After Yahweh's seven month victory parade around Philistia, they can take no more disease, death, and dread. They devise a test. By putting gold images of tumours and mice in a box they plan to appease God in the hope he will lighten his hand. It is a costly offering, intended to give glory to God. The ark is to

The ark is in enemy territory. In fact, it moves round enemy territory - Ashdod, Gath, Ekron. It moves round because "the hand of the LORD was heavy". Dagon was now handless (v4), but the hand of God acts mightily. Everywhere it goes tumours afflict the people. It may possibly have been what we now know as bubonic plague -

The defeated god, Yahweh (the LORD), is set before the victorious god, Dagon. Dagon was one of the main gods of the Philistines, apparently ruling over grain, vegetation, and fertility. All in Ashdod were to marvel at his triumph over Yahweh, Israel's God. Even the mighty Egyptians had not been able to do this (see Exodus!). But the next morning

This is a long reading today, but hopefully it will help us set the compass correctly for the week ahead. Don't miss how shocking this whole situation is, the culmination of a shocking chain of events. The Ark of the Covenant, the golden box symbolising God's presence with his people, was brought into battle by Israel. Israel were routed and

This chapter is just one example of how unbelieving sinful hearts kept getting in the way of God's relationship to his people. This scene is played out for us again, many years later, in Ezekiel 10. In a vision the prophet sees the glory of the LORD leave the Temple, as the Babylonian armies ransack Jerusalem. It's the same problem,

Darkness, desperation, and disaster. God has been defeated and deported. That's what it looks like anyway. If only someone had actually tried to answer the question asked in 1 Samuel 4:3: “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines?" But no-one asked Samuel, the prophet of God bringing God's Word to his people (3:19-4:1). The story opens (4:1)

The camera lingers on Eli's obese, mangled remains as the narrator gives a brief summary of his rule. This scene then fades out and we move to another short scene involving his daughter-in-law. This too brings home to us what is really going on.News of the defeat of Israel, perhaps too the march of the Philistines on Shiloh and the

God has been defeated. Or so it seems. But the rest of this mini story about God in exile (chapters 5-7) will show that he is anything but defeated. This in book about the rise of a king who will rule, we see that God rules. Even in seeming defeat and even over his enemies. We have a hint of

It's around 1104BC. The Philistines have been oppressing Israel for 20 years, allowed to by God because of Israel's idolatry. They gather at Aphek, about 20 miles west of Shiloh, Israel's religious centre. It's possible this is retaliation for some of Samson's early maraudings, as Samson and Samuel seem to overlap. Israel camp 2 miles south-east at Ebenezer. The ensuing

A new section in the story begins in chapter 4. God has placed his priest and prophet, in preparation for raising up his King. Now we come to the story arc about the Ark. I'm stretching the Indiana Jones reference in the title a little. This chapter is about the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, and the Philistine