So the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Hosts, who sits [above] the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
The fact that the Israelites suffered a devastating slaughter (Heb. makkah, 1 Samuel 4:10), many times worse than their earlier recent defeat (1 Samuel 4:2), proved that victory did not come from the ark but from the Lord. Defeat was due to sin in the camp, including Hophni and Phinehas’ sin (cf. 1 Samuel 2:25). Israel had suffered defeat at Ai about 300 years earlier for the same reason: sin among the people (Joshua 7:11). Trying to duplicate previous spiritual victories by going through the same procedures is no substitute for getting right with God (cf. Judges 16:20; Matthew 23:25).