Richard Tow 4.21.18
Background:
Our story this morning begins with two children who grew up in a pastor’s home. These boys were born into a long line of preachers. They grew up hearing about the Lord every day of their lives. In fact, when they were grown they too went into full-time ministry. The great tragedy is that with all this privilege neither of them actually knew the Lord. They knew a lot about religious activity. They were even trained for ministry. Their father knew the Lord. Yet all the exposure to the things of God somehow never reached their hearts.
I’m talking about the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas. They were ministering in the highest priestly offices at the temple, yet they didn’t even know the Lord.1 That is a chilling thought. Just being around the things of God does not necessarily mean a person has opened his heart to the Lord. In fact, familiarity with the sacred is a dangerous thing. A person can begin to take it for granted and count it as a common thing since they live so close to it every day.2 People in ministry must remind themselves of the honor due God. They must not presume upon God’s grace. They must not lose their awe for the presence of God and the word of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom....”3 Hophni and Phineas learned the mechanics of ministry, but their hearts were far from God.
1 Sam. 2 describes some of the corruption of these young men.
They were not just taking the priests’ portion of the sacrifices made at the temple. They were basically taking what they wanted when they wanted it. And they would take it by force if necessary.4 When you’re dealing with the sacred things of God, always tread softly. We are accepted by the Father through our relationship with Jesus Christ. But there is an honor Jesus always gave the Father, and there is an honor we should always give to God. It is popular to be casual before God in church. We can enjoy a liberty because of our relationship with the Father, but that should always be tempered with a sincere reverence toward the Lord.5 It’s something that issues from the heart of a person who enjoys intimacy with God. You can speak openly and freely before the Lord because of His grace, but you never forget who He is. In fact, the deeper your intimacy the more awed you are by His majesty. Something in me is disturbed when I see the lack of respect some people show toward God. It let’s me know they don’t know Him very well. The more you know Him, the more you love and respect Him, the more defensive you are of His honor. Hophni and Phineas had none of that. They were greedy ministers. They abused their office. God had assigned plenty for them. There is an appropriate portion to be given those who serve in the ministry. Paul was saying that in 1 Cor. 9:9 and 1 Tim. 5:18 when he quoted Deut. 25:4, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” If a minister is faithfully doing his duty, he deserves reasonable compensation for that so he can continue. The oxen were to allowed to eat some of the grain while he did his service. But Hophni and Phineas got greedy and used their power to just take what they wanted without restraint.
Their indulgence went beyond that. They were also having sex with the women who served at the temple. It would be like the pastor having an affair with the secretary. But for Hophni and Phineas this was more widespread than even that. These sins would be egregious even if done outside the temple context. But it was particularly dishonoring to God when done in that context by men who were supposed to be representatives of the Lord. 1 Sam. 2:17 says their sin was “very great before the Lord....”6 We are all held to a standard of holiness before the Lord. But spiritual leaders are held to a higher standard and a stricter judgment.7
These young men were reportable to their father, Eli. Eli knew the Lord. He was genuinely called to ministry. But Eli was indulgent and undisciplined. His excess weight was one indication of that. He was also indulgent toward his sons. Eli heard about what they were doing. It was his responsibility to correct it. He made some effort to do that, but there was no consequence behind it. I suspect he had been permissive and indulgent toward these boys all their lives. That’s probably part of the reason they were so undisciplined and self-indulgent themselves. So, Eli goes to them and reasons with them about the problem. Again, this probably mirrors the way he had dealt with them in the past. They knew it was all talk. I can just see them rolling their eyes as their father gives them his lecture. What he said went in one ear and out the other. Eli’s little talk with them had no affect whatsoever on these two young men. Their sin continued, and Eli did nothing to stop it. Maybe he thought the talk was all God required of him. But God held Eli accountable for his sons’ sin along with them. He became a partaker in their sin by not standing against it and taking action against it. This is an indulgent parent making a weak, passive stand against the sins of his grown children. Yes, he had told them that he didn’t approve of their actions. But he should have thrown them out of the house as a bare minimum. He should have used what authority he had to actually correct the problem.8
In 1 Sam. 2:29 God asks Eli this question, “Why do you...honor your sons more than Me...?” That reveals Eli’s sin in this matter. Eli himself wasn’t sleeping with the women. He was personally taking the extra offerings. But God says to him, “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering....” In God’s eyes he was guilty even though it was the sons actually committing the acts. Why are you allowing My sacrifice and offering to be treated with such disrespect...?” That was the first part of the question. Secondly, “Why do you...honor your sons more than Me...?” Perhaps Eli thought he was being a loving parent.9 That was not the way God saw it. Eli was getting something out of this. The last part of that verse says, “to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?” A close analysis of this kind of indulgent love sometimes reveals hidden motives. Eli had a basic lack of discipline and that was certainly passed on to his sons.10 We will see the judgement that comes on this shortly.
