From this point forward, and until Chapter 6, the Ark of the Covenant is repeatedly referenced as a central symbol in the story, representing God’s presence among the Israelites. However, this divine presence does not always accompany the Ark. In this passage, we see how Israel fails twice in the war against the Philistines: once because they go into battle without it, and a second time, even though they have turned to it. They carry it into battle, but God’s presence is not there. Therefore, it is not a complete absence of God, but rather a way the narrator shows that when people turn away from God, their efforts fail. This explains the poignant question of the elders, “Why has the Lord brought this defeat upon us today…?” (3). The second defeat is much more devastating than the first and has more serious consequences: the Ark has been captured by the Philistines, and with it, one might say, the enemy has seized the best spoils of war, leaving Israel “orphaned.” The sign of this absence of the Ark is the death of Eli’s sons.