๐ 1 Samuel 3–4: ๐ The Ark of the Covenant Moved Only by God's Command...
In chapters 1 and 2, we saw in detail how the LORD God established Samuel.
He closed Hannah's womb;
He led her to make a vow;
And even before Samuel was born, He determined that Samuel would be dedicated to the LORD for his entire life.
๐ Key Summary of 1 Samuel, Chapters 3–4
After reading chapters 3 and 4, I see the main point as follows:
→ Chapter 3 reveals to Samuel the judgment that would come upon Eli's household.
→ Chapter 4 is the chapter in which that judgment takes place.
1. God's Oath Revealed to Samuel
๐ In chapter 3, we see that God called Samuel when he was still a boy.
“Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.”
(1 Samuel 3:8)
After calling Samuel, the LORD said that He would do something in Israel that would make the ears of everyone who heard it tingle.
That event concerned the house of Eli. Their sin was so serious that it was declared that their iniquity would never be atoned for.
“At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end.” (v. 12)
“For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them.” (v. 13)
๐ Therefore, the LORD declared:
“Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
2. The LORD Was With Samuel
“The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground.” (v. 19)
“And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.” (v. 20)
๐ฉ And the final verse of the chapter records:
“The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His word.”
(1 Samuel 3:21)
Shiloh was the place where the Ark of God and the Tabernacle were located during the time of Joshua.
In 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2, we saw that Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were serving as priests, while Samuel was staying with Eli.
Therefore, from the context, it seems reasonable to understand that they were all at Shiloh.
๐ An Interesting Observation
Verse 20 says that all Israel recognized that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.
And verse 21 says that the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh through His word.
→ From the context, it seems as though verses 20 and 21 could have been presented in reverse order.
First, the LORD reveals Himself to Samuel.
Then all Israel can recognize that he has been established as a prophet of the LORD.
๐ The fact that the Bible records these verses in this way may be a kind of hint from God: when reading the Bible, we should consider the overall context and content rather than focusing only on the grammatical order of the verses.
As I have continued reading the Scriptures, I have noticed that events are often recorded in many interesting ways.
3. The War Against the Philistines, the Ark, and the Priests
At the end of chapter 3, it is recorded that all Israel recognized Samuel as a prophet of the LORD.
And immediately at the beginning of chapter 4, we find:
“And Samuel's word came to all Israel.”
(1 Samuel 4:1)
→ This seems to show that Samuel was being exalted and that his words were becoming known throughout Israel.
At that time, a war broke out against the Philistines, and Israel was defeated.
→ Then the elders of Israel decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh.
“So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.”
(1 Samuel 4:4)
๐ The Ark of the LORD, first introduced in Exodus, was made according to God's command to represent His presence.
๐ The Most Important Point:
In the days of Moses and Joshua, the Ark moved only according to God's command!
It was not something that people were supposed to take or move simply because they wanted to.
๐ Man cannot use God according to his own will.
Looking at it from another perspective:
Trying to make God act according to human will is presumptuous and an extremely serious offense.
Therefore, the Ark was not something that could be handled or moved carelessly.
And right there were Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons.
As priests, they were responsible for the Ark of God.
⚔️ The Result of the Battle
The Ark of God was captured by the Philistines.
Hophni and Phinehas were killed.
Eli received the news that his two sons had died and that the Ark had been captured.
When he heard the news about the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair beside the gate, broke his neck, and died.
Phinehas's wife was pregnant. When she heard the news, she went into labor, gave birth, and died.
๐ Conclusion
๐ What Can We Infer from Chapter 4?
Before receiving the news, Eli was sitting on his chair beside the road, waiting anxiously, with his heart trembling because of the Ark of God.
“Eli was sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God.”
(1 Samuel 4:13)
This seems to show that Eli was deeply concerned about the Ark.
Perhaps he understood that something was wrong with taking the Ark without God's command.
๐ What Can We Infer from Chapters 3 and 4?
In 1 Samuel 3:12, the LORD had told Samuel:
“At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end.”
And then we see that, on that very day, the words announced against Eli were fulfilled:
His two sons died;
The Ark was captured;
Eli died;
And Phinehas's wife also died.
❓ This raises an interesting question:
Did God bring the Philistines against Israel in order to carry out His judgment against Eli's household?
Or did God simply use the situation when the Philistines attacked Israel?
We cannot know for certain.
But we can clearly see that God's oath was fulfilled.
And all of these things happened in a single day.
๐ And Then Something Even More Interesting Happens...
The Ark of the Covenant is taken by the Philistines.
๐ Was this also part of God's purpose?
๐ The Philistines took the Ark as though it were a trophy of war.
What will happen to them after they take the Ark?
We will see what happens in the following chapters.
๐ The Ark did not move according to the will of men, but according to the command of God. ๐
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