(3)
(2)
Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 4; 1 Sam. 5; 1 Sam. 6; 1 Sam. 7:1-2
In reading the Bible we need to have a clear view of God's economy and understand everything in the Bible in relation to God's economy. Why did God create the universe? Why did God create man and choose the people of Israel? God did these things for His economy. As we come now to Samuel's relationship with the stale and waning Aaronic priesthood described in 4:1—7:2, we need to consider the events recorded here in the light of God's economy. It is important for us to see that Israel became degraded because they had no concern for God's economy, for His move on earth, and for His kingdom.
Samuel observed the misfortune of the ark of God under the superstition of the degraded and rotten Aaronic priesthood. As Samuel observed all these things, he must have received a deep impression, and these things became an education to him.
The ark of God was usurped by the elders of the people of Israel, who were degraded from the line of God's economy (4:1-8). The elders usurped the ark in their superstition for their fighting against the Philistines. Because the children of Israel had been defeated by the Philistines, the elders of Israel proposed that the people take the ark of God from the tabernacle in Shiloh into battle with them. The elders said, "Let us take unto us the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from Shiloh that it may be in our midst, and thus save us from the hand of our enemies" (v. 3b). When the ark came into the camp, the people were glad and "all Israel shouted with a great shout" (v. 5). They trusted in the system ordained by God, but they did not trust in God directly. They should have repented to God of their failure and inquired of Him as to what He wanted them to do. Before bringing the ark of God out of the tabernacle, they should have checked with God as Joshua did at Jericho (Josh. 6:2-4). The elders knew the history of Jericho, but because they had become degraded, not having any heart for God's desire or His eternal economy, their situation was absolutely different.
The ark was a type of Christ as the embodiment of God. It also signified Christ as the presence of the Triune God to be with His people for the carrying out of His economy to establish His kingdom on earth. To bring out the ark was just to bring out the presence of God. When the children of Israel began to move with the ark from Mount Sinai, Moses offered a prayer to God, saying, "Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered" (Num. 10:35). The ark took the lead to travel onward. The move of the ark was a picture of God's move on the earth.
In 1 Samuel 4 the elders of Israel were actually usurping God. At that time, God did not intend to move. The children of Israel had no thought of or concern for God's economy, and their bringing out the ark indicated that they were usurping God for their safety, peace, rest, and profit. They were usurping God, even forcing Him, to go out with them.
Today many Christians usurp God by praying for their prosperity, health, or family without any consideration of God's economy. When we ask God for His healing, we must be fully related to His economy. If you are ill, you should not pray for healing in the way of usurping God. On the contrary, from the depths of your spirit you should say, "Lord, I am not here on earth for my health, my prosperity, my children, or my work. I am here for Your economy. Do You still want me to live on earth for Your economy? I have seen Your economy, I realize that You need Nazarites, and I have a heart to be a Nazarite for You. As one who has been born of God and who has the life and nature of God, I ask You what is on Your heart concerning me." If God intends that you continue living on earth for His economy, you will be healed, either through a physician or through some other way. The point here is that, instead of usurping God, we must pray, live, and be persons according to God's heart and for His economy.
Eventually, the ark of God, which had been with the children of Israel for at least 400 years, was captured by the winning Philistines, indicating that the glory had departed from Israel (4:9-22). From that time the ark began to have a history within the history of Israel.
A short time after the children of Israel brought out the ark of God, they were defeated, and the ark was captured. Thirty thousand among Israel were killed, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. Eli probably had a kind of intuition concerning the ark of God. Instead of staying at home, he sat "on his seat by the roadside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God" (v. 13a). When the news came that the ark of God had been captured, Eli fell backward, broke his neck, and died. Also, at that time Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, delivered her child and called him Ichabod, which means "No glory." Then she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been taken" (v. 22). Because the ark of Jehovah had been captured, the glory had departed from Israel.
These events must have made a deep impression upon the young Samuel. During the night he might have thought about them, saying, "Here I am in the tabernacle, and the center of the tabernacle is the ark. Today the elders brought out the ark, but Eli, under whose custody I am, was not at peace. His heart was trembling as he was waiting for news. When the news came about what happened to the ark and to Hophni and Phinehas, Eli fell backward and died. His daughter-in-law also died as she was giving birth to her child. Before she died, she named her boy Ichabod." I believe that Samuel, a very thoughtful boy, considered the significance of all these things.
