In the past, the ark accompanied Israel on some of their battles (e.g., Joshua 3:1 – 6:27). It also went ahead of them when they were travelling through the wilderness, accompanied by the call for the Lord to rise up and scatter his enemies (Numbers 10:35). It is likely that the elders remember these events and think that the absence of the ark is one reason for their battle defeat.1 Since the ark was connected to the presence of the Lord, if the ark was in their midst, then the Lord would be with them to fight on their behalf.2
3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”