The Signs of the Times
December 22, 1881
The Glory Departed from Israel
“Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” From one extreme of the land to the other, Samuel's claims to the prophetic office were established, and he received further revelations of God's will in the tabernacle at Shiloh. ST December 22, 1881, par. 1
The messages of warning and reproof to the house of Eli were made known by him to the whole nation. By so doing he hoped to counteract, in some measure, the evil influence of his past neglect. But these warnings were disregarded by the people, as they had been by the priests. The surrounding nations also, who were not ignorant of the iniquities openly practiced in Israel, became still bolder and more determined in their own course of idolatry and crime. They felt no sense of guilt for their sins, as they would have felt had the Israelites preserved their integrity. ST December 22, 1881, par. 2
Again the Philistines gathered their forces for war. And Israel, without asking counsel from the Lord, without the concurrence of Eli or Samuel, rashly went out to battle. But the hand of God was not with them, and in the first engagement they were defeated, with a loss of four thousand of their number. When the people returned disheartened to their tents, the elders of Israel said, “Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines?” The nation was ripe for the judgments of God, yet so blinded by their unbelief and rebellion that they could not see in their disaster a token of the Lord's displeasure. ST December 22, 1881, par. 3
Instead of confessing and forsaking the sins that had brought defeat upon them, they now set about devising some other means by which to obtain the victory. Then they thought of the ark of God. What wonders had been wrought when the priests bore it before the people into Jordan! How its waters parted, leaving a safe path for that vast company! They remembered also how it was borne about the city of Jericho seven days in solemn silence, and then as the trumpets pealed, and the people gave a great shout, the massive walls fell flat upon the earth. ST December 22, 1881, par. 4
The recollection of these glorious triumphs inspired all Israel with fresh hope and courage, and they immediately sent to Shiloh for the ark, “that when it cometh among us,” said they, “it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” They did not consider that it was the law of God which alone gave to the ark its sacredness, and that its presence would bring them prosperity only as they obeyed that law. While they talked of the “ark of the covenant of the Lord,” they ignored the real significance of the title. A covenant is an agreement between parties, based upon conditions. If Israel would obey the divine law and thus fulfill the conditions of their covenant with God, he would verify his promises to them. But what presumption for them to expect a blessing while they were violating the conditions upon which alone it could be bestowed! ST December 22, 1881, par. 5
Yet we see a similar blindness and inattention on the part of many at the present day. Having a knowledge of God's law, they are confident and boastful, as though especially favored of Heaven, while they are not from the heart obeying its precepts. God has given to modern Israel warnings, counsel, and reproof, to bring them to repentance and reformation of life. But too often these produce but a momentary impression. The persons warned soon return to their own ways. They flatter themselves that because they have a form of godliness they will be accepted of the Lord, and they go on presumptuously devising and executing plans in accordance with their own finite judgment, and giving little heed to the special manifestations of divine providence. It is one thing to acknowledge the claims of God's law, and quite another thing to render faithful and willing obedience to all its requirements. And let it be remembered that to the obedient alone will the promises of blessing, support, and guidance be fulfilled. ST December 22, 1881, par. 6
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, eagerly acceded to the proposal to bear the ark into the camp. Without the consent of the high priest, they ventured presumptuously into the holy of holies, and took from thence the ark of God. Filled with pride, and elated with the expectation of speedy victory, they bore it to the camp. And the people, beholding, as they thought the token of Jehovah's presence, “shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” ST December 22, 1881, par. 7
They overlooked the distinction between the divine presence vouchsafed to an obedient and believing people, and the ark, which was but a symbol of that presence. Hence they confidently looked to the ark for those blessings which God alone could bestow. They saw not the wide contrast between the condition of Israel when the Lord wrought so mightily in their behalf, and their present state. ST December 22, 1881, par. 8
They were then walking in obedience to God. The ark was borne by holy men in accordance with his express command, and the Captain of the Lord's host went before the repository of his law. Then his arm brought deliverance for them. But they were now following their own plans, in opposition to the divine counsel and authority. The ark was borne by sons of Belial who were doomed to destruction. Yet the people were so infatuated by Satan as to imagine they could induce God to fight for them, when the law under the mercy-seat condemned them to defeat, disaster, and death! ST December 22, 1881, par. 9
The Philistines looked upon the ark as the god of the Hebrews. All the mighty works which Jehovah had wrought for Israel, were attributed to its power. As they heard the shouts of joy and triumph at its approach, they said, “What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” “And they understand that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.” ST December 22, 1881, par. 10
The Philistines feared for their nation; yet still they trusted to the power of Dagon their god, and sought to strengthen the courage of the people: “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.” They well knew how bitter was the servitude which Israel had endured when in their power, and the thought of themselves becoming slaves to endure like oppression nerved them with the courage of desperation. ST December 22, 1881, par. 11
A fierce assault upon Israel resulted in their defeat with great slaughter. Thirty thousand men lay dead upon the field, and the ark of God was taken, the two sons of Eli having fallen while fighting to defend it. ST December 22, 1881, par. 12
The Lord sorely chastised his people Israel, revealing their hypocrisy and rebuking their presumption, and thus left upon the pages of history the testimony for all future ages, that the iniquities of his professed people will not go unpunished. The greater the knowledge of God's will, the greater the sin of those who disregard it. God is not dependent upon men to cause his name to be feared and honored in the earth. He accepts the labors of those who walk in faithfulness and humility before him, but he will reject all who profess to serve him, and yet follow in the course of the unrighteous. God can carry forward his work in the earth without the co-operation of those who would pervert or disgrace it. ST December 22, 1881, par. 13
While the army of Israel went out to battle, Eli, blind and old, remained at Shiloh. Seating himself at the gate of the tabernacle he anxiously waited for tidings from the field of conflict, “for his heart trembled for the ark of God.” Days of agonizing suspense followed. At last there fell upon his ears a sound of lamentation from the town. Soon a messenger drew near, his clothing rent and dust upon his head, and repeated to the high priest his sad tidings: ST December 22, 1881, par. 14
“Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead.” Eli could endure all this, terrible as it was, for he had expected it. But when the messenger added, “And the ark of God is taken,” a look of unutterable anguish passed over his countenance. The thought that his sin had thus dishonored God and caused him to withdraw his presence from Israel, was more than he could bear; his strength was gone, he reeled upon his seat and fell, “and his neck brake, and he died.” ST December 22, 1881, par. 15
The wife of Phinehas, notwithstanding the impiety of her husband, was a woman who feared the Lord. The death of her father-in-law and her husband, and above all the terrible tidings that the ark of God was in captivity, caused her death. She felt that now the last hope of Israel was gone, and she named the child, born in this hour of adversity, Ichabod, or inglorious; with her dying breath mournfully repeating the words, “The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.” ST December 22, 1881, par. 16