Having been captured, the ark suffered removal to three places among the Philistines, consecutively; and Jehovah dealt with them heavily for the protection of His ark (5:1-12). For God to protect His ark meant that He was protecting His holiness.
First, Jehovah dealt with the Philistines by damaging their god Dagon, which means "the fish-god" (vv. 1-5). After the Philistines brought the ark to Ashdod, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it next to Dagon (v. 2). Early the next day, the Ashdodites found Dagon "fallen on his face to the ground, before the ark of Jehovah" (v. 3a). They put Dagon back in his place, but "when they arose early in the morning of the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground, before the ark of Jehovah. And Dagon's head and the palms of his hands were cut off, lying on the threshold; only Dagon's trunk was left to him" (v. 4).
Second, Jehovah dealt with the Philistines by striking them with tumors (vv. 6-12). Verse 6 says, "The hand of Jehovah was heavy upon the Ashdodites, and He devastated them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders." Eventually, the people of Ashdod said that the ark of the God of Israel could not stay with them, for His hand was hard on them and on Dagon their god (v. 7). The lords of the Philistines brought the ark to Gath, but "after they brought it there, the hand of Jehovah was against the city, causing great panic. And He struck the men of the city, from small to great; and they broke out with tumors" (v. 9). Then the ark was sent to Ekron. However, when the ark of God came there, the Ekronites cried out that the ark of the God of Israel had been brought to them in order to kill them. Thus, they told the princes of the Philistines to send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place so that it would not kill them. "For the panic of death was throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there" (v. 11).
In chapter six we see that the ark suffered another removal, from the Philistines back to Israel, arriving at Beth-shemesh. After the ark of Jehovah had been in the country of the Philistines seven months, the Philistines asked the priests and diviners to make known to them how they should send the ark forth to its place (vv. 1-2).
The ark was removed by the superstitious way of the Philistines, with five golden mice and five golden tumors, as a kind of trespass offering for God's forgiveness and for God's glory (vv. 3-5). The bringing out of the ark by the elders of Israel and the returning of the ark by the Philistines both were superstitious. There is superstition in every kind of religion. In the Lord's recovery we do not have superstition — we have the revelation from God's Word.
The Philistine priests told the men to put the ark of Jehovah on a new cart to which two milch cows were tied, and in a box by the side of the ark to place the articles of gold which they were returning to Jehovah as a trespass offering. Then they told them to send the ark away that it might go and to watch to see if it went toward its own border at Beth-shemesh. If it did so, that would be a sign that it was Jehovah who had done great harm to the Philistines (vv. 7-9). The men did as they were told, and the cows went straight in the way toward Beth-shemesh. "Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it" (v. 13). The Levites took down the ark of Jehovah and the box that was with it, and "the men of Beth-shemesh offered up burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Jehovah" (v. 15).
God kept the holiness of His ark, so that it was taken to Kiriath-jearim and abode there for twenty years until all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah (v. 19—7:2).
Verse 19 tells us that Jehovah "struck the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the ark of Jehovah; and He struck seventy men among the people" (v. 19a). Due to their looseness in dealing with the ark, these seventy men were killed. This shows us that we should not be loose in dealing with the ark. As we have pointed out, the ark is the presence of God for the purpose of accomplishing His economy. God had brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and had trained them at Mount Sinai, charging them to build the tabernacle with the ark, so that it would be made known that God was carrying out His economy. The ark was not for their prosperity, protection, safety, or healing — it was for God's economy. However, at Samuel's time the elders of Israel had no regard for this but only for their own profit and protection. They considered that everything was theirs, and they even usurped God. Nevertheless, God protected His holiness, not allowing the Philistines or the people of Beth-shemesh to do whatever they liked with the ark.
Eventually, the people of Beth-shemesh asked the people of Kiriath-jearim to come and take the ark (vv. 20-21), and the ark remained there for twenty years (7:1-2). Although the ark returned to Israel and was under the care of the proper priesthood, the ark still did not go back to the tabernacle at Shiloh. This was an abnormal situation. While Samuel grew up in the tabernacle, the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for twenty years until all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah (v. 2).
