Morningside Kids 7/17/22 - Eli's Sons Disobeyed God

ELI’S SON DISOBEYED GOD (1 SAMUEL 4-6)

The Israelites had been enemies of the Philistines for many years. One day, the Philistines defeated Israel in a battle. The leaders of Israel asked, “Why did God let us lose to the Philistines?”

The Israelites decided to battle again. This time, however, they would take the ark of the covenant with them. The ark of the covenant was a wooden box covered in gold that reminded them God was with them. Maybe the ark would help them win.

Eli’s sons, wicked men who did not respect God, took the ark of the covenant to the Israelites’ camp. When the army of Israelites saw the ark, they shouted with joy. Surely they would win the battle now! But when the Philistines came out to fight against the Israelites, the Philistines won again! They killed thousands of Israelites, including Eli’s sons, and they captured the ark of God.

One of the Israelites ran to tell Eli what had happened. When Eli heard the news, he fell backward in his chair, broke his neck, and died. The Philistines took the ark of the covenant to their temple where they worshiped a false god named Dagon (DAY gahn). They put the ark next to a statue of Dagon. The next morning, the Philistines found Dagon’s statue facedown in front of the ark. They set the statue back up. The next day, the statue was facedown again. This time, its head and hands were broken off.

God punished the Philistines living in the city where they kept the ark. The people got sick, and they wanted to get rid of the ark. But when the Philistines moved the ark to another city, everyone in that city got sick. So they moved the ark to a third city. Then everyone in that city got sick too.

The Philistines were afraid. They didn’t want God to punish them anymore, so they decided to return the ark along with gifts of gold to show they were sorry for taking it. The Philistines hitched two cows to a cart and put the ark on the cart. The cows moved the ark down the road until the ark of God was back with the Israelites, where it belonged.

Eli’s sons disobeyed God and their father because they wanted to sin. Jesus obeyed His parents and said to God the Father, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Followers of Jesus don’t do whatever they feel like; they also say, “Not my will, but thine be done.”