And when he came
To Shiloh; he either passed by Eli, who being blind could not see
him, ( 1 Samuel
4:15 ) or he came in at another gate of the city on the other
side of it, as Abarbinel thinks; though the former seems more
likely by what follows, he not choosing to deliver the bad news
to Eli first, whom he knew it would very much grieve, and
therefore slipped by him into the city:
lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside
watching:
by the "hand" of the way, as the marginal reading, and which we
follow; it seems to be a place where two ways or more met, and
where was a way post erected, with an hand directing what places
they led to. The text is, "he", or "it smote", as if his heart
smote him for letting the ark go; so Kimchi {f}; here Eli had a
seat placed, which, as the Targum says, was at the ascent of the
way to the gate; and so the Septuagint has it, at the gate; and
Josephus F7 says it was at one of the gates;
either of his own house, or of the tabernacle, or rather of the
city; here he was watching for news, to hear what he could, and
as soon as he could, how it fared with the army, with his sons,
and especially with the ark;
for his heart trembled for the ark of God;
not so much for his sons, whose death he might expect from the
divine prediction, but for the ark, about which he was doubtful;
fearing lest it should fall into the hands of the uncircumcised
Philistines, who would triumph upon it, and which would make sad
the heart of every true Israelite, and reflect much dishonour on
the God of Israel; and very probably he might tremble the more
when he reflected on his own sin and folly in suffering his sons
to take it with them. Eli here may represent a good man in pain
for the church of God, and the interest of religion in declining
times, both with respect to ministers of the word, and members of
churches: as when Gospel ministers are removed by death, few
raised up in their stead, and those that do appear in the
ministry, either unregenerate, as it may be feared; or have not
gifts and abilities qualifying them for it; or are of immoral
lives and conversations, or propagate false doctrines, errors,
and heresies: and also when among professors of religion and
members of churches there is a great decay of powerful godliness;
and they are got into a drowsy, sleepy, frame of spirit, are
become lukewarm and indifferent to spiritual exercises, want zeal
for the Gospel and cause of Christ; are careless about the honour
and interest of religion, unstable and inconstant in doctrine and
worship, and in their affections to one another, and the
ministers of the word; and their conversation not as becomes
their profession:
and when the man came into the city, and told
it;
how that the army of Israel was beaten, what a number of men was
killed, among whom were the two sons of the high priest, and the
ark was taken:
all the city cried out;
that is, all the inhabitants of the city, having most of them
perhaps relations and friends in the army, for whom they were
concerned, fearing their lives were lost; but especially the loss
of the ark was insupportable by them, it being of so much
advantage to that city particularly, both with respect to things
temporal and spiritual; wherefore, upon hearing this bad news,
there was a general shriek and cry throughout the whole city.
F6 Vid. David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 47. 1.
F7 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 3.)