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The Philistines Defeat Israel - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for
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  Speaker 1: the ark of God is taken. 1 Samuel 4.22 Lord,
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  Speaker 1: through the power of this text I can see the
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  Speaker 1: message that you are speaking to me. I will not
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  Speaker 1: allow myself to become complacent and smug in the calling
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  Speaker 1: that you entrusted me with. When your hand of provision
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  Speaker 1: sweeps over into my life, I will make sure to
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  Speaker 1: mind my duties and stay committed and faithful to the
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  Speaker 1: task you've called me to accomplish. I will remain alert
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  Speaker 1: in my life and in my calling, so that the
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  Speaker 1: spirit of familiarity that Hofni and Phineas had for your
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  Speaker 1: Ark and your presence won't rest on me. I confess
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  Speaker 1: that your presence is my priority. In the midst of
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  Speaker 1: battles and circumstances, I will not abandon your presence. I
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  Speaker 1: will not allow the enemy to separate me from you
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  Speaker 1: and your covering. When you are with me, no opposition
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  Speaker 1: can stand against me, because where you are, victory is.
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  Speaker 1: Today I will cherish and protect my walk with you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: because I know that with you by my side, I
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  Speaker 1: am covered on all sides. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening
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  Speaker 1: to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue
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  Speaker 1: hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in
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  Speaker 1: a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Philistines defeat Israel. In our last story, we learned
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  Speaker 2: about the rise of Samuel. In contrast to Eli's sons,
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  Speaker 2: Samuel was attentive to the voice of God. He served
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  Speaker 2: the Lord and his people selflessly and was chosen by
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  Speaker 2: God to guide Israel in a period of darkness and uncertainty.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about the Philistines re-emerging as
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  Speaker 2: a threat to Israel. They take Israel's most prized possession,
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  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines quickly learn that
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  Speaker 2: even though the Israelites are weak, Their God is not
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  Speaker 2: to be trifled with. Inspired by the book of 1 Samuel.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last reading, we
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  Speaker 3: heard the story of how Hannah prayed for a child
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  Speaker 3: and promised God to give her son back to him
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  Speaker 3: to serve God his whole life. God granted Hannah's request
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  Speaker 3: and she gave birth to Samuel. When Samuel was old enough,
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  Speaker 3: Hannah took him to Eli the priest to raise him
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  Speaker 3: in the temple as a servant of the Lord. Samuel
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  Speaker 3: grew up knowing God and serving him, unlike Eli's own son.
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  Speaker 3: When he was still young, God spoke to Samuel, telling
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  Speaker 3: him that a new priesthood would be established. Samuel was
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  Speaker 3: to be God's chosen man to lead Israel in a
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  Speaker 3: whole new era. Today we'll see a familiar foe rising
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  Speaker 3: up against Israel. The Philistines are once again a thorn,
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  Speaker 3: a terrible pain in the side of Israel. Israel will
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  Speaker 3: call upon God's presence, taking the Ark of the Covenant
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  Speaker 3: into battle. But it will be carried by Eli's sons,
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  Speaker 3: and we'll see how God's judgment against these two wicked
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  Speaker 3: men would cost the entire nation dearly and lead to
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  Speaker 3: the loss of their most sacred symbol. Let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The guidance of Samuel comforted the children of Israel. His
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  Speaker 2: wisdom and closeness to God brought them great relief, for
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  Speaker 2: they had been far from God for too long. His
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  Speaker 2: words brought life, and the light of God's love was
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  Speaker 2: slowly replacing the shadows that hovered over their hearts. Yet
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  Speaker 2: a darkness was still present on the outskirts of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Miles away, the horde of Philistines lurked in the shadows
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  Speaker 2: like a pack of wolves. They waited patiently for the
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  Speaker 2: perfect moment to strike the sheep of Israel. The Philistines
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  Speaker 2: approached the wilderness outside Israel and postured themselves in provocation.
