Study Desk

People who once had plenty to eat must now hire themselves out for only a piece of bread. But you give the hungry more than enough to eat. A woman did not have a child, and you gave her seven, but a woman who had many was left with none.

You protect your loyal people, but everyone who is evil will die in darkness. We cannot win a victory by our own strength.

Elkanah and Hannah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed to help Eli serve the Lord .

Eli's sons were priests, but they were dishonest and refused to obey the Lord . So, while people were boiling the meat from their sacrifices, these priests would send over a servant with a large, three-pronged fork.

Usually the people answered, "Take what you want. But first, let us sacrifice the fat to the Lord ." "No," the servant would reply. "If you don't give it to me now, I'll take it by force."

The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. But Samuel grew up at the Lord 's house in Shiloh.

"Why are you doing these awful things?" he asked them. "I've been hearing nothing but complaints about you from all of the Lord 's people.

If you harm another person, God can help make things right between the two of you. But if you commit a crime against the Lord , no one can help you!" But the Lord had already decided to kill them. So he kept them from listening to their father.

Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests. I wanted them to offer sacrifices and burn incense to me and to find out from me what I want my people to do. I commanded everyone to bring their sacrifices here where I live, and I allowed you and your family to keep those that were not offered to me on the altar. But you honor your sons instead of me! You don't respect the sacrifices and offerings that are brought to me, and you've all gotten fat from eating the best parts.

I am the Lord , the God of Israel. I promised to always let your family serve me as priests, but now I tell you that I cannot do this any longer! I honor anyone who honors me, but I put a curse on anyone who hates me.

Your family will have a lot of trouble. I will be kind to Israel, but everyone in your family will die young.

If I let anyone from your family be a priest, his life will be full of sadness and sorrow. But most of the men in your family will die a violent death!

But if anyone is left from your family, he will come to my priest and beg for money or a little bread. He may even say to my priest, "Please let me be a priest, so I will at least have something to eat."

Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli the priest, who was by that time almost blind. In those days, the Lord hardly ever spoke directly to people, and he did not appear to them in dreams very often. But one night, Eli was asleep in his room,

But Eli told him, "Samuel, my boy, come here!" "Here I am," Samuel answered.

He was ninety-eight years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying, and he asked, "What's all that noise?" The soldier hurried over and told Eli,

"Israel ran away from the Philistines," the soldier answered. "Many of our people were killed, including your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured."

and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, "Don't be afraid—it's a boy!" She didn't pay any attention to them.

But early the next morning, it had fallen over again and was lying facedown on the floor in front of the chest. The body of the statue was still in one piece, but its head and both hands had broken off and were lying on the stone floor in the doorway.

The people of Ashdod had all the Philistine rulers come to Ashdod, and they asked them, "What can we do with the sacred chest that belongs to the God of Israel?" "Send it to Gath," the rulers answered. But after they took it there,