1 Samuel 4:5

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT ARRIVES IN ISRAEL'S CAMP

"When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean"? And when they heard that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid; for they said, "A god has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage, and acquit yourselves like men, Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; acquit yourselves like men, and fight."

"The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting" (1 Samuel 4:6). This indicates the close proximity of Ebenezer and Aphek, the respective camps of Israel and their Philistine foes.

"Every sort of plague in the wilderness" (1 Samuel 4:8). "The words in the wilderness do not compel us to refer all of the plagues against the Egyptians to the wilderness."[3] The expression "every sort of plague" surely indicates that the Philistines were well informed about the history of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. It is unbecoming of writers to make a "big deal" out of alleged "mistakes" like this in the language of the Philistines. We reject the assertion that, "The writer here ... put mistakes or deliberate falsehoods into the mouths of his characters."[4] The Philistines doubtless said exactly what is written here! In apparently ascribing all of the plagues to the wilderness, there was a natural inclusion with "the wilderness" of the nation of Egypt which lay directly beyond it. This type of speech is common.

"Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods" (1 Samuel 4:8). The Philistines held the ancient belief that there were many gods, each one of which was particularly interested in the land where such a god was worshipped. Such pagan deities were called in each case, "the god of the land." The great mission of the Chosen People was to bring the knowledge of the One True and Eternal Almighty God to the pagan nations around them, but that sacred mission was very poorly served by the foolish action of Israel's elders in this episode.

"Acquit yourselves like men, and fight" (1 Samuel 4:9). The conviction of the Philistines that they would now have to fight, not merely against the men of Israel, but also against "the god of their land," only challenged them to a more courageous and desperate attack against Israel.

The fulfillment of God's prophecies against the house of Eli began to be executed on this occasion.