It was a scary day for Israel – they had been attacked by the Philistines! It was not going very well, and they needed help, so they came up with a plan. They said in verse 2, “Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.”

While it was good to include the Lord, they were treating the Ark of God like a superstitious good luck charm. It seems that they were thinking “if we have God’s Ark with us, we can’t lose!”

Instead, they should have been seeking the Lord Himself, and His direction and guidance. It is no accident that I Samuel 4:4 points out that the wicked sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the Ark, when it went out to battle. Had they been seeking the Lord, instead of just the benefits of His protection, this would not have been the case. Instead, they would have first been prompted to deal with the sin in their own camp, instead of just presuming that they could have the blessing of God in battle.

Without so much as a prayer, they took their “lucky charm” and rushed into battle. Their scary day turned into a very sad day, when the Philistines slaughtered thirty thousand footmen, killed Hophni and Phinehas, and took the Ark of the Covenant. What a terrible tragedy!

Ninety-eight year-old Eli the priest sat by the gate, and heard the great noise of the battle. He could not see, and so he asked what was going on. He was told about the battle, and that his sons were killed, and that the Ark was taken. Verse 18 gives perhaps the saddest commentary on the life of Eli, where it says, “And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died:…”

It was as if the news of his sons’ death did not phase him, but when he heard about the Ark, this was different. What was more important? His own sons, or the ministry? Over and over throughout his life, he had ignored God’s warnings about his sons, and had loved the priesthood and Israel, while neglecting his family. His priorities were out of whack. Now, at the very end, his sons die in battle, and the only concern he expresses, is for the Ark of the Covenant! How sad!

In life, we have different realms of responsibility. We have our families. We have our church and ministry responsibilities. We have our jobs. If we are not careful, our priorities will get out of whack, and people, especially those in our family, will be neglected.

They get neglected when our walk with God gets neglected first and foremost. When God becomes a symbol – a lucky charm – an ideology, instead of the living Saviour with Whom we walk daily and Who directs our every step, we will lose our priorities. Our focus will drift, and pretty soon, like Eli, our whole lives will be defined by sadness.