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  Speaker 2: Israel accepted their challenge and marched as one army against
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  Speaker 2: the Philistine menace. Israel camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines
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  Speaker 2: camped a little ways away at Aphek. Like tidal waves
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  Speaker 2: against a lost ship, the Philistines crashed upon the armies
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. The battle spread in many directions, and Israel
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  Speaker 2: was tossed to and fro. Four thousand Israelite soldiers were crushed, stabbed,
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  Speaker 2: and strangled under the hot Middle Eastern sun. Israel ran
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  Speaker 2: for their lives, retreating back to a safe place to strategize.
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  Speaker 2: The Israelite elders writhed, dumbfounded that they would be defeated
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  Speaker 2: so easily.' Why has God done this?' they shouted. Then
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  Speaker 2: the elders remembered the stories of old, how Joshua brought
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  Speaker 2: forth the Ark of the Covenant before the Jordan River
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  Speaker 2: and the walls of Jericho. They smiled and spoke again, saying,
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  Speaker 2: We must bring forth the Ark of the Covenant. If
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  Speaker 2: God is before us, we shall have power over our enemies.
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  Speaker 2: The elders' intentions were pure and their ideas were sound,
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  Speaker 2: yet they overlooked the most important detail of all. The
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  Speaker 2: sons of Eli were in charge of the Ark. The
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  Speaker 2: two wicked priests, Hophni and Phinehas, were the overseers of
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  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant, and God had vowed to
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  Speaker 2: destroy them for their wickedness. Ram's horns sounded in the distance.
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  Speaker 2: The beaten-up soldiers of Israel poked their heads out of
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  Speaker 2: their tents. In the distance, the Ark of the Covenant
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  Speaker 2: was being brought into the camp. Chills of hope crawled
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  Speaker 2: up their spines. A new song was sung that day
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  Speaker 2: among the children of Israel. They sang and shouted to God,
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  Speaker 2: knowing that He would deliver them as He had hundreds
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  Speaker 2: of times before. Hophni and Phinehas puffed their chests up
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  Speaker 2: with pride as they heard the cheers of the soldiers.
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  Speaker 2: They craved the attention. Even though the worship was directed
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  Speaker 2: towards God, they soaked up the praises of his people.
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  Speaker 2: As soon as the ark arrived, Israel's shouts resounded like
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  Speaker 2: an earthquake across the land. The Philistines could hear their
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  Speaker 2: battle cries and quivered with fear. They had caught word
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  Speaker 2: that the ark of the covenant had made its way
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  Speaker 2: into camp. The Philistines were no fools. They knew what
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  Speaker 2: God had done to the Egyptians. They had been told
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  Speaker 2: stories of their gods splitting seas and crushing armies. They
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  Speaker 2: understood perhaps more than Israel what it truly meant to
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  Speaker 2: fear God. Their God will strike us down by fire
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  Speaker 2: or plague, some of them shouted. We have never faced
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  Speaker 2: a threat like this. We are doomed, more of them exclaimed.
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  Speaker 2: One commander of the Philistine army stood tall among them
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  Speaker 2: and shouted, Take heart, O Philistines! Do you wish to
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  Speaker 2: become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to us?
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  Speaker 2: He raised his spear high in the air and shouted,
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  Speaker 2: Be men and fight! The Philistine horde erupted in screams
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  Speaker 2: of war and bloodthirst. Without hesitation, they descended upon Israel
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  Speaker 2: like a tempest. The Philistines showed no mercy. They tore
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  Speaker 2: men apart limb from limb. Complete chaos ensued across the
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  Speaker 2: Israelite army and camp. Every man retreated to protect himself,
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  Speaker 2: and mighty warriors begged for mercy under the sword of
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines. Hophni and Phinehas were in their tent eating
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  Speaker 2: when the Philistines attacked. It was their responsibility to protect
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  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant. However, when the Philistines stormed
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  Speaker 2: the camp, the two priests gathered their belongings and abandoned
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  Speaker 2: the Ark. They ran for their lives, leaving the people
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  Speaker 2: behind them. Their lungs heaved as they ran with their
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  Speaker 2: fattened bodies, for they continually gorged themselves on the temple's food.
