Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 4:3

"And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh unto us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies." — 1 Samuel 4:3 (ASV)

In the evening of the defeat of the Israelites, the elders held a council and resolved to send for the ark. The biblical text describes the ark in full, implying that in virtue of the covenant, God would have to give them the victory (Joshua 3:10).