September 5, 2025 • 21 mins
The consequences of our actions echo through generations—nowhere is this more evident than in the sobering account from 1 Samuel 4 explored in this episode. When Israel treated the Ark of God as a magical talisman rather than a holy vessel, they faced devastating defeat at the hands of the Philistines.
This fascinating journey through ancient Israel reveals what happens when God's people embrace privilege without responsibility. The story unfolds dramatically—30,000 Israelite soldiers slain, the Ark of God captured, and the deaths of Eli and his corrupt sons. Perhaps most poignant is the birth of a child named Ichabod ("the glory has departed") as his mother dies in childbirth, overwhelmed by the national catastrophe. This name captures the spiritual reality: God's protective presence had withdrawn from a people who had turned their backs on Him.
The narrative provides powerful lessons on leadership through Eli's tragic example. Despite his position as high priest, he failed to discipline his corrupt sons who abused their sacred office. As we discuss, "What we do in moderation, our children will do in excess." This serves as a stark reminder that leadership positions—especially spiritual ones—carry greater responsibility and accountability. True leadership in God's kingdom isn't a vocation to satisfy our ego; it's a divine calling requiring faithful stewardship.
These stories from Scripture aren't merely historical accounts—they're multifaceted revelations containing wisdom for today. The hand of God doesn't withdraw suddenly but "lifts off ever so slowly," giving opportunities for repentance before consequences arrive. We invite you to dive deeper into these ancient yet timeless narratives and discover what God wants to unveil to you personally through them. Connect with us at lifearoundthefire@gmail.com to continue the conversation.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
For the past 10 episodes, including this one,
we've been covering the book of1 Samuel and stated earlier it's
been one of my favorite booksbecause it carries so many
stories, so many stories, andnot only do I love stories, but
(00:29):
stories that come from thescriptures carry some additional
weight.
They give us a view as to whattook place, but they also have
an ability to show us what isgoing to be taking place, and
they speak to situations rightnow because they have an eternal
(00:49):
quality to them due to the factthat they have been really
breathed out and breathed uponindividuals by God.
God breathed, and so a smartman and a smart woman did not
come up with the scriptures andthe stories within them.
(01:14):
They are meant for not only ourentertainment, but really for
our instruction, but really forour instruction, and I love the
stories specifically in the bookof 1 Samuel, but we're in a
(01:35):
portion of this book right nowthat are really the 12 chapters
that we're going to be lookingat are somewhat hard because
they show another side of thelife of Israel, a little darker
side and kind of the demise ofIsrael, and I want to go on
(01:59):
record right up front and saythat I believe.
We believe that Israel is stillGod's chosen people.
Yes, we Gentiles myself beingone have been grafted in, but
it's not the Gentiles to theexclusion of the Jews, it's one
(02:23):
new man.
Gentiles to the exclusion ofthe Jews, it's one new man.
And so Israel is God's chosenpeople.
And, being God's chosen people,there are privileges and there
are responsibilities, thebalance.
(02:45):
And when the responsibilitieshave been neglected,
consequences come into play.
And some might look and say,well, israel is just man.
Their story is so sordid,they've done so many things
(03:09):
wrong.
It's like they're justtroublemakers.
Yeah, I mean, you might look atit that way, but how would you
like it?
How would you like it if everyaspect of your life, everything,
(03:40):
good and bad, were recorded foreveryone to read and see and
talk about?
It would be I mean, some wouldbe you'd say, yeah, I wouldn't
mind people seeing that.
Others, you'd say, man, I don'twant people seeing that.
Others, you'd say, I don't wantanybody seeing that.
Well, israel did not have thatcomfort.
Both the good and the bad weredisclosed, and so we've been
looking at some of thedifficulties that Israel faced
(04:02):
and we can learn from them.
Now, these people lived it out.
It wasn't just them readingabout this.
They lived this out and whatthey did.
I mean, they paid the price forwhat they did, and some of the
prices that they paid werepretty severe.
