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The First Book of Samuel – The Story of the Last Judge of Israel · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: In the days when the Judges ruled over Israel, the
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  Speaker 1: nation was going through hard times. There was no king,
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  Speaker 1: and everyone did what seemed right in their own eyes.
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  Speaker 1: The people often turned away from God, suffered the consequences,
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  Speaker 1: cried out for help, and the Lord would raise up
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  Speaker 1: a judge to deliver them. It was a cycle that
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  Speaker 1: repeated itself over and over. It was during this turbulent
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  Speaker 1: time that a special boy was born, one who would
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  Speaker 1: become the last of the Judges and the first great
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  Speaker 1: prophet after Moses. His name was Samuel, which means heard
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  Speaker 1: by God or asked of God. His story begins even
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  Speaker 1: before his birth, with a woman named Hannah, who longed
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  Speaker 1: deeply to have a child. Through his mother's suffering and faith,
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  Speaker 1: Samuel came into the world as the answer to a
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  Speaker 1: heartfelt prayer and a vow made to God. His life
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  Speaker 1: would go on to change the course of Israel's history,
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  Speaker 1: marking the transition from the time of the Judges to
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  Speaker 1: the beginning of the monarchy. In the hill country of
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  Speaker 1: Iphrium lived a man named Elcana who had two wives,
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  Speaker 1: as was customary in those days. One was named Hannah
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  Speaker 1: and the other Paninna. Life was not easy for Hannah.
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  Speaker 1: While Panina had many children, Hannah had none. The First
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  Speaker 1: Book of Samuel puts it plainly. Elcana had two wives,
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  Speaker 1: One was called Hannah and the other Panina. Paninna had children,
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  Speaker 1: but Hannah had none. Not being able to have children
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  Speaker 1: at that time was seen as a great shame. People
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  Speaker 1: believed it was a sign of divine punishment. Hannah's sorrow
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  Speaker 1: came not only from her deep longing to be a mother,
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  Speaker 1: but also from the constant mocking and provocation she endured
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  Speaker 1: from Paninna. Every year the family traveled to Shiloh to
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  Speaker 1: worship God and offer sacrifices. It should have been a
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  Speaker 1: joyful time, but for Hannah it only brought more pain.
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  Speaker 1: Or Her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her,
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  Speaker 1: because as the Lord had closed her womb. This went
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  Speaker 1: on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the
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  Speaker 1: house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she
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  Speaker 1: wept and would not eat. Can you imagine how Hannah
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  Speaker 1: must have felt year after year, the same ridicule, the
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  Speaker 1: same pain, the same humiliation. Paninna never missed a chance
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  Speaker 1: to remind her that she had no children. Each new
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  Speaker 1: baby Panina Bore was a painful reminder of what was
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  Speaker 1: missing from Hannah's life. Elcana, her husband, saw her sorrow
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  Speaker 1: and tried to comfort her. Her husband Elcana would say
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  Speaker 1: to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat?
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  Speaker 1: Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you
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  Speaker 1: than ten sons. Elkana truly loved Hannah. He even gave
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  Speaker 1: her a double portion of the sacrifices to show she
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  Speaker 1: was special to him. But even the love of a
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  Speaker 1: devoted husband couldn't fill the emptiness in her heart. What
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  Speaker 1: she longed for was the joy of motherhood, to hold
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  Speaker 1: her own child in her arms. During the festival in Shiloh,
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  Speaker 1: while others feasted and celebrated, Hannah could barely eat. Tears
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  Speaker 1: streamed down her face, and the pain in her heart
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  Speaker 1: made it impossible to swallow. Her suffering ran so deep
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  Speaker 1: it robbed her of even the simplest joys. Year after year,
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  Speaker 1: it was the same silent tears, biting words, and a
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  Speaker 1: hollow heart. But in that pain, something grew a faith
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  Speaker 1: that would not give up. Hannah refused to stop believing
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  Speaker 1: that God could change her story. On one of those
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  Speaker 1: yearly trips to Shiloh. Hannah reached her breaking point after
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  Speaker 1: the meal. While everyone else was still celebrating, she got
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  Speaker 1: up and went to the tabernacle to pray. Her heart
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  Speaker 1: was so heavy that she had to pour it out
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  Speaker 1: before God. After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh,
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  Speaker 1: Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on
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  Speaker 1: his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's house. In
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  Speaker 1: her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord Lord, weeping bitterly.
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  Speaker 1: Hannah didn't just sit in her sorrow, she brought it
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  Speaker 1: directly to God. Tears flowed freely as she poured out
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  Speaker 1: her soul in prayer. It wasn't a rehearsed or formal prayer,
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  Speaker 1: but the raw cry of a heart in pain. In
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  Speaker 1: that moment, Hannah made a solemn vow to God. And
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  Speaker 1: she made a vow saying, Lord Almighty, if you will
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  Speaker 1: only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and
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  Speaker 1: not forget your servant, but give her a son, then
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  Speaker 1: I will give him to the Lord for all the
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  Speaker 1: days of his life, and no razor will ever be
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  Speaker 1: used on his head. Hannah's vow revealed the depth of
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  Speaker 1: her heart. She wasn't asking for a son just to
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  Speaker 1: silence her shame or to prove something to Paninna. She
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  Speaker 1: was ready to give back to God the very gift
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  Speaker 1: she longed for. If she had a son, he would
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  Speaker 1: be a Nazirite, someone wholly devoted to God's service for life.
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  Speaker 1: The uncut hair was a symbol of that special dedication.
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  Speaker 1: As she prayed, something unusual happened. Eli, the priest, was
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  Speaker 1: watching her as she kept on praying to the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart
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  Speaker 1: and her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard.
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  Speaker 1: Eli thought she was drunk. Hannah was so overcome with
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  Speaker 1: emotion that she prayed silently, her lips moving without sound.
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  Speaker 1: To Eli, it looked strange like she was drunk. Imagine
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  Speaker 1: the scene, a woman crying, lips moving soundlessly, trembling with emotion.
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  Speaker 1: Eli jumped to the wrong conclusion. How long are you
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  Speaker 1: going to stay drunk? Put away your wine? He said.
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  Speaker 1: What an awkward moment for Hannah. On top of all
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  Speaker 1: her pain, Now she was being falsely accused, But Hannah
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  Speaker 1: responded with grace and dignity. Not so, my Lord, Hannah replied,
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  Speaker 1: I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have
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  Speaker 1: not been drinking wine or beer. I was pouring out
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  Speaker 1: my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant
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  Speaker 1: for a wicked woman. I have been praying here out
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  Speaker 1: of my great anguish and grief. Eli realized his mistake
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  Speaker 1: and changed his tone completely. Instead of rebuking her, he
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  Speaker 1: blessed her. Go in peace, and may the God of
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  Speaker 1: Israel grant you what you have asked of him. Those
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  Speaker 1: words brought hope to Hannah's heart. It was as if
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  Speaker 1: God himself was confirming through the priest that her prayer
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  Speaker 1: had been heard. She said, may your servant find favor
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  Speaker 1: in your eyes. Then she went her way and ate something,
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  Speaker 1: and her face was no longer downcast. Hannah walked away transformed.
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  Speaker 1: Hope had taken the place of despair, even without yet
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  Speaker 1: knowing if she would have a child. She was no
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  Speaker 1: longer sad. Her face lit up again, and she had
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  Speaker 1: her appetite back. Her trust in God's goodness brought peace
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  Speaker 1: to her heart even before the answer came. The next morning,
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  Speaker 1: Elkana's family got out up early. They worshiped the Lord
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  Speaker 1: one last time before heading back home to Rama. Life
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  Speaker 1: returned to its usual rhythm, but for Hannah something had changed.
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  Speaker 1: She carried a new hope. The Bible describes what happened
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  Speaker 1: next in a simple, straightforward way. Early the next morning,
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  Speaker 1: they arose and worshiped before the Lord, and then went
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  Speaker 1: back to their home at Rama Elkana made love to
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  Speaker 1: his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in
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  Speaker 1: the course of time, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth
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  Speaker 1: to a son. She named him Samuel, saying because I
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  Speaker 1: asked the Lord for him. Finally, after years of waiting
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  Speaker 1: and sorrow, Hannah was pregnant. Imagined the joy that filled
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  Speaker 1: her heart. The tears that once flowed from grief now
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  Speaker 1: streamed from pure happiness. Every little movement in her womb
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  Speaker 1: reminded her of the miracle God was working in her life.
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  Speaker 1: During those months of pregnancy, Hannah likely prepared everything with
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  Speaker 1: great care. She may have sown tiny clothes, whispered to
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  Speaker 1: the baby in her belly, and told him stories about
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  Speaker 1: the God who had answered her prayer. She probably thought
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  Speaker 1: often about the promise she had made. She knew this
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  Speaker 1: child wouldn't be hers alone. He was to be dedicated
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord for his entire life. Then the day
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  Speaker 1: came Hannah gave birth to a strong, healthy boy. As
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  Speaker 1: she looked at his little face, she chose a name
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  Speaker 1: rich with meaning, Samuel, a name that in Hebrew sounds
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  Speaker 1: like heard by God, or asked of God. Every time
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  Speaker 1: she called his name, she'd remember the prayer that had
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  Speaker 1: been answered. Samuel's name wasn't just pretty or chosen from
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  Speaker 1: a list of family names. It was a living testimony
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  Speaker 1: of Hannah's faith and of God's faithfulness. I asked the
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  Speaker 1: Lord for him, she said, simple as that, an entire
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  Speaker 1: story of sorrow, prayer, and miracle summed up in just
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  Speaker 1: a few words, and in the name of her son. Elkana.
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  Speaker 1: The father must have been overjoyed at his son's birth.
