DEFEAT, SHAME AND VICTORY
TEXT: I SAMUEL CHAPTERS 2-7
INTRODUCTION
As we continue our study in the book of I Samuel I want to again emphasize that even though we are under the New Covenant that the Old Testament is still relevant for Christians today. Paul in I Corinthians chapter 10 was writing about Israel’s History and in these verses he gives us one of the most practical uses for the Old Testament today. Paul said,
"NOW THESE THINGS OCCURRED AS EXAMPLES TO KEEP US FROM SETTING OUR HEARTS ON EVIL THINGS, AS THEY DID."
"THESE THINGS HAPPENED TO THEM AS EXAMPLES AND WERE WRITTEN DOWN AS A WARNING FOR US, ON WHOM THE FULFILLMENT OF THE AGES HAS COME. SO, IF YOU THINK YOU ARE STANDING FIRM, BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DON’T FALL!"
Paul is telling us that one of the reasons God gave us the Old Testament was so that we could learn from it.... Learn, what to do and what not to do.... These warnings are helpful because they illustrate with real people Biblical principles that apply to us as Christians... And we should study these people because by doing so we may see that even though we think we are standing (as many OT people did), we amy in fact being falling or ready to fall (as many of them did).
Today we are going to survey chapters 2 through 7 of I Samuel. And as we do we will uncover several lessons for us today... We will discover in these 6 chapters a message for THE FAMILY, THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.
But before we get to the lessons we need to tell the story...
We will begin at chapter 2 and unfold this drama from God’s Word scene by scene.
I. A DRAMA TO UNFOLD
A. TWO WICKED SONS (2:12-25)
In chapter 2 we are introduced to the 2 sons of Eli the high priest....Their names are Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni and Phinehas served as priests in the Tabernacle at Shiloh.
To be a priest was a special privilege and responsibility and these 2 men took advantage of their position. According to the Law the priests were allowed to take only the breast and right thigh as their share of the sacrifice. And then only after the meat and fat had been properly sacrificed to God... ensuring that the best portions of the sacrifices were given to God.
Well to Hophni and Phinehas rules and laws didn’t mean too much... after all they lived in the final years of the period of Judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes... and besides they were priests and their father was the high priest -- Therefore, They felt they were above the Law, they wanted the best for themselves, they wanted to do what they wanted to do.
So whenever sacrifices were being offered Hophni and Phinehas walked around with a plate, a fork and A1 sauce in their hands and snagged whatever piece of meat they wanted... and if someone protested because that portion was to be the Lords, they would take the meat by force, meat meant for God -- to satisfy their own sinful appetites.
And not only did they do this but they also had sex with the women who served in the tabernacle... These guys had power and position and they used both to satisfy their own sinful desires. They were not ashamed and did not even try to hide these sins -- all the people in the land saw and heard about what these 2 wicked priests were doing.
You might be wondering, "WHERE WAS ELI WHILE ALL OF THIS WAS GOING ON?" We’re going to get to that right now...
B. BAD NEWS FROM A MAN OF GOD (2:27-36)
Towards the end of chapter 2 an anonymous man from God comes to pay Eli a visit. AND He didn’t come hear on a social call he came bringing a message of judgment from God.
The man of God first reminded Eli of the great privilege his family had been given, to be part of the Aaronic priesthood -- to have the honor of serving the Lord in His place of dwelling (The Tabernacle) was no small thing... Only the high priest, was able to enter the Holy of Holies where the ark of God was. And where the presence of God dwelt between the 2 cherubim on top of the ark. What an honor Eli and his family had been given.
Then the man of God says the following to El,
"THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS, WHY DO YOU SCORN MY SACRIFICE AND OFFERING THAT I PRESCRIBED FOR MY DWELLING? WHY DO YOU HONOR YOUR SONS MORE THAN ME, BY FATTENING YOURSELVES ON THE CHOICE PARTS OF EVERY OFFERING MADE BY MY PEOPLE ISRAEL?"
God is telling El that because he allowed His sons to take whatever they wanted and do whatever they pleased that he was honoring them more than God.
And he goes on to say, "I PROMISED YOU THAT YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR FATHERS HOUSE WOULD MINISTER TO ME FOREVER -- DID YOU THINK THAT THESE PROMISES WERE WITHOUT CONDITIONS? DID YOU THINK THAT IT DIDN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DID, OR YOUR SONS DID? I WILL HONOR THOSE WHO HONOR ME -- BUT THOSE WHO DESPISE ME (AND BY THERE ACTIONS THEY WERE DESPISING GOD) I WILL NOT HONOR!"
