God Cannot Be Controlled

The Philistines gathered for an attack against the Israelites and after a fierce battle, the Philistines were victorious slaying about four thousand men. The Israelites withdrew and the elders said, “Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.

This inspired the Philistines to take courage and fight manfully and again defeated Israel who lost thirty thousand soldiers. In addition, the ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons were among the dead. The Israelites put their trust in ceremonial observances to ensure victory instead of a universal return to purity of worship and morals with sincere repentance. God was not impressed with their “quick fix” to their apostasy by severely punishing them on the battlefield and by allowing the capture of the ark-signally vindicating His supremacy over all the gods of the nations.