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  Speaker 1: The whole family celebrated Samuel's arrival, recognizing him as a
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  Speaker 1: special gift from God. Even Panninna, who had once mocked Hannah,
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  Speaker 1: could now see the divine favor resting on the one
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  Speaker 1: who had once been barren. Samuel grew strong and healthy.
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  Speaker 1: Hannah poured all her time and love into caring for him.
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  Speaker 1: She nursed him, rocked him to sleep, told him stories
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  Speaker 1: about the God of Israel, and began teaching him the
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  Speaker 1: first steps of faith. These days were precious to Hannah.
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  Speaker 1: She knew they wouldn't last forever. One day she would
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  Speaker 1: have to fulfill her vow. When the time came for
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  Speaker 1: the annual pilgrimage to Shiloh, Elkana prepared to go with
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  Speaker 1: the whole family, as he did every year, but this
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  Speaker 1: time Hannah chose to stay behind. When Elcana went up
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  Speaker 1: with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to
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  Speaker 1: the Lord and to fulfill his head vow, Hannah did
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  Speaker 1: not go. She said to her husband, after the boy
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  Speaker 1: is weaned, I will take him and present him before
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, and he will live there always. Hannah wanted
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  Speaker 1: to make the most of the time she had with
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  Speaker 1: her son. She knew the moment of separation would come soon,
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  Speaker 1: when she would give him over to serve the Lord
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  Speaker 1: at the tabernacle. Elkanah honored her decision. Do what seems
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  Speaker 1: best to you, stay here until you have weaned him.
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  Speaker 1: Only may the Lord make good his word. So little
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  Speaker 1: Samuel stayed home with his mother while the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the family made the yearly trip to offer sacrifices. Hannah
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  Speaker 1: cherished every moment with him, knowing that these days were
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  Speaker 1: fleeting and sacred. She was preparing not only his body,
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  Speaker 1: but also his heart for the purpose God had for him.
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  Speaker 1: Time passed quickly, and soon Samuel was old enough to
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  Speaker 1: be weaned. In that culture, children were often urst much
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  Speaker 1: longer than to day, possibly up to three years old.
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  Speaker 1: Hannah had made the most of every moment, but now
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  Speaker 1: it was time to keep her vow to the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: With a heart torn between the sorrow of parting and
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  Speaker 1: the joy of honoring her promise, Hannah made ready to
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  Speaker 1: take Samuel to Shiloh after he was weaned. She took
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  Speaker 1: the boy with her, young as he was, along with
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  Speaker 1: a three year old bull, an effort of flower, and
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  Speaker 1: a skin of wine, and brought him to the house
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed,
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  Speaker 1: they brought the boy to Eli. Imagine that moment, a
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  Speaker 1: mother bringing her young child along with generous offerings for
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. The three year old bull, the large amount
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  Speaker 1: of flower, the skin of wine. These were valuable gifts,
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  Speaker 1: reflecting Hannah's deep gratitude. This wasn't an obligation done reluctantly,
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  Speaker 1: but an act of sincere and joyful thankfulness. When she
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  Speaker 1: stood before Eli, the priest. Hannah spoke with emotion, pardon me,
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  Speaker 1: my Lord, as surely as you live, I am the
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  Speaker 1: woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted
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  Speaker 1: me what I asked of him. So now I give
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  Speaker 1: him to the Lord for his whole life. He will
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  Speaker 1: be given over to the Lord. Can you picture this scene, Hannah,
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  Speaker 1: eyes full of tears, presenting her beloved son to the priest.
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  Speaker 1: Samuel still small, perhaps puzzled by the moment, but sensing
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  Speaker 1: the love and the sacredness of it all, and Eli
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  Speaker 1: realizing this was the same woman who had once poured
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  Speaker 1: out her soul before the Lord in anguish. For Hannah,
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  Speaker 1: giving Samuel over wasn't easy. He was her miracle, her
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  Speaker 1: answered prayer, her beloved son. But she understood that Samuel
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  Speaker 1: belonged first to God. She wasn't losing a child, she
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  Speaker 1: was returning to God what he had graciously given her.
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  Speaker 1: Eli received the child with solemnity, aware of the seriousness
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  Speaker 1: of Hannah's vow. Samuel would stay under his care, learning
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  Speaker 1: to serve in the tabernacle of the Lord. It was
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  Speaker 1: a great responsibility, but also a great honor to take
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  Speaker 1: in a child consecrated in this way. For Samuel, this
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  Speaker 1: was a major life change, leaving the comfort of home,
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  Speaker 1: his parents embrace, and the play of childhood to enter
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  Speaker 1: the sacred rhythms of tabernacle life, to trade toys for
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  Speaker 1: rituals and begin learning the duties of serving God. But
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  Speaker 1: the Bible tells us they worshiped the Lord there. Even
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  Speaker 1: at a young age, Samuel was already beginning to understand
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  Speaker 1: something about God's presence. That final line says it all.
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  Speaker 1: And they worshiped the Lord there. In the midst of
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  Speaker 1: the pain of separation, there was worship. Hannah Ilgana and
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  Speaker 1: little Samuel bowed down before the Lord, acknowledging his goodness
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  Speaker 1: and faithfulness. It was a sacred moment, a moment where
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  Speaker 1: gratitude outweighed sorrow. Leaving Samuel in Shiloh was probably one
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  Speaker 1: of the hardest things Hannah ever did. Going home without
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  Speaker 1: him must have felt like leaving a piece of her
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  Speaker 1: heart behind. But she had peace knowing her son was
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  Speaker 1: exactly where God wanted him to be. Even while feeling
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  Speaker 1: the pain of separation, Anna's heart overflowed with gratitude right
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  Speaker 1: there in the tabernacle at Shiloh. She poured out her
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  Speaker 1: feelings in a prayer so beautiful and profound that it
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  Speaker 1: was recorded in the Bible. It wasn't a lament over
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  Speaker 1: giving up her son. It was a song of praise
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  Speaker 1: to the God who hears prayers and transforms lives. Anna
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  Speaker 1: began her song like this, My heart rejoices in the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: In the Lord, my horn is lit. Did I my
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  Speaker 1: mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
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  Speaker 1: There is no one wholly like the Lord. There is
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  Speaker 1: no one besides you. There is no rock like our God.
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  Speaker 1: Notice how Anna doesn't speak about her son, but about
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  Speaker 1: her God. She understood that Samuel's birth wasn't just a
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  Speaker 1: personal blessing. It was part of God's greater plan. Her
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  Speaker 1: joy wasn't merely about having a child. It came from
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  Speaker 1: knowing the power and faithfulness of the Lord. The song continues,
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  Speaker 1: Do not keep talking so proudly, or let your mouth
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  Speaker 1: speak such arrogance, For the Lord is a god who knows,
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  Speaker 1: and by him deeds are weighed. The bows of the
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  Speaker 1: warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
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  Speaker 1: Those who were full higher themselves out for food. But
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  Speaker 1: those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who
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  Speaker 1: was barren has borne seven children, but she who has
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  Speaker 1: had many sons pines away. These words reveal how Anna
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  Speaker 1: saw God's hand changing impossible situations. The strong are broken
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  Speaker 1: and the weak are made strong. The rich go hungry,
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  Speaker 1: and the poor are fed. The barren woman bears children,
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  Speaker 1: and the fertile one withers. Anna herself was living proof
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  Speaker 1: of God's transforming power. She goes on. The Lord brings
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  Speaker 1: death and makes alive. He brings down to the grave
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  Speaker 1: and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth. He
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  Speaker 1: humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust,
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  Speaker 1: and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats
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  Speaker 1: them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.
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  Speaker 1: For the foundations of the earth are the lords on them.
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  Speaker 1: He has set the world. These words show a deep
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  Speaker 1: spiritual understanding. Anna acknowledges that God holds power over everything,
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  Speaker 1: life and death, poverty and riches. He owns the foundations
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  Speaker 1: of the earth, the creator who sustains all things with
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  Speaker 1: his might. Anna's song ends with a vision of the future.
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  Speaker 1: He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but
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  Speaker 1: the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
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  Speaker 1: It is not by strength that one prevails. Those who
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  Speaker 1: oppose the Lord will be broken. The most high will
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  Speaker 1: thunder from heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of
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  Speaker 1: the earth. He will give strength to his king and
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  Speaker 1: exalt the horn of his anointed. These closing words are
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  Speaker 1: especially powerful because Israel had no king at the time.
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  Speaker 1: In a way, Anna was speaking prophetically, hinting at the
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  Speaker 1: role her own son would one day play in history
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  Speaker 1: as the one who would anoint Israel's first king. Anna's
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  Speaker 1: song is not just a personal expression of gratitude. It
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  Speaker 1: reflects how deeply she understood God's character and his plans.
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  Speaker 1: Many scholars have noted how Anna's song resembles the Magnificat,
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  Speaker 1: the song Mary, the Mother of Jesus, would sing centuries later.
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  Speaker 1: Both songs celebrate a God who lifts up the humble
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  Speaker 1: and does the impossible. After pouring out her praise with
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  Speaker 1: all her heart, Anna returned home to Rama with her husband,
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  Speaker 1: leaving young Samuel in the care of Eli at the Tabernacle.
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  Speaker 1: Even though she missed him, she had peace, knowing her
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  Speaker 1: son was fulfilling the purpose he was born for. While
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  Speaker 1: Anna traveled back to Rama, little Samuel stayed at the
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  Speaker 1: tabernacle in Shiloh. He was just a child, but he
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  Speaker 1: was already beginning to learn how to serve the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Then Elkana went home to Rama, but the boy ministered
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  Speaker 1: before the Lord under Eli the Priest. Imagine Samuel in
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  Speaker 1: that new environment. Everything was different from what he knew
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  Speaker 1: at home. The tabernacle was a sacred place full of
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  Speaker 1: rituals and responsibilities. There was the altar for sacrifices, the
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  Speaker 1: holy place with the table of the bread of the presence,
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  Speaker 1: the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. And there
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  Speaker 1: was the most holy place where the ark of the
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  Speaker 1: Covenant was kept. Samuel couldn't enter all those areas because
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  Speaker 1: he wasn't a priest. Only those from the family of
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  Speaker 1: Aaron of the tribe of Levi could serve in that role.
