1 Samuel 4:12-18

Victory in defeat.

The facts given are—

1 . Eli, aware of the absence of the ark on the battle field, awaits with anxiety the earliest tidings of the issue of the conflict.

2 . A fugitive relates to him and to the people of Shiloh the nature of the disaster that had befallen Israel.

3 . The effect of the news on the city is a wailing cry of despair, and on Eli sudden death. By record and tradition the people were familiar with the disasters and sufferings occasionally experienced by ancestors. Influenced by the prediction of the "man of God" ( 1 Samuel 2:27 ), Eli, while sitting by the wayside, feared the worst. But even he was not prepared for such a climax of calamity. Defeat would bring sorrow, not surprise; for were not the people godless? Slaughter would be regarded with pain as retribution for national sins. Was it not his own fault that his sons had not suffered capital punishment long ago? All that was most sacred and revered in the history of the chosen race, the very glory of God—this to be wrested from the hands of Israel and borne off in triumph by the heathen, who can hear it and live! There is nothing now to live for.

I. TO THE EYE OF MAN GOD SUFFERS DEFEAT . The men of Shiloh may be taken as a type of the worldly, unspiritual mind. They had been instructed to believe that Jehovah was engaged on their side in conflict with the wicked idolatrous nations. The ark had become with them almost synonymous with the Almighty himself. Hence the sudden wail of the city when they, hearing the sad tidings, leapt to the sudden conclusion that now at least the Vanquisher was vanquished. The disaster was a check to his purposes proceeding from his declared enemies. There are occasions when the surface of events suggests such a thought. The introduction of sin into the world by an evil power appeared to mar the work of God and defeat his purpose in creating a pure and beautiful world. In the days of Noah the power of evil seemed to triumph, inasmuch as the earth became utterly corrupt. The destruction of the holy hill of Zion, and desecration of the courts of the Lord by the declared enemies of Israel's God, was regarded by the heathen as a proof of his inability to guard his own. To the terror stricken disciples of Christ it seemed for a while that the "gates of hell" were prevailing against him, and that the kingdom of which prophets wrote and poets sang was prematurely annihilated.

II. The APPEARANCE OF DEFEAT IS OWING TO THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH GOD IS PLEASED TO CARRY OUT HIS DESIGNS . God does not govern in the moral world by hard mechanical laws, but realises his purposes under the conditions involved in the existence of creatures endowed with freedom and accountability. He adapted his exercise of power to the spiritual condition of Israel. Hence, what is defeat to the human eye may really be foreordained and reasonable restraint. Symbol and chastisement were suited to the imperfect state of the religious thought and feeling. If the surrender of the symbol shall issue in better results than its retention, then what seems defeat arises out of the peculiar conditions under which God works his will. The principle has wide application. It is a condition of the possible existence of free moral creatures that their life may or may not be marred by sin. If, then, sin mars the world, God's purpose is not really defeated. The forces of evil in the antediluvian age might have been crushed out by the Spirit had God reversed the conditions under which he governed men, and forced them to be holy. The visible, transitory life of Christ and his liability to death were, from "the foundation of the world," Divinely recognised conditions of accomplishing human redemption. The occasional obliteration of religious ordinances and of personal piety often results from the fact that the Church is amenable to the law, "From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Finally, so far as we can see, the happiness of a world is reasonably made conditional on the free, responsible action of the world as an interrelated community, in which the good or evil of one is wisely made to affect all the rest.

III. WHAT SEEMS DEFEAT TURNS OUT TO RE A STEP TO FINAL VICTORY . It is the perfection of wisdom to snatch victory from defeat. This is seen in the first effect of the capture of the ark. The dormant conscience of the people was aroused. Righteousness , not charms and ceremonials, must be the antecedent of victory. It will be found that all other apparent defeats of God's designs prove to be stages toward a higher good. The curse of sin was the occasion of the "seed of the woman" being promised to " bruise the serpent's head." The men of Noah's time procured a sweeter earth and a most weighty warning and encouragement for the use of all future generations. The sighs and tears of desponding disciples yielded to the exultant joy and abounding hope of the kingdom won with his blood who now liveth evermore. And however much sin may now mar the life of the world, there is reason to believe that, under the control of him who is "able to subdue all things to himself," the issue of all will be the vindication of right and the more glorious assertion of God's majesty.

General lessons : —

1 . It is proper to avoid haste in expressing unfavourable judgment on events that seem adverse to the final success of Christianity.

2 . When great calamities come on the Church, the first effect should be great searching of heart.

