1Samuel 4-8; Psalms 79 - Prayer Tents

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4And Samuel's words went out to all the people of Israel.H1697H8050H3478H3478H3318H7125H6430H4421H2583H72H6430H2583H663 2The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men.H6430H6186H7125H3478H5203H4421H3478H5062H6440H6430H5221H4634H7704H702H505H376 3After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?" Then they said, "Let's bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies."H5971H935H4264H2205H3478H559H3068H5062H3117H6440H6430H3947H727H1285H3068H7887H935H7130H3467H3709H341 4So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God.H5971H7971H7887H5375H727H1285H3068H6635H3427H3742H8147H1121H5941H2652H6372H727H1285H430 5When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!H727H1285H3068H935H4264H3478H7321H1419H8643H776H1949 6"What's going on?" the Philistines asked. "What's all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?" When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived,H6430H8085H6963H8643H559H6963H1419H8643H4264H5680H3045H727H3068H935H4264 7they panicked. "The gods have come into their camp!" they cried. "This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before!H6430H3372H559H430H935H4264H559H188H865H8032 8Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.H188H5337H3027H117H430H430H5221H4714H4347H4057 9Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don't, we will become the Hebrews' slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!"H2388H1961H582H6430H5647H5680H5647H1961H582H3898 10So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents.H6430H3898H3478H5062H5127H376H168H3966H1419H4347H5307H3478H7970H505H7273 11The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.H727H430H3947H8147H1121H5941H2652H6372H4191

The Death of Eli

12A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief.H7323H376H1144H4634H935H7887H3117H4055H7167H127H7218 13Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.H935H5941H3427H3678H1870H3027H3197H6822H3820H2730H727H430H376H935H5892H5046H5892H2199 14"What is all the noise about?" Eli asked. The messenger rushed over to Eli,H5941H8085H6963H6818H559H6963H1995H376H935H4116H5046H5941 15who was ninety-eight years old and blind.H5941H8673H8083H8141H1121H5869H6965H3201H7200 16He said to Eli, "I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day." "What happened, my son?" Eli demanded.H376H559H5941H935H4634H5127H3117H4634H559H1697H1121 17"Israel has been defeated by the Philistines," the messenger replied. "The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured."H1319H6030H559H3478H5127H6440H6430H1419H4046H5971H8147H1121H2652H6372H4191H727H430H3947 18When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel's judge for forty years.H2142H727H430H5307H3678H322H1157H3027H8179H4665H7665H4191H2204H376H3513H8199H3478H705H8141 19Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth.H3618H6372H802H2030H3205H8085H8052H413H727H430H3947H2524H376H4191H3766H3205H6735H2015 20She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. "Don't be afraid," they said. "You have a baby boy!" But she did not answer or pay attention to them.H6256H4191H5324H1696H3372H3205H1121H6030H7896H3820 21She named the child Ichabod (which means "Where is the glory?"), for she said, "Israel's glory is gone." She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead.H7121H5288H350H559H3519H1540H3478H413H727H430H3947H2524H376 22Then she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured."H559H3519H1540H3478H727H430H3947

The Ark in Philistia

5After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.H6430H3947H727H430H935H72H795 2They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon.H6430H3947H727H430H935H1004H1712H3322H681H1712 3But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.H796H7925H4283H1712H5307H6440H776H6440H727H3068H3947H1712H7725H4725H7725 4But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.H7925H4283H1242H1712H5307H6440H776H6440H727H3068H7218H1712H8147H3709H3027H3772H4670H1712H7604 5That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.H3548H1712H935H1712H1004H1869H4670H1712H795H3117 6Then the LORD's heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.H3027H3068H3513H796H8074H5221H2914H6076H795H1366 7When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, "We can't keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god."H582H795H7200H559H727H430H3478H3427H3027H7185H1712H430 8So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, "What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?" The rulers discussed it and replied, "Move it to the town of Gath." So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath.H7971H622H5633H6430H559H6213H727H430H3478H559H727H430H3478H5437H1661H5437H727H430H3478H5437 9But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the LORD's heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.H310H5437H3027H3068H5892H3966H1419H4103H5221H582H5892H6996H1419H2914H6076H8368 10So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, "They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!"H7971H727H430H6138H727H430H935H6138H6139H2199H559H5437H727H430H3478H4191H5971 11The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, "Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all." For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town.H7971H622H5633H6430H559H7971H727H430H3478H7725H4725H4191H5971H4194H4103H5892H3027H430H3966H3513 12Those who didn't die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.H582H4191H5221H2914H6076H7775H5892H5927H8064

