Study Desk

He ran to Eli and said, "I am here. You called me." But Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." So Samuel went back to bed.

I told Eli I would punish his family always, because he knew his sons were evil. They acted without honor, but he did not stop them.

but Eli called to him, "Samuel, my son!" Samuel answered, "I am here."

Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been taken and that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead, she began to give birth to her child. The child was born, but the mother had much trouble in giving birth.

As she was dying, the women who helped her said, "Don't worry! You've given birth to a son!" But she did not answer or pay attention.

But after they moved it to Gath, there was a great panic. The Lord was hard on that city also, and he gave both old and young people in Gath growths on their skin.

Then the Philistines sent the Ark of God to Ekron. But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled, "Why are you bringing the Ark of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?"

Watch the cart. If it goes toward Beth Shemesh in Israel's own land, the Lord has given us this great sickness. But if it doesn't, we will know that Israel's God has not punished us. Our sickness just happened by chance."

The Philistines did what the priests and magicians said. They took two cows that had just had calves and hitched them to the cart, but they kept their calves at home.

But some of the men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark of the Lord . So God killed seventy of them. The people of Beth Shemesh cried because the Lord had struck them down.

While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against them with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle.

Earlier the Philistines had taken towns from the Israelites, but the Israelites won them back, from Ekron to Gath. They also took back from the Philistines the lands near these towns. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

But Samuel always went back to Ramah, where his home was. There he judged Israel and built an altar to the Lord .

But Samuel's sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly, and they accepted money secretly to make wrong judgments.

Now listen to the people, but warn them what the king who rules over them will do."

When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. But the Lord will not answer you then."

But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, "No! We want a king to rule over us.

Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin, but they still did not find them.

But the servant answered, "A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let's go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken."

(In the past, if someone in Israel wanted to ask something from God, he would say, "Let's go to the seer." We call the person a prophet today, but in the past he was called a seer.)