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  Speaker 1: Samuel was from the tribe of Ephraim, but he could
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  Speaker 1: help with the external duties of the tabernacle, the tasks
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  Speaker 1: that Eli the Priest taught him. Despite being so young,
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  Speaker 1: Samuel had important responsibilities. Maybe he helped prepare the tabernacle
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  Speaker 1: for worship, organize the offerings people brought, or helped keep
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  Speaker 1: everything clean and in order. The Bible doesn't say exactly
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  Speaker 1: what he did, but it tells us that he ministered
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  Speaker 1: before the Lord. One notable detail about Samuel during this
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  Speaker 1: time was the clothes he wore. Samuel, though he was
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  Speaker 1: only a boy, ministered before the Lord wearing a linen ephod.
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  Speaker 1: Each year, his mother made him a little robe and
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  Speaker 1: took it to him when she went up with her
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  Speaker 1: husband to offer the annual sacrifice. The linen ephod was
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  Speaker 1: a priestly garment. Wearing it showed that even though he
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  Speaker 1: wasn't from Aaron's line, Samuel was dedicated to serving God.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: It was a visible sign of his consecration. And isn't
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: it beautiful to see Anna's care. Even though she had
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: left her son at the tabernacle, she never forgot him.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Every year during the annual visit, she brought him a
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: new robe. As the boy grew, the robe needed to
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: grow too. It was a simple act of motherly love
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: that reminded Samuel that even from Afar, his mother was
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: thinking of him and cared about his well being. Those
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: yearly visits must have been precious. Anna could see now
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: her son was growing and learning to serve God. Samuel
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: could hear news from home and feel the warmth of
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: his family's love. Eli, witnessing this bond, would bless the family.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Eli would bless Elkana and his wife, saying, may the
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Lord give you children by this woman to take the
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: place of the one she prayed for and gave to
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: the Lord. Then they would go home, and the Lord
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: was gracious to Honna. She gave birth to three sons
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: the presence of the Lord. What a beautiful reward for
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Anna's faith after years of infertility. After lending her who
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: first born, to the Lord, she was blessed with five
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: more children, and Samuel, who could have been an only child,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: now had brothers and sisters, even if he only saw
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: them once a year. The verse ends by saying, the
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: Growing up in the Lord's presence meant more than just
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: getting taller and stronger. It meant growing in wisdom, in
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: the knowledge of God's ways, in understanding the scriptures and
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: sacred rituals. Samuel wasn't just developing physically, he was growing spiritually.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Samuel's childhood in the Tabernacle was a time of preparation
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: for the important role he would one day fulfill. There,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: under Eli's guidance, he learned about God's law, about the
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: sacrificial system, and about how to listen to the voice
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. Even though he was just a boy,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Samuel was already being shaped to become a great man
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: of God. But while Samuel was growing in the fear
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: of the Lord, something tragic was happening right before his eyes.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Eli's sons, Hofni and feina haas official priests of the Tabernacle,
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: were corrupting the worship of God with their awful behavior.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: The Bible doesn't mince words. Eli's sons were wicked men.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: They had no regard for the Lord. That simple sentence
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: revealed a deep problem. Hofni and Finihas held sacred positions,
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: but they had no respect for God or for the
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: service they were supposed to perform. They saw the priesthood
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: merely as a way to gain privileges and satisfy their
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: own desires. Look at how they acted when people brought
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: sacrifices to the Lord. Now It was the practice of
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: the priests that whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: the priest's servant would come with a three pronged fork
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: in his hand while the meat was being boiled, and
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: would plunge it into the pan or kettle, or cauldron
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: take for himself. This is how they treated all the
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Israelites who came to Shiloh. According to the Law of Moses,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: priests were entitled to a specific portion of the sacrifices,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: but Eli's sons invented their own system to take more
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: than what was Instead of receiving the designated share, they
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: would stick a fork into the pot and take whatever
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: came out, often the choicest parts that were meant to
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: be burned for the Lord. And it didn't stop there.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: come and say to the man who was sacrificing, give
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: the priests a meat to roast. He won't accept boiled
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: meat from you, only raw. If the man said to him,
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: you want, the servant would answer, no, hand it over now.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: If you don't, I'll take it by force. This was
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: outrageous in God's eyes. The fat of the animals was
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: considered the best part, and according to the law, it
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: had to be burned as an offering to the Lord.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: But Eli's sons would snatch the meat before the fat
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: was burned, robbing God of what was rightfully his, and
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: if anyone objected, they would threatened them with force. The
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Bible sums up the gravity of this sin. The sin
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: of the young men was very great in the Lord's sight,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: for they were treating the Lord's offering with contempt. But
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: their disrespect didn't end with the sacrifices. They also abused
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: their position to satisfy sexual desires. Now, Eli, who was
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: all Israel, and how they slept with the women who
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. These
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: women likely served the tabernacle in some religious function, perhaps
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: helping with cleaning or preparing for the rituals. But Eli's sons,
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: instead of honoring them as servants of God, treated them
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: like objects for their own pleasure. When Eli found out,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: he tried to rebuke his sons. Why do you do
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: such things. I hear from all the people about these
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons, the reporter I
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: hear spreading among the Lord's people is not good. If
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: But if a man sins against the Lord, who will
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: intercede for him? But his sons refused to listen to
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: their father's warning, for the Lord had already decided to
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: put them to death. Eli's words were right, but his
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: attitude as a father and high priest was far too weak.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: He knew exactly what his sons were doing, yet he
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: took no strong action to stop them. He merely scolded
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: them without imposing any real discipline or consequences. This failure
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: in leadership would have devastating consequences for his family and
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: for all of Israel. God would send a prophet to
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: declare judgment on Eli's household. As we later read in
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: First Samuel two twenty seven to thirty four. The sentence
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: was harsh. Both of Eli's sons would die on the
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: same day, none of the men in his family would
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: live to old age, and the priesthood would be taken
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: away from his lineage. What a contrast to the young Samuel.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: While Eli's sons, who should have been examples of godliness,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: were corrupting the worship of God, Samuel, still a boy,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: with people. He was being prepared to become the instrument
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: God would use to bring spiritual renewal and reform to Israel.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Now picture the Tabernacle at night, when everyone had gone
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: to sleep. The lights were out except for the golden
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: lampstand that was never to be extinguished. Eli, now old
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: and nearly blind, was resting in his room. The young
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Samuel was lying down near the ark of the Covenant
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: inside the Lord's sanctuary. It was a knight like any other,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: but it would change Samuel's life forever. The boy Samuel
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: ministered before the Lord under Eli's direction. In those days,
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: the word of the Lord was rare. There were not
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: many visions. One night, Eli, whose eyes were becoming so
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: weak that he could barely see, was lying down in
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: of the Lord where the Ark of God was. The
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Bible makes a significant point by saying the word of
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: the Lord was rare in those days. God wasn't speaking
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: much to his people. That made what was about to
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: happen even more extraordinary. Everything was quiet when all of
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: a sudden, the Lord called Samuel. Samuel. It was the
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: voice of God, but Samuel had never heard God speak before.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: He thought it was Eli calling. So Samuel ran to
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: Eli and said, here, I am you called me. But
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Eli said I did not call. Go back and lie down,
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: so he went and lay down. Samuel was ob edient
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: and eager to help. Even when woken in the middle
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: of the night. He immediately bent to see what Eli needed,
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: and when the priest told him he hadn't called, Samuel
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: simply went back to bed without complaining. But soon it
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: happened again. The Lord called again Samuel. Samuel got up
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: and went to Eli and said, here, I am you
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: called me, my son. Eli said, I did not call.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: Go back and lie down. Samuel still didn't recognize the
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Lord's voice. The Bible explains, now Samuel did not yet
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: know the Lord. The word of the Lord had not
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: yet been revealed to him. Imagine how confused the boy
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: must have felt. He was certain someone was calling his name,
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: yet Eli kept insisting it wasn't him. Still, Samuel went
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: back to bed without protest. A third time, the Lord
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: called Samuel, and Samuel got up and went to Eli
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: and said, here where I am You called me this
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: third time? Something clicked for Eli, as someone experienced in
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: the service of God, he realized what was happening. Then
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Eli told Samuel go and lie down, and if he
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: calls you say speak Lord, for your servant is listening.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Eli
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: gave Samuel specific instructions on how to respond if the
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: voice called again. It was a turning point in the
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: boy's life. God was about to reveal himself to Samuel
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: in a deep and personal way. The Lord came and
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: stood there, calling, as at the other times Samuel Samuel.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Then Samuel said, speak, for your servant is listening. Samuel
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: responded just as Eli had instructed. He was ready to
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: hear what God had to say. This was the beginning
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: of his calling as a prophet of the Law Lord.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: The message God gave Samuel wasn't an easy one. It
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: was a warning of judgment against Eli's household because of
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: the sins of his sons and Eli's failure to discipline them.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: The Lord said to Samuel, see, I'm about to do
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: who hears about it tingle. At that time, I will
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: from beginning to end. For I told him that I
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: would judge his family forever because of the sin he
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: knew about his son's blasphemed God, and he failed to
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: by sacrifice or offering. It was a heavy message, especially
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: for such a young boy. God was declaring that he
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: would punish Eli's family due to the corruption of his
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: sons and Eli's failure to correct them. The judgment would
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: be so intense it would make people's ears tingle. Samuel
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: lay in bed until morning, contemplating what had happened. Imagine
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: how hard that must have been. His very first prophecy
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: was a message of judgment against the man who raised him,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: mentored him, and was like a father to him. In
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: the tabernacle. Samuel lay down until morning and then opened
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: the doors of the house of the Lord. He was
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: afraid to tell Eli the vision. As the day began,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: Samuel got up and opened the tabernacle doors as usual,
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: but he was afraid. How could he deliver such a
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: difficult message to Eli. How would the priest react? Would
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: he be angry punish Samuel the boy was lightly anxious
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: and nervous, But Eli wanted to know what the Lord
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: had said. So Eli called him and said, Samuel, my son.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Samuel answered, here, I am. What was it he said
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: to you? Eli asked, do not hide it from me?
