Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 4:4–11
4 So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 5 When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!
6 “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived, 7 they panicked. “The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! 8 Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. 9 Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
4 So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 5 When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!
6 “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived, 7 they panicked. “The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! 8 Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. 9 Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
Commentary:
4:10 Israel was defeated. In view of v. 3, one cannot suppose that the Philistines on their own were the cause. every man to his home. Literally, “every man to his tent.” This is a common cliché for disbanding an army, either by decision (Judg. 20:8; 1 Sam. 13:2; 2 Sam. 20:1, 22; 1 Kings 12:16) or because of defeat (2 Sam. 18:17; 19:8; 2 Chron. 25:22).
4:11 The capture of the ark, which symbolizes God himself, and the death of the priests is a kind of “humiliation” of God’s name, prefiguring the humiliation of Christ in his crucifixion. But it all takes place in accordance with God’s sovereign purpose (2:34–35; Acts 2:23; 4:25–28).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.
4:11 The capture of the ark, which symbolizes God himself, and the death of the priests is a kind of “humiliation” of God’s name, prefiguring the humiliation of Christ in his crucifixion. But it all takes place in accordance with God’s sovereign purpose (2:34–35; Acts 2:23; 4:25–28).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.
Questions:
Israel suffered a humiliating military defeat against the Philistines, losing four thousand men, yet they stubbornly refused to address the sin in their own camp. The tabernacle at Shiloh had been openly defiled by Eli’s corrupt sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who treated God’s holy sacrifices with contempt and led the nation into spiritual darkness.
People often run to sacred relics and religious ceremonies to escape judgment, while stubbornly refusing to part with the very sins that provoked God's anger in the first place. Israel mistakenly assumed God was bound to give them victory because of their covenant status, completely ignoring how their unrepentant hearts had severed their fellowship with Him. Rather than tearing their clothes in genuine repentance, the Israelites demanded God’s protection. They wanted God’s blessings without bowing to His authority.
Brandon pointed out, they were ignoring Him in daily life, yet expecting Him to immediately fix their crisis when trouble struck. The loss of thirty thousand additional soldiers, the death of Eli’s sons, and the capture of the Ark proved that a lack of reverence for God should remove any expectation of His divine protection.
Sin always takes us further than we want to go and costs more than we are willing to pay. We fall into this exact trap whenever we expect God to pour out His peace, provision, and victory while we actively harbor disobedience and refuse to surrender our lives to His standard.
People often run to sacred relics and religious ceremonies to escape judgment, while stubbornly refusing to part with the very sins that provoked God's anger in the first place. Israel mistakenly assumed God was bound to give them victory because of their covenant status, completely ignoring how their unrepentant hearts had severed their fellowship with Him. Rather than tearing their clothes in genuine repentance, the Israelites demanded God’s protection. They wanted God’s blessings without bowing to His authority.
Brandon pointed out, they were ignoring Him in daily life, yet expecting Him to immediately fix their crisis when trouble struck. The loss of thirty thousand additional soldiers, the death of Eli’s sons, and the capture of the Ark proved that a lack of reverence for God should remove any expectation of His divine protection.
Sin always takes us further than we want to go and costs more than we are willing to pay. We fall into this exact trap whenever we expect God to pour out His peace, provision, and victory while we actively harbor disobedience and refuse to surrender our lives to His standard.
- Where do you find yourself wanting God to show up for you, while at the same time keeping Him out of certain parts of your life? When life gets hard, do you find yourself running to God more than you do when life is going well? Why do you think that is?
- Israel thought having the ark with them meant God had to give them victory. What are some ways Christians today can make the same mistake, expecting God to bless us simply because we call ourselves Christians?
- Jesus didn’t use His relationship with the Father to get His own way. He completely submitted to the Father’s will even unto death. How does Jesus’ example change the way we should think about following God?
- Is there an area of your life where you know you’re not obeying God, but you still find yourself asking Him to bless you, protect you, or give you peace?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the times you’ve asked God to help, protect, or bless you while still holding on to sin or choosing to do things your own way.
- Thank God that He doesn’t simply give us whatever we want and that He cares more about changing us than making our lives easy.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you’ve been compromising or keeping God at a distance.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
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