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June 6 - Turning Back to God · Bible Chat Devotional

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  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
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  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today, June 6th.
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  Turning back to God Have you ever drifted, not physically,
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  but spiritually? Like one day you realize that
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  God used to be at the center of your life, and somewhere along
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  the way He got pushed to the edges.
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  You're still doing OK, maybe even doing fine on the outside.
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  But deep inside, you know the connection isn't what it used to
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  be. That's exactly where the
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  Israelites found themselves in First Samuel Chapter 7.
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  They had been living with foreign gods, taking up space in
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  their hearts. They had walked away from the
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  God who had carried them, protected them, and provided for
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  them. And Samuel comes to them with a
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  direct message, not one of condemnation but of invitation.
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  First Samuel Chapter 7 verse 3 says if you are returning to the
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  Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and
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  direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will
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  deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
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  That word if is key. It's not a barrier, it's an
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  invitation. God isn't standing with his arms
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  crossed waiting to punish them. He's standing with his arms
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  open, waiting to receive them. But he does ask for something.
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  Your whole heart, not a partial return, not keeping 1 foot in
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  and 1 foot out. He says, come back fully.
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  Put away the things that have taken my place, and I will meet
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  you there. Proverbs chapter 17, verses 10
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  and 11 add important context here.
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  Someone who is truly wise responds to correction.
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  A single rebuke can penetrate a heart that's open.
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  But a fool keeps pushing against wisdom, keeps choosing
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  rebellion, and eventually faces serious consequences.
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  The Israelites learned this the hard way over and over again.
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  But every time they return to God, he was faithful.
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  And Psalm 65, verse 5 gives us a picture of what that
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  faithfulness looks like. By awesome deeds you answer us
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  with righteousness, oh God of our salvation, the hope of all
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  the ends of the earth. This is not a passive God.
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  This is a God who answers with awesome deeds.
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  He doesn't just accept our return quietly.
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  He responds powerfully. He delivers.
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  He restores. He brings hope.
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  So wherever you are today, whether you've been drifting for
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  a week or a few years, the door is open.
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  The invitation is real. God doesn't want a version of
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  your life where he's squeezed in between everything else.
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  He wants the center. And when you give him that,
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  everything else begins to align. Let's pray.
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  Heavenly Father, thank you for never giving up on us even when
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  we drift away. Thank You that your door is
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  always open and your arms are always ready to receive us.
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  Help us to come back to you with our whole heart, not partially,
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  not conditionally, but fully show us the things we need to
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  put away and fill those spaces with more of you.
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  We trust that when we return you meet us with awesome deeds in
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  Jesus name, Amen. When the battle feels personal,
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  relentless, and too heavy to name, your prayers do not have
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  to fall silent. Under Siege is a prayer script
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  series for believers walking through fear, betrayal,
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  spiritual pressure and unseen conflict.
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  With a warm, faith centered focus.
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  These books give voice to the cry for help, the fight for a
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  steady mind, the weariness that longs to run, the chaos of
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  hostile environments, the pain of broken trust, and the
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  confidence to leave judgement in God's hands.
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  This series helps you pray with discernment, endurance, and
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  covenant trust. When the pressure is real and
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  the path feels narrow, stand firm.
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  Pray clearly. Remember that God hears his
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  people in the middle of the battle.
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  Order now on Amazon or visit prayerscripts.org.
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  Now I invite you to spend time with God in today's three-year
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  Bible reading plan. Proverbs chapter 17 verses 10 to
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  11 World English Bible a rebuke enters deeper into one who has
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  understanding than 100 lashes into a fool.
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  An evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel
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  messenger shall be sent against him.
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  Psalm Chapter 65 World English Bible Praise waits for you, God
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  in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you.
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  You who hear prayer, all men will come to you.
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  Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions.
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  Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near,
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  that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the
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  goodness of your house, your holy temple.
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  By awesome deeds of righteousness you answer us, God
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  of our salvation, You who are the hope of all the ends of the
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  earth, of those. Who are far?
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  Away on the sea, by your power, you form the mountains.
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  Having armed yourself with strength, you still the roaring
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  of the Seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of
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  the nations. They also, who dwell in faraway
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  places, are afraid at your wonders.
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  You call the mornings dawn and the evening with songs of joy.
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  You visit the earth and water it.
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  You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of
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  water. You provide them grain, for so
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  you have ordained it. You drench its furrows, you
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  level its ridges. You soften it with showers.
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  You bless it with a crop. You crown the year with your
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  bounty. Your carts overflow with
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  abundance. The wilderness grasslands
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  overflow. The hills are clothed with
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  gladness. The pastures are covered with
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  flocks. The valleys also are clothed
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  with grain. They shout for joy.
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  They also sing First Samuel chapters six to seven World
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  English Bible. Yahweh's ark was in the country
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  of the Philistines seven months. The Philistines called for the
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  priests and the diviners, saying, what shall we do with
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  Yahweh's ark? Show us how we should send it to
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  its place. They said, if you send away the
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  ark of the God of Israel, don't send it empty, but by all means
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  return a trespass offering to Him.