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: May God deal with you be it ever so severely
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: if you hide from me anything he told you. So
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said,
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: he is the Lord. Let him do what is good
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: in his eyes. Eli's response shows acceptance and humility. He
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: didn't get angry with Samuel. He didn't reject the message
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: or try to justify his actions. He simply accepted God's judgment,
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: acknowledging his sovereignty. He is the Lord, Let him do
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: what is good in his eyes. Samuel was just beginning
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: his journey as a prophet. The Bible says Samuel grew
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: up and the Lord was with him and let none
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: of Samuel's words fall to the ground, and all Israel
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: a prophet of the lawd The Lord continued to appear
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: his word. This final part sums up the outcome of
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: Samuel's night time calling. He grew not only in age,
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: but also in his walk with God. The Lord was
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: with him, affirming his words so that none of his
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: prophecies failed. From the northernmost point to the southern tip
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, everyone recognized that Samuel
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: was a true prophet, chosen and anointed by God. Most importantly,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: God continued to reveal himself to Samuel. That first night
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: when God called him by name was just the beginning
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: of a life of deep communion with the Lord. Samuel,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: the boy born in response to a desperate prayer, was
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: now growing into the answer to a nation's desperate need
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: in a time of spiritual darkness. When the word of
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: the Lord rare, God raised up a young prophet to
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: be his voice to the people. Samuel would become the
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: last of the judges and the first great prophet after Moses,
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: bridging two important eras in Israel's history. After that special
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: night when God first called him, Samuel grew in wisdom
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: and stature. He was no longer just a boy serving
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: in the tabernacle. He was now a young man chosen
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: by God to deliver his word to the people. The
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: revelation about Eli's household was only the beginning. God kept
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: speaking and Samuel kept listening. In the e Verse Book
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: of Samuel, Chapter three, verses twenty one to four, one
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: we read the Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word, and
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: Samuel's word came to all Israel. God not only spoke
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: to Samuel, but used the young man to deliver messages
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: to all the people of his Israel. From the north
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: to the south of the country. Everyone knew that there
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: was a true prophet among them. In chapter three, verse nineteen,
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: the Bible tells us the Lord was with Samuel as
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: fall to the ground. What made Samuel different was that
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: his prophecies always came to pass. Not a single word
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: of his was wasted. When he said this is what
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: the Lord says, people knew they could trust him. Just
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: imagine how important that was at the time. For years,
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: the word of the Lord was rare, As the Bible
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: itself tells us, the people lived without clear guidance from God.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: The priests, who were supposed to be spiritual leaders were corrupt.
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: Eli was old and weak, and his sons were wicked.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: It was a time of spiritual darkness. And then Samuel emerged,
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: a young man with a fresh message from heaven. People
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: came from far away to hear him. Tribal leaders sought
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: him out for council. Little by little, Samuel was becoming
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: much more than just a servant in the tabernacle. He
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: was becoming a judge, someone who guided the people, not
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: only spiritually, but also politically. In Chapter three, verse twenty,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: the Bible declares, and all Israel from Dan to Beersheba
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: From the northernmost city Dan to the southernmost Beersheba. Every
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: Israelite knew God had raised up a new leader for
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: his people. Samuel didn't seek this position. He didn't campaign
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: to be recognized. It was God who established him, opening
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: adores and confirming his word, and the people naturally accepted
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: his leadership because they saw in him not just an
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: eloquent man, but someone through whom God truly spoke. Samuel's
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: transition from a simple tabernacle servant to a national prophet
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: didn't have and overnight. It took years. He grew in
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: wisdom and in authority in the eyes of the people.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: More importantly, he grew in intimacy with God. The Lord
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: didn't just speak to him occasionally, he built a continuous
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: relationship of communication with him. Samuel's formative years in the
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: tabernacle were not in vain. There, beside the ark of
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: the Covenant, he learned about the traditions, the laws, and
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: the sacred rituals of Israel. Now all that knowledge was
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: being used by God to guide the people back into
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: right relationship with their creator. When Samuel spoke, the people listened.
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: When he gave counsel, they followed. Not because he was
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: an imposed ruler, but because he was recognized as a
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: true messenger of God. That authority would soon be tested
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: in a way no one could have foreseen. The Philistines
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: were long standing enemies of Israel. They lived along the
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: Medaile Mediterranean coast and frequently invaded Israelite territory, plundering villages
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: and asserting their dominance. For years, they had been a
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: thorn in Israel's side, and now they were back, stronger
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: and more determined than ever. In First Samuel, for one,
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: we read the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel. The
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: tension between the two peoples finally erupted into open war.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: We don't know exactly how it began. Perhaps the Philistines
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: invaded Israelite land. Perhaps Israel tried to throw off Philistine oppression.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: Either way, the armies gathered for battle. Israel camped near Ebenezer,
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: while the Philistines set up camp at Affek. These locations
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: lay between the mountains of Israel and the coastal plain
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: of the Philistines, a natural battlefield between the two territories.
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: The clash was imminent. With their shields gleaming in the sun,
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: their swords sharp, and their hearts full of courage, the
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: Israelite soldiers marched into combat. Perhaps they thought God would
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: give them an easy victory. After all, weren't they His
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: chosen people? Didn't they have the Lord of Hosts on
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: their side. But chapter four, verse two tells us what
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: really happened. The Philistines fought and the Israelites were defeated.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: About four thousand of them were killed on the battlefield.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Four thousand men, four thousand husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: who would never return home. It was a crushing defeat.
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: Picture the scene in the Israelite camp after the battle,
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: wounded soldiers groaning in pain, commanders scrambling to regroup the
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: remaining forces, and one question echoing through everyone's mind. Why
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: why did God let us be defeated? The elders of
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: Israel gathered to discuss the disaster. They were confused and desperate.
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: In verse three of that same time chapter, they asked,
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: why did the Lord bring defeat upon us to day
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: before the Philistines. The answer they came up with seemed
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: logical at the time, but it revealed a shallow understanding
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: of their relationship with God. Still, in verse three, they said,
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: let us bring the ark of the Covenant of the
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: Lord from Shiloh, so that it may go with us
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: and save us from the hand of our enemies. Instead
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: of turning to God. In repentance. They chose to use
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: the ark like a magic charm, as if the mere
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: presence of the sacred object could guarantee victory. The Ark
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: of the Covenant was Israel's most sacred item, a gold
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: covered wooden chest that held the tablets of the Law
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: given to Moses, a jar of manner, and Aaron's staff.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: On top of it stood two golden cherubim, and between them,
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: God's presence was said to dwell. It was the most
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: powerful symbol of the covenant between God and Israel. In
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: verse four, we read, so the people sent men to Shiloh,
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: and they brought back the Ark of the Covenant of
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the Cherubim. And
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: Eli's two sons, Hofni and Finahas were there with the
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: Ark of the Covenant of God. When the ark arrived
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: at the camp, the people erupted in joy. Verse five
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: says when the Ark of the Lord's Covenant came into
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: the ground shook. It was as if victory were already
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: assured with God literally in their midst or so they believed,
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: how could they lose the Philistines heard the Israelites celebration
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: and grew afraid. They were familiar with the stories about
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: the God of Israel, how he had delivered his people
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: from Egypt through mighty plagues and miracles. In verse eight,
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: they exclaimed, woe to us, who will deliver us from
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: the hands of these mighty gods. These are the gods
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: the wilderness. But despite their fear, the Philistine leaders rallied
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: their troops. In verse nine, they commanded, be strong, Philistines,
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: just as they have been to you. Be men and fight.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: The second round of battle was about to begin the
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: next day. The armies lined up once more for combat.
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: On one side stood the Philistines, determined to fight to
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: the end despite their fear. On the other side, the
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: Israelites stood confident, trusting in the presence of the Ark
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: among them. At the center of Israel's line stood Hofni
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: and finnihas the corrupt sons of Ely guarding the sacred Ark.
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: Trumpets sounded, war cries filled the air, and the armies
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: surged toward one another, Swords clashed against shields, arrows hissed
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: through the air, and dust rose from the battlefield as
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: men fought and fell. In First Samuel four ten we
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: read the devastating result. So the Philistines fought, and the
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: Israelites were defeated. Every man fled to his tent. The
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: slaughter was very great. Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: thirty thousand men. It was an unprecedented disaster, and Verse
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: eleven brings the worst news of all. The Ark of
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Popani and Finihas died.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Not only was the battle lost, but the most sacred
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: object in all of Israel, the symbol of God's presence
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: among his people, had been captured by pagan enemies, and
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: Eli's sons, just as God had prophesied, died on the
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: same day. Magine the scene Philistine's soldiers surrounding the captured Ark,
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: perhaps even touching it with unclean hands, mocking the God
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: of Israel. Some may have hesitated, recalling the stories of
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: the Hebrews God's power, but victory gave them confidence. After all,
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: if the God of Israel were truly so powerful, why
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: had he allowed his ark to be taken. The bodies
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: of Hofni and Finihas lay on the battlefield, fulfilling the
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: judgment God had pronounced against Eli's house. Those who had
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: defiled the sacred sacrifices and abused their positions for personal
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: gain were now dead, unable to continue their corruption. For
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: the surviving Israelite soldiers, it was a desperate retreat. They
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: fled back to their homes, defeated and humiliated. How would
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: they explain this tragedy to their families? How could they
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: tell them that the Ark of God had been taken.
