1 Samuel 8

1 Samuel 8:1  When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Samuel 8:2  His firstborn son’s name was Joel, and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.

1 Samuel 8:3  However, his sons did not follow his example—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.

1 Samuel 8:4  So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

1 Samuel 8:5  They said to him, “Notice, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

1 Samuel 8:6  When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to Yahveh.

1 Samuel 8:7  But Yahveh told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.

1 Samuel 8:8  They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

1 Samuel 8:9  Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”

1 Samuel 8:10  Samuel told all Yahveh’s words to the people who were asking him for a king.

1 Samuel 8:11  He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.

1 Samuel 8:12  He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots.

1 Samuel 8:13  He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

1 Samuel 8:14  He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his slaves.

1 Samuel 8:15  He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and slaves.

1 Samuel 8:16  He can take your male slaves, your female slaves, your best young men, and your donkeys and use them for his work.

1 Samuel 8:17  He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his slaves.

1 Samuel 8:18  When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but Yahveh won’t answer you on that day.”

1 Samuel 8:19  The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.

1 Samuel 8:20  Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”

1 Samuel 8:21  Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to Yahveh.

1 Samuel 8:22  “Listen to them,” Yahveh told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

links:

give and take
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, September 11, 2023
time for a king … or not

The 1 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Samuel 7

1 Samuel 7:1  So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of Yahveh and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.

1 Samuel 7:2  Time went by until twenty years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel longed for Yahveh.

1 Samuel 7:3  Samuel told them, “If you are returning to Yahveh with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to Yahveh, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 7:4  So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped Yahveh.

1 Samuel 7:5  Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahveh on your behalf.”

1 Samuel 7:6  When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in Yahveh’s presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against Yahveh.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

1 Samuel 7:7  When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.

1 Samuel 7:8  The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to Yahveh our God for us, so that he will save us from the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 7:9  Then Samuel took a young lamb and offered it as a whole ascending offering to Yahveh. He cried out to Yahveh on behalf of Israel, and Yahveh answered him.

1 Samuel 7:10  Samuel was offering the ascending offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. Yahveh thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.

1 Samuel 7:11  Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

1 Samuel 7:12  Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “Yahveh has helped us to this point.”

1 Samuel 7:13  So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israel’s territory again. Yahveh’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life.

1 Samuel 7:14  The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

1 Samuel 7:15  Samuel judged Israel throughout his life.

1 Samuel 7:16  Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.

1 Samuel 7:17  Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he built an altar to Yahveh there.

links:

make your life count
revival
revive us again
traders of the lost ark

The 1 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Samuel 5

1 Samuel 5:1  After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

1 Samuel 5:2  brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue.

1 Samuel 5:3  When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, notice – there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahveh. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

1 Samuel 5:4  But when they got up early the next morning, notice Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahveh. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained.

1 Samuel 5:5  That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s threshold.

1 Samuel 5:6  Yahveh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod. He terrified the people of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors.

1 Samuel 5:7  When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because his hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon.”

1 Samuel 5:8  So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel’s God?” “The ark of Israel’s God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they moved the ark of Israel’s God.

1 Samuel 5:9  After they had moved it, Yahveh’s hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.

1 Samuel 5:10  The people of Gath then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, “They’ve moved the ark of Israel’s God to us to kill us and our people!”

1 Samuel 5:11  The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, “Send the ark of Israel’s God away. Let it return to its place so it won’t kill us and our people!” For the fear of death pervaded the city; God’s hand was oppressing them.

1 Samuel 5:12  Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to the sky.[1]

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[1] שָׁמַיִם = sky.  1 Samuel 2:10; 5:12; 17:44, 46.

1 Samuel 5 links:

hot potato
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, September 9, 2021
they do not mix
traders of the lost ark

The 1 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Samuel 4

1 Samuel 4:1  And Samuel’s words came to all Israel. Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

1 Samuel 4:2  The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.

1 Samuel 4:3  When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Yahveh defeat us today before the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of Yahveh’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from our enemies.”

1 Samuel 4:4  So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of Yahveh of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

1 Samuel 4:5  When the ark of the covenant of Yahveh entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.

1 Samuel 4:6  The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of Yahveh had entered the camp,

1 Samuel 4:7  they panicked. “A god has entered their camp!” they said. “Tragedy[1] has come to us, nothing like this has happened before.

1 Samuel 4:8  Tragedy has come to us, who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

1 Samuel 4:9  Show some courage and be men, Philistines! Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”

1 Samuel 4:10  So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was severe– thirty thousand of the Israelite foot soldiers fell.

1 Samuel 4:11  The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

1 Samuel 4:12  That same day, a Benjaminite man ran from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and there was dirt on his head.

1 Samuel 4:13  When he arrived, notice – there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching, because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.

1 Samuel 4:14  Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli.

1 Samuel 4:15  At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move because he couldn’t see.

1 Samuel 4:16  The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

1 Samuel 4:17  The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

1 Samuel 4:18  When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years.

1 Samuel 4:19  Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her.

1 Samuel 4:20  As she was dying, the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay attention.

1 Samuel 4:21  She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has been removed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

1 Samuel 4:22  “The glory has been removed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”

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[1] אוֹי = tragedy. 1 Samuel 4:7, 8.

1 Samuel 4 links:

Ichabod
lost blessing
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, September 8, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, September 9, 2019
symbols and reality

The 1 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library

1 Samuel 3

1 Samuel 3:1  The boy Samuel served Yahveh in Eli’s presence. In those days the word of Yahveh was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.

1 Samuel 3:2  One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing, was lying in his usual place.

1 Samuel 3:3  Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahveh, where the ark of God was located.

1 Samuel 3:4  Then Yahveh called Samuel, and he answered, “Notice me.”

1 Samuel 3:5  He ran to Eli and said, “Notice me; you called me.” “I didn’t call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

1 Samuel 3:6  Once again Yahveh called, “Samuel!” Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Notice me; you called me.” “I didn’t call, my son,” he replied. “Go back and lie down.”

1 Samuel 3:7  Now Samuel did not yet know Yahveh, because the word of Yahveh had not yet been revealed to him.

1 Samuel 3:8  Once again, for the third time, Yahveh called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Notice me; you called me.” Then Eli understood that Yahveh was calling the boy.

1 Samuel 3:9  He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

1 Samuel 3:10  Yahveh came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:11  Yahveh said to Samuel, “Notice, I am about to do something in Israel that everyone who hears about it will shudder.

1 Samuel 3:12  On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.

1 Samuel 3:13  I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God, and he has not stopped them.

1 Samuel 3:14  Therefore, I have sworn to Eli’s family: The iniquity of Eli’s family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”

1 Samuel 3:15  Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of Yahveh’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

1 Samuel 3:16  but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Notice me,” answered Samuel.

1 Samuel 3:17  “What was the message he gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.”

1 Samuel 3:18  So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is Yahveh. Let him do what he thinks is good.”

1 Samuel 3:19  Samuel grew, and Yahveh was with him, and he fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.

1 Samuel 3:20  All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of Yahveh.

1 Samuel 3:21  Yahveh continued to appear in Shiloh, because there he revealed himself to Samuel by his word.

1 Samuel 3 links:

chicken or egg?
do not disturb
the iniquity we know

The 1 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library