Notes
At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek. The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men. After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.”
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. 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!
“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, 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! 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. 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!”
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. The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
1 Samuel 4:1b-11
At this time in their history, the people of Israel were divided and leaderless. They were relying on their own strength, and it wasn’t working. Two questions we need to ask as we read about this battle are: why were the Israelites defeated, and what can we learn from this?
At the beginning of the battle, God wasn’t there. The Israelites had forgotten the Ark - the place where God dwelled - and thought they could do things through their own power and knowledge.
Too often, we try to make God fit into what we want Him to be. We put bits and pieces into our own mold until we have a god that is what we want and agrees with everything we think. But why believe in such a small god of our own creation?
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23
God is the mold. He transforms us, not the other way around. One sign that we are trying to fit God into a mold is if we are taking verses out of context to fit a belief we hold or to justify something we are saying or doing. If we catch ourselves doing this, or thinking things like “God is for me, so He is against those people,” we need to check our hearts.
He didn’t come just to make your life better, but to give you a completely new life. There are two kinds of life: bios or physical life, and zoe or spiritual life. When we come to Jesus, the zoe begins to interact with and impact the bios. Part of growing and maturing in our walk with Him means learning to live this new, spiritual life He gives us.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:31-34
God understands our physical needs; our priority should be seeking first His Kingdom. Embrace the zoe, the spiritual life, because we can’t do it on our own. God is doing something bigger than anything in our world: He is restoring humanity to Himself. He is the mold we are called to pour ourselves into, not the other way around.
Group Questions
- What do we learn from the Israelites’ defeat in 1 Samuel 4:1-11?
- How can we tell if we are trying to put God into our own mold?
- What is the difference between bios and zoe?
- In what ways does God mold us?
Prayer
Thank you for giving us zoe, spiritual life in you. Make it clear where we are trying to put you into a mold, and instead begin to mold us so that we are more like you.