Day 945: Be men, and fight. - 1 Samuel 4 vs 1 - 11

1-2 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3-5 And when the troops 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.” So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.

6-8 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10-11 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 1 Samuel 4:1-11 English Standard Version

The last chapter ended by saying that ‘Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground, and all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord’. But Israel's joy at now having a prophet to make God's word known to them was short lived. Verses 1-2 tell of a humiliating defeat. What do you think of the action they took, as described in vs 3-5.

I think they should rather have gone to Samuel to seek God's word for what had happened, and for what they should do. Instead, they turned to the outward form of religion, in what could even be seen as a superstitious way. That's something which has continued through the ages. Whether it's St Christopher medals or Rosaries, or even wall plaques of praying hands, people can still lean on religious symbols rather than a living relationship with Christ, and trust their feelings rather than turn to God's word for wisdom and direction.

We see from vs 6-8 how widespead superstition was in those days, as it still is in many parts of the world. There was panic in the camp of the Philistines. Interestingly though, notice that they had heard of the events that are described in the Old Testament book of Exodus. The news of how God had rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt with amazing miracles had travelled far and wide around the ancient world. It establishes those events as facts of history! But what was the positive step the Philistines took when faced with a fearful situation? (vs 9)

That's a lesson all of us can take to heart. We're living in days in the West when manhood and bravery are mocked in many parts of society. It's reached a stage where military leaders in some countries are more concerned about using correct pronouns than being brave soldiers.

Verses 10-11 tell of the terrible slaughter that followed. Superstitious trust in religious symbols was no match against people fighting bravely so that they wouldn't become slaves. That's a lesson too for our generation. Christians are called to “put on the full armour of God, so we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. Our struggle isn't against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11-12) It's a call to men and to women.