1 Samuel 4:5, commentary and pictures

When the ark of the covenant came into the camp, all Israel broke into a loud, confident shout, believing its arrival meant God's presence and protection and would give them victory over the Philistines. The shout followed an earlier defeat in which four thousand were slain, when the people sent to Shiloh and Hophni and Phinehas, the polluted sons of Eli, brought the ark into the camp. The ark was only the sacred symbol of God's presence and power, not the presence itself, and its sacredness came solely from the law of God contained within it, so Israel's strength lay in obedience to that law. Because the people had transgressed the law and broken the covenant, God withdrew and would not go out with their armies, making their shout pride and presumption rather than faith while they refused to confess and forsake the sins that had caused their defeat. The same false trust reappeared when the Jews in Jeremiah's time believed the divinely appointed temple services would preserve them from punishment, showing that reverence for sacred things can never replace repentance and obedience.

Shout in the Camp

When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout so that the earth rang, loud and confident and exuberant with certainty of success. The shout expressed the belief that its arrival meant Jehovah's presence and protection and would bring victory and triumph over the Philistines.

The shout came after an earlier defeat in which four thousand were slain. The people then sent to Shiloh for the ark, and Hophni and Phinehas, the polluted and wicked sons of Eli, brought it into the camp.

Their fresh hope and courage rested on remembering the wonders God had wrought when the ark went before the people. They recalled how it parted the waters of Jordan at the passage over Jordan, and how it was borne around Jericho for seven days until the trumpets pealed and a great shout threw the walls down in easy conquest.

The ark's arrival came without God's command or permission. It did not prevent defeat: Israel was smitten and delivered into the hands of their enemies, the priests were killed, the ark of God was taken and enemies triumphed. The later victory took place on that same battlefield twenty years afterward.

Symbol Mistaken for Presence

The shout rose because the people took the ark for a pledge of Jehovah's presence, yet the ark was only the sacred symbol of that presence and power, not the presence itself and not in itself a source of blessing and victory. They mistook the symbol for the divine presence, placing confidence in the sacred object itself as though it were God instead of worshiping the God it represented. Carrying it into battle therefore did not guarantee protection, and it could not secure blessings that God alone bestows.

What made the ark sacred was not wood and gold but the law of God alone, the commandments contained within it beneath the mercy seat, and as representative of God Himself it derived all its sacredness from them. Israel's strength lay in obedience to that law, so merely having the ark present could not give triumph, and bearing it into camp could not ensure success. The title itself declares the terms, for ark of the covenant means an agreement between parties based upon conditions, and its presence could bring prosperity only as the people obeyed that law and fulfilled the conditions of their covenant with God. To expect blessing and the verification of His promises while violating the conditions upon which alone blessing could be bestowed was presumption.

Because the people had transgressed God's law and broken the commandments, the law beneath the mercy seat condemned their disobedience. God withdrew and would not go out with their armies, so the ark's arrival could not make Him fight for them nor prevent defeat, disaster, death, and capture by their enemies. Their excitement rested on pride and presumption, not on obedience or faith. They said the ark would save them out of the hand of their enemies while refusing to confess and forsake the sins that had caused their defeat, and those conducting the ark, the polluted and sinful priests Hophni and Phinehas, were themselves transgressing that law in defiance of God. Such trust was misplaced, for the mere presence of the ark could not gain victory whether or not wicked works were repented of, and reverence for sacred things cannot replace repentance and obedience. Trusting in the ark while disobeying the law it contained leaves the soul unsaved, since knowledge of the law does not save when it is not obeyed and allowed to transform character.

Warning for Later Generations

The shout in the camp exposes the same false trust that reappeared in Jeremiah's time, when the Jews believed that strict observance of the divinely appointed services of the temple would preserve them from just punishment for their evil course. Israel shouted with great confidence when the ark containing the commandments of God came into the camp against the Philistines, believing its mere presence would gain them victory whether or not they repented of their wicked works. Reverence for sacred things and the mere presence of the ark cannot replace repentance and obedience.

The same danger exists today among those who profess to be the depositaries and repository of God's law, when they flatter themselves that their regard for the commandments will preserve them from the power of divine justice while they refuse to be reproved for evil. They charge God's servants with being too zealous and blame them for putting sin out of the camp. A sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep His law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey His word will bring consequences as serious upon God's people today as came upon ancient Israel, for there is a limit beyond which He will no longer delay His judgments. Correction given through His chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity, and the desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning to modern Israel.

Confidence and display centered on a sacred object cannot replace true piety or trust in God. Saul knew this history of defeat despite the enormous, exuberant shout that greeted the ark's arrival, and still chose to repeat the act in an effort to revive the people's courage. Because the people forgot God and placed confidence in the ark as though the sacred object itself were God instead of worshiping the God it represented, He removed the ark, the symbol of His presence and power, and the nation lost its outward display of divine glory. Yet faithful people could still approach God through prayer and heavenly communion, even in captivity.