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: One man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: battlefield straight to Shiloh. In verse twelve, we read that
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: he arrived with his clothes torn and dust on his head,
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: traditional sign of mourning and grief. The entire city soon
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: knew that something terrible had occurred. In verse thirteen, the
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: Bible tells us when he arrived, Eli was sitting on
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: his chair by the side of the road, watching because
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: his heart feared for the ark of God. This messenger
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: carried news that would forever change the religious life of Israel.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: He didn't know it, but his words would fulfill a
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: prophecy spoken years earlier to a boy who had heard
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: the voice of God in the night. Eli was seated
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: in his chair by the gate of Shiloh at ninety
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: eight years old. Blind and heavy, the old priest anxiously
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: waited for news of the battle. It wasn't so much
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: the outcome of the war that troubled him. It was
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: the fate of the ark of the Covenant that made
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: his heart tremble. In First Samuel four or thirteen, we
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: read when the man entered the town and told what
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: had happened, and the whole town cried out. Imagine the
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: cries and waiales echoing through the streets of Shiloh, Women
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: fearing for their husbands and sons, children, confused and terrified
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: elders foreseeing difficult times ahead. In verse fourteen, the Bible
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: says Eli heard the outcry and asked, what is the
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: meaning of this uproar? May even without sight his experienced
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: ears recognized that something terrible had happened. The messenger ran
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: to Eli to deliver the news first hand. In verse sixteen,
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: we read the man said to Eli, I have just
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: come from the battle line. I fled from it this
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: very day. Eli asked what happened, my son. Then came
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: the report, a fourfold catastrophe, each part worse than the last.
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: In verse seventeen, he said, Israel fled before the Philistines,
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: and the army has suffered a great defeat. Also, your
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: two sons, Hofni and Phinihas, are dead, and the Ark
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: of God has been captured. When Eli heard about the Ark,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: his response was immediate and fatal. In verse eighteen we
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: read as soon as he mentioned the Ark of God,
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: the gate. His neck was broken, and he died. For
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: he was an old man and heavy. He had led
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Israel for forty years. In a moment, the man who
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: had served as Israel's high priest for four decades was dead.
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: It wasn't the news of Israel's defeat that killed him,
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: not even the deaths of his two sons. It was
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: the capture of the Ark of God that broke his heart.
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: For all his failures as a father, Eli genuinely loved
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: the Lord and held deep reverence for the sanctity of
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: the Ark. The thought that the sacred symbol of God's
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: presence among his people was now in the hands of
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: pagan Philistin's was more than his old heart could bear,
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: and the tragedy of Eli's family didn't end there. In
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: verse nineteen, the Bible tells us his daughter in law,
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: the wife of Finihas, was pregnant and near the time
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: of delivery when she heard the news that the Ark
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: of God had been captured and that her father in
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: law and her husband were dead. She went into labor
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: As the midwives tried to comfort her, telling her she
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: had given birth to a son. Her response was one
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: of utter sorrow. In verses twenty one and twenty two
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: we read, but she did not respond or pay any attention.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: She named the boy Ikabod, saying the glory has departed
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: from Israel because the Ark of God had been captured
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: and because of the deaths of her father in law
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: and her husband. She said, the glory has departed from Israel,
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: for the Ark of God has been captured. Ichabod means
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: no glory, what a sad and name for a child,
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: Yet it perfectly captured the mood in Israel at that moment.
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: The glory had indeed departed the most sacred object of
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: Israelite worship was in enemy hands. The High Priest was dead,
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: the Philistines held military dominance. It was one of the
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: darkest times in Israel's history. With the death of Eli
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: and his sons and the capture of the Ark, a
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: chapter in Israel's story came to a close. The religious
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: leadership from Eli's lineage had ended, just as God had
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: prophesied to Samuel years before. Now, the young Samuel, already
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: recognized as a prophet, would also become Israel's new spiritual leader.
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: While Israel mourned, the Philistines celebrated. They had defeated their
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: enemy and captured the most sacred symbol of Israelite religion.
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: As a war trophy. They brought the Ark to Ashdod,
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: one of their five major cities, and placed it in
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: the temple of their god Dagon. In First Samuel five
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: one to two, we read after the Philistines had captured
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: Then they carried the Ark into Dagon's temple and set
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: it beside Dagon. Dagon was the main god of the Philistines,
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: often depicted as half man, half fish. Placing the ark
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: beside Dagon's statue was their way of saying, our god
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: has defeated the God of Israel. It was a deliberate
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: insult to the true God. But the next morning the
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: Philistines got an unpleasant surprise. Verse three tells us when
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: the ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and put
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: him back in his place. Imagine the shock of Dagan's priests,
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: finding the deity toppled over as if bowing before the
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: ark of Israel's god God. They quickly set the statue
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: back up, perhaps trying to cover up the incident. Maybe
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: they claimed it was an accident, an unstable base, or
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: even an earthquake. But the next morning the message was unmistakable.
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: Verse four says, But the following morning, when they rose,
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: there was Daygone fallen on his face on the ground
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: before the Ark of the Lord. His head and hands
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: had been broken off and were lying on the threshold.
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: Only his body remained. This time, there was no room
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: for excuses. It wasn't an accident. The statue hadn't merely fallen.
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: It had been decapitated and dismembered, a clear symbol of
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: defeat and humiliation. The God of the Philistines was being
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: shamed by the True God, and that was just the beginning.
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: Soon the people of Ashdod began suffering from a mysterious
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: and painful disease. In verse six, we read the Lord's
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity.
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: He brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors.
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: These tumors, or hemorrhoids, according to some translations, were extremely
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: painful and spread rapidly among the population. People began to
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: connect this outbreak with the presence of the Ark of
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: the God of Israel in their city. In desperation, Ashdod's
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: leaders decided the Ark had to go. Verse seven says
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: when the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said,
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the God of Israel must not stay
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: here with us, because his hand is heavy on us
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: and on Dagon, our God. They summoned the five Philistine
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: rulers to decide what to do. Next. Verse eight tells
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: us so they called together all the rulers of the
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: Philistines and asked them, what shall we do with the
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: Ark of the God of Israel. They answered, have the
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: Ark of the God of Israel moved to Gath. So
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: they moved the Ark of the God of Israel, but
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: the problem only relocated. The same plague struck the city
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: of Gath in verse nine we read. But after they
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: had moved it, the Lord's hand was against that city,
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: of tumors. The people of Gath, now just as desperate,
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: sent the ark to Ekron, another Philistine city, But as
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: the ark approached, panic erupted. Verse ten says as the
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: Ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: cried out, they have brought the Ark of the God
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: And sure enough, the same plague struck Ekron with full force.
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: Verses eleven and twelve read. So they called together all
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: the rulers of the Philistines and said, send the Ark
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: of the God of Israel away, let it go back
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: to its own place, or it will kill us and
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: our people. For death had filled the city with panic
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: God's hand was very heavy on it. Those who did
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: the city went up to heaven. For seven months, the
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: Ark went from city to city among the Philistines, bringing
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: plague and death wherever it went. The Philistines had captured
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: the Ark, thinking they had defeated the God of Israel.
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: Now they were learning the hard way that the true
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: God could not be captured or controlled. He was displaying
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: his power in the midst of his people's enemies. After
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: seven months of suffering, the Philistines were desperate to get
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: rid of the Ark. Their cities were being devastated by disease,
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: and it was becoming increasingly clear that the God of
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: Israel was punishing them for seizing the sacred object. In
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: First Samuel six one two we Rid, when the Ark
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months,
• 55:55
  Speaker 1: the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said,
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: what shall we do with the Ark of the Lord?
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: Tell us how we should send it back to its place.
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: The Philistine priests and diviners knew they couldn't just send
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: it back empty. They needed to appease the wrath of
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: Israel's God with some kind of offering. In verse three,
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: they explain, if you return the ark of the God
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: of Israel, do not send it back to him without
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: a gift by all means. Send a guilt offering to him.
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: Then you will be healed, and you will know why
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: his hand has not been lifted from you. When asked
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: what kind of offering they should send, they gave a
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: specific answer. In verses four and five, they said, five
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: of the Philistine rulers. Because the same plague struck both
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: you and your rulers, make models of the tumors and
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: of the rats that are ravaging the land, and give
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lift
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: his hand from you and your gods and your land.
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: This offering, though strange to modern eyes, made sense within
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: the ancient mindset. The gold tumors represented the disease that
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: afflicted them, and the gold rats likely symbolized a plague
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: of rodents destroying their fields or possibly even the carriers
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: of the disease itself. By sending golden replicas of the
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: sources of their suffering, the Philistines hoped that the God
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: of Israel would take away the real ones. The Philistine
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: priests also recalled what had happened to the Egyptians when
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: they resisted God. In verse six, they warned, why do
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: when God dealt harshly with them? Did they not send
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: the Israelites out so they could go on their way.
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: They didn't want to make the same mistake and risk
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: suffering even worse plagues, so they made preparations to return
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: the ark. In verses seven and eight, they instructed, now,
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: then get a new cart ready with two cows that
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: have carved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: to the cart, but take their calves away and pen
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: them up. Take the ark of the Lord and put
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: it on the cart, and in a chest beside it,
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: put the gold objects you are sending back to him
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: as a guilt offering. Send it on its way. This
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: was an interesting test. Cows that are nursing calves would
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: not normally walk away from them. If the cows, against
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: their natural instinct, carried the ark to Israelite territory without
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: being led, it would be a clear sign that the
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: hand of the God of Israel was directing the events.
