As noted in previous chapters, the Is'ra-el-ites at this time were under the dominion of the Phi-lis'tines who held the rich plains of the Med'i-ter-ra'ne-an in the south and southwest, and who made frequent raids upon the tribes which lived near them. It appears that Sam'u-el directed the people of Is'ra-el to make war upon these Phi-lis'tines in the latter days of E'li, and that the Is'ra-el-ites were badly defeated in a battle fought near A'phek, which was not far from Miz'pah in the territory of Ben'ja-min.
The moral and spiritual state of Is'ra-el at the time was at a very low ebb. E'li's sons had neither confessed their guilt nor amended their ways, and the people had not turnt to God in penitence for idolatry or in prayer for help against their enemies. There was, however, a superstitious and idolatrous regard for the Ark at Shi'loh, and the Is'ra-el-ites were influenced by the customs of their heathen neighbors, who carried images of their gods into battle in the hope of victory, to have their elders bring the Ark of the Cov'e-nant to the battle-field.
A great uproar and clamor was raised by the Is'ra-el-ites whenever the Ark was brought up to the line of battle, and the Phi-lis'tines were filled with terror when they learnt the reason for such rejoicing by their enemies. The Phi-lis'tines, however, determined to fight on with greater force and courage than they had shown at any time before.
On the next day the Is'ra-el-ites resumed the battle in a rather lighthearted manner, and with superstitious reliance upon the presence of the Ark to bring them victory. They tried to throw off the yoke of the Phi-lis'tines without submitting to the yoke of God. They failed to offer repentance and obedience to the LORD whose presence among them was falsely represented by the misuse of the Ark, and therefore the LORD'S hand was against them. The defeat of the previous day was turnt into a rout, with the loss of thirty thousand soldiers. Hoph'ni and Phin'e-has, the two wicked sons of E'li, were slain, and the Ark of the Cov'e-nant was taken by the Phi-lis'tines.
Is'ra-el had relied upon the presence of a symbol, while ignoring that God was represented by that symbol. They had trusted in the power of magic while the emblem of Divine power was abused in profane hands; they had pretended to be loyal to the Laws of God while their hearts were separated from Him by great sins.
The aged High Priest E'li waited at the gates of Shi'loh for news of the result of the battle. His heart sank in despair when a Ben'ja-mite messenger told him of the shameful defeat of his people, and of the death of his two sons and of thirty thousand footmen. When he learnt that the Ark of God had been captured by the Phi-lis'tines, he suddenly fell over backwards, and his neck was broken by the fall. When the wife of Phin'e-has was told that her husband was dead, and that the Ark had been taken by Is'ra-el's enemies, she gave her new-born child the name of Ich'a-bod, which means, "the glory of the LORD has departed." Thus, according to the word of the LORD, the doom pronounced upon the house of E'li was carried out.
The Phi-lis'tines carried the Ark to Ash'dod, which was one of the five noted cities of their nation, located about thirty-two miles north of Ga'za and one mile from the sea. It was placed in the temple of Da'gon, the fish-god of this heathen nation. Da'gon was represented by an image with a human body and a fish's tail.