There is a lesson here on how God deals with sin. God dealt Eli’s conscience and Eli’s response was to talk with his sons about the problem. At that point, Eli had opportunity to deal with the sin. Then God sent a prophet to warn Eli of the pending judgement since he had not corrected the problem. That was another opportunity for Eli to take the appropriate action. Eli let that opportunity pass. Then God even spoke a warning to him through the child Samuel.11 He let that warning pass. Finally, we will see that God stopped speaking prophetic words to him and simply brought judgment on Eli and his family. That is the pattern God often follows when addressing sin in His people’s lives. First, He will speak directly to us about what we are doing wrong. It is very private between us and the Lord. If we repent at that stage, it is taken care of and others are not usually involved. But if we don’t deal with the problem, he will then send someone to speak prophetically about it. In Eli’s case, the prophet knew he had a word for Eli. Sometimes God will speak through a person and the person is not privy to exactly what is going on. Sometimes two people will just be talking and the Spirit is speaking through one of them to the other and the one speaking doesn’t even know the full significance of what is happening. But the hearer realizes it is the Lord. Often God will speak prophetically through the preaching. Sometimes I know who it is for and sometimes I don’t. I actually prefer the latter. God might be speaking prophetically to someone through this message today. When He speaks to us, it is always opportunity to get things right. If we will not heed the prophetic word, the last resort for God is to simply use consequences to get our attention.12 Sometimes it is not a final judgement. It was in Eli’s case. But often God will allow circumstances and hardships to stop us in our tacks as an opportunity to consider our ways and change course.
It is comforting to know God was supplying a solution to this mess even though Eli and his sons did not repent. A little woman named Hannah had a son whom she consecrated to the Lord. It is a beautiful story of God’s grace in her life and God’s grace toward His people.13 We don’t have time to go into the details this morning. Samuel grew up in Eli’s house, the same house Hophni and Phineas grew up in. But, in contrast to them, Samuel knew the Lord and developed the ability to hear the Lord. He eventually received the mantle of ministry and let Israel after Eli’s death. God always has an answer in the works, no matter what it looks like at the time. He knows how to accomplish His purposes even when individuals make wrong choices. Hophni and Phineas had tremendous opportunity to be used by God. They forfeited that opportunity by following their own lusts instead. God raised up Samuel to get the job done anyway.
Now we come to our text in 1 Sam. 4.
Verse 1 begins with this comment, “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel....” The word of Samuel flowed out of God speaking to him. God was raising up Samuel. Before that happened 1 Sam. 3:1 said, “...the word of the Lord was rare in those days....” God was not speaking. The heavens had become brass. Why? Because of sin in the camp.14 The indulgence of Eli and his sons had grieved the Holy Spirit. They continued in the mechanics and rituals of ministry. But God was not speaking. Revelation was not coming. It was dead, dry religion. And that is what happens when people try to have their sin and have God at the same time. They ended up with a form of godliness. But God was not there working in their midst. However, God did begin to speak through Samuel. So, during the transition at 1 Sam. 4:1 you have Hophni and Phineas continuing in their sin and dead religion, leading the temple services. At the same time, you have Samuel hearing from God and speaking the word of the Lord to the people.
Then the nation finds itself face to face with an enemy. 1 Sam. 4:1, “...Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.” The Philistines were wicked people. They were not in covenant with Yahweh. Yet they defeat God’s covenant people. Did you know that God will sometimes use the wicked to correct His people?15 Why was Israel being defeated by their enemy? It was because of the sin that we’ve been talking about. That defeat should have been a real wake-up call for the nation of Israel. The right thing for the nation to do would have been to humble themselves before God with fasting and repentance. Deal with the sin behind the defeat so that God could empower them for victory.16
Let’s see what they actually did in 1 Sam 4:3-11.
“And when the people had come into 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 from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.’ 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, ‘What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ‘God has come into the camp!’ And they said, ‘Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!’ 10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”
The chapter goes on to tell how a messenger ran back to Shiloh to report the disaster. The town went into a panic. Eli was 98 years old waiting to hear how the battle went. The messenger told him how the Philistines had defeated Israel and that Eli’s two sons were dead. As alarming as all that was, the messenger added “and the ark of God has been captured.” When Eli heard that he fell backward, broke his neck, and died. Phineas’ wife was nine months pregnant at the time. When she heard the news she immediately went into labor. As she breathed her last breath she named her new son, “Ichabod” which means the glory is departed. It was a sad day for the nation of Israel. It didn’t happen in a vacuum. Perhaps to Israel all this trouble seemed to come out of nowhere. But, in reality, it came only after many opportunities for repentance had been passed over.17
The amazing thing here is Israel’s inability to connect the dots between sin and judgement. God does not capriciously send judgement and defeat. Eli and his sons had lead the nation into a very low spiritual condition. Look at the elders’ response when the first battle was lost. 1 Sam 4:3, “And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines...?’” Had they sought the Lord for an answer to that question, they might have known that sin was behind the defeat. Had they responded wisely, they would have done what Nineveh did at Jonah’s preaching. They would have humbled themselves and repented.18 Of course, Hophni and Phineas were not even close to doing that.
