1 Samuel 7:10-17

10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

13 So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14 The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the LORD.

Questions to consider:

• Who was victorious in battle?
• Why were they victorious in battle?
• How long did the protection against the Philistines last?
• How long was Samuel the leader of Israel?

Possibilities for prayer:

Yay! We learn that the Lord does indeed look out for the people of Israel this time around, and they definitely did a better job of seeking strength and victory from the correct source. It's pretty interesting to note that God protects them from the Philistines not only during this particular battle, but also throughout Samuel's lifetime.

And what do you think about Samuel? Here is this man who was once just an answer to a humble and courageous woman's prayer who has now become the leader of a nation. This seems to reflect the way in which God can take things (and people!) that seem to be of little account and transform them into something truly great. Let's ask that God would use us for great things also, even if that doesn't seem probable or possible right now.

1 Samuel 7:1-9

¹ So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD. ² The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all.

Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah

Then all the people of Israel turned back to the LORD. ³ So Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the LORD for you.” ⁶ When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. ⁸ They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him.

Questions to consider:

• Where does the ark end up?
• How long does it stay there?
• What condition does Samuel give the people for returning to God?
• Did they meet it?
• Why do the Philistines want to attack again?
• What is the response of the people of Israel?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

Uh oh...we've got a little bit of a cliffhanger here, folks! The Lord answered Samuel, but we don't know exactly what happened yet...

We see a different response on the part of the people of Israel this time around. The last time they were under attack, they relied upon a sort of "good luck charm" to get them through the battle. If you remember last week's passages, that didn't work out too well for them. But this time they are under threat, from the same enemy in fact, but their response is not to look for some symbol or representation of power, but to call on the source of that power itself. I'm feeling much more confident that God's response is going to be positive this time around.

Today, let's ask God to grant us more of his power. Ask that God would make you someone who heals the sick and broken, because of God's power and your reliance upon it.

1 Samuel 6:13-21

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD. ¹⁶ The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

¹⁷ These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the LORD—one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. ¹⁸ And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them. ²⁰ And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

²¹ Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to your town.”

Questions to consider:

• How do the people of Beth Shemesh respond to the appearance of the ark?
• What is the first thing they do?
• When do the Philistines actually return home?
• Why do 70 of the people die?
• Where do the people want to send the ark?
• Why do you think they don't want to keep it?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

As we've seen, the Philistines recognize that there's something special (and important) about the ark of the Lord. They send it back to the Israelites, despite it being a spoil of war. When the people of Beth Shemesh see the ark, they rejoice. And it seems like they generally have the right idea at first...they make offerings to God in thanksgiving and celebration, including sacrificing the two cows that brought the ark in the first place. But after that, it seems like people get a little bit confused, or a little too curious.

There were very clear rules and regulations surrounding who could interact with the ark, but several people choose to disregard those instructions. I think that we encounter situations like this in our own lives today. We start on the right path, listening to and praising God, but as we continue down that road we might start to think that we have everything figured out and go off on our way. While chances are that God isn't going to put us to death for making some different decisions, it does ultimately do us harm to make choices that are lining up with God's best for us. Let's spend some time in prayer asking God to fully direct our lives, leading us into God's best.

1 Samuel 6:1-12

¹ When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, ² the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

³ They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

⁴ The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”

They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. ⁵ Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. ⁶ Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

⁷ “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. ⁸ Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, ⁹ but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. ¹¹ They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. ¹² Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

Questions to consider:

• In addition to returning the ark to the people of Israel, what do they want to send with it?
• Who gives the people the idea of sending the ark back with some kind of offering?
• What other Old Testament story do the priests and diviners reference?
• In what direction do the cows, with the ark in tow, go?
• What does this mean?

Possibilities for prayer:

The fact that the priests reminded the Philistines of the way in which God had rescued the people of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians was really striking to me. The power (and perseverance) of the God of Israel is clearly rather widely known and the Philistines don’t want to “mess” with that.

We serve a God is known far and wide, both back in the time when the Bible was written and in this day and age. Let’s take some time to reflect on what that means to our lives, and to thank God for the privilege of being counted among those who are God’s servants.

1 Samuel 5

¹ After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. ³ When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. ⁵ That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

⁶ The LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

⁹ But after they had moved it, the LORD’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. ¹² Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

Questions to consider:

• What explanation do you have for the god of the philistines falling on its face each morning after the ark of God arrived?
• Why do you think the “hand of the Lord was heavy” against Ashdod?
• What solution do the people of Ashdod find for their affliction?
• What happened when they brought the ark to Gath?
• Where do they ultimately send the ark?

Possibilities for prayer:

This passage seems to be a pretty distinct indication and reflection of God’s power. I was talking to a friend about this passage and she said, “Well, God can basically whatever he wants.” How true is that! The retribution that God takes against the Philistines seems to prove that statement. Let’s praise God today for this reflection of his power, as well as for the reflections of his power in our own lives.

1 Samuel 4:12-22

¹² That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

¹⁴ Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”

The man hurried over to Eli, ¹⁵ who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. ¹⁶ He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”

Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ The one who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Questions to consider:

• Why do you think everyone was so distressed about the capture of the ark?
• How did Eli die?
• What happened to Eli's daughter in law?
• What did she name her son and why?
• Do you think that the Glory had really departed from Israel?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

The fact that Phineas's wife names her newborn son Ichabod is appropriate: not only has the ark of God been captured, but God has clearly not blessed this work of the Israelites in battle. This idea of the glory of God departing is relevant not only in this situation, with a captured ark, but also today in many churches, ministries, and even individual lives. Today, let's pray that we would allow and claim God's glory in our communities, churches, and lives, and seek to be a people that look to God for guidance and victory, rather than things that may in some way represent God.

1 Samuel 4:1-11

¹ And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. ² The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. ³ When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. ⁶ Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “We’re in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Questions to consider:

• Why do you think the first part of verse 1 is important?
• Why do the soldiers think that the ark will help them be victorious in battle?
• Why were the Philistines afraid when they heard about the ark?
• Did the ark prevent the Israelites from being defeated?
• Why is important to note that Eli's sons died in the battle?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

It's interesting to me that instead of going before God and asking him for help in the battle that was being fought, the soldiers decide that what they need is the ark of the covenant to be with them in battle, as a sort of good luck charm. I can't help but wonder if the outcome would have been different if the soldiers had instead gone to the temple and sought out God himself rather than a physical representation of his presence.

This seems like it could be relevant for us today as well. When things aren't going as we think they should, wondering about the reasons to no one in particular or just assuming that everything will work out because "God is on our side" seem like a less helpful ways to handle the situation than talking to God about it. Let's try this week to be intentional about having conversations with God regarding the situations in our lives, good and bad, instead of trying to rationalize things on our own. And remember, conversations are two-sided, so give God an opportunity to speak back to you. :)