I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 4-7.
Today’s passage begins with the Israelites losing a battle to the Philistines. Their initial response to the loss was the correct one. They asked why God had allowed the Philistines to defeat them. However, rather than actually ask God what they should do, they decided to force His hand. Eli’s sons joined in the people’s attempt to force God to give them victory by accompanying the Ark of the Covenant to battle. I would note that in Exodus and in Joshua none of the accounts have the Ark, or even that which represented God before the Ark was made, lead the Israelites into battle.
The account of Samuel leading Israel to victory which is at the end of today’s passage gives us a counterpoint to the story of how the Ark was lost. Even after the return of the Ark, the people of Israel suffered oppression. Finally, they were ready to listen. Samuel told them that if they wanted God to rescue them they needed to turn away from their idols and worship only God. Samuel had the people gather, fast, and pray. When the Philistine army arrived to battle them, they did not ask Samuel to lead them into battle as God’s representative. No, they asked Samuel to plead with God that He would save them from the Philistines.
The contrast is clear. When the Israelites went into battle expecting that God would give them victory because they “deserved it”, despite the fact that they were breaking His commands, He allowed them to be defeated. When the Israelites fasted and confessed their sins, God acted to defeat their enemies. I am quite confident that the writer intended this contrast to be made because he tells us that the first defeat occurred at “Ebenezer”, then, after the victory, Samuel sets up a rock at the point of victory and names it “Ebenezer”. The location given for both Ebenezers is the same place.