1 Samuel 4:6
And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
The Philistines heard a great shout of joy and confidence rise from the Hebrew camp, asked what the shout meant, and understood that the ark of the LORD had come among the Israelites. The shout expressed restored confidence after losing four thousand men, sending to Shiloh for the ark of the covenant, and bringing it into camp with Hophni and Phinehas, believing defeat had come only from its absence and that merely bringing it would give triumph as at the passage over the Jordan and the taking of Jericho. The ark held the commandments and represented God's presence and God Himself, carried with the armies as a sign that He was with them, yet it was only a symbol and not by itself a source of divine power, blessing, or victory. God delivered Israel when they obeyed Him and the ark was carried as He commanded, for strength depended on obedience to the law it contained, but here the people followed their own plans and trusted its presence to bring victory without repenting of wickedness and while transgressing that law, so its presence could not make God fight for them or save them from the consequences of sin. Regard for the commandments and possession of the sacred sign will not preserve from the power of divine justice, and the sin-hating God calls those who profess to keep His law to depart from all iniquity, for neglect to repent and obey brings consequences as serious as came upon ancient Israel.
Shout and Ark Arrival
The Philistines heard a great shout of joy and confidence rising from the Hebrew camp, asked what such a shout could mean, and understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. The shout was Israel's restored confidence after losing four thousand men, sending to Shiloh for the ark of the covenant, and bringing it into the camp with the polluted priests Hophni and Phinehas. Israel concluded that defeat had come only because the ark was absent, and that merely bringing it would secure triumph as at the passage over the Jordan and the conquest of Jericho.
The Philistines treated the ark as though it were Israel's god and credited it with the mighty works Jehovah had done for Israel, and therefore feared that God himself had come among the Israelites. Saul knew this history, yet he later summoned the sacred ark and its priests, hoping its presence would restore the people's courage and help secure victory. The battle in which the Philistines heard this shout ended in Israel's defeat, with the priests killed and the ark of God taken, on the same field where a later victory was won.
Symbol, Obedience, and Warning
The ark held the commandments of God and stood as the representative of God himself and of his presence among his people, and it was carried with Israel's armies as the sign that God was with them. It was only a symbol of that presence, not in itself a source of divine power or blessing or victory. When Israel obeyed him and the ark was borne as he commanded, God delivered them, for their strength lay in obedience to the law which the ark contained and represented.
In this crisis Israel followed their own plans and trusted the mere presence of the ark to secure victory without repentance of wickedness and while transgressing the law. The law beneath the mercy seat condemned them, so by that transgression they forfeited God's protection and were given into the hands of their enemies, and the presence of the ark could not compel God to fight for them nor save them from the consequences of sin. Those who bore it, the polluted priests, were themselves transgressors of that law, Eli trusted the ark more than its Giver, and the people had learned to rely upon the ark and even to worship it instead of God while failing to keep the law it contained. Mere knowledge of the law cannot save when it is not obeyed and allowed to transform the character.
Regard for the commandments and possession of the sacred sign will not preserve from the power of divine justice, for the sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep his law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey his word brings consequences as serious as came upon ancient Israel. As in Jeremiah's time the Jews believed strict observance of the divinely appointed services of the temple would preserve them from just punishment for their evil course, so the same danger exists today among those who profess to be the depositaries of God's law when they flatter themselves on that regard, refuse to be reproved for evil, and charge God's servants with being too zealous in putting sin out of the camp. There is a limit beyond which he will no longer delay his judgments, and the desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning that correction given through his chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity.
When they sinned God removed the ark from them, taking away that outward assurance of his presence and power, and its absence stands as an image of his displeasure when the holy commandments are broken. Its loss did not prevent the faithful from approaching God through prayer and communion. But while disorder and irreverence were allowed and the law remained broken, truth had little power among them, and God would not go with Israel's armies nor give them victory.