(04:24):
We're going to be looking at it.
So the balancing point, though,is this that Israel remains to
be God's chosen people, and weare grafted in.
Those of us who believe inJesus have been grafted into the
one new man of both Jew andGentile, but not to the
(04:49):
exclusion of the Jew, so it'svery important, not to the
exclusion of Israel.
I am one who is a believer indefending Israel and praying for
the peace of Jerusalem, and Ido.
We do so with that being said,we're going to be looking at the
(05:09):
book of 1 Samuel, chapter 4,verses 12 through.
Let's see verses 12 through 22.
But we're going to back up alittle bit, just as a kind of a
(05:32):
lead-in, because it helps us seesome things that are developing
here.
Okay, so, in 1 Samuel, chapter 4, starting at verse 10, we read
so the Philistines fought andthe Israelites were defeated,
and every man fled to his tent.
The slaughter was very great.
(05:55):
Israel lost 30,000 footsoldiers, the ark of God was
captured and Eli's two sons,hophni and Phinehas died Verse
12.
That same day, a Benjamite ranfrom the battle line and went to
(06:18):
Shiloh, his clothes torn anddust on his head.
When he arrived, there was Elisitting on his chair by the side
of the road, watching becausehis heart feared for the ark of
God.
When the man entered the townand told what had happened, the
whole town sent up a cry.
(06:40):
Eli heard the outcry and askedwhat is the meaning of this
uproar.
The man hurried over to Eli,who was 98 years old and whose
eyes were set so that he couldnot see.
He told Eli I have just comefrom the battle line.
(07:01):
I fled from it this very day.
Then Eli asked what happened?
My son the man who brought thenews replied when he mentioned
(07:29):
the Ark of God, eli fellbackward off his chair by the
side of the gate.
His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and
heavy.
He had led Israel forty years.
His daughter-in-law, the wife ofPhinehas, was pregnant and near
(07:50):
the time of delivery.
When she heard the news thatthe ark of God had been captured
and that her father-in-law andher sons were dead, she went
into labor and gave birth, butwas overcome by her labor pains.
As she was dying, the womanattending her said Don't despair
, you've given birth to a son.
(08:12):
But she did not respond or payany attention.
So she named the boy Ichabod,saying the glory has departed
from Israel because of thecapture of the ark of God and
the deaths of her father-in-lawand her husband.
She said the glory has departedfrom Israel for the ark of God
(08:33):
has been captured.
Talk about a series of events.
Israel is defeated.
They brought the ark of God outinto the battle.
Now that situation was reallynot called for by God.
(08:59):
These people took the Ark ofGod and when they brought it
into the battle against thePhilistines, they were defeated
and the Ark was captured WhileIsrael right and the Ark was
captured While Israel right.
While Israel carried the Arkduring the successful battle of
Jericho, they mistakenly treatedit as a talisman rather than a
(09:22):
holy object during their laterbattle with the Philistines,
leading to their loss and theArk's capture.
You get that when they took theArk by instruction of God
during the conquering of Jericho, they led the Ark in procession
around Jericho and the walls ofJericho came down at the
(09:48):
appointed time.
But it wasn't the Ark that didthat, it was the holy presence
of God, it was the power of God,but they treated the Ark as
some sort of talisman, some sortof object that was magic.
And you see, folks, that's justnot the way it works.
(10:09):
We can't take artifacts of Godand turn them into holy magic.
It's wrong.
In fact, in the Dark Ages, someof these things were practiced
on a regular basis, where peoplewould take different things
that were considered to beartifacts and they would use
(10:32):
them to bring about blessings onpeople.
But if the people would paymoney for the blessings to take
place, indulgences is what itwas called A very ungodly
practice.
All done in the name of Jesus.
Godly practice, all done in thename of Jesus.
(11:00):
Israel did something similar inthe fact that they took the ark,
which represented the mercyseat of God.
What was a symbol of what wasthe authentic version in heaven.