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: In verse nine, they explained their reasoning, watch it go.
• 58:50
  Speaker 1: If it goes up to its own territory, toward Bethshemesh,
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us.
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: But if it does not, then we will know that
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: it was not his hand that struck us, but that
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: it happened to us by chance. The Philistines followed the
• 59:05
  Speaker 1: plan precisely. They placed the ark and the gold objects
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: on the cart, shut the calves in the barn, and
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: released the cows. What happened next was remarkable. In verse twelve,
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: we read, then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh,
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: keeping on the road and lowing all the way. They
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: did not turn to the right or the left. The
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: border of Beth Chemesh. Against their natural instinct to return
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: to their calves. The cows walked straight into Israelite territory.
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: There was no driver steering the cart, no philistine guiding
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: the animals. It was the God of Israel himself who
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: was bringing his ark home. At that moment, the people
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: of beth Chemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: they looked up and saw the Ark, they rejoiced. In
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: verse fourteen, the the Bible says, the cart came to
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: the field of Joshua of beth Chemesh, and there it
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites, who were responsible
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: for caring for the Ark according to the law of Moses,
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: took down the sacred object and the chest with the
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: gold items and placed them on the large rock. The
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: people of beth Chemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: the Lord that day, celebrating the Ark's return. When the
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 1: five Philistine rulers saw all of this, they returned to
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: Ekron that same day. Their experience with the Ark of
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: the Lord was over. They had learned the hard way
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: that the God of Israel was more powerful than their
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: idols and could not be treated as a mere war trophy.
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: But not everyone in beth Chemesh treated the Ark with
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: proper reverence. Some driven by curiosity, looked inside them something
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 1: strictly forbidden even for the Levites. In verse nineteen we read,
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: but God struck down some of the inhabitants of beth Chemesh,
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: putting seventy of them to death because they looked into
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. Shaken by
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: this demonstration of God's holiness, the people of beth Chemesh asked,
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 1: as recorded in verse twenty, who can stand in the
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 1: the Ark go up from here? So they sent messengers
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: to the people of Kirriath Jerim, saying, as in verse
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: twenty one, the Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord,
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: come down and take it up to your town. And
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: thus the Ark went to the house of Abinadab in
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: Kirriath Jerim, where it would remain for many years. So
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: ended the Ark's captivity among the Philistines. The sacred object
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: was back in his Israel, but the nation's religious and
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: political life still needed restoration. That would be Samuel's task
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: in the years ahead. For twenty long years, the Arks
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: stayed in the house of Abinadab in Kirriath Jayarim, During
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: this time, Samuel grew not just in age, but in influence.
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 1: With Eli Gon and the Ark removed from the tabernacle
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: in Shiloh, Samuel became the undisputed spiritual leader of Israel.
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 1: In First Samuel seven to two, we read, then all
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. This
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 1: verse tells us that for two decades Israel had lived
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: in a kind of spiritual darkness. Perhaps they still worshiped
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: other gods, or maybe they had simply lost faith in
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 1: the Lord after their defeat by the Philistines. But something
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: was changing in the nation's heart. Samuel saw that it
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: was time to act. The people were ready for a
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: spirit shall renewal, a true return to the God of
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: their ancestors. So in verse three he addressed them with authority,
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 1: if you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts,
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the ashtreths,
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only,
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: and he will deliver you out of the hand of
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: the Philistines. Samuel's calling was clear and direct. True repentance
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: required concrete action. It wasn't enough for the people to
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: simply say they wanted to return to God, they had
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: to abandon their idols, the foreign gods, especially Ashtreth, the
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: fertility goddess, worshiped by neighboring peoples. To our surprise, the
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: people responded positively. In verse four, the Bible tells us,
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: so the Israelites put away their bales and ashteriths and
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 1: served the Lord only. They were truly willing to change,
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: to turn from false gods and follow the Lord. Exclusive
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: Seeing this positive response, Samuel took a step further. He
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: called for a national assembly. In verse five we read
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: then Samuel said, assemble all Israel at Mispah, and I
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: will intercede with the Lord for you. Mispah was a
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 1: strategic location, a city in the hills visible from Afar.
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: It was the perfect place for a nationwide gathering, and
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: the people came from all the tribes, from every corner
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 1: of the land of Israel. They gathered at Mispah. It
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: wasn't a forced summons, but a voluntary response to the
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 1: prophet's call. They genuinely wanted to reconcile with God. At Mispah,
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: the people demonstrated their repentance in concrete and public ways.
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: In verse six, the Bible records. On that day they fasted,
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: and there they confessed, we have sinned against the Lord.
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: Fasting was a sign of mourning and repentance. It showed
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: they were truly grieved over their sins and for having
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: abandoned the Lord. And their confession wasn't vague or generic.
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: They said plainly, we have sinned against the Lord. They
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 1: recognized that their actions weren't just cultural mistakes or minor failings.
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: They were sins against the living God. They didn't shift
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: the blame or make excuses, but took full responsibility for
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: their actions. Samuel seized this moment of spiritual sensitivity to
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: lead the people. Still. In verse six, we read now
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Misbah. This
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 1: is the first time the Bible clearly refers to Samuel
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: as a judge. He was not only speaking God's word
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: as a prophet, but also judging Israel's affairs and leading
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: them politically. But news of the Israelite gathering at Mispah
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: soon reached the Philistines. Perhaps they feared that this large
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: assembly was actually a rebellion in the making. In verse seven,
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 1: the Bible tells us when the Philistines heard that Israel
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: had assembled at Mispa. The rulers of the Philistines came
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: up to attack them. When the Israelites heard it, they
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 1: were afraid. Because of the Philistines. The Israelites still remembered
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: the terrible defeat from years earlier, when thirty thousand men
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: died in a single day. They were terrified at the
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: thought of facing the Philistines again. That's why in verse
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: eight they turned to Samuel for help. They said to Samuel,
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 1: do not stop crying out to the Lord, our God
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: for us, that he may rescue us from the hand
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: of the Philistines. Notice the difference compared to the past.
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: The last time they faced the Philistines, they brought out
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant, treating it like a magic talisman.
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 1: Now they asked Samuel to pray for them. They weren't
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 1: trusting in sacred objects anymore. They were seeking divine intervention
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 1: through the prayer of a man of God. Samuel responded
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: to the people's plea. In verse nine we read then
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 1: Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 1: whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 1: the Lord on Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him.
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 1: The lamb's sacrifice symbolized Israel's total dependence on God's mercy.
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: A burnt offering where the entire animal was consumed, represented
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: complete devotion to the Lord. God's answer came swiftly. In
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: verse ten, the Bible reports, while Samuel was sacrificing the
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle.
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: they were routed before the Israelites. God intervened in a
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: powerful and supernatural way. A deafening thunder, possibly with lightning
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: and storm caught caused panic among the Philistine army. The
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 1: victory didn't come from Israel's military strength, but from God's
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: direct intervention. Seeing the enemy in disarray, the Israelites shifted
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: from defense to offense. In verse eleven, we read the
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 1: men of Israel rushed out of Mispah and pursued the Philistines,
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 1: slaughtering them along the way to a point below beth Khar.
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 1: The same people who had just been trembling with fear
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: now courageously pursued their enemies. It's amazing how trusting in
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 1: God can turn fear into boldness. To commemorate this extraordinary victory,
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 1: Samuel did something significant. In First Samuel seven twelve. We
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 1: read then Samuel took a stone and set it up
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: between Mispah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, thus
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: far the Lord has helped us. Ebenezer a means stone
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: of help. It was a simple monument, a single stone,
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: but it carried deep meaning. It was a visible and
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 1: lasting reminder that God had helped his people. Interestingly, it
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: was near Ebenezer that Israel had suffered a terrible defeat
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: years earlier, Chapter four, verse one. Now that same place
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 1: had witnessed a great victory. The name Ebenezer also carried
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: a message of humility and hope. Samuel said, thus far
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: the Lord has helped us. It was an acknowledgment that
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 1: all their help came from God, not from military power
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: or human wisdom, and it implied that God's help would
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 1: continue into the future. The same God who had helped
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: them so far would keep helping them. The defeat of
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 1: the Philistines was so decisive that they couldn't recover for
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: quite some time. In verse thirteen, the Bible says, so
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading Israel's territory.
• 1:09:56
  Speaker 1: Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: the Philistines. That doesn't mean there were never any more
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: conflicts with the Philistines. We know they would still be
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: enemies of Israel in the days of Saul and David,
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: but for a long period throughout Samuel's leadership, they were
• 1:10:14
  Speaker 1: kept in Czech unable to dominate Israel as they had
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: in the past. Even better, the Israelites managed to recover
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: territories they had previously lost to the Philistines. In verse fourteen,
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 1: we read the towns the Philistines had taken from Israel
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 1: delivered the surrounding territory from the power of the Philistines,
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. This
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: verse shows us the extent of the victory. Not only
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: were the Philistines defeated in battle, but Israel also reclaimed
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 1: cities and lands that had been captured. Ekron and Gath
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: were two of the five main Philistine cities, the territory
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 1: between them, essentially the entire coastal plain of Pelistia, was
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 1: returned to Israelite control, and it didn't stop there. Peace
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: extended beyond the Philistines, reaching the Amorites as well, another
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 1: people who frequently clashed with Israel. The victory at Ebenezer
• 1:11:19
  Speaker 1: had a ripple effect, influencing Israel's relationships with other neighboring peoples.
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: With peace secured, Samuel could now focus on his role
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 1: as judge. In verse fifteen, the Bible states Samuel continued
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: as judge over Israel all the days of his life.
