In 1 Samuel 4, we see the children of Israel doing the unthinkable, fighting the superior Philistines without God’s help. After a clear defeat, they decide to try again, but this time the Israelites take the Ark of the Covenant with them into battle. They refuse to ask the young prophet, Samuel, what they should do; instead, they lean on their own wisdom and thinking. Not only do they once again face a crushing defeat at the hands of the Philistines, but they also lose the Ark of the Covenant as well.
