The ark of the covenant is captured and Shiloh goes extinct. Timeline, maps, chronology, sermons of 1 Samuel: Eli, Samuel 1088 BC

The Book of 1 Samuel 1-7
The ark is captured and Shiloh goes extinct
1094 BC

Click to view High Resolution Panorama of Shiloh

1 Samuel 1-7

Introduction:

1. The book of 1 Samuel opens with barren Hanna praying to God at Shiloh for a son in 1102 BC.

2. The book of Judges is a cycle of apostasy, oppression, repentance and deliverance. The book of 1 Samuel opens at an evil time. Idolatry is rampant throughout Israel and the moral faithless corruption of the High Priest Eli and his two sons, is more than God can tolerate. God is about to strike Israel a huge blow at the hands of the Philistines.

3. The tabernacle of Moses has been at Shiloh for about 300 years, but God is about to drive both Shiloh and the Eli line of priesthood into extinction.

4. The ark of the covenant will be captured by the Philistines, Shiloh will burn, the tabernacle will move to Nob and the ark will end up at Kiriath-jearim.

5. The birth of Samuel in 1102 BC ushers in a new era of history. He is the last judge and the first prophet.

6. The ark of the covenant is captured and goes on a seven month ride through the Philistine pentapolis:

a. The ark is taken by the Hebrews from Shiloh to Ebenezer where it is captured.

b. From Ebenezer it is in Philistine hands and although the Bible doesn't tell us it may have been taken to the Philistine camp at Aphek briefly.

c. From Ebenezer it moves through three of the five Philistine capital cities: Ashdod, Gath and Ekron.

d. At each of these three cities God strikes the Philistines with plague, boils, insanity and death.

e. Finally the Philistines send the ark on an ox cart to Beth-Shemesh inside Jewish held territory.

Click to view High Resolution Panorama of Shiloh

Measurements of the Tabernacle and furniture:

1. Which cubit did Noah and Moses use? The old Egyptian/Babylonia cubit of course: 20.5 cubits.

2. Most modern Bible translations of the Book of Genesis wrongly render the size of the Tabernacle of Moses and Noah's based upon an 18-inch cubit.

3. The ‘old Egyptian/Babylon’ cubit of 20.6 inches was used in the Book of Genesis, particularly with regards to the size of the Ark of Noah and the Tabernacle of Moses. This was, according to various sources, the length of the cubit in the earliest times in Egypt, and also in Babylonia

4. "When preparing for my talk at the Near East Archaeological Society meeting, I reviewed a lot of the publications of Manfred Bietak and others regarding the excavations at Tell el-Daba/Avaris. Everywhere that Bietak mentions measurements, he uses the old Egyptian cubit of 20.6 inches. In one place he says explicitly that construction at Tell el-Daba followed this measurement. As an example, the two palaces at Ezbit Helmi were separated by an artificial lake, and the distance between the two palace walls was exactly 150 cubits, using the 20.6-inch cubit. These were, just about undoubtedly, the palaces where Moses was raised. Certainly they were the palaces in which Moses and Aaron found Pharaoh when warning him about the consequences of not letting the Israelites depart. So this would have been the cubit that Moses was familiar with. If he meant a different size (I don’t know when the 18-inch cubit came in), he would have said something like “according to the new-fangled shorter cubit”, but he nowhere did so. See Ezek. 40:5. Here Ezekiel had to explain that the angel was not using the 18-inch cubit that had become standard by this time, but was using the older cubit." (Rodger Young, private email, 2015 AD)

	20.6 inch cubit	Meters	Feet/inches
Outer Tabernacle	100 x 50 x 5 cubits	52.32 x 26.16 x 2.66 meters	171.7 x 85.8 x 8.6 feet
Holy of Holies	10 x 10 x 10 cubits	5.23 x 5.23 x 5.23 meters	17.2 x 17.2 x 17.2 feet
Holy Place	20 x 10 x 10 cubits	10.46 x 5.23 x 5.23 meters	34.4 x 17.2 x 17.2 feet
Burnt Altar	5 x 5 x 3 cubits	2.66 x 2.66 x 1.57 meters	8.6 x 8.6 x 5.15 feet
Ark of the Covenant	2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 cubits	1.3 x .78 x .78 meters	51.5 x 30.9 x 30.9 inches
Altar of Incense	1 x 1 x 2 cubits	.523 x .523 x .1.05 meters	20.6 x 20.6 x 41.2 inches

A. Hannah promises Samuel will be a Nazirite: The law of the Nazirite:

1. “Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. ‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin. ‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long. ‘All the days of his separation to the LORD he shall not go near to a dead person. ‘He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. ‘All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD. ‘But if a man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his dedicated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day. ‘Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. ‘The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the dead person. And that same day he shall consecrate his head, and shall dedicate to the LORD his days as a Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days will be void because his separation was defiled. ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. ‘He shall present his offering to the LORD: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering and one ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, and a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. ‘Then the priest shall present them before the LORD and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. ‘He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its drink offering. ‘The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. ‘The priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. ‘Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’ “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his separation, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation.”” (Numbers 6:1–21)

