of the ark. Eli asked how it went. He was told of the losses. He was told that the Philistines were victorious. He was told his two sons had been killed (fulfillment of the prophecy of 1 Samuel 2:34). Eli took that news pretty well. I’m sure he was sad, but he held his composure. Then Eli was told that the Philistines had captured the ark and taken it. Eli fell over backwards, snapped his neck, and died. He had judged for forty years. When the wife of Phinehas heard the news she spontaneously went into labour and gave birth to a son, and died. The whole nation reeled from this defeat.

The Philistines, on the other hand, were having a GREAT day. Best year ever! They had captured the god of the Israelites and they took it as spoil and placed it into the temple of their god in Ashdod. However, the next morning, the statue of their god had fallen over. It was lying face down before the ark. Huh. They set everything back up and continued. The day after, it was on the ground again. This time, the palms of its hands had been cut off and so was the head, and they were lying on the threshold of the temple.

“So then, prepare one new utility cart and two milking cows that have never had a yoke on them, and you must harness the cows to the utility cart and then turn their calves from following them to their stall.” (1 Samuel 6:7)

It says the hand of the Lord was HEAVY on the Ashdodites. By the time we get to the end of this section the whole story comes out. Wherever the ark went this erupted among the people: a plague of mice, deaths, and ‘tumors’. Now the word for tumors here means a boil or ulcer especially on the anus or the piles. They had bloody dysentery and hemorrhoids. They were NOT having a good time anymore. Combine these outbreaks with their idol falling down and being humiliated, and the Ashdodites figured out it was the ark. So they sent it to Gath.

Gath – birthplace of Goliath and his four brothers – didn’t fare any better. The Lord struck the town. Tumors broke out. Mice infested them. The Gathites sent the ark to Ekron. Ekron sees it coming and cries out “They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people!” (1 Samuel 5:10). They cried so loud that heaven heard them. They don’t want it no more. The lords of the Philistines got together to consult. The city was wailing and moaning. The lord of Ekron said they were all gonna die if they didn’t send the ark back. It had been seven months since the battle at this point. They didn’t want it anymore.

They gathered the priests and diviners together and asked for advice. They were told that to send it back, you had to send a guilt offering. They made five golden images of their hemorrhoids and five golden mice. Five because there were five lords of the Philistines and they had all been touched by these plagues (although five cities had not been mentioned, there had obviously been effects felt throughout the land in some way). Then they recommended a test. Build a new cart and put the ark on it – this was NOT the way the Lord commanded the ark to be transported BUT the Philistines didn’t know that, so He did NOT hold them responsible for what they didn’t know (Romans 4:15). Take two milking cows with young calves who have never been yoked. Hitch them to the wagon. Put everything in the back. Put the calves up in a barn so they can’t follow their mothers and keep them separate from the mothers. Point the cart in the right direction and let it go. If they go up, you know it was the Lord God of Israel who smote you. If they go to their calves like any normal cow would, you know it was coincidence.

The cows went straight into Israel. The lords of the Philistines personally watched until the Israelites took possession and went back home. You never again hear in scripture of the Philistines seeking the ark, even though they often fought and ruled over the Israelites. Lesson learned. Sadly, you’d think they would have repented and turned back to God (Amos 9:7), but it appears they stayed with their rebellion and turning away from Yahweh who once led them.

The Israelites didn’t fare much better. The Philistines were ignorant as to how to deal with the ark. The Israelites had no excuse. They had the written Law. They had the Song of Moses. They had their oral history and Torah. They had priests and Levites throughout their land. They were responsible to know better. But the men of Beth Shemesh didn’t do so well.

They rejoiced the ark was back. They broke up the cart and built an altar and sacrificed the cows on it using the cart wood. They even had Levites taking the ark off the cart (there were plenty there because it was a Levitical cities). However, they go downhill from there. They took the cover off the ark and looked inside. Beth Shemesh wasn’t a tiny town. It was about 21km west of Jerusalem. It was a border city located on a hill overlooking the Sorek Valley. When the Canaanites built it, it was about 8 acres in size. Well, fifty thousand and seventy men died because they looked in the ark. And there were still men left over. Men who although Levites (or a mix of Levites and other tribes), were still looking at the ark as a relic. An object that did things. Essentially an idol. They were still not looking to God and consulting him.

They panicked like the Philistines had. Who can stand against God? Who will save us from the ark? They sent messengers to Kiriath Jearim and they asked THEM – not the tabernacle at Shiloh – to take it from them. This also shows how badly the sons of Eli had scarred the reputation of the tabernacle. They didn’t even consider taking the ark back there. Yes, the high priest was dead, but there were other serving priests they could have called on. It’s just so sad. Nothing but superstition and a game of hot potato with the ark. First the Philistines, and now the Israelites. But in the background, God was preparing Samuel. God wasn’t abandoning them. God was on the move.

Summary

Key Players: God, Eli, Hophni, Phinehas, Lords of the Philistines, Levites of Beth Shemesh

Key Themes: Idols, Proper Worship, Obedience to the Law

Key Verse(s): 1 Samuel 4:1-2, 4, 10-11, 18; 5:1-4, 12; 6:4-6, 13, 15, 19-21