Now
in two battles, Israel had been defeated. The second loss was more devastating
than the first. Didn’t they have the Ark of the LORD with them? Why did they
lose? The God they served was and still is the most powerful God. He has
all the capacity to deliver them. The Egyptians once felt His power against
them. The Philistines heard and knew of it and they also trembled. But now the
nation of Israel found themselves facing the fury of His power against them.
God came against them in judgment, and the Philistines were His unsuspecting
instrument. Their men were totally defeated and in the two battles, thirty-four
thousand had been slaughtered. Now the Ark was captured and even the two
priests, Hophni and Phinehas had died. There was nothing Israel could do
to save themselves. The hand of God was against them because of their own
doing.
Verses
12-14 describe how the news of the nation’s defeat reached them. A man from the
tribe of Benjamin who was involved in the battle managed to escape. He came to
Shiloh with his clothes torn, and his head covered with dirt. Looking at him
one could see defeat written all over his face. Devastated and worn, he came
running bearing the devastating news for the city. Immediately there was a
great outcry. Their cry was different from the start when they had the Ark and
was going out into battle with it. The word used was commotion which means
there was a great cry of disturbance in the city. The Ark of the Lord was
supposed to ensure the victory had now been captured and Israel was utterly
defeated.
Meanwhile
Eli who was sitting on a seat by the road eagerly awaiting news from the
battlefront. When he heard the commotion, he wanted to know what the noise
meant? Eli was by now a heavy ninety-eight-year-old man with dimming eyesight.
He couldn’t do any more to help but anxiously waited. We are told that he was
anxious because of the Ark of God that the people had brought out into
battle. We can be sure that he was probably also anxious for his two sons.
For the message from God through Samuel to him earlier foretold what was going
to happen to them. He knew that when that happened it would mean the end of his
house. So here he was anxiously waiting in trepidation. The
news bearer came and narrated to him saying, “Israel has fled before the
Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and
your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been
taken.” As soon as he heard that the Ark was taken, he fell from his seat
backward, broke his neck and died. The last line of verse 18 gives us a
summary of the duration of his ministry.
Failure
always brings with it its consequences. The bitter end of Eli and his two sons
serves as a warning for us never to take God or the ministry He has entrusted
to us for granted. It is an awesome privilege to serve the Lord, and while we
are serving Him let’s give our best. We must also not neglect to cultivate
godliness in life and service. God does give many chances for a person to
repent and turn back to Him. But if one spurns His grace continuously, there is
a point of no return. Never reach that point!
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