B. The name of Samuel: “he who was asked for”

1. “Not long afterward Hannah was found to be pregnant and in the course of time gave birth to a son. The child was given a name intended to memorialize Hannah’s bold faith and the Lord’s gracious response. That name—Samuel—has also created an etymological and interpretive puzzle for generations of European and American scholars. The majority of interpreters have rejected the etymological link suggested in the text (vv. 17, 20, 27–28; 2:20) between the name šĕmûʾēl and the verb “ask” (šāʾal). However, consonantal and acrostic links do exist. Metathesizing (i.e., reversing) the first two letters of Samuel’s name (= mĕšûʾal) creates a word meaning “He who was asked for”; acrostically, the name may be derived from the Hebrew phrase meaning “asked from God” (= š̱āʾûl m̱in ʾ̱eḻ)”. (New American Commentary, 1 sam)

C. Hanna Vows: The law of vows:

1. “Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the LORD has commanded. “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. “Also if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. “But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her because her father had forbidden her. “However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. “But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her. “But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. “However, if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. “But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her. “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. “But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. “But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and as between a father and his daughter, while she is in her youth in her father’s house.” (Numbers 30:1–16)

D. Hanna offers her firstborn son to the Lord:

1. ““Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD. “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”” (Exodus 13:11–16)

2. ““For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), and give the money, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” So Moses took the ransom money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons, at the command of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.” (Numbers 3:46–51)

3. ““For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. “But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. “I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.”” (Numbers 8:17–19)

4. ““Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. “As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. “But the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the LORD. “Their meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh.” (Numbers 18:15–18)

5. ““Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man makes a difficult vow, he shall be valued according to your valuation of persons belonging to the Lord. ‘If your valuation is of the male from twenty years even to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. ‘Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. ‘If it be from five years even to twenty years old then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. ‘But if they are from a month even up to five years old, then your valuation shall be five shekels of silver for the male, and for the female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver. ‘If they are from sixty years old and upward, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. ‘But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be placed before the priest and the priest shall value him; according to the means of the one who vowed, the priest shall value him.” (Leviticus 27:2–8)

E. The one or three bull sacrifice: Hannah brought enough flour and wine for three bulls

1. “Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young.” (1 Samuel 1:24)

2. “‘When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD, then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD. ‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. ‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number.” (Numbers 15:8–12)

DRY MEASURE

BIBLICAL UNIT	LANGUAGE	BIBLICAL MEASURE	U.S. EQUIVALENT	METRIC EQUIVALENT	VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS
Xestes	Greco-Roman	½ cab	1 1/6 pints	.5 liter	pots; pitchers; kettles; copper pots; copper bowls; vessels of bronze
Cab	Hebrew	1/18 ephah	1 quart	1 liter	cab; kab
Choinix	Greco-Roman	1/18 ephah	1 quart	1 liter	measure; quart
Omer	Hebrew	1/10 ephah	2 quarts	2 liters	omer; tenth of a deal; tenth of an ephah; six pints
Seah/Saton	Hebrew/Greek	⅓ ephah	7 quarts	7.3 liters	measures; pecks; large amounts
Modios	Greco-Roman	4 omers	1 peck or ¼ bushel	9 liters	bushel; bowl; peck-measure; corn-measure; meal-tub
Ephah [Bath]	Hebrew	10 omers	3/5 bushel	22 liters	bushel; peck; deal; part; measure; six pints; seven pints
Letek	Hebrew	5 ephahs	3 bushels	110 liters	half homer; half sack
Kor [Homer]/ Koros	Hebrew/Greek	10 ephahs	6 bushels or 200 quarts/14.9	220 liters/525 liters	cor; homer; sack; measures; bushels/sacks; measures; bushels or 500 quartsbus

LIQUID MEASURE

BIBLICAL UNIT	LANGUAGE	BIBLICAL MEASURE	U.S. EQUIVALENT	METRIC EQUIVALENT	VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS
Log	Hebrew	1/72 bath	⅓ quart	.3 liter	log; pint; cotulus
Xestes	Greco-Roman	⅛ hin	11/6 pints	.5 liter	pots; pitchers; kettles; copper pots; copper bowls; vessels of bronze
Hin	Hebrew	1/6 bath	1 gallon or 4 quarts	4 liters	hin; pints
Bath/Batos	Hebrew/Greek	1 ephah	6 gallons	22 liters	gallon(s); barrels; liquid measure/gallons; barrels; measures
Metretes	Greco-Roman	10 hins	10 gallons	39 liters	firkins; gallons

	talents(s)	mina(s)	shekel(s)	beka(s)	gerah(s)
1 talent	1	50 (60?)	3,000	6,000	60,000
1 mina	1/50 (1/60?)	1	60 (50?)	120	1,200 (1,000?)
1 shekel	1/3000	1/60 (1/50?)	1	2	20
1 beka	1/6000	1/120 (1/100?)	½	1	10
1 gerah	1/60,000	1/1200 (1/1000?)	1/20	1/10	1

