LIFE SCRIPTS

I Samuel 4:1-11 NKJV
[1] And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. [2] Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. [3] And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us, it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” [4] So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.[5] And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. [6] Now, when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. [7] So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. [8] Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. [9] Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”[10] So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. [11] Also, the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The ark of the Lord was a symbol of God’s presence among His people. Now Israel faced a challenge. Their sworn enemies, the Philistines, drew battle lines ready to fight them. No where is it stated that Israel first sought after God’s will before the battle. They just proceeded and they were defeated. Shouldn’t defeat be a time of introspection? Well, the Israelites took it as a time to restrategize to go back to battle. And up their sleeves, they unveiled the ark of the covenant. Surely, God would now go with them as they re-engaged their sworn enemies. God would win this second battle for them. Dead wrong! They lost the second battle more decisively. But they not only lost the fight. They also lost the ark itself followed by the death of their two priests, Hophni and Phinehas. But why did God allow Israel, His chosen people, to face such a bloody and humiliating defeat in the midst of their enemies? A few years to come, King David would compose Psalm 23 which spoke of Jehovah …’preparing a table for (us) in the midst of our enemies’. Yet this time, God’s people fell in the midst of their enemies and in the presence of God. So why did things take a turn for the worst? Sin…the only answer. It would be unjust to read chapter 4 without taking a deep dive into the previous chapters. Sin was the order of the day even in the presence of God. Eli’s sons corrupted worship, they slept with women, they didn’t take heed of their fathers’ warning. These were the people who led the nation spiritually yet they were so unspiritual. Scripture still talks of God’s word being very rare in those days. God’s presence had departed from His people. Sin had separated God from His people. So much so that the symbol that represented His presence could easily be taken away by the enemy. A bit of biblical typology here. The Philistines represent the enemy. Our spiritual enemy is the devil himself. He taunts us. He draws battle lines around us making our lives difficult in many ways. We as the redeemed by Christ are the new Israel breed. We are God’s chosen people. However, when we choose to walk in sin, God’s presence leaves us. Spiritual artefacts and practices that represent God in us cease to be effective. Our prayer falters, our going to church becomes of no use. Our tithes and offerings make no sense. Why? Because of sin. So even if we invoke such practices before God when the enemy has encamped around us, we cannot be saved because we are exposed by our sin. Sin removes God’s protection over our lives. It doesn’t matter how disciplined we are spiritually. When adversity comes, we will be exposed.