Seeing the Glory of God
1 Samuel 4:1-21
Turn to 1 Samuel 3. We ended last week with a new leader in Israel and the death of the old leadership had been prophesied.
“Thus Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.20 So all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh.”
1 Sam 3:19-20 (LSB)
New leadership can bring some excitement. There is a new hope and anticipation of things changing for the better. And now as we turn a page to 1 Samuel 4 where we are reassured again of Samuel’s leadership. “Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Sam 4:1a). So, there is likely a renewed excitement in Israel with their new leader, as new leaders often bring a new hope. The old regime was out and the new is in. We see this in the sports world that a team can have a lousy season. And what do they do? They fire their coach and they hire a new coach and their fans are really excited.
Now when it says here that the word of Samuel came to all Israel, it is likely the word that has already been revealed to Samuel, the demise of Eli and his two sons was known to many in Israel. Now if you have read the chapter this week you know that this is a very sad chapter as it begins with war between Israel and the Philistines. As the Philistines will be a pain in the side of Israel for most of 1 Samuel, as we still read of problems between the two even in chapter 29. The Philistines were fairly new to this Promised Land like Israel. So, they too are trying to vie for the land as Israel was. We are not told in this passage who instigated this war, Israel or the Philistines, but the first battle left 4,000 Israelis dead on the battlefield. Now in a normal situation those who are defeated either surrender, pull back, or choose some other way of attack that may help them win. But with Israel, it is always different, as they are always thinking about God’s role in the fight. In other words, they often knew, or at least should know, that their victories and defeats are in the hands of God.
And the elders ask the question (vs 3) why have we been defeated? They may have connected this with the sins of Eli and his sons, that would be the kind of conclusions they would often come to that there was some kind of sin in the camp. For they have experienced this before when they faced defeat. Think of when they first came into the Promised Land in Joshua and they experience defeat because of the sin of Achan. But what is absent in our text over the defeat here of Israel is a similar response as the elders did back in the book of Judges. For it tells us at times of defeat the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord (Judg 3:9); (Judg 6:6) says, “So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh;” and (Judg 10:10) “And the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh, saying, ‘We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.’”
However, they (vs 5) do shout out because the ark of the covenant would accompany them into battle. Hard to know here if they believe in the strength of the Lord or that they just felt this was a so-called “good luck charm,” as there can be a degree of superstition with people, that by some kind of magical action things will go right. Sports people are bad for this. Hockey players will go through some pretty strange rituals before every game just because of superstitions. Habits that they might begin that they associate with good luck or part of the reason for victory. It was said that Wayne Gretzky would never get his hair cut the day of a game, because he did once and they lost that night. Teams come from the dressing room and onto the ice in a certain order that has just become their tradition that they will dare not change. Players on teams once they get into the playoffs will not shave their beards, worrying that this will break their success. Though you do see a lot of long-bearded guys get eliminated from the playoffs. Goaltenders have been seen talking to the goalpost before the game, “Now listen anything that I don’t stop, make sure you stop!” Probably some of us can be as bad as goalies! So, whatever these men were thinking, the writer here reminds us that the ark of the covenant represented the strength and power of Yahweh God. However, there is a major problem here, for when the ark is brought into battle, what is the problem?
“So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.”
1 Sam 4:4 (LSB)
We know that Hophni and Phinehas treated the Lord’s work with contempt and therefore, the Lord was going to put them to death. And when we read this direct judgment against them, the message from God to Samuel, we read strange language in the Bible as it always presents the sins of the people and the sovereignty of God without explanation. For 1 Samuel 2:25 says that these boys “would not listen to the voice of their father, for Yahweh desired to put them to death.” This is a strange statement, isn’t it? As the Bible is giving the reason they did not repent and listen to their father. What is it? Because the Lord desired to kill them. Were these boys accountable for their sin? Absolutely, as the Bible always holds mankind as guilty for their sin, for all have sinned come short of the glory of God, as man is always without excuse, this is man’s responsibility. So, they would not listen to the voice of their father because they were evil, this completely true. But they also would not listen to the voice of their father because Yahweh desired to put them to death. Those two truths cannot be justified in our minds and if we try to, we do an injustice to the Word of God. To try to meet those truths or to try to soften one over the other is not right, as both are completely true.