F. Samuel’s little robe:

1. The robe indicated Samuel was of the priestly line:

2. “The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son and Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son and Shaul his son. The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth. As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were Zophai his son and Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. The sons of Samuel were Joel the firstborn, and Abijah the second.” (1 Chronicles 6:22–28)

a. “And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.” (1 Samuel 8:1–3)

3. The robe:

a. “He put the tunic on Aaron and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him.” (Leviticus 8:7)

b. “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.” (Genesis 37:3)

c. “Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off.” (1 Samuel 17:38–39)

4. Samuel kept growing: “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52)

G. The strange customs at Shiloh are the reason for Shiloh’s extinction as the center of religious worship:

1. The law of Moses commanded this:

a. ““Their meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh.” (Numbers 18:18)

b. “‘The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons. ‘You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. ‘The one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion. ‘For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever from the sons of Israel.” (Leviticus 7:31–34)

2. How this contrasted with the “customs” that Eli allowed his sons to become the norm

H. Eli’s rebuke of his sinful sons: The Lord wanted to put them to death:

1. Hophni and Phinehas: 1 Sam 2:25

2. Pharaoh: ““But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 7:3)

3. “There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” (Joshua 11:19–20)

4. ““But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.” (Deuteronomy 2:30)

5. “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” (Romans 9:18)

6. “that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–12)

I. The law of Capital offenses:

1. Lev 10: Nadab and abihu

2. “‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the LORD, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people.” (Leviticus 7:25)

3. “‘They shall therefore keep My charge, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it; I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” (Leviticus 22:9)

J. Women serving at the tabernacle:

1. ““Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD,” (Numbers 6:2)

2. “Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” (Exodus 38:8)

K. The extinction of Shiloh: The Ark goes for a ride 1 Sam 2-7

1. Two prophecies had been made against Eli, that he and his priesthood would go extinct and lose control of the Tabernacle: One through prophet and the second through Samuel:

a. “‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always. ‘Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”” (1 Samuel 2:35–36)

b. “The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. “In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. “For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. “Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”” (1 Samuel 3:11–14)

2. The fulfillment of these prophecies took a threefold fulfillment:

a. “Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.” (1 Samuel 4:17–18)

b. “Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he killed that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. And he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.” (1 Samuel 22:18–19)

c. “Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.” (1 Kings 2:26–27)

L. Ark is captured:

1. Many times in the past the ark had been used in the defeat of Israel’s enemies:

a. When leaving Sinai: “Thus they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord journeying in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them. The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp. Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.” When it came to rest, he said, “Return, O Lord, To the myriad thousands of Israel.”” (Numbers 10:33–36)

b. Jericho: “So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.”” (Joshua 6:6)

c. Crossing the Jordan from Shittim: “And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.” (Joshua 3:6)

d. Civil war in 1300 BC against the tribe of Benjamin: “Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. The sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”” (Judges 20:26–28)

e. Saul calls for ark in fight against philistine: “Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”” (1 Samuel 14:18–19)

2. While God used it as a symbol of their faith, no doubt many in Israel viewed it as a pagan lucky rabbit’s foot.

a. “When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.”” (1 Samuel 4:3)

b. Notice that the Hebrew may mean “it” in that they were looking to the ark, not God for deliverance. Given the fact that Israel was under punishment for apostasy and that they were going to be defeated at God’s hand, they likely viewed the ark as nothing more than a “St. Christopher’s Bobble-head” on the dashboard of the car.

3. Strangely, the pagan Philistines had more faith than Israel in that they said, “God (not the ark) had come into the camp.”

a. “The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.” (1 Samuel 4:7)

4. The great cull of the unfaithful in Israel, which is similar to other major culls by God of the unfaithful.

a. First battle, 4000 Israelite men were killed by the Philistines

b. Second battle 30,000 were killed

c. There will be many among the Philistines who will died until they return the ark to Beth-Shemesh

d. Final cull of 50,070 Israelites at Beth-Shemesh because they touched or looked inside the ark.

e. Total of 120,070 Israelites were killed.

f. The time was evil.

Conclusion:

1. God has now vacated Shiloh: “And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”” (1 Samuel 4:20–22)

2. The place where the most holy events in Israel occurred for 300 years is burned by the Philistines and the Tent of meeting is moved to Nob.

3. Eli and his sons are dead and under David, his line of high priests will go extinct.

4. For 100 next years the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle is belongs in are separated until the temple of Solomon. Never again will the ark of the covenant be inside the Tabernacle of Moses. David build the “tabernacle of David” (a tent) and moves the ark to Jerusalem, while the tabernacle of Moses resides at Gibeon until it is dismantled and stored in a room in the temple of Solomon, then lost in history.

5. See also: History of the Temple

By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.

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