This was a picture of it onearth and it was where God would
meet with Israel at given times, sitting above the mercy seat
(11:33):
on the ark, but without God'spresence.
The ark is not the thing thatgenerates power.
It's a golden piece offurniture, precious, holy
meaning set aside, butnonetheless a piece of furniture
.
(12:05):
Israel was defeated because Goddid not provide protection due
to the fact that Israel hadturned their back on God and
were treating his things withcontempt.
Hophni and Phinehas wereleading the procession the two
priests and Israel was on adecline and, as a result, things
(12:34):
began to change.
And one person said this aboutthe hand of God.
He said the hand of God when itlifts off of someone or
something, a group of people,when the hand of God lifts off,
(12:55):
it lifts off, but it lifts offever so slowly.
It's not like all of a sudden.
There are chances that Godgives.
He's not interested in ourdemise, but we will experience
consequences when we cross overcertain boundaries, certain
(13:21):
defined things, specifically theheart, the will of God, if we
defy it, knowingly and sometimesunknowingly, but we defy it.
There are consequences Kind it.
There are consequences Kind oflike.
There are consequences insociety when you cross over
(13:44):
certain boundaries.
If you're a thief, you getcaught, you're going to be
incarcerated.
Consequences Disobedience.
I used to tell my kidsdisobedience brings pain and I
(14:05):
would rather you see a littlebit of pain by being disobedient
right now, by me giving you aspanking, than by you being
disobedient and having thepolice officer arrest you and
you go into jail, becausedisobedience has a consequence
(14:27):
and Israel found out theconsequence.
Eli paid a price for nothandling his home life properly.
He let his sons live an ungodlylife while holding a godly
(14:57):
position.
They had the privilege, butthey did not take any
responsibilities for what theywere doing and, as a result, the
consequences came.
Consequences are not Godpicking on people, they're
consequences.
Are not God picking on people,they're consequences.
(15:19):
If you throw a brick up in theair and it's thrown over your
head, even if you smile whenthat brick is coming down, if
you throw it up over your head,the consequence of gravity is
this is going to hit you.
Did the brick pick on you?
Nah, of course not.
It's a consequence.
(15:42):
Eli now granted.
Eli was a recognized leader andhe deserved was a recognized
leader and he deserved to behonored for the position.
(16:06):
The position deserved to behonored.
His actions were not.
And if you're a leader, it'simportant that you understand
(16:29):
the qualifications necessary andthe conditions within which
you're to function as a leader.
You violate them.
You actually experience moreconsequence because, with
greater privilege and greaterresponsibility, greater
(16:53):
consequences.
To whom much is given, much isrequired, and so it's not really
wise for a person just tobarrel into a position because
you think it's really going toprovide for you some sort of
sense of fulfillment in yourlife, where you can get some
(17:14):
sort of recognition, a felt needto feel important.
Leadership is a calling.
It's not a vocation.
It's a calling.
In the kingdom of God, being aservant leader is a calling.
Being a person who is anapostle, prophet, evangelist,
(17:40):
pastor, teacher, it's a calling,not a vocation.
And Eli had qualities that weregood.
I mean, he spoke, blessing overHannah and Hannah conceived and
(18:02):
bore Samuel.
He raised Samuel up.
So Eli was not an evil man,that says, but he just didn't
have control of his household.
And it's important becausethere's a ripple effect in
leadership and what we do inmoderation our children will do
(18:26):
in excess.
So lessons to be learned fromthis particular portion of the
scriptures, this story.
There's quite a few of them.
Some of them you'll find outfor yourself.
(18:47):
I just highlighted a few ofthem.
That's the good thing aboutstories, man, it's not limited
to what I'm saying.
They're multifaceted.
You can look at them fromdifferent angles, see different
things.
Same story, same God, but ithas a different slant to it.
(19:10):
My encouragement is to dive inand see what God will unveil to
you.
Let's pray, father, thank youthat you faithfully teach us.
You show us your ways.
You want us to know.
You love us and I love you.
(19:34):
You love us and I love you.
