Home / 1 Samuel: Verse by Verse / 1 Samuel 4–5
1 Samuel 4–5: When God Is Near, but Not Known
- Passage
- 1 Samuel 4–5
- Taught
- June 28, 2026
- Series
- 1 Samuel: Verse by Verse
- Length
- 49 minutes
Summary
Israel loses a battle to the Philistines at Ebenezer and decides the ark of the covenant will fix it. They carry it from Shiloh into the camp as a kind of lucky charm. The Philistines panic but fight anyway. Israel loses thirty thousand men, the ark is captured, and Hophni and Phinehas are killed.
When a runner brings the news, Eli, ninety-eight years old, falls backward and dies. Phinehas’s wife dies in childbirth after naming her son Ichabod, “the glory has departed from Israel.”
The Philistines place the ark in Dagon’s temple at Ashdod. Dagon falls on his face before it, and the next day he is broken on the threshold. Tumors strike Ashdod, then Gath, then Ekron, and the Philistines demand that the ark be sent away. Israel cannot control God, and neither can Israel’s enemies.
Practical takeaways
1 Samuel 4:1–11
- Don’t treat God like an idol or a lever. Seek God, not leverage.
- Don’t follow corrupt leadership.
- Get right with God before the battle.
1 Samuel 4:12–22
- You can carry the symbol and still miss God.
- Crisis reveals what we really trust.
- When God’s glory departs, everything else crumbles. Guard your devotion.
1 Samuel 5:1–12
- God exposes what you trust more than him.
- You can’t control God. Submit to him.
- You can reject God, but you can’t escape him. Respond to what he shows you rather than seeking mere relief.
Questions to talk about
- What do I fear losing most? What controls my decisions? Where do I run first?
- Where have I treated a ritual or symbol as a substitute for knowing God?
Scriptures in this lesson
- 1 Samuel 4Interlinear
- 1 Samuel 5Interlinear
- Exodus 25:22Interlinear
- Numbers 10:33–36Interlinear
- Isaiah 66:2Interlinear
- Luke 12:15Interlinear
- Psalm 46:1Interlinear
Background
Background: the Philistines, the ark, and “glory”
- The Philistines came from the Aegean, had an advantage in iron-working, and held five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. The name “Palestine” comes from “Philistine.”
- The ark symbolized God’s presence (Exodus 25:22) and held the covenant tablets (Deuteronomy 10:5).
- Kavod, the Hebrew word for “glory,” means the weighty presence of God.
- Dagon was a Philistine grain and fertility god.