Eli was a priest and a man of God. However, when he became
old, he compromised. He heard reports that his two sons, who now had taken over
the priesthood, were engaged in the worst forms of sin. Eli spoke to them but
seemingly failed to follow through with decisive action.
Subsequently, God spoke to the young man Samuel, who had
grown up in the temple:
·
And I [God] declare to him [Eli] that I am about
to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons
were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the
house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by
sacrifice or offering forever.” (1 Samuel 3:13–14)
At this time, Israel had been in captivity to the
Philistines and rebelled unsuccessfully and lost 4,000 men on the battlefield.
The elders of Israel lamented and decided that this tragedy could be reversed
if they brought the Ark of the Covenant to battle at their next military
engagement.
When the Ark arrived in their camp, Israel loudly rejoiced,
so loudly that the Philistines were able to hear and trembled:
·
Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of
these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort
of plague in the wilderness. (1 Samuel 4:8)
However, even with the Ark, Israel was again struck down,
this time with the death of 30,000 soldiers. What went wrong? With sin at the
head of Israel, they were doomed to defeat. It didn’t matter how many Arks they
had, as long as their God was not with them.
The Ark was captured, Eli’s two sons were slain, and Eli
died after hearing the news. But God had appointed a new prophet to judge
Israel, the Prophet Samuel. He understood that the answer for Israel’s miseries
was not to be found in rituals or objects but in a return to their God:
·
And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If
you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign
gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and
serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So
the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the
LORD only. (1 Samuel 7:3–4)
Consequently, Israel repented and confessed, “We have sinned
against the Lord.” However, suspicious of this gathering, the Philistines
marched against Israel.
·
So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as
a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And Samuel cried out to the LORD for
Israel, and the LORD answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt
offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered
with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into
confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. (1 Samuel 7:9–10)
The Lord heard the prayer of this righteous prophet and gave
Israel the victory:
·
So the Philistines were subdued and did not
again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the
Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities that the Philistines had taken
from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered
their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between
Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:13–14)
The Lord honors those who honor Him. Samuel never compromised
God’s Word. He remained faithful. He even spoke some hard words to the children
of Israel and to their first king, Saul. However, when he died, all Israel
gathered to pay homage to this great man of God (1 Samuel 25:1). It was because
of Samuel that the Lord had granted Israel freedom from the Philistines and
peace for many years.
However, there is more to this story. It concerns a godly
woman, Hannah, who had been unable to bear a child. However, the Lord responded
to her cries and granted her a son. After weaning him, she fulfilled her pledge
to the Lord and brought Samuel to the temple where he was raised for the glory
of God and the salvation of Israel. My next installment will be about this woman
of God.
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