Between the Lessons: Faith and Superstition

(This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of Anglican Life.)

God had threatened ruin and downfall for the entire household of Eli the priest, because his

two sons had been such corrupt reprobates. In the fourth chapter of 1 Samuel, that downfall

came quickly.

The Israelites fought against the Philistines, but quickly found themselves outmatched. So they

decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle before them. At this point, the story seems to become rather like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie. The Ark is seen as so powerful a religious artifact as to be a military weapon, and whoever carries it into battle becomes theoretically unbeatable.

The Ark is, of course, the box that the Israelites used to carry the tablets of the Ten

Commandments. It was a symbol of their covenant with God and a sign of God’s presence in

their midst. For the Israelites to bring it into battle was an attempt to have God lead them into

battle. At this point, their beliefs were not quite what we would call monotheism. Instead of

‘Our God is the only god,’ the Israelites believed ‘Our God is tougher than your gods.’

When the Israelite army saw the Ark coming, they were encouraged, believing that their God,

who had defeated the gods of Egypt during the Exodus, was about to do the same to the

Philistine gods. The Philistines were terrified, for much the same reasons. Ironically, though,

bringing the Ark into battle is a very bad idea. The Philistines are spurred to fight even harder

and more valiantly, and the Israelites are thoroughly defeated.

Isn’t it easy to fall into traps like this? In principle, the Israelite army were doing the right thing. They trusted that God would save and deliver them like he had done in the past. Bringing the

Ark into battle was at the same time a profound statement of their faith and a sign that they

were losing that faith. Perhaps the Ark was becoming some sort of magical talisman for them,

as if all they needed to do was bring it into battle to be victorious.

God cares for us and protects us, but he’s not in the business of granting wishes, like some kind of holy concierge. I might put a statue of St. Christopher on the dashboard of my car, or a Jesus fish on the bumper, and either one of those actions might be an expression of my faith. But unless I’m also going to follow the rules of the road and drive safely, neither one of those will keep me out of an accident!

The Israelites put their trust in the Ark, rather than in God, and wind up losing the battle. Eli’s sons, who had helped bring it into battle, are both killed together on the same day, just like God had promised. What’s even worse, the Ark itself is captured by the Philistines, and the Israelites now have to contend with the suggestion that maybe their God is not actually tougher than all the other gods. But that’s another story, for another time.