Word of Encouragement (08/17/2023)

And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies." (1 Sam. 4:3)

We don’t know why Israel and Philistia went to war against each other. We don’t know who initiated the war, either. But they positioned themselves against each other: Israel at Ebenezer and Philistine at Aphek. The account of the first battle is short, only two verses long. Israel was defeated, sustaining 4,000 casualties. When the soldiers retreat and return to the camp, the elders of Israel say, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines” (v. 3)? This short statement, though not directly addressed to God, is a prayer of lament, and it says a lot about their theology.

This statement shows that they believed in the LORD somewhat. They believed that the LORD exists, and He is real: they were theists as opposed to atheists. They believed that the LORD is the sovereign Lord over the whole world, and, as such, He is intimately involved in the affairs of the world, especially of Israel. So, the elders said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines?” They attributed their defeat directly to the LORD. They presented the Philistines as mere spectators—“before/in the face of the Philistines.” They talked as if the battle were between the LORD and Israel. This was a provocative way of affirming God’s sovereignty but not a wrong way.

But this statement was not made in humble submission to God’s sovereign lordship. They blamed the LORD for their defeat. Ironically, their belief in this doctrine is precisely why the elders (and, I suppose, Israel as a whole) were upset with God when they were defeated. It is amazing how the sinful mind can get irritated and angry by the glorious things of God. The Israelites seem utterly shocked by their defeat. For whatever reason, they were confident that they could defeat the Philistines. They expected the LORD to make sure that they routed the Philistines. So, they were terribly disappointed in God; they even felt betrayed by Him.

Their response to defeat shows a remarkable lack of self-awareness. They did not bother to ask whether God had a legitimate reason to bring this defeat to them according to the sanctions of the Mosaic Covenant. Even the elders did see anything wrong with the atrocities that were being committed by Hophni and Phinehas at the tent of the meeting. All they could think of was an external, ceremonial negligence of not bringing the ark of the covenant, not the moral, spiritual corruption of the priests and their worship. We can see that their relationship with God was not personal, merely ceremonial and religious.

How is our spiritual life? Are we merely concentrating the external factors of going through the religious motions or are we engaged at the deep level of our hearts?

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