At the end of our reading in 1 Samuel 3 yesterday, Israel embraced Samuel as their prophet.

“And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.” 1 Samuel 3:20-21

The tabernacle was in Shiloh, with the Ark safely inside the Holy of Holies, but Samuel was not in charge of what went on there. Eli and his two corrupt sons Hophni and Phineas were the priests responsible for the tabernacle.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

The Philistines provoked Israel into a war. The Bible doesn’t say what started it, but Israel attacked the Philistines at Aphek and were soundly defeated. They lost about four thousand men.

This would have been a good time to go to Shiloh and ask Samuel for a word from the Lord – since the Lord was regularly appearing to Samuel at Shiloh – but the Israelites had a different idea. They sent men to Shiloh and brought out “the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.” 1 Samuel 4:4

This verse echoes the description of the ark when it was installed in the tabernacle at Mount Sinai. In the past God’s presence hovered over the ark as a pillar of cloud and fire, now it was dragged out of the tabernacle and carried like a good luck charm to Israel’s military camp. Hophni and Phineas, who should have protected the ark, traveled with it.

The Israelites gave such a mighty shout when the ark arrived that it shook the ground. The Philistines were terrified. They believed that Israel’s “gods” had arrived in the Israelite camp to help them. They roused each other for the battle.

“Be strong, Philistines! Be men, and fight!” 1 Samuel 4:9

Bringing the ark to the battle backfired against Israel. The Philistines were so inspired by its presence that they fought ferociously and killed thirty thousand Israelites. Hophni and Phineas died and the ark was captured.

The Death of Eli

Eli was sitting on a chair by the road, worrying, and watching for the ark to return when a man came with news of the battle.

“Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 1 Samuel 4:17

Eli knew that his two sons were going to die soon, but he hadn’t imagined that something could happen to the ark. The news knocked him off his chair and broke his neck, killing him.

The ark was the most sacred object in Israel and for hundreds of years it was revered and kept in its sanctuary. If the ark was gone, where would Israel go to find the presence of God?

The Ark in Captivity

The Philistines treated the ark of God like an idol. They believed their god Dagon had helped them defeat the God of the Israelites, so they brought the ark to Dagon’s temple in Ashdod. The next morning the idol of Dagon was on its face on the floor. The day after that its head and hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. The God of Israel was greater than the god of the Philistines.

On top of destroying Dagon, God brought devastation and painful tumors on the people of Ashdod. (Bible translators say the tumors were probably hemorrhoids).

The Philistines moved the ark to Gath, but the people of that city were thrown into a panic when God afflicted young and old with another outbreak of tumors. So they moved the ark again, to Ekron, but as it entered the city the people cried out against it.

“’Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.’ For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.” 1 Samuel 5:11-12

The Return of the Ark

The ark was in Philistine territory for seven months before they found a way to send it back to Israel. Their priests instructed them,

“Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?” 1 Samuel 6:5-6

The Philistines developed an inspired plan. They separated two young cows from their baby calves and hitched them to a cart carrying the ark and some gold offerings. They sent the cows away and watched to see where they went. The cows naturally should have turned toward their calves and refused to pull the cart, but instead they walked straight uphill to Beth Shemesh in Israelite territory, lowing and complaining all the way.

The cows pulled the cart to a rock in Beth Shemesh. The people of Beth Shemesh welcomed the ark and sacrificed the two cows as a burnt offering. They placed the ark safely on the rock and the rock became a memorial to the day the ark returned.

Finding a Home for the Ark

Some of the men of Beth Shemesh opened the ark and looked inside and God killed seventy of them for that desecration.

“And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, ‘Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” 1 Samuel 6:20.

The people of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark away. It remained at the home of Abinadab for the next twenty years and his son was consecrated to care for it. The ark and the tabernacle were never reunited. The ark was in a private home until King David brought it to Jerusalem years later.

The Israelites Return to the Lord

Israel experienced a revival when the ark returned and Samuel led the people in recommitting themselves to the Lord.

“If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtereths and commit yourselves to to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 7:3

The people drew water and poured it out, an act not mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament, but probably symbolizing an outpouring of repentance. While they were fasting and confessing their sins, the Philistines decided to attack their assembly.

“[The Israelites] said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines’” 1 Samuel 7:8

The Israelites had finally remembered how to approach God with humility and honor. They let Samuel lead them in worship even as the Philistines drew near to engage them in battle.

God was pleased and he struck the first blow at the Philistines by thundering at them. The Philistines fled in a panic and the Israelites were able to defeat them that day.

Samuel memorialized the event by setting up a stone and calling it Ebenenzer, “stone of help.’ As Samuel said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

God Shaped Samuel

“Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life. From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places.” 1 Samuel 7:15-16

Samuel held every important position in Israel. He was a priest, a prophet, a military leader, and a judge.

But Samuel always went back home to Ramah when he wasn’t traveling. Ramah was where he was born; it was the home of Elkanah and Hannah, and his brothers and sisters were there. Hannah gave Samuel up to God as a little boy and God shaped him into a great man, but later he brought Samuel back home.

Israel Asks for a King

Samuel appointed his sons as the next generation of leaders in Israel, but they weren’t like Samuel. The sons accepted bribes and perverted justice, so the elders of Israel rejected them and asked Samuel to appoint a king over them instead. He didn’t want to do it, but the Lord told him,

“Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but me as their king . . . Now listen to them, but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 1 Samuel 8:7-9

Tomorrow we will hear what Samuel said to Israel about having a king and how God led Samuel to find him.