The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 155
SECT. CLV.
AS Samuel had before made known the word of the Lord to Eli, ſo he does now to all Iſrael, reproving them for their ſins, and telling them before hand what Judgments would fall upon them if they did not ſpeedily repent; but they not reforming, the Philiſtines (who it ſeems during the forty years of Eli's Government had been pretty quiet, poſſibly becauſe of the great ſlaughter Samſon had made of their Lords and chief men at his death, ſee Judg. 16.30.) now begin again to invade their Land, and being entred with an Army, the Iſraelites gather themſelves together to fight with them, and pitch their Camp at a place which was afterward call'd Eben-ezer (the occaſion whereof we may ſee afterwards, Ch. 7.11.) and the Camp of the Philiſtines was in Aphek, a City in the Tribe of Judah. The Armies joining Battel, the Iſraelites were ſmitten before the Philiſtines, and loſt 4000 men. The Iſraelites having rallied their ſcattered forces, the Elders of the people began to inquire with ſome aſtoniſhment why the Lord had thus left them, and ſuffered the Philiſtines to prevail over them; though they knew that Idolatry, and many other groſs ſins were at this time rife among them, (as we may learn from the Pſalmiſts words, Pſal. 78.58. ſpeaking of theſe very times) yet they were ſo blind and ſtupid that becauſe they were the ſeed of Abraham they wondered that God ſhould take part with the uncircumciſed Philiſtines againſt them, not being ſenſible of their own great wickedneſs which had provoked him to bring that calamity upon them. And vainly they thought to mend the matter by fetching the Ark of God, the ſign of his preſence to be among them. For not repenting of their ſins whereby they had forfeited their intereſt in God, nor ſeeking to make their peace with him as they ought to have done, their confidence in the Ark was vain and groundleſs. However without conſulting with God, or adviſing with Samuel, they reſolve to fetch it into the Camp, by which in former times their Anceſtors had prevailed againſt their enemies, (as at the taking of Jericho, Joſh. 6.4, 5.) and they hoped it would now help them alſo. And thus they truſted more in the viſible preſence of the Ark, than the gracious preſence and aſſiſtance of God, which they could not rationally hope for whilſt they continued impenitent and unreform'd.
The Ark being ſent for, the two Sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas came along with it, either to carry it, [as Numb. 4.15.] or to attend it. And when it came into the Camp, all Iſrael ſhouted with a great ſhout, ſo that the earth rang again with the rebound or Eccho of their ſhout. The Philiſtines underſtanding this, were ſore affraid, for they ſaid, God is come into the Camp; thinking (it ſeems) the Ark to be ſome repreſentation of the God of the Iſraelites, and having the ſame opinion of it that they had of their own Idols; at leaſt they conceived ſome Divine power went along with it, which was the reaſon they were ſo afraid. And they ſaid, Wo unto us, there hath not been ſuch a thing heretofore; that is, in former conflicts which we have had with them, they uſed not to bring their Ark into the Camp, and by this unwonted ſhout of theirs we may perceive how much greater their hope and confidence now is than it hath been formerly. Wo unto us, who ſhall deliver us out of the hands of theſe mighty Gods? Thus they ſpeak of the true God after their Idolatrous manner, who worſhipped many Gods or Idols. They further ſaid, Theſe are the Gods that ſmote the Egyptians with all the Plagues which fell upon Pharoah and his people in Egypt, and at laſt drowned them in the Red-Sea, which joined to the deſert or wilderneſs of Etham, Exod. 13.20. upon which many of their dead carcaſſes were caſt up; and hereupon they name this as the conſummation of all the former Plagues. Therefore they encouraged one another, ſaying, Let us be ſtrong, and quit our ſelves like men, and fight valiantly, that we be not ſervants unto the Hebrews as they have been unto us, Judg. 13.1. Accordingly the Armies encountring each other, the Philiſtines fought ſtoutly, and the Iſraelites were diſcomfited, and there fell thirty thouſand Footmen (for they had no Horſe) and the reſt were miſerably ſcattered, ſo that they fled to their own houſes or dwellings. See Ch. 13.2. 