1 Samuel 4

1 Samuel 4

Maclaren adds "There are plenty of Christians, like these elders, who, when they find themselves beaten by the world and the devil, puzzle their brains to invent all sorts of reasons for God’s smiting, except the true one,—their own departure from Him." QUESTION - What is the Ark of the Covenant? ANSWER - God made a covenant (a conditional covenant) with the children of Israel through His servant Moses. He promised good to them and their children for generations if they obeyed Him and His laws; but He always warned of despair, punishment, and dispersion if they were to disobey. As a sign of His covenant He had the Israelites make a box according to His own design, in which to place the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This box, or chest, was called an “ark” and was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The Ark was to be housed in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle in the desert and eventually in the Temple when it was built in Jerusalem. This chest is known as the Ark of the Covenant. The real significance of the Ark of the Covenant was what took place involving the lid of the box, known as the "Mercy Seat." The term ‘mercy seat’ comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to cover, placate, appease, cleanse, cancel or make atonement for.” It was here that the high priest, only once a year (Leviticus 16), entered the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept and atoned for his sins and the sins of the Israelites. The priest sprinkled blood of a sacrificed animal onto the Mercy Seat to appease the wrath and anger of God for past sins committed. This was the only place in the world where this atonement could take place. The Mercy Seat on the Ark was a symbolic foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice for all sin—the blood of Christ shed on the cross for the remission of sins. The Apostle Paul, a former Pharisee and one familiar with the Old Testament, knew this concept quite well when he wrote about Christ being our covering for sin in Romans 3:24-25: "…and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." Just as there was only one place for atonement of sins in the Old Testament—the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant—so there is also only one place for atonement in the New Testament and current times—the cross of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we no longer look to the Ark but to the Lord Jesus Himself as the propitiation and atonement for our sins. GotQuestions.org Related Resources: What was inside the ark of the covenant? | GotQuestions.org What happened to the Ark of the Covenant? | GotQuestions.org What is the ark of the testimony? | GotQuestions.org God’s Plan, Not Ours I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” — Psalm 91:2 Today's Scripture: 1 Samuel 4:1-11 Everybody was wrong about the ark of the covenant (an item in the tabernacle that represented the throne of God). After losing a battle to the Philistines, Israel sent messengers to Shiloh to ask that the ark be hauled to Ebenezer, the site of their army camp. When the ark arrived, the Israelites celebrated so loudly the enemy heard them all the way over in Aphek. The ark’s arrival caused the Philistines to fear and the Israelites to have courage. They were both wrong. The Israelites took the ark into battle and were again clobbered by the Philistines, who captured the ark. Another mistake. The Philistines got sick and their false gods were destroyed. We can understand the Philistines’ error—they were idol-worshipers. But the Israelites should have known better. They failed to consult God about using the ark. While they knew that the ark was earlier carried in battle (Josh. 6), they didn’t consider that God’s plan, not the ark’s involvement, allowed Israel to defeat Jericho. My times are in my Father’s hand; How could I wish or ask for more? For He who has my pathway planned Will guide me till my journey’s o’er. —Fraser We see in part; God sees the whole. 1 Samuel 4:5 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. all Israel: They vainly supposed that the ark would save them, when the God of it had departed from them because of their wickedness. Jud 15:14 Job 20:5 Jer 7:4 Am 6:3 Mic 2:11 SHOUTS OF JOY AT ARRIVAL OF ARK As the Ark (aron) of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, The elders must have had some understanding that if God was not "with" them, defeat was inevitable (Nu 14:42; Dt 1:42). They mistakenly assumed, however, that wherever the Ark was, the LORD was. What Israel had done was make the Ark an idol! The irony is that the very thing that symbolized God, the Ark, was revered more than the God it symbolized! THOUGHT- Beware! Good things can become idols if they take the place of God in our life. All Israel shouted with a great shout, so that (term of purpose/result) the earth resounded (hum/him:Lxx - echeo - make a loud sound). - NET = "that the ground shook." The arrival of the Ark of the covenant was greeted with shouts of exhilaration that caused “the earth” to shake. So great was the commotion in the Israelite camp that the Philistines heard it two miles away. They should have been shouting for joy at the presence of Jehovah, not the presence of a box. Israel did not understand that God is not like a "genie in a bottle" but is the God Who says "Those who honor Me, I will honor and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed." (1Sa 2:30). This prophetic promise proved true in the case of Israel! Shouts of joy would soon become cries from distress upon their defeat. Fred Young - This may have been the war cry of Num 10:35—“Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” (Borrow Wycliffe Bible Commentary)