The Philistines Return the Ark

6The Ark of the LORD remained in Philistine territory seven months in all.H727H3068H7704H6430H7651H2320 2Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, "What should we do about the Ark of the LORD? Tell us how to return it to its own country."H6430H7121H3548H7080H559H6213H727H3068H3045H7971H4725 3"Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift," they were told. "Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague."H559H7971H727H430H3478H7971H7387H7725H7725H817H7495H3045H3027H5493 4"What sort of guilt offering should we send?" they asked. And they were told, "Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land.H559H817H7725H559H2568H2091H2914H6076H2568H2091H5909H4557H5633H6430H259H4046H5633 5Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land.H6213H6754H2914H6076H6754H5909H7843H776H5414H3519H430H3478H7043H3027H430H776 6Don't be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.H3513H3824H4714H6547H3513H3820H5953H7971H3212 7"Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen.H6213H259H2319H5699H3947H8147H5763H6510H5927H5923H631H6510H5699H7725H1121H1004H310 8Put the Ark of the LORD on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want.H3947H727H3068H5414H5699H7760H3627H2091H7725H817H712H6654H7971H1980 9If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the LORD who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don't, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance."H7200H5927H1870H1366H1053H6213H1419H7451H3045H3027H5060H4745H1961 10So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen.H582H6213H3947H8147H5763H6510H631H5699H3607H1121H1004 11Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.H7760H727H3068H5699H712H5909H2091H6754H2914 12And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.H6510H3474H1870H1870H1053H1980H4546H259H1600H1980H5493H3225H8040H5633H6430H1980H310H1366H1053 13The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed!H1053H7114H2406H7105H6010H5375H5869H7200H727H8055H7200 14The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the LORD as a burnt offering.H5699H935H7704H3091H1030H5975H1419H68H1234H6086H5699H5927H6510H5930H3068 15Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors from the cart and placed them on the large rock. Many sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered to the LORD that day by the people of Beth-shemesh.H3881H3381H727H3068H712H3627H2091H7760H1419H68H582H1053H5927H5930H2076H2077H3117H3068 16The five Philistine rulers watched all this and then returned to Ekron that same day.H2568H5633H6430H7200H7725H6138H3117 17The five gold tumors sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the LORD were gifts from the rulers of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.H2091H2914H6430H7725H817H3068H795H259H5804H259H831H259H1661H259H6138H259 18The five gold rats represented the five Philistine towns and their surrounding villages, which were controlled by the five rulers. The large rock at Beth-shemesh, where they set the Ark of the LORD, still stands in the field of Joshua as a witness to what happened there.H2091H5909H4557H5892H6430H2568H5633H4013H5892H6521H3724H1419H59H3240H727H3068H3117H7704H3091H1030

The Ark Moved to Kiriath-Jearim

19But the LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD. And the people mourned greatly because of what the LORD had done.H5221H376H1053H7200H727H3068H5221H5971H2572H505H7657H582H5971H56H3068H5221H5971H1419H4347 20"Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?" they cried out. "Where can we send the Ark from here?"H582H1053H559H3201H5975H6440H6918H3068H430H5927 21So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them, "The Philistines have returned the Ark of the LORD. Come here and get it!"H7971H4397H3427H7157H559H6430H7725H727H3068H3381H5927

7So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it.H582H7157H935H5927H727H3068H935H1004H41H1389H6942H499H1121H8104H727H3068 2The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them.H3117H727H3427H7157H3117H7235H6242H8141H1004H3478H5091H310H3068

Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

3Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines."H8050H559H1004H3478H559H7725H3068H3824H5493H5236H430H6252H8432H3559H3824H3068H5647H5337H3027H6430 4So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD.H1121H3478H5493H1168H6252H5647H3068 5Then Samuel told them, "Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you."H8050H559H6908H3478H4708H6419H3068 6So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.)H6908H4709H7579H4325H8210H6440H3068H6684H3117H559H2398H3068H8050H8199H1121H3478H4708 7When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.H6430H8085H1121H3478H6908H4708H5633H6430H5927H3478H1121H3478H8085H3372H6440H6430 8"Don't stop pleading with the LORD our God to save us from the Philistines!" they begged Samuel.H1121H3478H559H8050H2790H2199H3068H430H3467H3027H6430 9So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him.H8050H3947H259H2461H2924H5927H5930H3632H3068H8050H2199H3068H3478H3068H6030 10Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.H8050H5927H5930H6430H5066H4421H3478H3068H7481H1419H6963H3117H6430H2000H5062H6440H3478 11The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.H582H3478H3318H4709H7291H6430H5221H1033 12Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help"), for he said, "Up to this point the LORD has helped us!"H8050H3947H259H68H7760H4709H8129H7121H8034H72H559H3068H5826 13So the Philistines were subdued and didn't invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel's lifetime, the LORD's powerful hand was raised against the Philistines.H6430H3665H935H3254H1366H3478H3027H3068H6430H3117H8050 14The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.H5892H6430H3947H3478H7725H3478H6138H1661H1366H3478H5337H3027H6430H7965H3478H567 15Samuel continued as Israel's judge for the rest of his life.H8050H8199H3478H3117H2416 16Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places.H1980H1767H8141H8141H5437H1008H1537H4709H8199H3478H4725 17Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the LORD at Ramah.H8666H7414H1004H8199H3478H1129H4196H3068

Israel Requests a King

8As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.H8050H2204H7760H1121H8199H3478 2Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba.H8034H1121H1060H3100H8034H4932H29H8199H884 3But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.H1121H1980H1870H5186H310H1215H3947H7810H5186H4941 4Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.H2205H3478H6908H935H8050H7414 5"Look," they told him, "you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have."H559H2204H1121H1980H1870H7760H4428H8199H1471 6Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance.H1697H3415H5869H8050H559H5414H4428H8199H8050H6419H3068 7"Do everything they say to you," the LORD replied, "for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don't want me to be their king any longer.H3068H559H8050H8085H6963H5971H559H3988H3988H4427 8Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.H4639H6213H3117H5927H4714H3117H5800H5647H312H430H6213 9Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them."H8085H6963H389H5749H5749H5046H4941H4428H4427

Samuel Warns against a Kingdom

10So Samuel passed on the LORD's warning to the people who were asking him for a king.H8050H559H1697H3068H5971H7592H4428 11"This is how a king will reign over you," Samuel said. "The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.H559H4941H4428H4427H3947H1121H7760H4818H6571H7323H6440H4818 12Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.H7760H8269H505H8269H2572H2790H2758H7114H7105H6213H3627H4421H3627H7393 13The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.H3947H1323H7548H2879H644 14He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.H3947H7704H3754H2132H2896H5414H5650 15He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.H6237H2233H3754H5414H5631H5650 16He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.H3947H5650H8198H2896H970H2543H6213H4399 17He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.H6237H6629H5650 18When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you."H2199H3117H6440H4428H977H3068H6030H3117 19But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning. "Even so, we still want a king," they said.H5971H3985H8085H6963H8050H559H4428 20"We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle."H1471H4428H8199H3318H6440H3898H4421 21So Samuel repeated to the LORD what the people had said,H8050H8085H1697H5971H1696H241H3068 22and the LORD replied, "Do as they say, and give them a king." Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.H3068H559H8050H8085H6963H4427H4428H8050H559H582H3478H3212H376H5892