1 Samuel 4:11-18 – The LORD Determining
God has been defeated. Or so it seems. But the rest of this mini story about God in exile (chapters 5-7) will show that he is anything but defeated. This in book about the rise of a king who will rule, we see that God rules. Even in seeming defeat and even over his enemies. We have a hint of this in this scene today.
The camera goes from the battlefield to Shiloh, 20 miles east. The narrator tells us with a hint of irony that Eli, who can’t see, is watching for news of the Ark of the Covenant. A battle weary messenger comes and word spreads of Israel’s defeat. There’s a panic. The Philistines are possibly marching on Shiloh. There is archeological evidence of destruction there around this time. Eli, unable to see the dishevelled appearance of the messenger, asks what the outcry is about. The messenger, painfully slowly, reports the bad news: “I have come from the battle. I have fled. The Israelites fled. There has been a great defeat. Your sons are dead. The Ark has been captured.” There’s some redemption for Eli at the end. It’s not news of defeat that kills him, not even his sons’ deaths. But news that the ark is captured (v18). He feels the horror of what has happened – God defeated and dishonoured
But we see this unfolding against the backdrop of the judgement God pronounced on Eli’s house (2:34). Judgement is coming exactly as God determined and announced. God seems to have been defeated, but he’s not. He’s still in control. He is freeing his house from the shame and scandal of the impious and immoral sons of Eli. Seeming defeat, yet God is determining it all. He is restoring his honour through seeming dishonour, and revealing his power through apparent weakness.
This is God’s way, all the way to the cross, and beyond. At the cross his Son hangs lifeless and cursed. The place reeks of judgement and wrath. But God is determining all that happens, and he is delivering. This is God’s way today. In our lives and in our congregation, he is determining all that happens for his glory and the deliverance of his people. The believer can look at dark acts of judgement with hope.
Questions
- This is Israel’s darkest day. But why is it not all doom and disaster?
- Can you look back on your life and times and see any dark periods that turned out to be the beginning of restoration?
Prayer Points
1.Give thanks that God remembers mercy in his wrath, and rebuilds out of the ruins of his judgement.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.