G
Today men are replacing God's testimony with man's need; when man's need replaces God's testimony, degradation begins and problems arise; the Ark was not only the Ark of God (1 Sam. 4:11, 13, 17-19, 21-22) but also the Ark of the Testimony (Exo. 25:22; 40:21).
H
Israel should have repented, made a thorough confession, returned to God from their idols, and inquired of God as to what He wanted them to do.
I
Instead, having no heart for God's desire or for His eternal economy, they exercised their superstition to trust in the Ark based on their past victories that they had experienced through the move of the Ark.
J
Due to Israel's degradation, the Ark was captured by the Philistines and was separated from the tabernacle, leaving the tabernacle an empty vessel with no reality, no proper content (1 Sam. 4:11—6:1); this signifies that in the second stage of its history, the church became degraded and lost the reality and presence of Christ (chs. 3—4; Rev. 3:20).
K
In their degradation Israel was foolish because they did not trust in God directly; rather, they trusted in the systems ordained by God; before bringing the Ark of God out of the tabernacle, they should have checked with God as Joshua did at Jericho (Josh. 6:2-4; cf. 9:14).
L
From the depths of our spirit we should say to the Lord, "Lord, I am not here on earth for my health, my prosperity, my safety, my peace, my rest, or my profit; because I want to be a true overcoming Nazarite cooperating with You for the fulfillment of Your economy, I ask You what is on Your heart concerning me"—1 Sam. 2:30b, 35; Num. 6:1-9; cf. 1 Kings 8:48; Jer. 32:39.
M
In their degradation the children of Israel offended God to the uttermost, and God left them; eventually, instead of the Ark saving Israel, the Ark itself was captured, and the glory of God departed from Israel (1 Sam. 2:30, 34; 4:10-18, 22; Psa. 78:61); to be "Arkless" is to be "Christless," and to be "Christless" means that there is "Ichabod," meaning No Glory (1 Sam. 4:21-22; Rev. 3:20).
Morning Nourishment
1 Sam. 4:11 And the Ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.Rev. 3:19-20 As many as I love I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.
Israel was foolish in their degradation because they did not trust in God. Rather, they trusted in the systems ordained by God. In their situation they should have repented, made a thorough confession, and returned to God from their idols. Instead, they exercised their superstition to trust in the Ark. Their past told them that quite often when the Ark of God moved, there was a victory (Num. 10:35; Josh. 6). But this time their situation was not right. In their degradation they offended God to the uttermost, and God left them. Eventually, instead of the Ark saving Israel, the Ark itself was captured (1 Sam. 4:11a).
When the wife of Phinehas, who was pregnant and about to deliver, learned that the Ark had been captured and that her husband and her father-in-law had died, she bowed down and gave birth to a son (vv. 19-20). She named the child Ichabod (v. 21), meaning “No glory, “ indicating that the glory had departed from Israel. Glory is God Himself. When God departed, the glory departed from Israel. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 18-19)
Today’s Reading
During the time of Eli the priest, the people of Israel failed God. They were sinful in the eyes of God. They were wrong with God, yet they still went on to fight the battle. Of course, they were defeated (1 Sam. 4:1-2)…. If we are rightly related to God, we can never be defeated. When we are wrong with Him, we must be defeated, for the ground is lost. We must learn this vital lesson. Although the Israelites were defeated, they would not learn their lesson; they would not be judged and dealt with by the Lord. Rather, they developed a certain superstitious attitude concerning the power of the Ark of God. Because they were wrong with God, they misused the Ark. They superstitiously planned to let the Ark fight the battle for them (vv. 3-9). The Ark did not help the Israelites. They were defeated, the Ark was captured, and the two sons of Eli the priest, the two leaders, were killed (vv. 10-11). The glory of God departed from Israel (vv. 19-22), and the tabernacle was left empty.The Ark was indeed powerful, for it did protect itself. After defeating the people of Israel in battle, the Philistines placed the captured Ark in their own temple, and in so doing their idol was defeated. Eventually, the Ark even defeated and subdued the Philistines (ch. 5). The Philistines had vanquished thousands of the Israelites in battle, but they could not vanquish the little Ark…. Eventually they decided to send the troublesome Ark back to the Israelites and did so (6:1-16), sending it to Beth-shemesh. Upon receiving the Ark, the people of Beth-shemesh dealt carelessly with it, and many of them were struck by the Lord. The Beth-shemeshites then sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, asking them to take the Ark to their place. Hence, the men of Kiriath-jearim fetched the Ark and brought it into the house of a priest named Abinadab, where it remained for twenty years (6:12—7:2).
The situation was indeed abnormal: the tabernacle with the altar was in Shiloh, but the Ark was in Kiriath-jearim. The content was separated from the vessel, and the vessel was left empty. This situation prevailed until a full recovery was realized by the people of Israel. The Ark must be in the tabernacle. If we would have a normal church life, we must have Christ, the Ark, in the church, the tabernacle. All these events in the history of Samuel, Saul, and David occurred with only one object and purpose in view—God’s building. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, “The Vision of God’s Building,” pp. 249-250)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 4, “The Vision of God’s Building,” ch. 10