1 King. 12.16. And the Ark of God was taken (a)The Ark being in the Tabernacle at Shiloh, it was now taken thence, and never came into it again: It was carried now to Ebenezer (a place ominous now, but a monument of Gods help ſoon after) into the Camp, Ch. 5.1. that it might ſave them out of the hands of their enemies, (as we read the Philiſtines themſelves in the days of David brought their Images into their Camp, 2 Sam. 5.21. 1 Chron. 14.12.) The Ark being taken there by the Philiſtines, they carried it about to Aſhdod, into the houſe of Dagon, thence to Gath, thence to Ekron; and after they had kept it ſeven months they ſent it to Bethſhemeſh, a City in the Tribe of Judah, and it was fetcht thence to Kirjathjearim a City likewiſe of Judah. It was there placed in the houſe of Abinadab a Levite, 1 Sam. 7.1. it abode there twenty years till the time of the Repentance and Reformation wrought by the Miniſtry of Samuel, 1 Sam. 7.2. And after in the days of Saul it ſeems to be fetched thence to Gilgal, 1 Sam. 10.8. and after to Gibeah of Benjamin, compare 1 Sam. 13.9. and Ch. 14.2, 18. ſo that it ſeems it was fetched into extraordinary aſſemblies upon extraordinary occaſions, both in War and Peace. But being returned to Kirjath-jearim to the houſe of Abinadab, it was fetched thence by David, 1 Chron. 13.5. Sixty-ſeven years after it was firſt brought thither. It was brought by him to the houſe of Obed-Edom a Lev…te, 2 Sam. 6.10. the Ark was there three months, and then fetched thence by David with great ſolemnity into the Tent which he prepared for it in Jeruſalem, 1 Chron. 1.5. and thence ſeems to be carried into Joab's Camp before Rabbah, 2 Sam. 11.11. and began to be carried with David in his flight from Abſalom, 2 Sam. 15.24. And being returned to David's Tent prepared for it at Jeruſalem, Solomon as ſoon as he had built the Temple, brought it thence with great Solemnity, and placed it in the Holy Oracle, 2 Chron. 5.2. about 112 years after it firſt left Shiloh. What became of it at the deſtruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar is uncertain., and the two Sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were ſlain according to the Prediction, Ch. 2.34. and a man of Benjamin ran from the Army, and came to Shiloh the ſame day with his Clothes rent, and with earth upon his head (ſee Joſh. 7.6. 2 Sam. 1.2.) to ſignifie the ſad news he brought, and Eli ſat upon a ſeat by the way-ſide near the Gate of the Tabernacle watching, and earneſtly expecting news from the Camp, and the ſucceſs of the fight. For his heart trembled for the Ark of God, leſt that ſhould fall into the hands of the Uncircumciſed Philiſtines, and be profaned by them, and leſt the Iſraelites ſhould be deprived of the comfort of it(b)Ante adventum arcae tantum 4 millia occiduntur, poſt adventum ejus 30 millia. Tantum abeſt ut improbi ex praeſentia arcae adjuventur ut potius in majus exitium devolvantur. Mendoz..
And when the man had told his ſad ſtory in Shiloh, all the City cried out with moſt bitter and loud lamentation; Eli who was ninety-eight years old, and blind, hearing this dreadful out-cry, inquires what the matter was; whereupon they brought the meſſenger to him that came out of the Army, who told him that Iſrael was fled before the Philiſtines, and that there had been a great ſlaughter among the people, that his two Sons Hophni and Phinehas were ſlain, and laſtly that the Ark of God was taken; no ſooner did the Meſſenger make mention of the loſs of the Ark, but old Eli's heart died within him, and being old, heavy, and corpulent, and falling down backward, he broke his neck and died, having judged Iſrael forty years.Samuel the 14th Judg. His daughter-in-law Phinehas's wife was with child, and ready to be delivered, who when ſhe heard thoſe diſmal tidings of the taking of the Ark, the death of her father-in-law, and husband, ſhe bowed her ſelf, and the pains of travel came upon her, and being delivered, yet ſo as ſhe was ready to expire, the women about her ſought to comfort her, telling her that ſhe had borne a Son, but ſhe regarded it not, only named the child Iehabod, that is, where is the glory? (c)v. 22. Quod capta eſſet Arca Dei, illud imprimis eam cruciabat; nam domeſticam calamitatem publicae poſtponebat. Eliciamus hinc documentum lamentandi potius ſpiritualia dona quam temporalia. Mendoz.intimating that the Ark being taken (b), (which was the ſign of Gods preſence) the glory was departed from Iſrael, and ſo ſhe gave up the Ghoſt.
1 Sam. Ch. 4. whole Chapter.