Holy Spirit, I honor yourleadership.
I want to be led by you.
I thank you for your patience,for the way that you do things.
And, jesus, we exalt your name.
You are our Lord, you are ourSavior.
(19:59):
You are our Savior.
We honor you as Messiah.
We look for your soon returnand we stand here and declare
these things to be true and realand we say amen, amen, amen.
In the name of Jesus.
We stand here, amen.
All right, folks, we love you.
(20:22):
If you have any thoughts,questions, concerns, please feel
free to drop us a line atlifearoundthefire, at gmailcom.
That's our email address.
Or if you just want to type inlifearoundthefire and look us up
on the web, we would love tocheck it out.
Man, some cool stuff.
We'd love to hear from you Inthe meantime.
God bless you.
(20:43):
Adios amigos.
For the past 10 episodes, including this one,
we've been covering the book of1 Samuel and stated earlier it's
been one of my favorite booksbecause it carries so many
stories, so many stories, andnot only do I love stories, but
(00:29):
stories that come from thescriptures carry some additional
weight.
They give us a view as to whattook place, but they also have
an ability to show us what isgoing to be taking place, and
they speak to situations rightnow because they have an eternal
(00:49):
quality to them due to the factthat they have been really
breathed out and breathed uponindividuals by God.
God breathed, and so a smartman and a smart woman did not
come up with the scriptures andthe stories within them.
(01:14):
They are meant for not only ourentertainment, but really for
our instruction, but really forour instruction, and I love the
stories specifically in the bookof 1 Samuel, but we're in a
(01:35):
portion of this book right nowthat are really the 12 chapters
that we're going to be lookingat are somewhat hard because
they show another side of thelife of Israel, a little darker
side and kind of the demise ofIsrael, and I want to go on
(01:59):
record right up front and saythat I believe.
We believe that Israel is stillGod's chosen people.
Yes, we Gentiles myself beingone have been grafted in, but
it's not the Gentiles to theexclusion of the Jews, it's one
(02:23):
new man.
Gentiles to the exclusion ofthe Jews, it's one new man.
And so Israel is God's chosenpeople.
And, being God's chosen people,there are privileges and there
are responsibilities, thebalance.
(02:45):
And when the responsibilitieshave been neglected,
consequences come into play.
And some might look and say,well, israel is just man.
Their story is so sordid,they've done so many things
(03:09):
wrong.
It's like they're justtroublemakers.
Yeah, I mean, you might look atit that way, but how would you
like it?
How would you like it if everyaspect of your life, everything,
(03:40):
good and bad, were recorded foreveryone to read and see and
talk about?
It would be I mean, some wouldbe you'd say, yeah, I wouldn't
mind people seeing that.
Others, you'd say, man, I don'twant people seeing that.
Others, you'd say, I don't wantanybody seeing that.
Well, israel did not have thatcomfort.
Both the good and the bad weredisclosed, and so we've been
looking at some of thedifficulties that Israel faced
(04:02):
and we can learn from them.
Now, these people lived it out.
It wasn't just them readingabout this.
They lived this out and whatthey did.
I mean, they paid the price forwhat they did, and some of the
prices that they paid werepretty severe.
(04:24):
We're going to be looking at it.
So the balancing point, though,is this that Israel remains to
be God's chosen people, and weare grafted in.
Those of us who believe inJesus have been grafted into the
one new man of both Jew andGentile, but not to the
(04:49):
exclusion of the Jew, so it'svery important, not to the
exclusion of Israel.
I am one who is a believer indefending Israel and praying for
the peace of Jerusalem, and Ido.
We do so with that being said,we're going to be looking at the
(05:09):
book of 1 Samuel, chapter 4,verses 12 through.
Let's see verses 12 through 22.
But we're going to back up alittle bit, just as a kind of a
(05:32):
lead-in, because it helps us seesome things that are developing
here.
Okay, so, in 1 Samuel, chapter 4, starting at verse 10, we read
so the Philistines fought andthe Israelites were defeated,
and every man fled to his tent.