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  Speaker 2: They were immediately knocked to the ground by two Philistine soldiers.
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  Speaker 2: Fumbling around in the dirt, the two brothers had no
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  Speaker 2: time to collect their thoughts before an axe was lodged
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  Speaker 2: into their skulls. By the hand of the Philistines, God
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  Speaker 2: fulfilled his promise to rid Israel of their selfish and
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  Speaker 2: wicked priests. The Philistines looked upon the abandoned Ark of
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  Speaker 2: the Covenant. They laughed and drug it back to their
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  Speaker 2: camp over the dead bodies of fallen Hebrews. The represented
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  Speaker 2: and manifest presence of God was being taken back to
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  Speaker 2: the Philistine camp, something they believed to be a victory.
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  Speaker 2: Yet God cannot be captured. No, the Philistines would live
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  Speaker 2: to regret ever touching a single finger on the sacred
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  Speaker 2: relic of God. Unlike Israel, God can fight his own battles.
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  Speaker 2: A Benjamite boy ran for his life from the slaughter.
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  Speaker 2: Dirt and blood caked his face, and his clothes were
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  Speaker 2: torn to expose his wounded and bloodied body. Eli sat
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  Speaker 2: beside the road a few miles away from battle, listening
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  Speaker 2: to the cries of his people. Eli was 98 years old,
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  Speaker 2: and his body trembled constantly. He wept for his fallen
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  Speaker 2: brothers and wondered about his son's safety. Eli spotted the
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  Speaker 2: Benjamite boy hobbling his way towards the city to warn
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  Speaker 2: the people.' What is this uproar coming from the battlefield?'
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  Speaker 2: Eli asked. The Benjamite could barely see straight. Gasping for air,
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  Speaker 2: he managed to recount the battle to Eli. With great anguish,
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  Speaker 2: he said,' Israel has fallen to the Philistines. All have
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  Speaker 2: fled in different directions. Your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, have
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  Speaker 2: been slain, and the Ark of the Covenant has been stolen.'
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  Speaker 2: Eli clutched his heart upon hearing the news. His eyes
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  Speaker 2: rolled back and he stumbled backwards and fell by the
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  Speaker 2: side of the gate. His neck fell on a curb
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  Speaker 2: and snapped. Eli, not too long... after his sons, perished.
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  Speaker 2: He had judged and ministered over Israel for 40 years.
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  Speaker 2: Israel had lost over 35,000 soldiers, their priests, and the
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  Speaker 2: Ark of the Covenant. The hope that once caused them
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  Speaker 2: to cheer was replaced with fear and panic. In many ways,
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  Speaker 2: They felt as though God was taken captive. Yet God
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  Speaker 2: is captive to no army, nor is he confined to
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  Speaker 2: a relic. The Philistines would soon learn to not trifle
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  Speaker 2: with the God of Israel, and the Hebrews would behold
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  Speaker 2: God's sufficiency and power.
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  Speaker 3: When we begin today's reading, Samuel is already a leader
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  Speaker 3: in Israel. His closeness with God has established him as
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  Speaker 3: a trusted voice for for God among the people. Israel
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  Speaker 3: has been distant from God now for many years, but now,
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  Speaker 3: under Samuel's leadership, they are turning back to the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: Still there is danger lurking, enemies intent on defeating God's people.
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  Speaker 3: And one of those is a familiar foe, the Philistines.
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  Speaker 3: The two clash in battle, and Israel is defeated by
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  Speaker 3: the Philistines. They run to safety, but only after 4,000
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  Speaker 3: Israelite soldiers die. The elders of Israel, of course, are
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  Speaker 3: wondering why God allowed this terrible defeat. Then they remembered
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  Speaker 3: their stories, how God went with Joshua into battle, handing
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  Speaker 3: him victory after victory. So in 1 Samuel 4, 3,
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  Speaker 3: they say, Let us bring the ark of the covenant
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  Speaker 3: of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come
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  Speaker 3: among us and save us from the power of our enemies.
