I invite you to take your Bible and go to 1 Samuel 4. 1 Samuel 4. If you wanna use one of the Pew Bibles, it's on page 228. 228. 1 Samuel 4, verses one through 22. Let us give our attention to the reading of God's word. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel. And when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about 4,000 men on the field of battle. And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. As soon as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout. So that the earth resounded. When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? When they learned that the Ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, Oh, God has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us. Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Be men and fight. So the Philistines fought. And Israel was defeated and they fled every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter for 30,000 foot soldiers of Israel fell. And the Ark of God was captured. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day. with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, what is this uproar? And the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was 98 years old and his eyes were closed. set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the battle. I fled from the battle today. And he said, how did it go, my son? He who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas are dead. And the ark of God has been captured. As soon as he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate and his neck was broken and he died. But the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel 40 years. Now, his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the Ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, She bowed and gave birth for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women attending her said to her, do not be afraid, for you have born a son. But she did not answer or pay attention, and she named the child Ichabod, saying the glory has departed from Israel because the ark of God has been captured and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, the glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured. The grass withers and the flower fades, but God's word stands forever. Growing up, I wonder, did any of you have a rabbit's foot? You know, on a little key chain? I had more than one, sad to say. One of them even had the nails in the rabbit's foot. I know what some of you are saying in the back of your mind. Animal rights violation. That's disgusting. Poor little rabbits. I get it. I am not proud that I had a bunch of rabbit feet. It was a thing way back when. Some thought that a rabbit's foot brought good luck. It was a good luck charm of sorts. Fate would be turned by having one. It's silly, I know. We find the Israelites in first Samuel, chapter four. Thinking along similar lines. They had what's one commentator called rabbit foot theology because Israel treated the ark like a good luck charm. Do we find this mindset in the church today? Is there rabbit foot theology? You better believe there is. Rabbit foot theology is still afoot, we might say. Four questions will help us see it. Beginning with, why? To get to that question, we need to note that technically our passage starts in chapter one, or in chapter four, verse 1B. Remember that chapter divisions are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes things are split strangely. The beginning of verse one is the close of a section focused on Samuel. The end of verse one starts a new section focused on Israel and its spiritual state. And that spiritual state was not good. We got a hint of that earlier in the book. with the gross actions of Eli's boys who were womanizing in the tabernacle, bullying others, and using the worship of God for their own selfish gain. But very quickly, as we come into chapter 4, we see that Israel is also littered with spiritual filth. Chapter 4 highlights the dirty situation. The nation was at war with the Philistines. Battle lines had been drawn. Shields were polished. Swords had been sharpened. Both sides were ready to fight. And then they went at it. But verse two, what happens? Israel lost. The Philistines killed about 4,000 men. And we get the sense the defeat was a bit of a shocker to the Israelites. Because the soldiers, as they came running back to the camp, verse 3, the elders asked an important why question. Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? And from the start, the question acknowledges the sovereignty of God. Do you notice that? The elders understood he brought this defeat. Does that shock you? That God did this. That he brings war, defeat, and death. This is something the Bible clearly teaches. God is mysteriously sovereign. over both victories and losses. Lamentations 3, verse 38. Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? We might find this a rather difficult concept to embrace. To our finite minds, it's hard to grasp. But listen, if God is not sovereign over evil and hardship, what kind of God do we have? An impotent one. If God is not sovereign over evil and hardship, then he cannot help us in our affliction, and he cannot comfort us in our affliction. The Bible teaches that God, without being the author of sin and evil, He brings defeats to pass. If we say otherwise, we are going against what the Bible teaches and we are trying to put God in a box. So then Job 2, verse 10, shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil God sovereignly brings troubles according to his good purposes. Do we recognize this to be true? Are we willing to submit our minds to what scripture teaches? But you might be wondering, why does God do this? And wasn't that the real question the elders asked? They understood God was the one that brought about their defeats. They wanted to know why. And it was a good question to ask. Joshua chapter 7. Joshua asked a similar one after Israel's defeated Ai. He wanted to know why did this happen? What did we do wrong? What do we need to repent of? Is there something for us to repent of? when we face defeats, it can be helpful for us to ask why? For the purpose of repentance. Because sometimes God brings defeats to discipline his people. Sometimes he lets business ventures fail, relationships sour, bank accounts dwindle, and churches close their doors because he wants to get our attention that we might repent. Hebrews chapter 12, God disciplines the one he loves. So then do not rebuff the hand that brings hardship. Don't merely dismiss what is squeezing you right now. See it as further proof of the Father's love. Your defeats flow from His unending well of love. If the Lord did not bring troubles into your life, it would be proof He does not care about you and the development of your faith. Israel's defeat was necessary to shake her, At times. We may need to be shaken. Shaken to lead us to repentance. Now, I don't want you to misunderstand me. Not every trouble that comes upon us is directly the result of a particular sin, that's not true. For example. Most bouts of cancer don't come because we did something wrong. And if we just repented, then the cancer would go away. That's false theology. And yet some trials may be the result of sin. And through trials, we may see our sin. So then when we face trials, when there are losses in our lives, it can be helpful to simply ask God, what do I need to learn? How do I need to grow? Do I need to repent of specific sins? Consider that. We learn quickly that the Israelites We're not interested in considering such truths. Unlike Joshua. Israel's elders asked their why question, not out of a desire to see their sin and then turn from it, not out of a pursuit of spiritual growth. They asked their why question. For other reasons. Which leads us to a who question. After Israel lost the fight and the elders asked, why did this happen? They didn't wait around for God to answer. Because they weren't interested in God's answer. Instead, they tried to use God. 1 Samuel 2, Eli's boys tried to do that. And now the nation was attempting the same. How? Verse three, they decided to bring the ark to the battlefield. Literally, like Eve taking the forbidden fruit in Genesis three, they took the ark. Same words are employed in both places in the Hebrew, which tells us this is not good. What's happening here? And on top of that, look who's leading the way. Verse four, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's wicked sons. Rather than seeking the Lord in repentance, the people turned the ark into a magic talisman. What was the ark? It was a wooden box. It's about four by two foot. It's overlaid with gold. Rested behind the veil of the most holy place in the tabernacle. And the Ark represented God's presence and power among his people. It visibly reminded them of God's promises and gave them assurance of his nearness and aid. And that is exactly what the Israelites were banking on. No way God would allow their defeat with the Ark in their presence. Truth is, they were trying to twist God's arm. Because they thought, quoting Dale Ralph Davis, to have God's furniture was to have God's power. The Ark was their religious ace in the hole. Do you see how There was little to no faith in Israel's camp. Just superstition. They were trying to use the ark. To get God to do something for them. Which means they were not really seeking God. But attempting to control God. They were interested in manipulation. not repentance. They wanted to use God, not love God. And verse 5, when the ark came into the camp, all the Israelite soldiers shouted. It was so loud, the Philistines heard it and they freaked out. They said, what does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? A God has come. Woe to us. And they asked a question. A who question. Who can deliver us? Who can deliver us? That was the right question to ask. Who could deliver them? Who could deliver Israel? Both needed it just in different ways. For the Israelites, they needed deliverance from rabbit foot theology. To see it, notice how despite the presence of the Ark, what happened? Israel lost. Verse 11, 30,000 soldiers died. And Israel's faulty view of God was the cause. They believed what the 19th century father of American pragmatism, William James, said. God is not to be worshiped, but used. They believed that God was not to be worshiped, but used. That was Israel's perspective. Oh, but surely we in the American church have moved on from that kind of thinking. We don't manipulate God. We seek to glorify God. About the prosperity gospel practice of giving to get. So a financial seed and you will reap a financial harvest, sacrifice some dough and you will automatically unblock God's storehouses. Or. It's a little a little touchier. How about the right songs sung by the praise band in the right way, with