Israel believed that if they had the Ark of the Covenant among them as they fought the Philistines, that they could not lose, but they did, and the Philistines captured the Ark.

A runner informed Eli the high priest of the death of his two sons in the battle, and that the Philistines had captured the Ark,

Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years (1 Samuel 4:12–18).

The life of Eli centered on his work in the temple, and on the special Ark, which he could see only once a year. He knew what the Ark meant to God, and the news of its capture so devastated Eli that he fell backward and died from his injury.

While the Bible shows that Eli had a serious flaw in his character, yet, we can still see how much the things of God meant to him.