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  Speaker 3: They knew they absolutely needed God in this fight. It,
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  Speaker 3: of course, is a reminder for us today that that
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  Speaker 3: the battle is always the Lord's. We do not face
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  Speaker 3: our battles alone. God has promised us victory in our
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  Speaker 3: Lord Jesus Christ, so he is our weapon. He is
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  Speaker 3: our defender. The elders' hearts were in the right place.
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  Speaker 3: They wanted God's presence, but there was a huge problem.
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  Speaker 3: Eli's sons, Hophni and Phidias, were in charge of the ark,
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  Speaker 3: and they brought and carried this ark into battle. The
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  Speaker 3: mere sight of the ark filled the troops with excitement.
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  Speaker 3: and they shouted loudly. When the Philistines discovered the ark
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  Speaker 3: was with Israel, they knew this battle would be different.
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  Speaker 3: There was now a divine force with Israel. But they
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  Speaker 3: didn't retreat. They only fought more fiercely, determined not to
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  Speaker 3: be conquered by the Hebrews. And once again, they came
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  Speaker 3: out victorious, sending terrified Israelis scurrying in fear. But Hophni
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  Speaker 3: and Phinehas, along with 30,000 soldiers, were killed. Just as
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  Speaker 3: God had told Samuel, Eli's sons were wiped off the
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  Speaker 3: face of the earth and punished for their blasphemy. One
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  Speaker 3: thing we can always know, God will execute his judgment
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  Speaker 3: when necessary. These two men had abused and misused their position.
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  Speaker 3: They had disrespected God and refused to change their hearts
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  Speaker 3: in repentance. So God dealt forcefully with their sin. Tragically,
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  Speaker 3: their sins cost an entire nation, as Israel fell to
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  Speaker 3: the Philistines in this battle despite the presence of the ark. Unresolved,
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  Speaker 3: unrepentant of sin always has consequences. And God did not
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  Speaker 3: give victory to his people on that day because of
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  Speaker 3: the sins of Eli the priest's sons. The Philistines rejoiced
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  Speaker 3: in victory, and when they saw the ark abandoned on
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  Speaker 3: the battlefield, they took it as a prize because they
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  Speaker 3: wanted a divine presence with them. But God will not
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  Speaker 3: be used like that. And when unholy hands tried to
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  Speaker 3: weaponize God's power for their own benefit, they will pay
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  Speaker 3: a heavy price. The Philistines would soon discover just how
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  Speaker 3: high that price would be. When Eli heard of the
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  Speaker 3: defeat of Israel and the fate of his sons, he
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  Speaker 3: fell out of his seat and broke his neck. God's
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  Speaker 3: words to Samuel came true that day. To Israel, God's
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  Speaker 3: glory had departed from them. The glory had departed. The
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  Speaker 3: word is Ichabod. But God was not done with his people.
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  Speaker 3: And the next time we'll hear how the ark returns
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  Speaker 3: to Israel. Dear God, first of all, we turn from
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  Speaker 3: our sins and trust in you. We thank you for
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  Speaker 3: the cross where you died for us and for the resurrection.
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  Speaker 3: May we live in the power of Jesus and his resurrection.
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  Speaker 3: We know that we never in Christ fight our battles alone.
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  Speaker 3: May we always look to you and trust in you.
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  Speaker 3: and experience a closeness to you and therefore victory in Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: And it is in his name that we pray. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas, and you can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app and make prayer the priority of your life.
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  Speaker 3: It is our prayer that you would know Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 3: in a personal way. Jesus and knowing him is the
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  Speaker 3: key to understanding the Bible. Jesus is on every page
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  Speaker 3: in the pathway of Scripture. So I pray that you
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  Speaker 3: would know him and look to him for eternal life.
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  Speaker 3: As we see all of these stories, some of them
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  Speaker 3: be sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless you.
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