Hophni, Phinehas, And Me. (Or, "Nice Necklace.")

"God is looking for some people who will take Him at His word." -Rev. Althea Taylor

"Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines?" (from First Samuel 4:3)

First Samuel 4:3 relays a tough question asked by ancient Israel: "Why was God not with us?" In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Althea shared that there is no problem with asking God the "why" questions. But, sometimes, we are challenged because we may hear an answer that we didn't want to hear. God had an answer to the Israelites' question:

Why was I not with you? Because you disobeyed Me, and there are consequences to disobedience.

How sad is the life-story of Hophni and Phinehas. Surrounded by icons and articles of worship, these two men appropriated for themselves sacrifices that were reserved only for God. (In other words, they were stealing.) As their worship of God deteriorated, so did their watch-care over God's people: their narrative became one of spiritual and sexual abuse of the people who came to Shiloh for worship (see First Samuel 2:12-25). It's an shocking decline in faith and practice.

And, after years of stealing sacrifices and engaging in fornication in the doorway of the temple, Hophni and Phinehas boldly took the ark to the battlefield. The First Samuel 4 passage shows that they, and all Israel, made an amazing assumption: they believed that the mere presence of the ark of God would bring victory. There was no indication that anyone had prayed for God's help. There was no indication of repentance from Hophni and Phinehas. In a way, the ark of God had become a sort of amulet or good-luck charm; the people seemed not to take into account their own lives and behavior as factors in God's presence being with them.

Let's turn the story to ourselves. Icons are valuable, meaningful tools when God leads us to use them as symbolic expressions of our worship life. The function of an icon is to usher us into the worship and adoration of our God. But perhaps we, too, are guilty of embracing icons without engaging worship. It's easy to put a cross on the wall or to wear a cross necklace. It's not as easy to set aside time for prayer to our Lord who went to the cross. In this country, it's usually an easy thing to have access to the Bible. It's not as easy to be intentional in reading God's word and remembering what we've read. It's easy for us to listen to Christian music, but perhaps not as easy to live the Christian life.

Are we like Hophni and Phinehas, who neglected to obey God but then assumed that the ark would ensure His presence with them?

Lord God, You have asked us to give our lives to You. So, today, we give ourselves to You once again. Please help us to live out every aspect of our lives-- in worship, through service, at work, and at home-- in ways that are honorable and pleasing to You.

Sold, To The Highest Bidder.

Our pastor mentioned something on Sunday that I'd like us to reflect on for today. Pastor Althea said (and I paraphrase), It's not that it's hard to follow God; it's easy to follow God. It's just that it's easier not to follow Him.

It is a profound thought. I don't know if the people listening on Sunday agreed or disagreed. But let's ask a few questions of ourselves.

• If we were to record every thought and action of our day, would we find our hearts turned towards God or towards the world?
• In our Christ-walk, are we found to be people of prayer and people of the Word?
• Do we love being engaged in works of service to God, or are we showing up out of grudging obligation?
• Are our decision-making processes based on cultural tradition and current trends, or are they based on what God has said?

My prayer for us is that we all hold in our hearts a deep desire to be found in the company of our Lord, hearing and obeying His word, and doing His work.

Do not lack in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. (Romans 12:11-12)

"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Simply Intellectual?

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Althea made an observation: for some in the community of faith, Scriptural truths are merely a source of intellectual knowledge. Though they have an interest in acquiring data, they do not have an interest in growing in grace or living in obedience to the word they so faithfully read.

I wonder if we all at some point, and in some measure, are guilty of chasing data without seeking to draw nearer to God. In Sunday's sermon we considered Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas. These were men who served in God's house while demonstrating overt disobedience to His laws. Sadly, it is not just a story from long ago: it is the story we face in our time.

For today, let's read the Scripture text from Sunday with an intent to approach the word of God prayerfully and reflectively. Let us seek to hear from God as we read. Let us expect for God to show us something that we might not have realized on Sunday. Let us be ready to repent for the wrongs we may discover in our own souls as we reacquaint ourselves with this narrative.

Lord God, as we read Your word, please transform us and move us into a deeper relationship with You.

First Samuel 4

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”

The man hurried over to Eli, who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?” The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years. His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”