Story of the Month
The Ark Captured
1 Samuel 4-6
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Eli was the high priest for Israel. God was not pleased with him because he had allowed his sons to defile the sanctuary and had not stopped them. God told him that he and his family would be judged. He also said, “I will do something that will cause people to shudder when they hear about it.”
When Eli was 98 years old, the Philistines made war with Israel, so the army of Israel went out to meet their enemy. The Philistines defeated the army of Israel, killing about 4,000 men on the battlefield.
The elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to suffer defeat?” Then they had an idea. “Let’s go get the Ark of God and take it with us into battle. It will give us victory.” So the people sent for the Ark of the God, and Eli’s two sons brought it to the camp. All the Israelites shouted so loud that it seemed like the ground shook.
The Philistines heard the shout and thought it was a war cry. They investigated and found that the Ark of God had entered the camp. This caused them to panic. They said, “Their gods have entered their camp! We’re doomed! They have magnificent gods. They are the ones that slaughtered the Egyptians with plagues.”
Finally the Philistine leaders encouraged the troops. They said, “Be courageous and act like men. You are mighty Philistines! Not weak Hebrews. Now be strong and fight – or you will be their servants.”
So the Philistines fought as if they had everything to lose. Once again Israel was defeated. The slaughter was severe. 30,000 foot-soldiers were killed. The Ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons were killed.
Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth
Eli was sitting on his chair beside the road waiting for a report from the battle. He was concerned about the Ark of God. He was 98 years old, and blind. A man ran from the battle to report on what happened. When he entered the city, he told them what happened. The entire city cried out. Eli heard the noise and asked, “What’s all the commotion?”
The man said, “There was a great slaughter today. Your two sons were killed, and the Ark of God was captured.” When Eli heard about the Ark of God, he fell backwards off the chair. Since he was a heavy man, his broke his neck and died.
Eli’s daughter-in-law was due to give birth to a child. She heard the news about the Ark of God and the deaths of her husband and father-in-law. Suddenly she went into labor and gave birth to a son. Those helping her said, “You should be happy because you’ve given birth to a son!” But she didn’t respond. Finally she said, “The glory has departed from Israel because the Ark of God has been captured.” Just before she died, she named the boy Ichabod, which means, “The glory has departed.”
The Ark in Philistine Hands
The Philistines took the Ark of God to a city and put it in the temple of their god. The next morning, they found their idol face down in front of the Ark. They set the idol back up, but the next morning it was back on the ground. This time, both the head and the hands were broken off.
Suddenly the city was overrun with mice, and the people had large tumors all over their bodies. The men said, “It is the Ark of Israel’s God that is causing this.” So they moved it to another city.
Immediately, God’s judgment hit that city. They were overrun with mice and the people developed large painful tumors. This caused the people to panic. The men sent the Ark of God to yet another city, but people of that city cried out, “They’ve moved the Ark of Israel’s God to us so they can kill us!”
They moved the Ark from city to city for seven months. Fear and death followed it wherever it went. Finally Philistines asked their priests, “How we can send Ark of God back to Israel?”
They said, “If you send the Ark back to Israel, you must also send a guilt offering with it. Then God will remove His hand of judgment from you and you will be healed. Make five gold images of your tumors and five gold images of the mice that are destroying the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and He will stop oppressing you. But if you harden your hearts, you will be like Pharaoh when these people left Egypt. He will send more plagues on you until you let them go.”
“Prepare a new cart and place the Ark of God on it. Put the gold objects in a box beside it. Select two milk-cows that have never been in a yoke and hitch them to the cart. Take the calves away from the cows and put them in a pen nearby. Then stand back and see what the cows do. If they ignore their calves and go up the road toward Israel, you will know it was the Lord that has afflicted us these seven months. However, if the cows go toward their calves, we will know that it was not God’s judgment that has been upon us. It was just something that happened by chance.”
The men did exactly as they were instructed. When all was ready, they stood back and watched. The cows went straight up the road toward Israel. They stayed on that road with their heads down, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers walked behind them to the territory of Israel.
The people of Israel were harvesting wheat when they saw the Ark coming toward them. They shouted for joy. The cows pulled the cart to a field near a large rock and stopped. The people of Israel put the Ark on the large rock. They then offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord, using the wood from the cart. When the Philistine rulers saw this, they returned to their country.
There were 70 men from a nearby Israeli town who were curious about what was in the Ark of God. So, they opened it and looked inside. All 70 men died by the hand of God. This struck fear into the hearts of the people, but this was the beginning for the nation of Israel turning their hearts toward God.
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