So, here we see the most powerful ministry tool in the hands of Israel, much like we might hold up the Word of God today. As we have the blessing of preaching and teaching from this powerful book that is being taught all over the world this morning. Yet the ministers of the ark of the covenant are evil men, as Hophni and Phinehas run into battle with the ark. So what happens? Well, what would you do if you were there and you saw the ark going into battle? Shout!! Man, I would be excited, it would give me goosebumps! And what happens? They are defeated! Now there may be times in our lives when we are defeated somehow. We do not get the job. We do not get the girl. A country attempts to do something, but they are defeated trying. Now there can be strong willpower here where a guy just keeps trying for the girl. I was not going to give up on Anne, though she continued to ignore me. Or sometimes in battle a nation will persevere after many defeats just because they will not give up, or someone will get the job because they just so desperately wanted it. But what is greatly different here for Israel is that they have something that no one else had. They had the promise of God that He had given them the land. I mean, that would make our attempts at things different wouldn’t it? If God had told you in a vision earlier that you will get this job, you would not give up! Listen to the words recorded in Joshua 21:
“So Yahweh gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And Yahweh gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; Yahweh gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one promise of the good promises which Yahweh had promised to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”
Josh 21:43-45 (LSB)
So, this becomes the test for the people. On one hand, you have the promise of God, you will possess the land. And on the other hand, you have the reality of the defeat, 4,000 men killed. So, the question (vs 3a), why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines, is a good one. To the credit of the elders, they certainly see the defeat at the hand of God. It is surprising they did not ask, what have we done? For their defeats were usually a result of their disobedience, and the sins of Eli’s two sons were quite known among the people. Therefore, they must have at least thought that their military defeat was due in part to this, especially since it was Hophni and Phinehas that were there with the ark. It is interesting here that (vs 7) the Philistines were afraid, and this was due to the memory of the exodus.
“Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.”
1 Sam 4:8 (LSB)
And then we have to ask the question were the Philistines brave or stupid?
“Be strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.”
1 Sam 4:9 (LSB)
And so, 30,000 Israelites died, and the ark is captured by the Philistines. It looked at this point that the Philistines were more brave than stupid. And the two sons of Eli were killed. John Woodhouse writes that there is considerable madness in the elders believing that bringing the ark into battle would save them. To believe that religion or God can be used for victory. That a good work can manipulate God somehow to act. He said, “God’s power is not at our disposal. For God’s power is God’s power!” And we too may fall into this trap of our human efforts at religion. For we too have the promises of God though they are no longer written on two tablets of stone, we have the promise given to us in Christ. So, we too may think that we can similarly try to use Jesus to secure God’s power. And here the people of Israel were placing their trust in the kindness of God, while at the same time they had no regard for Him as their Father.
Today, we who serve this same God. We have become His children through faith in Him by the grace of God. Yet He is not our Saviour because we obey Him. God did not become the Father of Israel because they obeyed Him, for God chose them in spite of themselves. But they were to obey Him because He was their Father. Humanly, we are not the sons and daughters of our parents because we obey them, but we are to obey them because we are sons and daughters. You and I who know Christ have been saved by grace, as there is no good work that can save us. Yet because He has so wonderfully saved us, we truly strive to serve Him as Lord. I trust the motivation for your obedience is not to gain favour with God or that He might love you more. No, you are His child, therefore you will desire to obey Him.
So, a second battle is over and Israel again has been defeated. This time an even greater defeat as 30,000 more Israelites have died. So (vs 12) a man from Benjamin runs and tells the people back home and he runs near Eli whose (vs 13) heart is trembling on account of the ark of God. Eli has been told that his two sons would die on the same day and he likely feared because his sons were with the ark. Then the man ran into the city, the city at one time was rejoicing, now it was trembling. Eli says, what is this uproar? Eli was totally blind so he did not see the appearance of the man who was wearing torn robes and had put dust on this head. The news was just the opposite of what both Israel and the Philistines had expected. Israel has fled and 30,000 dead. Hophni and Phinehas have died and the ark has been taken. Eli hears the news about the ark and falls backward and dies, and the writer gives a short commentary (vs 18b) that he had judged Israel 40 years. That’s it, no mention of greatness or faith.
The nation of Israel was defeated soundly by the Philistines. The Ark of the Covenant was stolen from Israel for the first time and Eli and his two sons were judged by God and died. And this news brings greater heartache to the wife of Phinehas, Eli’s daughter-in-law. Sometimes in these stories we do not pay much attention to sort of bystanders in the story. Who knows, maybe Phinehas wife was a believer, maybe with a greater character than her husband. And as she dies delivering her son, she names her son.