The slaughter was very great.
(05:55):
Israel lost 30,000 footsoldiers, the ark of God was
captured and Eli's two sons,hophni and Phinehas died Verse
12.
That same day, a Benjamite ranfrom the battle line and went to
(06:18):
Shiloh, his clothes torn anddust on his head.
When he arrived, there was Elisitting on his chair by the side
of the road, watching becausehis heart feared for the ark of
God.
When the man entered the townand told what had happened, the
whole town sent up a cry.
(06:40):
Eli heard the outcry and askedwhat is the meaning of this
uproar.
The man hurried over to Eli,who was 98 years old and whose
eyes were set so that he couldnot see.
He told Eli I have just comefrom the battle line.
(07:01):
I fled from it this very day.
Then Eli asked what happened?
My son the man who brought thenews replied when he mentioned
(07:29):
the Ark of God, eli fellbackward off his chair by the
side of the gate.
His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and
heavy.
He had led Israel forty years.
His daughter-in-law, the wife ofPhinehas, was pregnant and near
(07:50):
the time of delivery.
When she heard the news thatthe ark of God had been captured
and that her father-in-law andher sons were dead, she went
into labor and gave birth, butwas overcome by her labor pains.
As she was dying, the womanattending her said Don't despair
, you've given birth to a son.
(08:12):
But she did not respond or payany attention.
So she named the boy Ichabod,saying the glory has departed
from Israel because of thecapture of the ark of God and
the deaths of her father-in-lawand her husband.
She said the glory has departedfrom Israel for the ark of God
(08:33):
has been captured.
Talk about a series of events.
Israel is defeated.
They brought the ark of God outinto the battle.
Now that situation was reallynot called for by God.
(08:59):
These people took the Ark ofGod and when they brought it
into the battle against thePhilistines, they were defeated
and the Ark was captured WhileIsrael right and the Ark was
captured While Israel right.
While Israel carried the Arkduring the successful battle of
Jericho, they mistakenly treatedit as a talisman rather than a
(09:22):
holy object during their laterbattle with the Philistines,
leading to their loss and theArk's capture.
You get that when they took theArk by instruction of God
during the conquering of Jericho, they led the Ark in procession
around Jericho and the walls ofJericho came down at the
(09:48):
appointed time.
But it wasn't the Ark that didthat, it was the holy presence
of God, it was the power of God,but they treated the Ark as
some sort of talisman, some sortof object that was magic.
And you see, folks, that's justnot the way it works.
(10:09):
We can't take artifacts of Godand turn them into holy magic.
It's wrong.
In fact, in the Dark Ages, someof these things were practiced
on a regular basis, where peoplewould take different things
that were considered to beartifacts and they would use
(10:32):
them to bring about blessings onpeople.
But if the people would paymoney for the blessings to take
place, indulgences is what itwas called A very ungodly
practice.
All done in the name of Jesus.
Godly practice, all done in thename of Jesus.
(11:00):
Israel did something similar inthe fact that they took the ark,
which represented the mercyseat of God.
What was a symbol of what wasthe authentic version in heaven.
This was a picture of it onearth and it was where God would
meet with Israel at given times, sitting above the mercy seat
(11:33):
on the ark, but without God'spresence.
The ark is not the thing thatgenerates power.
It's a golden piece offurniture, precious, holy
meaning set aside, butnonetheless a piece of furniture
.
(12:05):
Israel was defeated because Goddid not provide protection due
to the fact that Israel hadturned their back on God and
were treating his things withcontempt.
Hophni and Phinehas wereleading the procession the two
priests and Israel was on adecline and, as a result, things
(12:34):
began to change.
And one person said this aboutthe hand of God.
He said the hand of God when itlifts off of someone or
something, a group of people,when the hand of God lifts off,
(12:55):
it lifts off, but it lifts offever so slowly.
It's not like all of a sudden.
There are chances that Godgives.
