1 Samuel 4: Hope and Disasters

Disasters, we have all seen them on TV and read about them in books. These are typically events when everyone remembers exactly what they were doing when they first heard about it. Where were you on 9/11? Where were you when Kennedy was shot? Some events will always be etched in our minds. For Israel losing the Ark of the Covenant in a battle against the Philistines was such an event. But this story is not included in 1 Samuel because of its traumatic impact on the nation.

The story revolves around Hophni and Phinehas and their father Eli. They are so obtuse, they have no idea that God is against them (v. 3). Unlike Joshua they do not ask why God was against them, only what they schemed to do next. They were truly worthless men (1 Samuel 2:12). Israel and the house of Eli were being judged for their wickedness. God has abandoned them because they have forsaken God and his commands (1 Samuel 2:29). Judgment has come upon Eli and his house.

So are all disasters judgments from God? Unfortunately the answer is not a simple yes or no. Indirectly, all disasters result from sin entering into the world. Sometimes God uses disasters to judge people and nations—such as 1 Samuel 4. But we cannot say that every disaster or suffering we face is a result of divine judgment against our sin. To believe that would be the mistake that Job’s friends, Eliphas, Bildad and Zophar, made.

God never answers Job’s question of ‘why,’ but God does give us an answer. It’s hope. 1 Peter explains that suffering is a part of the Christian life but we are not left alone to struggle through it. As Christians we are born into a new and living hope because of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Peter 1:3). God’s blessings are not always immediate, but through Christ he always gives us strength for today. The final word on every disaster is Christ’s resurrection and glorification. There is hope and there is strength but it is only in Christ. The glory of God may have departed from Israel when they lost the Ark (v. 21-22), but it returned when Christ rose from the dead. And this glory we will never lose.

Posted by Aaron Miner