1 Samuel 4:7

1Sa 4:7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.

Ver. 7. And the Philistines were afraid.] But without cause; for God - who as Josephus well saith, was greater than the ark - was their enemy. The ark also was brought into the camp without any pomp or due reverence, and by the hands of those ungodly priests that were now come into the field to fetch their bane, as had been foretold in 1Sa 2:34.

For there hath not been such a thing heretofore.] Not that they knew of; but such a thing there had been before at the siege of Jericho, and in that expedition against the Midianites. {Num 31:6} So after this (1Sa 14:18 2Sa 11:11) David sent the ark into Joab’s camp before Rabbah; though at another time, when he fled from Absalom, he sent back the ark to Jerusalem, {2Sa 15:25} as knowing that God could as well save without it.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_4:7

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp.

Is God in the camp?

I. Consider the great mistake which both Israelites and the Philistines made. The Israelites, instead of seeking to God himself, went to Shiloh to fetch the ark of the covenant. Before they had won any victory, the sight of the ark made them boastful and confident. The Philistines fell into an error of a different kind, for they were frightened without any real cause. They said, God is come into the camp; whereas God had not come at all. It was only the ark with the cherubim upon it; God was not there.

1. The mistake they made was just this they mistook the visible for the invisible. It has pleased God, even in our holy faith, to give us some external symbols--water, and bread, and wine. They are so simple, that it does seem at first sight, as if men could never have made them objects of worship, or used them as instruments of a kind of witchcraft. One would have thought that these symbols would only have been like windows of agate and gates of carbuncle, through which men would behold the Saviour and draw near to Him. Instead thereof, some have neither looked through the windows nor passed through the gates, but they have ascribed to the gates and the windows that which is only to be found in Him who is behind them both. It is sad, indeed, when the symbol takes the place of the Saviour.

2. These Israelites fell into another mistake, which is also often made today: they preferred office to character. In their distress, instead of calling upon God, they sent for Hophni and Phinehas. If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. The blind man may wear a band on his arm to show that he is a certificated guide; but will you be saved from the ditch simply because he belongs to the order of guides, and has his certificate with him? Be not led away by any such vain notion.

3. But these people who faced the Philistines made another mistake: they confounded enthusiasm with faith. When they saw the ark they shouted so that the earth rang again. These are the kind of people I like, says one, people that can shout. If that is all you want, why do you not go among the bulls of Bashan, and make your home in the midst of them? They can make more noise than any mortal man can make. These Israelites shouted, but there was nothing in their noise, any more than there is in their modern imitators. If the ejaculation comes from your heart, I would not ask you to restrain it. God forbid that we should judge any mans worship! But do not be so foolish as to suppose that because there is loud noise there must also be faith. Faith is a still water, it floweth deep. True faith in God may express itself with leaping and with shouting; and it is a happy thing when it does: but it can also sit still before the Lord, and that perhaps is a happier thing still. Praise can sit silent on the lip, and yet be heard in heaven. There is a passion of the heart too deep for words.

4. Another mistake these people made that day was this: they valued, novelty above Scriptural order. The Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us l for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. The Israelites probably made the same mistake, fixing their hope on this new method of fighting the Philistines, which they hoped would bring them victory. We are all so apt to think that the new plan of going to work will be much more effective than those that have become familiar; but it is not so. It is generally a mistake to exchange old lamps for new. There hath not been such a thing heretofore. There is a glamour about the novelty which misleads us, and we are liable to think the newer is the truer. If there has not been such a thing heretofore, some people will take to it at once for that very reason. Oh, says the man who is given to change, that is the thing for me! But it is probably not the thing for a true-hearted and intelligent Christian, for if there hath not been such a thing heretofore, it is difficult to explain, if the thing be a good one, why the Holy Ghost, who has been with the people of God since Pentecost, and who came to lead us into all truth, has not led the Church of God to this before. If your new discovery is the mind of God, where has Holy Scripture been all these centuries? The mistake made on that battlefield is a mistake which nowadays is frequently imitated. It assumes many forms.

5. We fall into their error when we confound ritual and spirituality.

6. We fall into the same blunder that the Israelites and Philistines made if we consider orthodoxy to be salvation. We have secured much that is worth keeping when we have, intellectually and intelligently, laid hold on that divinely-revealed truth, the gospel of the grace of God but we have not obtained everything even then. Remember it was a beautiful tomb in which the dead Christ was laid; but he left it, and there was nothing there but grave clothes after He had gone; and, in like manner, the best-constructed system of theology, if it has not Christ in it, and if he who holds it be not himself spiritually alive, is nothing more than a tomb in which are trappings for the dead. It is nothing better than a gilded ark, without the presence of God; and although you may shout, and say, God is come into the camp, it will not be so.

7. We fall into the same error if we regard routine as security, and think that, because we have often done a thing, and have not suffered for it, therefore it will be always well with us. We are all such creatures of habit that, at length, our repeated actions seem to be natural and right. Because sentence against their evil works is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. But though Pompeii may slumber long at the foot of Vesuvius, at length it is overwhelmed. It behoves every one of us to try our ways, and specially to call in question things which have become a sort of second nature to us.

II. Having considered the great mistake these people made, I will draw your attention, in the second place, to the great truth of which their mistake was a caricature. God does come to the camp of His people, and His presence is the great power of His church. I will briefly sketch the scene that takes place when God comes into the camp.