But look at the solution they came up with in verse 3, “...Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” They didn’t say, “that when He, the Lord, comes among us, He may save us....” They said, “that when it comes among us it may save us....” Their hearts were not turned to the Lord. Instead, they had turned the sacred ark into an idol. They were not just thinking of it as symbolic of God’s presence. They were using it as a “magic” box to solve their problem. They did a very religious thing. They even used the most sacred emblem of God’s presence. But in essence it was not genuine faith; it was idolatry. “We will use God to take care of this problem! We will manipulate Him by bringing His ark onto the battlefield.” Their magic trick did not work. Why? because God will not be used or manipulated. An underlying principle of idolatry is using the idol to get my way. It’s a religious way to have it my way and get God’s help so I can do my thing.
God said to Saul in 1 Sam. 15:23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry....” That was spoken to Saul right after he had done a very religious thing. When people are using religion to maneuver God into doing what they want Him to do, it can be a form of witchcraft. The key issue is control! Am I surrendering to God as His servant, recognizing His authority and right of control. Or am I trying to control the outcome for my own advantage and trying to tap into the supernatural to “get my way.” There is a vast difference between humbly making my “request” unto God verse stubbornly trying to maneuver God’s supernatural power to get what I want. Pagan, idolatrous worship was human effort to manipulate spiritual power for their own success and advantage. There are spiritual principles in Scripture we learn and follow. But we must guard our hearts in such a way that we’re not trying to use those for our own selfish ends. Even a spiritual discipline as biblical as fasting can be motivated wrong. In Zech. 7:4-6 God asked His people whether they had really fasted and performed their other religious activities unto Him or just for themselves. It was a rhetorical question implying they had done it all just to get God to do what they selfishly wanted Him to do. Motives of the heart make all the difference.
In our text, Israel was doing externally what Joshua did at the battle of Jericho. They had precedence for sending the Ark into the battlefield. When Joshua did that Israel experienced a great victory. God moved supernaturally and the walls of Jericho fell. The external action was very similar in that battle as what they do in our text. What was the difference? First, God told Joshua to do that.19 Joshua was submitted to God’s orders. The initiative was God’s. Joshua was simply doing what God told him to do. In our text, they were not hearing God. They took this initiative out of their own volition. It was a maneuver to get God to act they way He did at Jericho. Secondly, Joshua and all of Israel, in obedience to the Lord, had sanctified themselves prior to the battle.20 There is no indication of that happening in our text. Most importantly, their hearts were right under the leadership of Joshua, and their hearts were far from God under the leadership of Hophni and Phineas. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23 NIV).
I have entitled this message “Fetching the Ark,” because the KJV uses that archaic term to report what they did. It’s more memorable than “Getting the Ark” or “Throwing the Ark at Your Problem.” That’s what Christians often do when they run into a problem. Instead of getting at the root of the matter, they do something religious, they grab a quick fix. But when God is letting us be defeated before our enemies, we don’t need a quick fix. We need God to show us what’s wrong and how to fix it. Hophni and Phineas were in no condition to hear God’s response to that kind of question. They and Eli had already been shown what was wrong. They had already chosen not to fix it. The consequence of the sin is just now coming on them.21
God will not release His power in our behalf so we can continue in our sin. Radical problems require radical solutions. In Josh. 7 Israel suffered a defeat in battle similar to the one suffered in verse 2 of our text. Joshua handled that altogether different from the way these leaders handled defeat in 1 Sam. 4:2. Joshua got at the root problem. They sought the Lord and found out what was wrong from God’s perspective. Then they obediently addressed the root problem, rather than trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat. God showed them what was wrong, and He told them what He wanted them to do about it. The solution was radical. It included the stoning of Achan and his family. We’re in a different covenant, but sin still has to be dealt with radically. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you...And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you....”22 He was speaking metaphorically about taking radical action against sin in our lives.
When a crisis comes into our lives, we don’t want to follow Israel’s example here in our text. We don’t want to just fetch the ark and use it as a quick way to get the problem solved. We want to take time to seek the Lord as to the why and wherefore behind the circumstances. It could be that our experience is like Job’s and there is not a specific sin to repent of. However, if you study Job closely you will see that God was getting at a deep issue in his heart. There was a degree of pride and self-righteousness that needed refining.23 Job even cknowledged, “...when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (23:10 KJV). There were things even in Job that needed refining.
