Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - LeuvenThought for today “Violation of God’s Law and of the Holy of Holies” (June 25)
Because Israel suffered from corrupt priests and judges, the people wanted a king. They wanted to be guided just as the nations around them.
Although it was against the original Plan of God, God still chose a king at the request of the people. He hoped that they would continue to see Him as the true King of kings. But we will see that the establishment of a monarchy did not solve Israel’s problems after all. The men God further chose for leadership, such as Eli, Samuel, Saul and David, would in turn all give a different interpretation to leadership. Yet the success of every leader depended on his love for Jehovah and not on his position, way of leading, wisdom, age or strength.
Today’s reading brings us to the war of the Philistines who struck it to capture the ark.
The Israelites advanced against the Philistines, descendants of Noah’s son Ham, who had settled along the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean, between Egypt and Gaza. The Philistines were originally part of the “seamen” who had moved overseas from Greece and Crete to the Middle East. As Israel’s greatest enemy, they had now camped at Aphek.
When the Philistines had arrayed themselves against Israel, the battle broke loose, and Israel was defeated by them. About four thousand men died at the front in the open field. The Israelites did not understand why their God of Heaven’s Armies, Jehovah, made them suffer such defeat and so decided to go to Shiloh to fetch their God’s covenant chest, thinking that if Jehovah came among them, He would also deliver them from the grasp of their enemies.
“1 Samuel passed these words on to the people of Israel. The Israelites had camped at Eben-haeser and the Philistines were at Aphek. 2 In the battle that followed, the Philistines defeated the Israelites and killed some 4,000 men.
3 Then the Israelite army returned to the camp, where the leaders wondered why Jehovah had allowed them to be defeated. “Let us bring the ark here from Shiloh,” they concluded. “If we take him away when we go to war, God will be with us and will surely free us from our enemies.” 4 So they brought out of Shiloh the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, which is enthroned above the angels. Hophni and Phinehas the sons of Eli accompanied the ark.
5 When the Israelites saw the ark coming, there was such a cheer that the earth was thundering! 6 Then the Philistines asked themselves, “What is that cheer in the camp of the Hebrews?”
When they were told that the cheering was caused by the arrival of the ark, 7 they panicked. “God has come into their camp!” they shouted. “What should we do now? We have never experienced anything like this before! 8 Who can deliver us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods that the Egyptians destroyed with plagues before Israel entered the desert. 9 Be brave and fight for your life, Philistines, or we will become slaves of the Hebrews, just as they have been.”” (1 Samuel 4:1-9)
The covenant chest that the People of God sent for contained the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses. The Ark was to be kept in the Holy of Holies, the holiest or most separately placed part of the tabernacle, where only the high priest was allowed to enter once a year.
Hophni (Chofni) and Phinehas, Eli’s two sons, desecrated this space by entering it against the law and taking the covenant chest with them. The Israelites rightly recognized the great sanctity of the ark but thought that the ark itself – the coffin of wood and metal – was their source of strength.
Such a way of thinking, to give strength to an object, indicated to God a false worship. By clinging to something that was just a form of religion, a symbol of past victories, the Israelis turned away from Jehovah.
The Philistines attacked and the Israelites were defeated and fled home. It was a very heavy defeat. Thirty thousand men died on the Israelite side. As well as the covenant chest of God was captured, and both of Eli’s sons, Chophni and Phinehas, were killed, fulfilling the prophecy in 2:34.
“10 Then the Philistines fought again with the Israelites and defeated them again. 30,000 Israelites died that day. The survivors fled to their tents. 11 Moreover the ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas.” were killed (1 Samuel 4:10)
“And to prove that what I have said will happen, I will cause your sons Hophni and Phinehas to die on the same day!” (1 Samuel 2:34)”
Rate this:
#1Samuël419 #1Samuel4 #ArkOfTheCovenant #HolyOfHolies #HophniBrotherOfPhinehasSonOfEli #HophniChofniBrotherOfPhinehasSonOfEli #Israel #Israelites #JehovahGodOfArmies #KingOfKings #Leadership #Philistines #PhinehasBrotherOfHophniSonOfEli #PlanOfGod #SamuelJudgeProphet #ShilohCanaaniteTown #WarOfThePhilistines
Spirituality & Religious Studies