“And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory has departed from Israel,’ because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.”
1 Sam 4:21 (LSB)
Woodhouse writes:
“The ark, kept in the tabernacle, had long been associated with the glory of God. In the days of Moses, ‘the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle’ (Exodus 40:34,35). Where is the glory? Captured and taken by the Philistines!”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 101
This story in 1 Samuel 4 is really a short story of the whole life of Israel in the Old Testament, as it depicts their presence in the Promised Land, and yet they have been defeated by their enemies, as we could follow them throughout the entire OT and eventually see them taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.
So, when we ask the question, “Where is the Glory?” we may tend to think of something in the past. We may all somewhat revert to a specific time. For some it may bring back memories of a ministry where things were thriving. The church that we were part of was full. So, we may associate the glory with excitement and numbers. For others when they think about, “Where is the Glory?” it may bring back memories of a great pastor or teacher, and you sort have lived your Christian life thinking, boy, wouldn’t it be great to have Pastor so-and-so back. So, the glory may be associated with a person. Some of you may have never been part of a ministry that you considered to be thriving, and yet you remember going to a Christian concert or you attended a conference. Maybe something like Together for the Gospel or the Gospel Coalition. And though it might have been ten years ago, you still think back to it and think, wow! So, the glory may be associated with such an event.
Still for others it may bring back the memory of when you came to Christ, when someone shared with you and you received Christ as your Saviour and Lord. Or you were somewhere where the Lord really got a hold of your heart and you re-committed your life to Christ. So, the glory may be associated with some kind of revival in your life or the day when you were actually saved. Maybe for some it is just thinking about the past. Where teachers even in the public-school system had a respect for God. Where the values of Christian parents were upheld in society. Where presidents and prime ministers often would openly pray for the nation. And even the culture had a much greater sense of what was right and what was wrong. So, the glory may be associated with another time and another place. Frankly, I can relate to all these things: enjoying times of excitement in the church; thinking back to a pastor who especially blessed me as a young Dad; to relishing being at T4G conferences; experiencing the Lord grabbing a hold of my life; and times in the past where you would see God’s hand working even in the culture. So, all of us could say because of one thing or another, “Bring back the glory day!” For maybe in different ways, we may long for those times again. In Ezekiel 10, the prophet is relishing in the glory of the Lord, he said:
“Then the glory of Yahweh rose up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh. Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.”
Ezek 10:4-5 (LSB)
But then we read in a few verses later that the glory of the Lord departed from the temple as God left His people. In 1 Samuel 4, we have an overview of the chapter at the start, (vs 1) “Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel.” So, it starts out with some excitement about a new leader in Israel, but then the chapter has nothing to do with Samuel. As the entire chapter is detailed to tell us about those involved in various ways of how they had rejected God. Admittedly, as I turned to chapter 4 earlier in the week, I wondered how am going to teach this story to somehow encourage. The Philistines were a pagan nation who opposed God’s people and they were inflicting losses upon Israel. And Israel whose God had delivered them out of Egypt back in the glory days is now being stepped on by these pagans. Next, we see the two sons Hophni and Phinehas. Two men who were living far from God and have the audacity to bring the ark of God into battle. And then we have a people, Israel, who somehow believe that this is all good. Despite their evil ways, they believe that somehow God is with them, and yet (vs 10) every man fled to his tent. And then we find Eli, pretty much checked out spiritually, falls over dead because he is so heavy. Finally, we have a woman who dies giving birth to a son named Ichabod, whose name means, “Where is the glory?”
Where is the glory of God? Israel likely thought that it no longer existed as it did back in the days of Egypt, while the Philistines, who initially were fearful, likely because of the result of the battle thought that God’s glory was not as fearful or as powerful as they at first anticipated. We might think back to a time of enjoying the glory of God because of a church ministry or a godly person or a special time of revival. Israel would have believed the glory of God for them would mean victory, so their reaction is, what happened? Well, what did happen? God was judging His people for their disinterest in God, their indifference toward God. God was judging the two sons for their sinfulness in their role as priests. God was judging Eli for His loyalty to his sons over God. So, they as we might be tempted to ask in our day, so what happened to the glory Lord? What about Your greatness and wonderment?
