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symbols and reality

1 Samuel 4:1-11 (JDV)

1 Samuel 4:1 And Samuel’s words were for all Israel. Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
1 Samuel 4:2 The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
1 Samuel 4:3 When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Yahveh defeat us today before the Philistines? We should bring the ark of Yahveh’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from our enemies.”
1 Samuel 4:4 So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of Yahveh of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1 Samuel 4:5 When the ark of the covenant of Yahveh entered the camp, all the Israelites shouted so loudly that the ground shook.
1 Samuel 4:6 The Philistines heard the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of Yahveh had entered the camp,
1 Samuel 4:7 they panicked. “A god has entered their camp!” they said. “Tragedy has come to us, nothing like this has happened before.
1 Samuel 4:8 Tragedy has come to us, who will rescue us from these powerful gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
1 Samuel 4:9 Show some courage and be men, Philistines! Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”
1 Samuel 4:10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was severe — thirty thousand of the Israelite foot soldiers fell.
1 Samuel 4:11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

symbols and reality

This episode in the life of ancient Israel reveals that the Israelites and the Philistines were both inflicted with a mental disorder. Both cultures confused the symbol with the reality behind it. The symbol was the ark of the covenant. It symbolized the presence of Yahveh, the creator of all things. Israel cheered when they brought that symbol into their war camp. No doubt the Philistines also cheered when they captured it. God was grieved by both events. His actual presence was already in both camps. He wants all his creatures to acknowledge his reality, not worship any symbols of it.

Today, there are also symbols of God’s presence among us. A church, a cross, a Christian flag — these are all symbols. They can represent God’s presence, but they must never be allowed to replace it. When that happens, God may just allow those symbols to be taken away.