The man of God continues and gives Eli some specific words of judgment from the Lord... He tells Eli that; his sons will be killed and there will be great distress in His family and that his eyes will be blinded by tears and his heart will be deeply grieved.... This word of the Lord as we studied on Wednesday not only is against Eli, but it also against the entire OT priesthood and it predicts the end of the Aaronic priesthood and the coming of Christ as the Faithful priest...
And Eli would know that all of this would come to pass when both of his sons die on the same day....
B. SAMUEL’S WAKE UP CALL (CH 3)
In chapter 3 we find Samuel and Eli sleeping. Samuel hears a voice speaking to him and he thinks it is Eli and he runs to Eli wakes him up and says, "HERE I AM, YOU CALLED ME." And Eli wiping the sleep out of his eyes, tells Samuel, "GO LAY BACK DOWN I DIDN’T CALL YOU."
This happens 2 more times -- 2 more times Samuel hears a voice and runs to Eli and wakes him up and says , HERE I AM DID YOU CALL ME?" What do you think Eli did the 3rd time Samuel woke him up, (NO HE DIDN’T HIT HIM IN THE HEAD).
Eli told Samuel to go lay back down because it was probably the Lord calling Samuel (this was the first time the Lord called Samuel and spoke to him)... Samuel did what Eli told him and the Lord did call again and when He did Samuel said, "SPEAK FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING."
I am sure Samuel was a little afraid and excited about having the Lord speak to him -- but the message he received was not the message he was expecting or wanted -- here is what the Lord said to Samuel [3:11-14].
You can just imagine the impact this message had on Samuel -- and can you here his heart pounding when Eli called him and said ,"WELL SAMUEL COME ON, WHAT DID THE LORD TELL YOU."
Samuel didn’t want to tell him but Eli insisted -- and so Samuel did not leaving out any detail.
After hearing of the judgment that was about to come upon his family Eli made a terrific statement of faith listen to what he said in verse 18, "HE IS THE LORD, LET HIM DO WHAT IS RIGHT IN HIS EYES." "SAMUEL I’D BE LYING IF I SAID I DIDN’T WANT THINGS TO HAPPEN DIFFERENT BUT I TRUST THE LORD AND I KNOW IT’S BEST -- HE THE LORD, HE DETERMINES WHAT IS RIGHT."
I am sure that Eli’s heart was heavy as he waited for the inevitable to happen. And it did in short order.
D. JUDGMENT DAY, "THE BATTLE" (CH 4)
As chapter 4 opens we see the armies of the Philistines and the armies of the Israelites meeting in battle...
The battle did not go very well Israel was soundly defeated and 4,000 soldiers lost their lives. When the soldiers returned the elders of the camp scratched their heads and asked themselves, "why did the Lord allowed the Philistines to defeat us." After much scratching they decided it was because they did not have the ark of God go out with them into battle.
So they had the ark brought from the tabernacle in Shiloh and when The Ark arrived in the camp, the people responded with loud shouts of praise, they made such a commotion that the ground shook with their shouts. The Philistines heard this shouting and used this excitement of the Israelites a means of drawing more courage for the battle, and they said to each other, "BE STRONG PHILISTINES! BE MEN, OR YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE HEBREWS AS THEY HAVE BEEN TO YOU. BE MEN AND FIGHT!!"
AND the Israelites went out to battle confident this time because they had the Ark and they believed victory was assured. But that was not the case Israel suffered an even greater defeat at the hands of the Philistines, losing 30,000 foot soldiers. The text refers to the battle as a slaughter -- and it says that every Israelite fled to his tent....
And in the battle HopHni and Phinehas were killed and the ark of God was captured by the enemy.
A Benjamite who fled the battle and ran to Shiloh to see Eli, his clothes were torn and there was dust on his head...When he arrived in town and told the terrible news of the defeat... A loud cry of despair rang throughout the town.
Eli hearing this called the man to him and asked him what happened...the man replied, "ISRAEL HAS FLED BEFORE THE PHILISTINES, AND THE ARMY HAS SUFFERED HEAVY LOSES,
IT WAS A SLAUGHTER, 30,000 DEAD. AND YOUR 2 SONS, HOPHNI AND PHINEHAS ARE DEAD, AND THE ARK OF GOD HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY."
Verse 18 of chapter 3 reads, "WHEN HE MENTIONED THE ARK OF GOD, ELI FELL BACKWARD OFF HIS CHAIR. HIS NECK WAS BROKEN AND HE DIED...."