3 . There is every encouragement, from the history of the past, for strongest confidence in the final triumph of Christ over every foe. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy ( Micah 7:8 ). Cast down, but not destroyed ( 2 Corinthians 4:9 ). Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee ( Psalms 76:10 ). He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet ( 1 Corinthians 15:25 ).

Neutralised usefulness.

There is deep pathos and much instruction in the words of the sacred historian as he closes the references to Eli: "And he had judged Israel forty years." A man eligible for so honourable a position, having rendered varied service to his people, dies in a state of blended consternation, grief, shame, and remorse. Not the calm, joyous end of the righteous; not the end cheered by views from Pisgah's peak of a glorious inheritance; but an end amidst a horror of great darkness. " And he had judged Israel forty years!" Oh, the exquisite pathos of the Bible!

I. The POSITIVE GOOD OF A MAN 'S LIFE MAY BE LARGELY NEUTRALISED BY HIS WEAKNESSES . The tenor of the narrative suggests that as a whole Eli's life was good. Forty years' discharge of important functions indicates a long series of holy desires and beneficent acts. The natural effect of this would be only for the formation of a sound national character. For in those times, as seen in the instance of Moses and Joshua and others, the moral and material welfare of a people was more entirely dependent on force of individual character in the leader and ruler than on the manifold influences which prevail in modern times. But negative qualities hindered the effect of the good. Thus it is not enough for a man—ruler, pastor, or parent—to be religious at heart, attentive to routine duties, and "harmless" in conduct. These may fail in their desired issue unless accompanied with the energy and resoluteness of a will that rests only in seeing right done, God feared, and life made holy. The good that some men do with one hand they undo with another. A little sin destroys much good.

II. It MAY BE A LONG TIME BEFORE THIS NEUTRALISATION OF POSITIVE GOOD IS FULLY DISCOVERED . Eli was not blind to the fact that for years past the condition of the people and priests had degenerated; but some men are slow in detecting their own part in a given result. As he gave more heed to causes outside his own conduct and bearing, so do men still overlook their own contributions of a negative character to the formation of opinion and habit in their too exclusive thought of what proceeds from others. A weak ruler wonders how it is the people are dissatisfied, and perhaps rebellious. A weak parent deplores that his words and deeds are so little heeded at home. Each of these is conscious of sincere motive, upright purpose, and actual toil; but it is only by slow degrees that he comes to see the neutralising process.

III. The ISSUE THAT REVEALS THE NEUTRALISATION MAY BE OF THE NATURE OF A JUDGMENT . In Eli's case the catastrophe which fell upon the nation and himself was the means of revealing to him, in unmistakable terms, the truth that the element of indecision and moral cowardice in his character had rendered comparatively useless his "forty years" of office. The death of sons and desolation of the Church of God tell of years of honourable care and toil spoiled by irresolution to visit the guilty with punishment and purge the sanctuary of the vile. There are crises in the lives of communities and individuals. The effect of these is to bring into clearer light the causes of failure. "The day shall declare" "every man's work," "because it shall be revealed by fire." The ruin which comes to a business, a Church organisation, a home, or a reputation, exposes the weak parts of an elaborate superstructure. Although the catastrophe may come about in a natural way, it nevertheless is under Divinely ordained law, and therefore is the judgment of God.

IV. The POSITIVE GOOD IN PERSONAL CHARACTER MAY SURVIVE DISASTER TO LIFE 'S WORK . The last act of Eli's life was one of homage to religion. The better side of his character asserted itself in his dying moments. His horror and shame and grief on the mention of the capture of the ark of God revealed his loyalty of heart to spiritual religion. The poor old man reaped in pain and death the reward of his sinful weakness; but while gathering the bitter fruit, he showed his profound interest in the honour and glory of Jehovah by being so sensitive to the reproach brought on the sacred name. We must distinguish between the ruin of a man's work and the ruin of his soul. In the former there is a grievous chastisement for carelessness and avoidable ignorance; in the latter there is an abandonment to the essential and preferred wickedness of the heart. Eli's heart was right with God, but his will was weak to work as he ought. Those who by faith are on the one Foundation are safe. They may build up a superstructure in personal qualities and in deeds for others, much of which may perish in the fire which tries every man's work, while they may be "saved yet so as by fire" ( 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ).

Practical lessons :—

1 . We should seek self-knowledge if we would avoid errors in conduct and make the best use of a Christian life.

2 . When the results of effort are not satisfactory, strict attention should be given to causes within self.

3 . When constitutional or acquired weakness is discovered, it may be counteracted by a care to exercise as much as possible the opposite positive virtue.