I Samuel 4 · The Lantern

And what Samuel had said happened to all Israel. And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel; and the battle spread, and Israel was routed before the Philistines; and they slew in battle array in the field about four thousand men.

And the people came into the camp; and the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch ourselves the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies.

So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of hosts, who sitteth between the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there by the ark of the covenant ofGod.

And it came to pass when the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came into the camp, that all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook.

And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, and said, What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of Jehovah had come into the camp.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said,God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore.

Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mightygods? these are thegods that smote the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

Shew yourselves valiant and be men, ye Philistines, that ye may not have to be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been servants to you: be men, and fight.

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was routed, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

And the ark ofGod was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

How will it be true to say about that [earthly] tabernacle that only "the innocent in hands and pure in heart, who did not receive his soul in vain," will inhabit it, when the history of the kings transmits that the worst priests, "sons of pestilence," have dwelt in the tabernacle of God and the ark of the covenant itself also was captured by foreigners and detained with the im…

Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. It demanded tribute from the priests, who, without right, were taking it away from those who made offerings; it dismissed the sons of Eli from their priesthood.

And the ark of God was captured, etc. And with the proclamation of the apostles and the faith of the repenting people spreading far and wide, the grace of God was taken away from the Jews, and that priesthood of legal judgments, once glorious on the throne, fell backward, that is, it turned back on itself and did not fear to take up the sins it once abandoned; it perished with…

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.

And when he came, behold, Eli was sitting upon the seat by the way-side watching; for his heart trembled for the ark ofGod. And the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.

And Eli heard the noise of the crying, and said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man came hastily, and told Eli.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see.

And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the battle, and I have fled to-day out of the battle. And he said, What has taken place, my son?

And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark ofGod is taken.

And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark ofGod, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for the man was old, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

See what chastity is required in a bishop! If his child is unchaste, he himself cannot be a bishop, and he offends God in the same way as did Eli the priest, who had indeed rebuked his sons, but because he had not put away the offenders, fell backwards and died before the lamp of God went out.

22. What is it that Eli, upon hearing of Israel's flight, when the ruin of the people was reported to him, when the death of his sons was announced, does not at all fall from his seat: but upon learning of the capture of the ark, both falls from his seat and loses his life?

The man was an old man, and advanced in years, etc. That priesthood had become aged at that time, once glorious with rich virtue, and it showed, at the appropriate time, judgments of the divine law, which is encompassed in the Decalogue, to the people of Israel through chief priests, elders of the people, scribes, and Pharisees who are also called doctors of the law.

And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark ofGod was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

Let us read the Scriptures, and we will never find that holy women, except Rachel, gave birth with pain: because she was on the way and in the hippodrome, that is, in the race of horses, which are sold in Egypt, she gave birth to a son of pain, whom later the father called the son of his right hand.

26. But who was the daughter-in-law of Eli, if not the people of the Jews, subject to reprobate priests? Because she had received the seeds of unbelief in her mind through their preaching, she was pregnant. And because she was also thinking of pouring forth the malice she had conceived, she is said to have been not only pregnant but also near to giving birth.

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, etc. The Synagogue, entrusted with the children of the legal priesthood to govern, indeed received the seed of the word from the teachers and was near to producing the fruit of faith, which it had long sought, at the Lord's preaching.

And as she was dying, the women that stood by her said, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer, neither did she take it to heart.

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark ofGod was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark ofGod is taken.

I Samuel4