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 1: He wasn't a king, nor did he command a standing army.
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 1: His authority came from the respect people had for him
• 1:11:43
  Speaker 1: as a prophet and representative of God. Samuel's leadership style
• 1:11:49
  Speaker 1: was itinerant. He didn't sit in a palace waiting for
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: the people to come to him. Instead, he traveled throughout
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 1: the country, ensuring that justice was accessible to everyone. Verse
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: sixteen tells us from year to year he went on
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mispah, judging Israel.
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 1: In all those places, Bethel, Gilgal, and Mispah were strategically
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: located cities. By visiting them regularly, Samuel ensured that even
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: those who lived far from his home base had access
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 1: to justice. It was a decentralized judicial system, one that
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: brought the judge to the people, rather than forcing the
• 1:12:29
  Speaker 1: people to travel long distances. But Samuel did have a home,
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: a place to which he always returned. In verse seventeen,
• 1:12:38
  Speaker 1: the Bible says, but he always went back to Rama,
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 1: where his home was, and there he also held court
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 1: for Israel, and he built an altar there to the Lord.
• 1:12:49
  Speaker 1: Rama was Samuel's base of operations, where he built an
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: altar to the Lord. This shows that even though the
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 1: Ark was in Kiriath Jarim and the tabernacle in Shiloh
• 1:13:00
  Speaker 1: may have been destroyed, the prophet Jeremiah in chapter twenty
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: six verse six suggests that Shiloh was destroyed, possibly by
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 1: the Philistines. After the Ark was captured, the worship of
• 1:13:12
  Speaker 1: God continued. Samuel kept true worship alive, connecting the people
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: to their God through sacrifices and religious festivals. Samuel marked
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: a new era for Israel. After the disaster of the
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 1: Ark's capture and the death of Eli. He restored the
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: connection between God and his people. Through his leadership, Israel
• 1:13:35
  Speaker 1: experienced spiritual revival, victory over enemies, and a season of
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 1: peace and prosperity. Samuel's success didn't come from personal talent,
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: though he was undoubtedly a capable man, but from his
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 1: faithfulness to the Lord. He called the people back to God,
• 1:13:54
  Speaker 1: led them in genuine repentance, and placed complete trust in
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: Divine power for victory. The Stone of Ebenezer stood as
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 1: a symbol of that simple yet profound truth. Thus far,
• 1:14:06
  Speaker 1: the Lord has helped us. Samuel was the last of
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 1: the judges, closing an era in Israel's history that began
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 1: with Othniel after Joshua's death. But he was also the
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: first of the prophets, beginning a new tradition of men
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: who boldly spoke God's word to the people, and soon
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: he would be the one chosen to usher in yet
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: another era the monarchy in Israel. Years passed and Samuel,
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 1: the faithful prophet and Judge of Israel, began to feel
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 1: the weight of age. His once dark hair had turned gray,
• 1:14:45
  Speaker 1: the hands that had often been raised in prayer now
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 1: trembled slightly. His eyes, which had seen so many of
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 1: God's miracles no longer saw as clearly in First Samuel.
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 1: Ate one, the Bible tells us when sam Muel grew old,
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. It was
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: a natural decision. Samuel could no longer travel throughout all
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: of Israel as he once had. He needed help in
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: judging the people's cases, and who better than his own sons,
• 1:15:16
  Speaker 1: who had grown up witnessing his example of justice and
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: faithfulness to God. Verse two tells us the name of
• 1:15:24
  Speaker 1: his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: was Abijah, and they served at Bersheba. Bersheba was in
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 1: the far south of Israel, an important place, almost a
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 1: gateway to the Negev Desert. Placing his sons there showed
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 1: that Samuel trusted them to handle significant cases. He lightly
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: hoped they would follow in his footsteps, judging with fairness
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: and reverence for God. But something went terribly wrong. Verse
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: three brings a sad revelation. But his sons did not
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and
• 1:16:01
  Speaker 1: accepted bribes and perverted justice. What a heartbreak for Samuel.
• 1:16:06
  Speaker 1: After a lifetime of serving God with integrity. His own
• 1:16:10
  Speaker 1: sons chose a different path. They did not inherit their
• 1:16:14
  Speaker 1: father's character. Where Samuel served the people, they exploited them.
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: Where Samuel sought justice, they sought profit. Where Samuel resisted temptation,
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 1: they gave in to bribes. News of their corruption quickly spread.
• 1:16:29
  Speaker 1: The people began to murmur. Those with legal disputes in
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 1: Beersheba knew they would not receive fair treatment unless they
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 1: had money to bribe Samuel's sons. The poor and vulnerable,
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: those most in need of justice, were the ones least
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 1: likely to receive it. Interestingly, this story echoes what happened
• 1:16:50
  Speaker 1: with Eli, the priest who raised Samuel. His sons, Hofni
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: and Phineas, also became corrupt and abused their positions. Samuel
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: had seen the content sequences of that, the deaths of
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 1: Eli's sons and the judgment upon his household, and yet
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 1: he could not prevent his own sons from walking a
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: similar path. The situation became so dire that Israel's leaders
• 1:17:14
  Speaker 1: had to act. They couldn't allow corrupt judges to continue.
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: Decisions involving property disputes and even criminal matters were being
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 1: swayed by money, not truth. How could a people meant
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 1: to reflect God's justice tolerate such a thing. The situation
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: with Samuel's sons led the leaders of Israel to make
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: a radical decision. In chapter eight, verse four, we read,
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: so all the elders of Israel gathered together and came
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: to Samuel at Ramah. Picture the scene. The elders of
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: the tribes, respected men in their communities, traveling together to Ramah,
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: the town where Samuel lived. They were united and determined.
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: They had an important request to make. When they stood
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 1: before Samuel, they got straight to the point. Verse five
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: tells us they said to him, you are old, and
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a
• 1:18:09
  Speaker 1: king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: This request hit Samuel like an arrow. It was true
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: that he was growing old, and it was also true
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 1: that his sons were not good judges. But the solution
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: they proposed, a king like the other nations, felt wrong
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 1: to him. In verse six we see Samuel's reaction. But
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: when they said give us a king to lead us,
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: this displeased Samuel, so he prayed to the Lord. Why
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 1: was Samuel displeased, Perhaps because he saw the request not
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 1: just as a rejection of his leadership or of his sons,
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: but of the entire system of judges that God had established,
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: Maybe because he knew that the kings of surrounding nations
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: were often tyrants who oppressed their own people, or maybe
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: because he sensed that the Israelites were more interested in
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: being like the other nations than in being God's special people,
• 1:19:06
  Speaker 1: as he always did in difficult moments. Samuel brought the
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 1: issue before God in prayer, and God, in his wisdom,
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 1: gave Samuel a surprising perspective. In verses seven and eight,
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 1: the Lord responds, listened to all that the people are
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 1: saying to you. It is not you they have rejected,
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: but they have rejected Me as their king, as they
• 1:19:30
  Speaker 1: have done from the day I brought them up out
• 1:19:32
  Speaker 1: of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods.
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: So they are doing to you. God helped Samuel see
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 1: that the problem went deeper than a matter of governance.
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: It was a spiritual issue. The people weren't just rejecting
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: the judge system. They were rejecting God as their true king.
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 1: They were following a pattern of rebellion that had begun
• 1:19:56
  Speaker 1: when they were freed from Egypt. God then told sam
• 1:20:00
  Speaker 1: what to do. In verse nine, he says, now listen
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 1: to them, but warn them solemnly, and let them know
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: what the king who will reign over them will claim
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 1: as his rights. Faithful to the Lord's word, Samuel returned
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: to the elders of Israel and laid out in detail
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 1: what life under a king would look like. It wouldn't
• 1:20:21
  Speaker 1: be all ease and luxury. In verses eleven to seventeen,
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 1: Samuel explains how the king would take their sons for
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 1: his army, their daughters to serve in his palace, the
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: best of their land for himself, and he would impose
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: heavy taxes. He ends with a grim warning in verse eighteen.
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: When that day comes, you will cry out for relief
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 1: from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 1: not answer you in that day. It was a clear
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 1: and serious warning. Samuel was essentially saying, think a carefully
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: about what you are asking for. A human king will
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: take much from you and give little in return, and
• 1:20:59
  Speaker 1: when regrets where it comes, it may be too late.
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: But the people refused to listen. In verse nineteen, we
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: read their response. But the people refused to listen to Samuel. No,
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 1: they said, we want a king over us, and they
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: continued in verse twenty, then we will be like all
• 1:21:19
  Speaker 1: the other nations, with a king to lead us and
• 1:21:22
  Speaker 1: to go out before us and fight our battles. Two
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: motivations are clear in this response. First, they wanted to
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: be like all the other nations. They seemed tired of
• 1:21:35
  Speaker 1: being different, of being God's chosen people with unique laws
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 1: and customs. They wanted to fit in to blend in. Second,
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 1: they wanted someone to fight our battles. Perhaps they were
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 1: tired of relying on God's protection, which sometimes required faith
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 1: and obedience. A human king with a standing army felt
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: like a more tangible, immediate solution. Samuel listen to all
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 1: they said and brought it back to the Lord, and
• 1:22:04
  Speaker 1: God's answer in verse twenty two was simple and direct.
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 1: Listen to them and give them a king. A new
• 1:22:11
  Speaker 1: chapter in Israel's history was about to begin. The era
• 1:22:15
  Speaker 1: of the judges was coming to a close, and the
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: era of kings was just about to start. When God
• 1:22:21
  Speaker 1: decides to act, even the most ordinary events can become extraordinary.
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 1: In Saul's case, it all began with some lost donkeys.