But very often trouble is a call to humble ourselves and receive any correction God may have for us. When trouble comes we are to pray. When trouble comes we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.24 When trouble comes begin by submitting yourselves to God. There is a time to rebuke the devil. But that comes after we make sure all is submitted to the Lord. James sets forth this order, James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” I have learned this by experience. If I don’t submit to God, the devil won’t flee from me. If I am fully submitted to the Lord, getting rid of the devil is pretty easy. Our first response to trouble should not be rebuking the devil. Our first response should be to talk with our heavenly Father and make sure there is nothing unsubmitted to Him. After I have done that, I may have to resist the devil. But the promise goes something like this. If I will submit to God, then I can successfully resist the devil and he will flee.
Of course, the Philistines thought they had really done something when they captured the Ark. They thought their gods had defeated Israel’s God. They brought the Ark back to their god, Dagon. Dagon was a half-man, half-fish idol.25 When they returned the next morning, Dagon was lying face-down before the Ark. They propped their god back up. But the next morning, Dagon had fallen again before the Ark. This time his face and hands were broken off. Only his torso remained intact. The judgement of God began to fall on the Philistines. God began to strike them with tumors. It could be translated hemorrhoids.26 At first, they thought they could solve the problem by moving the Ark to another city. But wherever they took it, the same judgement fell. In the end, they gladly returned the Ark to Israel with gifts as well.27 Unlike false gods, God can defend His glory whether people are there to do it or not. He is not something to be used and toyed with. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Lord of glory, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. Both the Philistines and the Israelites got some harsh lessons on the glory of God.
The key to victory is always submission to God. If we’re having a problem its often related to an area in our lives that needs to be submitted to God. Sometimes God will send a prophetic word to tell us what that is. More often He will speak to us from Scripture, and if our heart is tender we will know what to do. May the Lord give us victory over our enemies? Pray
Endnotes:
1 Cf. 1 Sam. 1:3; 2:12
2 Cf. 2 Sam. 6:6-7
3 Ps.111:10; Prov. 9:10. Cf. Ps. 36:1-4; Matt. 10:28; rom. 3:9-18
4 Cf. 1 Sam. 2:12-16, 29; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc., (1 Samuel 2:13): “But Eli's sons, unsatisfied with the breast and shoulder, which were the perquisites appointed to them by the divine law (Ex 29:27; Lev 7:31-32), not only claimed part of the offerer's share, but rapaciously seized them previous to the sacred ceremony of heaving or waving (see the note at Lev 7:34); and, moreover, committed the additional injustice of taking up with their fork those portions which they preferred, whilst raw, in order to their being roasted.”
5 Ps. 2:11-12; 33:8
6 All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
7 Cf. James 3:1; Num. 20:12
8 The Law required very strong measures (Deut. 21:20).
9 Many Christians have accepted the world’s principles for child raising and rejected the council of God in His word. The world has framed verses like Prov. 13:24 and Prov. 22:15 as archaic and even abusive. The results in society have not proven to be beneficial. Discipline must not be ministered in anger, but to train the child for his own benefit. But the absence of disciple is not beneficial to the child.
10 Eli himself had grown up in an indulgent, undisciplined society. The general condition of Israel during the times of the judges is described by this statement in Judges 21:25. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
11 Cf. 1 Sam. 2:27-3:18
12 Ezek. 14:6-8; Heb. 12; Jonah 1
13 Cf. 1 Sam. 1:1-2:11
14 Cf. Deut. 28:23-24; Amos 8:11-12; Matt. 4:4
15 The prophet, Habakkuk, struggled with this concept in his book. This principle was at work in the captivity of the northern kingdom by Assyria and the southern kingdom by Babylon.
16 Cf. 2 Chron. 7:12-14
17 Cf. 1 Sam. 4:12-22
18 Cf. Jonah 3:1-10
19 Josh. 6:4
20 Josh. 5:2-8
21 It seems that years had gone by between this day of judgement and the warnings given in1 Sam. 2:22-3:18. Samuel was a child when the warnings came. Then 1 Sam. 3:19 says, “Then Samuel grew and the Lord was with him....” I suspect Hophni and Phineas had no thought of those warnings when they went into this battle. Cf. Eccl. 8:11.
22 Matt. 5:29-30
23 God addressed this in Job 38:1-42:6.
24 Cf. James 4:8-10; 5:13
25 Cf. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, “Gods, False: Dagon,” retrieved from Biblesoft.
26 Cf. 1 Samuel 5:6: Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. The NIV Study Bible (1 Sam. 5:6) says this may indicate “swollen lymph glands, symptoms accompanying some form of the bubonic plague carried by rats.”
27 Cf. 1 Sam. 5-6