If I could try to bring this story together for us this morning, I see a contrast of hearts between two women. First, the wife of Phinehas. She was in a terrible situation, for she was living at a time when things were not all that great in Israel. She is married to Phinehas who not only has been cheating on her, but this also seems to be known among the people And maybe she married Phinehas because he was a priest of God, maybe at one time he had some promise. So, here she is close to the ministry of the priesthood, therefore, she knows firsthand the evil that is going on in the Lord’s work, for she knows the true heart of her husband. She may have also thought at one time she had a great father-in-law, Eli, the priest of God and the judge of Israel. But now knows the politics that go on at the house of God and she is aware of the weakness of Eli.
So, maybe she has just decided to make the best of her situation and raise a family in the Promised Land and enjoy the peace and prosperity that God had promised. And then the Philistines attack and Israel is greatly defeated at a time when she has just about to bring a son into the world. Now we do not know what caused her death, whether it was her giving birth or that is was a result of the news of her husband and the news of the defeat. It would seem from the story that it was the devastating news that overwhelmed her. And so, she dies crying, the glory has been taken from Israel! I cannot help but see a contrast here with another woman, Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Turn back with me to 1 Samuel 2. Hannah too lived during this same time that was so difficult. She seems to have a husband who loves her but he also has another wife. And we said that polygamy in the Bible always brings with it, heartache and struggle. Hannah too was likely well aware of the lifestyle of the boys and the character of Eli, for Samuel was getting older and he would have seen all this firsthand. But look at her faith.
“Yahweh puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. Yahweh makes poor and rich; He brings low; He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust; He exalts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of glory; For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s, And He set the world on them. He keeps the feet of His holy ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness, For not by power shall a man prevail. Those who contend with Yahweh will be dismayed; Against them He will thunder in the heavens; Yahweh will render justice to the ends of the earth, And He will give strength to His king, And He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
1 Sam 2:6-10 (LSB)
Hannah has a different perspective, doesn’t she? For she knows the greatness of God even in the times of loss and defeat, as Hannah is not asking where is the Lord’s glory, for she is certain of it.
“Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh; My horn is exalted in Yahweh; My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I am glad in Your salvation. There is no one holy like Yahweh; Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”
1 Sam 2:1-2 (LSB)
Proverbs 16 says:
“Commit your works to Yahweh And your plans will be established. Yahweh has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of Yahweh one turns away from evil. When a man’s ways are pleasing to Yahweh, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Prov 16:3-7 (LSB)
When our ways are pleasing to our great God, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with us. When our hearts are right and loving toward our Heavenly Father. Eleven hundred years later there was a man sent from God whose name was John, John the Baptist. And his purpose was to introduce Jesus Christ to the world.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 (LSB)
See, the glory of God is not in a ministry, a person, an event, a certain time, a victory, or a revival, though the glory of God may be present in those things and at those times. But the glory of God is in His son Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is the “radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” When we think about the glory of Christ, we may think about two things. We must think first about the beauty of Christ, that He is worthy of our worship. The writer of Hebrews wrote this about the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” Paul wrote that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Yes, He is worthy of our worship. But secondly when we think about the glory of God we need to think of His holiness. Isaiah 6:3 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of his glory.” And when we see Christ, we behold His glory in all His beauty and holiness, for the glory of God is manifested in the Person of Jesus Christ.
John Piper said that the beauty and holiness of God is put on display in Christ for all to see and know. One woman in our story seems to be so overcome with the problems of life and wonders where the glory of God is, while another woman lives through the struggles knowing that no one compares with her God. Where are you this morning? When the challenges of life seem so great. Where is your hope? Where is your trust? See what Hannah saw was reality, for she truly saw God at work. Alistair Begg said that the elders believed God to be useful, while she knew that God was worthy. I thought the name Ichabod, where is the glory? Should never be used of Elim Bible Chapel, that this place would always declare the glory of God. And the name Ichabod should never be used of your life or mine, that your life and my life would always declare to everyone the glory of God.
Let’s pray. Lord, may we be faithful as we pass along this truth from generation to generation. As we live and teach truth to our children and that they would teach their children. We thank You that Your faithfulness extends from generation to generation. So, may we heed the warnings of this passage that we might have a confidence in You as did Hannah, that through the difficulties of life, we might always see the glory of God, and forever make Him look good. And all God’s people said, amen.