“And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the
Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines pitched in
Aphek.”
Abravanel covers many subject matters in Samuel 4. While this chapter does mention Samuel in
passing, the main thrust shifts to the Hebrew’s disastrous military loss to the Philistines.
Casualties counted tens of thousands of warriors, among them high priest Eli’s two sons Hophni
and Phinehas. On top of that, Philistines captured the holy ark. When the nearly one-hundred-
year-old Eli heard of the dismal setback, he recoiled and perished.
Here, let us focus on Abravanel’s enlightening essay on the holy ark. Here is the backdrop to its
capture. Israel “pitched beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.” That campaign
began inauspiciously enough for the Hebrews. The Philistines slew “in the field about four
thousand men.” That wasn’t the half of it.
“And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said: Wherefore has the
LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD
out of Shiloh unto us, that He may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our
enemies.”
Embedding the holy ark with the soldiers at the front turned out to be wholly injudicious and
desperate act, Abravanel says. Why, he asks, had the elders suggested the removal of the holy
ark from the holy of holies, subjecting it to peril? After all, it was not the first time the Jews
were defeated by enemies, yet no one had ever broached the idea of enlisting the holy ark.
Why, then, was it deemed a bright idea now? “So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought
from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, Who sits upon the cherubim; and the
two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.”
Glee and hoopla greeted the holy ark into the Hebrew’s army camp. “And when the ark of the
covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the
earth rang.” Good cheer, however, was short-lived. “And the Philistines fought, and Israel was
smitten, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell
of Israel thirty thousand footmen.” The holy ark with its two custodians fared no better. “And
the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.”
Abravanel lays out five rationales to explain why the holy ark ignominiously fell to foreign
hands.
- Just deserts. The Creator sought to punish His people by removing the nation’s holiest
vessel. Though Samuel had strongly condemned and warned his brethren of their
backsliding, the prophet’s words fell on deaf ears. Not a tad of remorse. - Eli’s sons’ role. Evil priests Hophni and Phinehas acted as the ark’s custodians.
Dereliction of duty, then, triggered tragedy, their hands (and hearts) soiled. - Disrespect. The Jews had NO business removing the holy ark from the holy of holies and
transporting it to the war. Such a reckless deed would have required the Maker’s
greenlight via a prophet, which the Hebrews did not have. Specifically, Samuel who was
a bone fide prophet had not authorized or blessed the cheap gambit. Furthermore, Eli
could have been consulted. As high priest, he could have posed the question to the Urim
and Thummim about breaking longstanding protocol. Headstrong Hebrews knew better. - Slothfulness. The Jews, as stated, had not returned to follow in the ways of God.
Instead, they looked for a quick fix. That is, they continued to flout Torah
commandments, hoping that the presence of the holy ark would do the “heavy lifting”
in a manner of speaking, and singlehandedly wipe out the Philistines. God would not
condone such ill-begotten plans. - Object lesson for Gentiles. The holy ark rates as the Tabernacle’s most sacred vessel.
Though it could have performed miracles, had the Jews merited, it didn’t. No wonders,
no divine help. In contrast, the moment the Philistines laid their grubby hands on the
prized ark, surprises aplenty awaited (Samuel 5,6). In short shrift, the holy ark brought
untold misery to the Philistine people; they would rue the day of its capture. Our next
essay graphically depicts how the Creator freed His holy ark from defiled hands.