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  Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His
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  hand is not removed from you. Then they said, what should the
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  trespass offering be which we shall return to him?
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  They said 5 golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number
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  of the Lords of the Philistines. For one plague was on you all
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  and on your Lords. Therefore you shall make images
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  of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land, and
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  you shall give glory to the God of Israel.
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  Perhaps He will release His hand from you, from your gods, and
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  from your land. Why then do you harden your
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  hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh harden their hearts?
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  When He had worked wonderfully among them?
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  Didn't they let the people go and they departed.
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  Now, therefore, take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two
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  milk cows on which there has come no yoke, and tie the cows
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  to the cart, and bring their calves home from them.
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  And take Yahweh's ark and lay it on the cart.
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  Put the jewels of gold which you return him for a trespass
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  offering in a box by its side, and send it away that it may go.
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  Behold, if it goes up by the way of its own border to bait
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  Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil.
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  But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that
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  struck us. It was a chance that happened to
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  us. The men did so and took 2 milk
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  cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves.
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  At home they put Yahweh's ark on the cart and the box with the
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  golden mice and the images of their tumors.
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  The cows took the straight way by the way to Bait Shemesh.
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  They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn't
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  turn away to the right hand or to the left, and the Lords of
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  the Philistines went after them to the border of Bait Shemesh.
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  The people of Bait Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in
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  the valley, and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark and
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  rejoiced to see it. The cart came into the field of
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  Joshua of Bait Shemesh, and stood there where there was a
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  great stone. Then they split the wood of the
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  cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to Yahweh.
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  The Levites took down Yahweh's ark and the box that was with
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  it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great
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  stone. And the men of Bait Shemesh
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  offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same
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  day to Yahweh. When the five Lords of the
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  Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
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  These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned
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  for a trespass offering to Yahweh, for Ashdod one, for Gaza
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  one, for Ashkellen one, for Gath one, for Ekron one and the
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  golden mice. According to the number of all
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  the cities of the Philistines belonging to the 5 Lords, both
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  of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the
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  great stone on which they set down Yahweh's ark, that stone
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  remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beit Shemesh.
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  He struck of the men of Beit Shemesh because they had looked
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  into Yahweh's ark. He struck 50,070 of the men.
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  Then the people mourned because Yahweh had struck the people
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  with a great slaughter. The men of Beit Shemesh said,
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  Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God, To whom
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  shall He go up from us? They sent messengers to the
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  inhabitants of Koriath Jirim, saying, The Philistines have
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  brought back Yahweh's ark, come down and bring it up to
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  yourselves. The men of Koriath Jirim came
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  and took Yahweh's ark and brought it into AB and Adab's
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  house on the hill and consecrated Elizar his son to
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  keep Yahweh's ark. From the day that the ark stayed
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  in Koriath Jirim, the time was long, for it was 20 years and
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  all the House of Israel lamented after Yahweh.
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  Samuel spoke to all the House of Israel saying, If you are
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  returning to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the
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  foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your
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  hearts to Yahweh and serve Him only and He will deliver you out
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  of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel
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  removed the bales and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh
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  only. Samuel said, Gather all Israel
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  to Mizpah and I will pray to Yahweh for you.
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  They gathered together to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out
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  before Yahweh, and fasted on that day and said, There we have
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  sinned against Yahweh. Samuel judged the children of
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  Israel in Mizpah. When the Philistines heard that
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  the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah, the
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  Lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
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  When the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of
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  the Philistines. The children of Israel said to
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  Samuel, Don't stop crying to Yahweh, our God for us, that He
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  will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
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  Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt
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  offering to Yahweh. Samuel cried to Yahweh for
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  Israel, and Yahweh answered him. As Samuel was offering up the
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  burnt offering, the Philistines came near to battle against
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  Israel. But Yahweh thundered with a
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  great Thunder on that day on the Philistines and confused them,
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  and they were struck down before Israel.
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  The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the
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  Philistines and struck them until they came under bait car.
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  Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and
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  called its name Ebenezer, saying, Yahweh helped us until
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  now. So the Philistines were subdued,
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  and they stopped coming within the border of Israel.
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  Yahweh's hand was against the Philistines all the days of
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  Samuel. The cities which the Philistines
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  had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron,
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  even to Gath, and Israel recovered its border out of the
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  hand of the Philistines. There was peace between Israel
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  and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel all the
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  days of his life. He went from year to year in a
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  circuit to Bethel, Gilgol, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in
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  all those places. His return was to Rama, for his
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  house was there, and he judged Israel there, and he built an
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  altar to Yahweh there. Thanks for joining us on Bible
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  Chat, where Scripture meets everyday life.
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  If today's devotional encouraged you, share it with a friend and
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  conversation. Until next time, stay rooted in
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  truth, anchored in hope, and walking daily with Jesus.