1 Samuel 4:1-4 - Why did the Lord bring defeat upon us?

4:1

This is another case of a chapter division being put in a rather odd place. The start of 4:1, “And Samuel’s word came to all Israel” would seem to be better placed at the end of the previous chapter. Chapters 4-6 will actually contain nothing directly about Samuel, rather describing the situation into which he would prophecy. It starts out with the Israelites going out to fight against the Philistines.

4:2,3

Initially the Philistine forces are deployed in an orderly manner, but as soon as battle commences the order tends to disappear. This is typical of most warfare. It has been said that precise battle plans rarely last beyond the first shot being fired. However, the Philistines did rather well in this battle, and Israel was defeated and lost four thousand men.

4:4

On returning to the camp the elders of Israel asked “why did the Lord bring defeat to us today?” They seem to have assumed that they almost had a right to win, that the Lord’s backing was almost automatic. The history of the Judges should have taught them otherwise, but they are about to learn the lesson again. Their response is to bring out the Ark of the Covenant. They reasoned that this would mean that the Lord would be with them and so they would win!