The mood in the city was very solemn as the people realized that the glory had departed from Israel, since the ark was captured and was now in the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines... It was a time of humiliation and shame.
E. THE god WHO COULDN’T STAND (CH 5)
The scene in the Philistine city of Ashdod was quite different -- they had just won a major battle over their enemy and they had captured their enemies most prized scared possession "The Ark of God." -- there was therefore no doubt much excitement on the streets of the city.... (perhaps the pictures we saw in Chicago after the Bulls won the championship, would in a way, illustrate the scene).
They took the ark of God and they placed it in Dagon’s Temple, and they sat it right beside Dagon, thier god.
The next day when the temple priest woke up he strolled into the temple to see Ol’ Dagon and as he walked in he found Dagon laying flat on his face before the Ark of God....
So he called in some guys in to help their god get back on his feet....(Some god, huh?)
The next morning the priest decide to have 2 cups of coffee before he went into the temple. And he went strolling into the Temple whistling his favorite Dagon song, (I think it was called "if I only had a Brian").
And when he walked into the temple the scene before his eyes took that whistle right off his lips.... There was his god, Dagon, again on his face, fallen before the Ark of God, this time his head and arms were cut (not broken off) and lying neatly on the threshold of the altar..
This got the attention of the Philistines -- and they knew that they were in, "a heap of trouble" .. they knew that this God of Israel was powerful, and that he meant business....
F. THE NEXT SCENE WE SEE IS FOUND IN CHAPTERS 5 AND 6
AND THE WORDS IN YOUR OUTLINE CAPTURE THE FEELINGS OF THE ENTIRE PHILISTINE NATION. GET IT OUT OF HERE!!!
The Lord’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, they were afflicted with what the NIV calls tumors (some scholars say this was piles or hemorrhoids, but the bottom line is whatever it was, it was not a good time -- people were sick and dying).
Then the Philistines started playing hot potato with the Ark of God -- (kind of like when a community thinks a prison or landfill is a good idea just as long as it is in the next county and not theirs) -- The people of Ashdod took the Ark to another town, Gath (and those people also suffered affliction) and they in turn took the ark to Ekron and affliction broke out there as well.
Philistines were sick and dying throughout their country -- so they finally called an emergency board meeting and all the rulers came together. And they decided that they needed to get the ark completely out of their country, and back to the Israelites.
So the Philistines put the Ark on a cart -- hooked up some oxen and sent the ark back to the Israelites. And just to be safe they sent with it a guilt offering -- of 5 gold tumors and 5 mice (nice stuff huh). The Philistines were relived to get the ark of God out of their country, relieved to remove the God of the Israelites from their lives.
G. THE NEXT SCENE WE WANT TO LOOK AT IS IN CHAPTER 7, REPENTANCE AND VICTORY.
Tough the Ark was returned to the Israelites, they that is the Israelites knew that they were still in trouble with God, the text says, "ALL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL MOURNED AND SOUGHT AFTER THE LORD."
LISTEN TO [7:3-6]
The Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered and Mizpah and they were still looking for a fight (I guess they didn’t learned their lesson about messing w/God)-- so they headed to Mizpah.
The Israelites who were still licking their wounds from their devastating defeat, where 34,000 died, were afraid when they saw the Philistines coming. But Samuel made intercession to God for them and God heard their cries for deliverance.
And just when the Philistines drew near to begin the battle -- God thundered with a loud roar from heaven -- which threw the Philistine army into a panic and the Israelites routed them.. With God’s help their past defeat was turned into a resounding victory.
And the cries of mourning in the land were replaced by songs of praise and sounds of rejoicing.
THAT’S THE DRAMA -- NOW THE LET’S TALK ABOUT THE II. LESSONS....
A. THE FAMILY
1. "PARENTS"
a. parents need to discipline/ "restrain their children.
God said Samuel In regards to Eli, "FOR I TOLD HIM I WOULD JUDGE HIS FAMILY FOREVER BECAUSE OF THE SIN HE KNEW ABOUT; HIS SONS MADE THEMSELVES CONTEMPTIBLE, AND HE FAILED TO RESTRAIN THEM."
Parents have a responsibility to discipline their children -- especially in areas that deal with their obedience to God.... If we just let them walk away from "THE WAYS OF THE LORD" AND WE DO NOTHING, WE ARE WRONG!
b. Parents need to discipline their children before it is too late... Eli knew about his sons sin but he waited too long to say something... And by the time he did they were so far gone that they just blew Ol dad off and keep doing their own thing.
