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Chapter 4 tells of the sad consequences of relying upon "things" for salvation. The Israelites attempted again to overthrow the bondage of the Philistines. They foolishly proposed to fortify themselves by bringing into battle the Ark of the Covenant upon the shoulders of Eli's sons. God did not honor this foolish attempt. The Israelites were beaten and the Ark was taken by the Philistines. Eli's sons were killed and when he hears of this, he fell backwards from his seat and broke his neck.
Eli was 98 years old when he died. He had judged Israel for 40 years. The chapter ends with an account of one of Eli's daughters-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, who upon hearing of the death of her husband and father-in-law, gave birth to a son and died. Before she died, she heard that the Ark had been stolen by the Philistines so she called her newborn son, Ichabod, meaning, "The glory of God has departed from Israel".
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