In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites take the Ark of the covenant into battle against the Philistines. This is something they were not commanded to do. However, this is something that we read about other pagan nations doing with their gods. They would cart the gods into battle to hope for better fortune in the outcome. Of course, if two nations both did this there would be a predicament – one god would be captured by the other nation. Whoever had the best strategy or most power would gain the upper hand in the battle and capture the god of their enemy. In some cases, they would also melt down the enemy’s gods, in order to add insult to injury. Many nations could not rebuild their cities until they were able to reclaim their god from the enemy who took it.
So why did Israel bring the ark of God into the battle?
Because even before they demand a king in 1 Samuel 8, they were already mimicking the other pagan nations around them. They are already copying the other groups that they see in Canaan.
Everyone thinks that 1 Samuel 8 is the first time Israel caved to the pressure to be like the people around them, but they had already done it for generations. It is an illustration of the powerful urge that humans have to fit into the group. No one wants to be an outcast. Everyone wants to be “in” with the group and feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves. The nation of Israel gave in to the urge to be like the nations around them.
This is just another example of the powerful pull of negative influence.
While most modern evangelist groups today talk about being a good influence, the rational man understands that it is not always possible to be a good influence. Especially when you are already resisting the incredibly powerful waves of negative influences.
I do not even understand what most people mean by “be a good influence”. It is a vague generality that gives no direction to a man. Should I go into some ghetto and expect my supposed goodness to pass to the meth slingers by osmosis? Will people magically be drawn to my alleged righteousness by simply being in the presence of it?
Influence takes much more than just being in the presence of someone.
It requires that the person being influenced actually wants to be influenced. Without that urge to model the person doing the influencing, the person being influenced will never change. No one changes just by being in the presence of one good individual. The powers of positive influence are so weak that you need at least five good influences just to be making a good influence on a single evil person.
The lesson of 1 Samuel 4 teaches us that when human beings are pressured, they will give into the most powerful influence around them. And that influence in this case was the evil influence of the Canaanite nations.
Understand: evil is stronger than good for the time being. The power of a negative influence is several times stronger than the power of a positive influence.
Do not overestimate the power of a positive influence, and do not underestimate the power of a negative one. This is what most people in the church do and it makes them look like fools.
Related: Split From the Pack