the lighting and the service just right, and the worship leader saying the right filler words between the songs, building maybe even to an altar call, all orchestrated to make the spirit move. In each case, God, And God ordained means are being used as if they were lucky charms. To get money from God. Or to conjure up a religious experience. These are various expressions of rabbit foot theology. Trying to manipulate God. Rather than serve God. Why do we give? Why do we sing praise to God? Why do we read the Bible, catechize our kids, serve our neighbor, come to church? It's not because doing these things will somehow rub God's lamp as if he were a genie in a bottle granting three wishes. He is the Lord to be feared, worshiped, adored, loved, obeyed, and trusted. When our theology and practice do not show God is worthy, but communicate God is useful, we are in trouble. And perhaps one thing we all should do is ask, Lord, where is this true in my life? Because every single person in this room, me included, struggles with a performance mentality when it comes to God. God, I will scratch your back if you scratch mine. Where do we have rabid foot theology? We need deliverance from it. Who can do it? Only the Lord who blows our culturally crafted categories for God out of the water. He's the one we need. And he only. That leads to a what question? And bringing about Israel's defeat. What was God doing? To figure it out, consider how as bad as Israel's defeat had been described, things were a lot worse. It wasn't just that they lost the battle, that's bad enough. Verse 11, the ark of God was captured. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. What represented God's power and presence had been taken away as a trophy of war. You can envision the headline in PNN's feed. Philistine News Network. You can envision what it would have read. VY day victory over Yahweh. Israel embarrassed. Ark taken. Yahweh imprisoned. This was one of the lowest moments in Israel's history. And to make matters worse, the high priest, two sons were killed in battle, how shameful. Their deaths had been foretold in chapter two, verse 34. And now it had come to pass. This was a distressing day. And also one where divine judgment was fulfilled. That's what God was doing here. He was fulfilling his word. Though he did it in a strange way, not expected. God allowed the symbol of his power and presence to be taken away by the Philistines of all people. He allowed himself to be dishonored. But as one writer said. Even though it seemed as if God was being dishonored through the capturing of the Ark. He was, in fact, upholding his honor. You see, Yahweh made to be despised in Philista only for a while, just see the next chapter. But he will be manipulated in Israel no longer. That's why he allowed the Ark to be taken. and Eli's sons to die, to stop Israel from shaming his name. And then things got worse. Because starting in verse 12, we are introduced to this man from Benjamin who ran nearly a marathon to get back to Shiloh and report the news. The aged and now blind Eli had been waiting for some news. He was certainly concerned for his boys, but verse 13, it seems as if he was more concerned about the Ark. He knew that it should not have been taken out to the battlefield. And then the soldier confirmed his worst fears. Verse 17, Israel had been defeated, his sons killed and. The Ark of God snatched up. All of this was heartbreaking news. Can you imagine it? Thirty thousand soldiers dead. One battle. And your son's dead. But verse 18. As soon as the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gates and his neck was broken and he died. But the man was old and heavy. As was foretold in chapter two, verse thirty one, Eli's strength had been cut off. God fulfilled his word of judgment on Eli. And he did it with the ark being captured by the Philistines. What an odd way for God to fulfill his word. And the Lord often does it that way. There are times when God works in strange ways. Those ways befuddle us. Why does he work like that? Maybe so that we don't believe he fits into our man made boxes. For instance. The Lord worked through an infant savior. And a crucified savior. And he continues to work through ordinary means to grow his church. Nothing flashy, just words, sacraments, and prayer. Strange ways for God to work. For me personally, he worked through the death of my mother when I was seven to help bring me to conversion. For you, maybe he worked in your life through some tragedy. for a congregation. Maybe he worked through a church split to make them healthier. A cradle. A crown of thorns, the means of grace, personal suffering, church troubles, all of these and more are God's strange works that he uses for his ends. It teaches us. Whether we are talking about his acts of salvation, or providence. God's ways are not our ways. God's ways are not our ways. And yet don't forget. His ways are always. For the good of his people. Always. With this defeat, Israel was free from the wickedness of false shepherds. Samuel's ministry can now begin. When encountering God's strange works in our lives, we must put away rabbit's foot theology, or we attempt to manipulate God to get what we want out of Him. We must replace it with Romans 8.28 theology. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, And are called according to his good purposes. And we must trust how he works. We must trust how he works. Even if his works seem strange to us, because we know he loves us, how do we know that? Jesus's life, death and resurrection show that God works for our good. Even through the strange ways. Our text. As who question. It has a how question. It has a what question, why question lots of different questions here. One last one, though. Is where? Not only did the news of the arcs capture bring about Eli's death. It also affected others look at verse 19. Now, his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth for her pains came upon her. The bad news of this woman, the bad news that this woman heard so disturbed her that she was driven to have her baby prematurely. And her labor was exceptionally difficult to the point that she was about to die. Before she did. Verse 20. The woman attending her said to her, do not be afraid. For you have born a son that was joyous news to a woman about to breathe her last. Her baby was alive and it was a boy. Her husband might have died, but the family line would go on. And wouldn't she want to hold him and enjoy him with her last moments? Wouldn't her heart be filled with some happiness as she looked into his little eyes? Verse 20 ends. She did not answer. Or pay attention. Why? What could have jarred her so much? That on her deathbed, she ignored this good news. The Ark was gone. God's presence and blessing upon his people had left. And to reflect this awful state, look at verse 21. She named the child Ichabod. Saying the glory has departed from Israel because the Ark of God had been captured. It is true, her father in law and her husband were gone. But what broke her heart more. Was verse 22. The glory has departed from Israel. For the ark of God has been captured. As one preacher said, she taught more theology in her death. And her husband did throughout his entire life. God's glory had gone into exile, that's what the Hebrew word for departed in verse 22 literally means. What is God's glory? Simple answer is his identifiable and recognizable special presence that for a time resided in the tabernacle and temple. And the departure of God's glory leads to an implied question in the text, because what did Phineas is what what did Phineas his wife name her son? Ichabod. What did his name mean? You might have a little footnote in your Bible. Where is the glory? Where was God's special presence? And in one sense, we don't immediately know the answer to that question. We are not told in this text where was God's glory. But in another sense, we can say God's glory was anywhere other than Israel. That's the point. The glory of God left, and not because the ark had been taken. The ark was seized because God's glory had already left. Israel's spiritual state was so bad, God left to get their attention. And the ark's capture was evidence of it. But let me ask you, Does God do this kind of thing today? I don't have the tabernacle or the temple. I don't see in the same way this visible representation of God's special presence. Does God do this kind of thing today? Where he removes his blessing. Does he remove himself from churches and individuals who claim his name? Yes, he does. Sadly, some churches and denominations, God has stamped Ichabod. Across them. God departed from them. Because of their unfaithfulness. Consistently, Jesus warned of such in his letters to the seven churches. Christ has no problem removing lampstands from congregations who have a nonchalant attitude towards spiritual things. Just see church history. And he has no problem writing Ichabod above professing believers names because they really are not interested in God and his ways. God's blessing may leave. To encourage repentance. Repentance from things like rabbit foot theology. That may be how the Lord delivers us. Delivers us from using him. Rather than loving him. And. How can we not love him? Pardon given. Peace overflowing. The lost found. The found being changed. Love abounding, Christ for us, Christ cross, Christ empty to whom, Christ who loves us. Pray then with Francis Scott Key. Elbow God, my weak endeavor, this dull soul to rapture raise. Thou must light the flame or never. Can my love be warmed to praise? Plead with God. You've seen the words of the 19th century Scottish Presbyterian Thomas Chalmers. Oh, Lord, seize my heart. By the power of a greater affection. Give me an increasing heart for Christ. Let me go from strength to strength in loving you and serving you. Because you have loved me and served me. Would you make that your prayer? Would you cry out to God, Lord, seize my heart. By the power of a greater affection. An affection for Christ. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Blessed God. You are the great God, the mighty God, the sovereign God. You are the God who works. who works in providence, who works in salvation. We give you praise that you would stoop and reveal yourself in your word, that you would declare to us in Jesus Christ that there is hope for our souls. We pray then that you would set us free from rabbit foot theology, that thanks that we can earn your favor, that believes that we have to perform to get something from you. Lord, help us to remember that we are free, free to love you, free to serve you, because you love your people with an everlasting love. And may your affection for us drive us to greater affection and service to you. Seize our hearts, we pray. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.