Parents, discipline your children, If you don’t get them to obey and respect you early, when they are young, you can forget about IT, when they become a teenager... (brownie example listens now respect early... even though she could hurt me she won’t) And it is not the schools job to get your kids to follow rules and obey --
If parents did their jobs when children were young, then when they arrived at school, they would not be a behavioral problem.
c. don’t honor your children more then god
Eli failed to restrain his children -- in they way they served the Lord -- and God said that in doing so Eli was honoring his sons more than God....
Why? because God says His people are to bring their children up in the ways of the Lord, and when we let our children do their own thing (serve God or not, live for Him, or not) when we don’t try to set them straight, we are disregarding God’s command to us, and in so doing are honoring our children more then God. And we are allowing are kids to ruin their life -- Eli allowed Hophni and Phinehas to ruin theirs..
2. CHILDREN
you are responsible for what you do
Even though Eli was wrong in failing to restrain Hophni and Phinehas, They knew what was right and was wrong (they knew what God had said about sacrifice and worship), and they were the ones ultimately responsible for what they did -- and God dealt with them, according to their actions, not what they knew about God..but by how they lived for God..
Young people, you are responsible for what you do -- Christian young people who have grown up in the church, know what God expects from them (to live the Christian life everyday and everywhere, even with non christian friends)-- Young people, you are responsible for your actions -- even if your parents don’t restrain you.
I know this goes against what you’ve been taught in school that if you do wrong, it’s your moms fault are your dogs fault, blame anyone but yourself, -- yeah that’s the popular mindset today.. That’s what the world says, But God says you are responsible and you will dealt with by God according to what you do and the life you live not what you know about God..
B. "CHURCH"
1. Just because we can whip ourselves into a spiritual, emotional frenzy -- (like the Israelites did when the Ark was brought into the camp right before their defeat), This doesn’t mean God is with us...
God being with us is determined not by how we feel BUT by how we live and what we do, are we walking with God, obeying his commands.
2. DON’T PLAY GAMES WITH GOD
Those IN THE CHURCH, who like Hohni/Phinehas are claiming a relationship to God, but are denying him by their actions BEWARE!!! Paul in Titus 1:16 describes such people, perhaps you know one, "THEY CLAIM TO KNOW GOD, BUT BY THEIR ACTIONS THEY DENY HIM. THEY ARE DETESTABLE, DISOBEDIENT AND UNFIT FOR ANYTHING GOOD."
3. WITH SIN WE ARE WITHOUT GOD, AND WE LOSE
Sin in our lives as individuals and in the life of the church (especially among leaders) spells defeat for individuals and the church.... The sins of Hophin and Phinehas caused 34,000 men to die and your sin and mine, will effect the mission of this church, which the body of Christ.
4. WE CAN GET RIGHT WITH GOD
Eli told Israel when they were camped at Mizpah what they needed do to get right with God, and what he told them is exactly what we need to do if we are not right with God (perhaps some here today needs to do this): Put away your idols (anything you put before God) -- commit yourself to the Lord -- Repent and Confess your sins....
5. IF WE ARE FOR GOD, GOD IS FOR US
And just as God thundered and the Philistines were routed... God will thunder for us, and the enemies in our life will be routed as well -- "BECAUSE IF GOD IS FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? NO ONE!!
C. "THE WORLD"
1. YOUR GODS CAN NOT DELIVER YOU
The Philistine god Dagon was just a helpless idol that could not even get up by itself.... It had no power to deliver the Philistines or help them -- it couldn’t even help itself get off the ground...
The gods of this world, money, fame, pleasure and power -- are powerless to help or save anyone....They may be fun now but they give you know hope beyond the grave (so what good are they?) And the god’s of this world, like dagon will one day, bow before the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORD’S-- GOD’S WORD SAYS EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST ID LORD...
2. OUT OF YOUR SIGHT AND OUT OF YOUR MIND DOESN’T MEAN THAT GOD IS NOT STILL THERE!
Just because the Philistines removed the ark from their land and didn’t have to think about it, or see it -- doesn’t mean that they were not still under God’s authority.
Our society is trying to the best of it’s ability to remove God from every facet of this world... from prayer in school to crosses on water towers.... Let’s get God and this Jesus out of our lives, we don’t want to think about Him or see Him-- He makes us very uncomfortable...
But no matter how hard the world tries, and no matter how successful they think they are....... God is still God -- and they are still under His authority and they will answer to him as they stand before Him in judgment...
The world like the Philistines may get all excited because they think they’ve a small battle,
BUT GOD HAS ALREADY WON THE WAR!