He's not interested in ourdemise, but we will experience
consequences when we cross overcertain boundaries, certain
(13:21):
defined things, specifically theheart, the will of God, if we
defy it, knowingly and sometimesunknowingly, but we defy it.
There are consequences Kind it.
There are consequences Kind oflike.
There are consequences insociety when you cross over
(13:44):
certain boundaries.
If you're a thief, you getcaught, you're going to be
incarcerated.
Consequences Disobedience.
I used to tell my kidsdisobedience brings pain and I
(14:05):
would rather you see a littlebit of pain by being disobedient
right now, by me giving you aspanking, than by you being
disobedient and having thepolice officer arrest you and
you go into jail, becausedisobedience has a consequence
(14:27):
and Israel found out theconsequence.
Eli paid a price for nothandling his home life properly.
He let his sons live an ungodlylife while holding a godly
(14:57):
position.
They had the privilege, butthey did not take any
responsibilities for what theywere doing and, as a result, the
consequences came.
Consequences are not Godpicking on people, they're
consequences.
Are not God picking on people,they're consequences.
(15:19):
If you throw a brick up in theair and it's thrown over your
head, even if you smile whenthat brick is coming down, if
you throw it up over your head,the consequence of gravity is
this is going to hit you.
Did the brick pick on you?
Nah, of course not.
It's a consequence.
(15:42):
Eli now granted.
Eli was a recognized leader andhe deserved was a recognized
leader and he deserved to behonored for the position.
(16:06):
The position deserved to behonored.
His actions were not.
And if you're a leader, it'simportant that you understand
(16:29):
the qualifications necessary andthe conditions within which
you're to function as a leader.
You violate them.
You actually experience moreconsequence because, with
greater privilege and greaterresponsibility, greater
(16:53):
consequences.
To whom much is given, much isrequired, and so it's not really
wise for a person just tobarrel into a position because
you think it's really going toprovide for you some sort of
sense of fulfillment in yourlife, where you can get some
(17:14):
sort of recognition, a felt needto feel important.
Leadership is a calling.
It's not a vocation.
It's a calling.
In the kingdom of God, being aservant leader is a calling.
Being a person who is anapostle, prophet, evangelist,
(17:40):
pastor, teacher, it's a calling,not a vocation.
And Eli had qualities that weregood.
I mean, he spoke, blessing overHannah and Hannah conceived and
(18:02):
bore Samuel.
He raised Samuel up.
So Eli was not an evil man,that says, but he just didn't
have control of his household.
And it's important becausethere's a ripple effect in
leadership and what we do inmoderation our children will do
(18:26):
in excess.
So lessons to be learned fromthis particular portion of the
scriptures, this story.
There's quite a few of them.
Some of them you'll find outfor yourself.
(18:47):
I just highlighted a few ofthem.
That's the good thing aboutstories, man, it's not limited
to what I'm saying.
They're multifaceted.
You can look at them fromdifferent angles, see different
things.
Same story, same God, but ithas a different slant to it.
(19:10):
My encouragement is to dive inand see what God will unveil to
you.
Let's pray, father, thank youthat you faithfully teach us.
You show us your ways.
You want us to know.
You love us and I love you.
(19:34):
You love us and I love you.
Holy Spirit, I honor yourleadership.
I want to be led by you.
I thank you for your patience,for the way that you do things.
And, jesus, we exalt your name.
You are our Lord, you are ourSavior.
(19:59):
You are our Savior.
We honor you as Messiah.
We look for your soon returnand we stand here and declare
these things to be true and realand we say amen, amen, amen.
In the name of Jesus.
We stand here, amen.
All right, folks, we love you.
(20:22):
If you have any thoughts,questions, concerns, please feel
free to drop us a line atlifearoundthefire, at gmailcom.
That's our email address.
Or if you just want to type inlifearoundthefire and look us up
on the web, we would love tocheck it out.
Man, some cool stuff.
We'd love to hear from you Inthe meantime.
God bless you.
(20:43):
Adios amigos.
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