1 Samuel 2:27-36
Prophecy Against Eli’s Family
A man of God came to Eli. He told him, “The Lord says, ‘I made myself clearly known to your relatives who lived long ago. I did it when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s rule. At that time, I chose Aaron from your family line to be my priest. I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel. I told him to go up to my altar. I told him to burn incense. I chose him to wear a linen apron when he served me. I also gave his family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. Why don’t you treat my sacrifices and offerings with respect? I require them to be brought to the house where I live. Why do you honor your sons more than me? Why do you fatten yourselves on the best parts of every offering that is made by my people Israel?’
“The Lord is the God of Israel. He announced, ‘I promised that members of your family line would serve me as priests forever.’ But now the Lord announces, ‘I will not let that happen! I will honor those who honor me. But I will turn away from those who look down on me. The time is coming when I will cut your life short. I will also cut short the lives of those in your family line of priests. No one in your family line will grow old. You will see nothing but trouble in the house where I live. Good things will still happen to Israel. But no one in your family line will ever grow old. I will prevent the members of your family from serving me at my altar. I will destroy the eyesight of all of you I allow to live. I will also cause you to lose your strength. And everyone in your family line will die while they are still young.
“ ‘Something is going to happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. When it does, it will show you that what I am saying is true. They will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what my heart and mind want him to do. I will make his family line of priests very secure. They will always serve as priests to my anointed king. Everyone left in your family line will come and bow down to him. They will beg him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread. They will say, “Please give me a place to serve among the priests. Then I can have food to eat.” ’ ”
1 Samuel 3:1-21
The Lord Calls Out to Samuel
The boy Samuel served the Lord under the direction of Eli. In those days the Lord didn’t give many messages to his people. He didn’t give them many visions.
One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes were becoming so weak he couldn’t see very well. Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s house. That’s where the ark of God was kept. The lamp of God was still burning. The Lord called out to Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” He ran over to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the Lord called out, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.”
Samuel didn’t know the Lord yet. That’s because the Lord still hadn’t given him a message.
The Lord called out for the third time. He said, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If someone calls out to you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there. He called out, just as he had done the other times. He said, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
The Lord said to Samuel, “Pay attention! I am about to do something terrible in Israel. It will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time I will do everything to Eli and his family that I said I would. I will finish what I have started. I told Eli I would punish his family forever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them. So I made a promise to the family of Eli. I said, ‘The sins of Eli’s family will never be paid for by bringing sacrifices or offerings.’ ”
Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision he had received. But Eli called out to him. He said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
“What did the Lord say to you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide from me anything he told you. If you do, may God punish you greatly.” So Samuel told him everything. He didn’t hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”
As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him. He made everything Samuel said come true. So all the Israelites recognized that Samuel really was a prophet of the Lord. Everyone from Dan all the way to Beersheba knew it. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh. There he made himself known to Samuel through the messages he gave him.
1 Samuel 4:1-22
And Samuel gave those messages to all the Israelites.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer. The Philistines camped at Aphek. The Philistines brought their forces together to fight against Israel. As the fighting spread, the Israelites lost the battle to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 of them on the field of battle. The rest of the Israelite soldiers returned to camp. Then the elders asked them, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines win the battle over us today? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Let’s take it with us. Then the Lord will save us from the power of our enemies.”
So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the ark of the Lord’s covenant law. He sits there on his throne between the cherubim. The Lord is the one who rules over all. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God’s covenant law. The ark was in Shiloh.
The ark of the Lord’s covenant law was brought into the camp. Then all the Israelites shouted so loudly that the ground shook. The Philistines heard the noise. They asked, “What’s all that shouting about in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines found out that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So they were afraid. “A god has come into their camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. How terrible it will be for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? They struck down the people of Egypt in the desert. They sent all kinds of plagues on them. Philistines, be strong! Fight like men! If you don’t, you will come under the control of the Hebrews. You will become their slaves, just as they have been your slaves. Fight like men!”
So the Philistines fought. The Israelites lost the battle, and every man ran back to his tent. A large number of them were killed. Israel lost 30,000 soldiers who were on foot. The ark of God was captured. And Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.
Eli Dies
That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front lines of the battle. He went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn. He had dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair. He was by the side of the road. He was watching because his heart was really concerned about the ark of God. The man entered the town and told everyone what had happened. Then the whole town cried out.
Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, “What’s the meaning of all this noise?”
The man hurried over to Eli. Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn’t see. The man told Eli, “I’ve just come from the front lines of the battle. I just ran away from there today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, son?”
The man who brought the news replied, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. Large numbers of men in the army were wounded or killed. Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead. And the ark of God has been captured.”
When the man spoke about the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He had been sitting by the side of the gate. When he fell, he broke his neck and died. He was old and fat. He had led Israel for 40 years.
The wife of Phinehas was pregnant. She was Eli’s daughter-in-law. It was near the time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the ark of God had been captured. She heard that her father-in-law and her husband were dead. So she went into labor and had her baby. Her pain was more than she could bear. As she was dying, the women helping her spoke up. They said, “Don’t be afraid. You have had a son.” But she didn’t reply. She didn’t pay any attention.
She named the boy Ichabod. She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured. She also said it because her father-in-law and her husband had died. She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured.