1. Then, the truth of the gospel becomes vital.

2. When God comes into the camp, new life is put into prayer.

3. By the presence of God in the camp fresh energy is thrown into service.

4. When God comes into the camp, His presence convinces unbelievers.

5. The presence of God, moreover, comforts mourners.

6. When God is in the camp, His presence infuses daring into faith. Feeble men begin to grow vigorous, young men dream dreams, and old men see visions. Many begin to plot and plan something for Jesus which, in their timid days, they would never have thought of attempting. Others reach a height of consecration that seems to verge on imprudence.

7. The fact of God being in the camp cannot be hidden, for in a delightful way it distils joy into worship.

III. Let us try to learn the great lessons which this incident teaches us.

1. The first lesson is that which I have been insisting upon all through: the necessity of the Divine presence.

2. Learn, next, that we should do all we can to obtain the presence of God in the camp.

3. When God does come to us, we should seek by all means to retain his presence. How can this boon be secured? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 4:7. God is come into the camp — Thus these ignorant idolaters termed the mere symbol of God’s presence God, imagining, no doubt, that the Israelites worshipped it. They said, Wo unto us — The name of the God of Israel was formidable even to those that worshipped other gods, and some apprehensions even the infidels had of the danger of contending with him. And, indeed, those are in a woful condition who have God against them. There hath not been such a thing heretofore — Not in our times; for the fore-mentioned removals of the ark were before it came to Shiloh. And in all the battles which they or their neighbours had fought with the Israelites, they had never heard of such a thing as this. They thought, therefore, that it must produce some extraordinary effects.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

they said ... They said

"they said to themselves ... They said to each other" or "they said to each other ... They said to each other." The second clause clearly refers to what the Philistines said to each other. The first clause probably refers to what they thought, though it could also refer to what they said to each other. If possible, avoid stating who was spoken to.

A god has come

The Philistines worshiped many gods, so they probably believed that one of those gods, or one whom they did not worship, had come into the camp. Another possible meaning is that they were speaking the proper name of the God of Israel: "Yahweh has come." Because 1Sa 4:8 speaks of "gods," some translations read, "Gods have come," that is, "It is gods who have come." (See: Pronouns)

Who will protect us from the strength of these mighty gods?

This rhetorical question is an expression of deep fear. It can be written as a statement. AT: "There is no one who can protect us from these mighty gods." (See: Rhetorical Question)

these mighty gods ... the gods who attacked

Because the word "god" (or "God") in 1Sa 4:7 is singular, many translations read "this mighty god ... the god who attacked," referring to any one of many possible gods, or "this mighty God ... the God who attacked," using the proper name of the God of Israel. (See: Pronouns)

be men

This is an idiom. AT: "be strong and fight" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

fear

woe

might

Egypt

plague

desert

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Before we fought against men, and now God is come to fight against us.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. God is come into the camp.] They took for granted, as did the Israelites, that his presence was inseparable from his ark or shrine.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) God is come into the camp.—The joy manifested by the Israelites at the arrival of the Ark from the sanctuary made the Philistines suspect that their enemies’ God was now present with the defeated army.

The city of Aphek, near to which the camp of Israel was pitched, was close to the western entrance of the Pass of Beth-horon. The two defeats of Israel are termed in this Commentary the Battles of Aphek. The name of Eben-ezer, by which the scene was known in after days, was only given to the locality some twenty years later, on the occasion of the victory of Samuel near the same spot.

Philistines and Israelites, then, were equally superstitious in their belief both supposing that Deity was in some way connected with the lifeless gold and wood of the symbol Ark and Cherubim. But the Philistines had some excuse for their fears. Tradition was, no doubt, current among the old inhabitants of Canaan how this sacred Ark had been carried before the conquering armies of Israel in many a battle and siege in those bygone days, when the strange shepherd hordes under Joshua had. first invaded and taken possession of their beautiful land. The next verse explains more clearly some of the reasons for their fear.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Philistines were afraid,.... When the spies returned, and reported to them the reason of the shouting:

for they said, God is come into the camp; into the camp of Israel, because the ark represented him, and was the symbol of his presence; and these Heathens might take the ark itself for an idol of the Israelites; the Targum is,"the ark of God is come"

and they said, woe unto us; it is all over with us, destruction and ruin will be our case, victory will go on their side now their God is among them:

for there hath not been such a thing heretofore; if by this they meant that the ark had never been in the camp of Israel before, they were mistaken; and it is no great wonder they should, being not so well acquainted with the affairs of Israel, and their customs; or rather, it was not so yesterday, or three days ago, when they were defeated; there was no shouting then: or the state of the war is altered; before we fought with the men of Israel, but now we must fight with the God of Israel also.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

God: "Elohim." Septuagint, "these gods." They speak of the true God according to their false ideas. (Calmet) --- Sighing. Septuagint, "deliver us, O Lord, this day."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

God is come, to wit, in and with his ark; or they give the name of God to the ark, before which he was worshipped, as they used to do to the images of their false gods. There hath not been such a thing heretofore; not to our knowledge, or not in our times; for the forementioned removals of the ark were before it came to Shiloh.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Heretofore - Not in our times; for the fore-mentioned removals of the ark were before it came to Shiloh.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.