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: In chapter nine, verse three, we read, now the donkeys
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: belonging to Saul's father, Kish, were lost, and Kish said
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 1: to his son, Saul, take one of the servants with
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 1: you and go and look for the donkeys. A simple,
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: ordinary task. Saul probably didn't imagine that this donkey hunt
• 1:22:49
  Speaker 1: would change his life forever. He and his servants searched
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 1: through hills and valleys but found no sign of the animals.
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: After a long search, they were ready to give up.
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 1: In verse five, Saul says, come, let's go back, or
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 1: my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 1: worrying about us. But the servant had another idea. In
• 1:23:11
  Speaker 1: verse six, he suggests, look in this town, there is
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 1: a man of God. He is highly respected and everything
• 1:23:19
  Speaker 1: he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he
• 1:23:23
  Speaker 1: will tell us what way to take. They were speaking
• 1:23:26
  Speaker 1: of Samuel, though they didn't mention him by name. The
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 1: servant knew of a man of God in the city
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 1: who might be able to help. Saul hesitated. They had
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 1: no gift to offer the seer, but the servant said
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 1: he had a bit of silver and that would be enough,
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: so they decided to go seek out the man of God.
• 1:23:47
  Speaker 1: What Saul didn't know was that God had already spoken
• 1:23:51
  Speaker 1: to Samuel about him. In verse fifteen, scripture tells us
• 1:23:56
  Speaker 1: now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed
• 1:24:00
  Speaker 1: this to Samuel, and in verse sixteen, God says, about
• 1:24:04
  Speaker 1: this time tomorrow, I will send you a man from
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 1: the land of Benjamin, anoint him ruler over my people Israel.
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 1: He will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines.
• 1:24:15
  Speaker 1: I have looked on my people, for their cry has
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: reached me. This shows how God was working behind the scenes.
• 1:24:22
  Speaker 1: The donkeys weren't lost by accident. The servant's suggestion wasn't
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: mere coincidence. Everything was part of God's plan to bring
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: Saul to Samuel. When Saul and his servant entered the town,
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: they met some young women coming out to draw water
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 1: and ask them about Samuel. The girls told them he
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: had just arrived for a sacrifice ceremony and that they
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 1: should hurry if they wanted to catch him before he
• 1:24:49
  Speaker 1: went up to eat with the guests. And then in
• 1:24:52
  Speaker 1: verse seventeen, something surprising happens. When Samuel saw Saul. The
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 1: Lord said to him, this is the man I spoke
• 1:25:02
  Speaker 1: to you about. He will govern my people. Imagine Samuel's shock.
• 1:25:07
  Speaker 1: There stood the man God had chosen to be the
• 1:25:09
  Speaker 1: first king of Israel. He wasn't a famous warrior or
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: a well known leader. He was just a young man
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: out looking for some lost donkeys. But God sees what
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 1: people cannot. He looks at the heart. Saul approached Samuel
• 1:25:24
  Speaker 1: at the gate and asked where he could find the Seer.
• 1:25:27
  Speaker 1: Samuel replied, I am the Seer. Go up ahead of
• 1:25:31
  Speaker 1: me to the high place, for to day you are
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 1: to eat with me. In the morning, I will send
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: you on your way and tell you all that is
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 1: in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three
• 1:25:40
  Speaker 1: days ago, do not worry about them. They have been found.
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 1: And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned,
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: if not to you and your whole family line. This
• 1:25:51
  Speaker 1: answer must have stunned Saul. How did the seer know
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: about the lost donkeys? And what did he mean by
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 1: all the desire of Israel? Fused, Saul responded in verse
• 1:26:02
  Speaker 1: twenty one, but am I not a Benjamine from the
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
• 1:26:12
  Speaker 1: Why do you say such a thing to me? Saul
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 1: couldn't understand what was happening. He saw himself as insignificant,
• 1:26:21
  Speaker 1: belonging to the smallest tribe from the least important clan.
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 1: How could all the desire of Israel be directed at him?
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 1: But Samuel didn't offer more explanation at that moment. Instead,
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 1: he took Saul and his servant to the place of sacrifice,
• 1:26:39
  Speaker 1: gave them seats of honor among the guests, and served
• 1:26:42
  Speaker 1: Saul the best portion of the meet. Later, Samuel brought
• 1:26:46
  Speaker 1: Saul to his home and spoke with him on the rooftop.
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 1: The next morning, as Saul prepared to leave, Samuel asked
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 1: him to send the servant on a head. He had
• 1:26:55
  Speaker 1: something important to say, something that would change not only
• 1:26:59
  Speaker 1: Saul's life, but the course of Israel's history. With the
• 1:27:03
  Speaker 1: servant gone, Samuel and Saul were alone, it was time
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 1: to reveal the true purpose behind what seemed like a
• 1:27:11
  Speaker 1: chance encounter. In chapter ten, verse one, we read then
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 1: Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 1: on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, has not the
• 1:27:22
  Speaker 1: Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance? Imagine Saul's shock
• 1:27:28
  Speaker 1: he had left home looking for donkeys, and now he
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: was being anointed as King of Israel. The oil flowing
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 1: down his head was a symbol of God's spirit coming
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 1: upon him, empowering him for the great task ahead. To
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 1: confirm that this was truly from God, Samuel gave Saul
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 1: three signs that would happen on his way back home. First,
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 1: he would me two men near Rachel's tomb, who would
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 1: tell him that donkeys had been found. Next, he would
• 1:27:56
  Speaker 1: meet three men going up to worship at Bethel, and
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: they would offer him two loaves of bread. Finally, he
• 1:28:03
  Speaker 1: would encounter a group of prophets, and the spirit of
• 1:28:06
  Speaker 1: God would come upon him powerfully, causing him to prophesy
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: among them. Samuel ended with an important instruction in verse seven.
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your and finds
• 1:28:19
  Speaker 1: to do, for God is with you. And in verse
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 1: eight he added, go down ahead of me to Gilgal.
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 1: I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 1: until I come to you and tell you what you
• 1:28:35
  Speaker 1: are to do. Everything happened exactly as Samuel had said.
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 1: When Saul met the group of prophets. The spirit of
• 1:28:42
  Speaker 1: God came on him powerfully, and he began to prophesy
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 1: with them. People who knew him were amazed. In verse eleven,
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 1: they asked, what is this that has happened to the
• 1:28:54
  Speaker 1: son of kish Is. Saul also among the prophets that
• 1:28:58
  Speaker 1: experience changed Saul. Verse nine tells us as Saul turned
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these
• 1:29:07
  Speaker 1: signs were fulfilled. That day. God was preparing Saul for
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 1: his new role as king, transforming him from the inside out. Meanwhile,
• 1:29:16
  Speaker 1: Samuel gathered all the people of Israel at Mizpah. It
• 1:29:20
  Speaker 1: was time to make public what had taken place in private.
• 1:29:24
  Speaker 1: In verse eighteen, Samuel reminded the people how God had
• 1:29:27
  Speaker 1: rescued them from Egypt and from all the kingdoms that
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 1: had oppressed them. Then, in verse nineteen he confronted them,
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 1: but you have now rejected your God, who saves you
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: out of all your disasters and calamities, and you have said,
• 1:29:42
  Speaker 1: no appoint a king over us. It was a solemn
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 1: reminder that by asking for a king, they were in
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 1: a way rejecting God as their true king. But as
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 1: God had commanded, Samuel proceeded with the process of selecting
• 1:29:57
  Speaker 1: a king. The tribes were brought forward, and the tribe
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 1: of Benjamin was chosen. Then the clan of Matri was selected. Finally,
• 1:30:06
  Speaker 1: from that family, Saul, son of Kish was chosen. It
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: was a public confirmation of the private choice God had
• 1:30:15
  Speaker 1: already made. But when they looked for Saul, they couldn't
• 1:30:18
  Speaker 1: find him. In verse twenty two, they had to inquire
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 1: of the Lord, has the man come here yet? And
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 1: the Lord replied, yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.
• 1:30:30
  Speaker 1: Picture the scene. The man chosen to be king was
• 1:30:34
  Speaker 1: hiding among the baggage, perhaps out of humility, perhaps out
• 1:30:39
  Speaker 1: of fear of the responsibility. Saul was trying to run
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 1: from his destiny. But you can't hide from a divine calling.
• 1:30:47
  Speaker 1: The people ran and brought Saul out, And as he
• 1:30:50
  Speaker 1: stood among the assembly, he stood a head taller than
• 1:30:53
  Speaker 1: everyone else. Verse twenty three says he stood among the people,
• 1:30:58
  Speaker 1: and he was a head taller than any of the others.
• 1:31:01
  Speaker 1: Then Samuel said to the people, do you see the
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 1: man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like
• 1:31:07
  Speaker 1: him among all the people. And the people shouted, long
• 1:31:11
  Speaker 1: live the King. Samuel explained the rites and duties of
• 1:31:15
  Speaker 1: kingship to the people, wrote them down on a scroll,
• 1:31:18
  Speaker 1: and placed it before the Lord. Then he dismissed every
• 1:31:21
  Speaker 1: one to their homes. Saul also returned to his home
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched,
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: but not every one was pleased. In verse twenty seven,
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 1: we read, but some scoundrel said, how can this fellow
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 1: save us? They despised him and brought him no gifts,
• 1:31:42
  Speaker 1: But Saul kept silent, and so began the reign of Saul,
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 1: the first king of Israel. Anointed in secret, confirmed in public,
• 1:31:51
  Speaker 1: admired by some, rejected by others. Time would tell whether
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 1: he would be the king Israel truly needed. With Saul
• 1:32:01
  Speaker 1: now established as king, Samuel knew that his role as
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 1: judge was coming to an end. It was time to
• 1:32:07
  Speaker 1: officially say good bye and pass on the mantle of leadership.
• 1:32:12
  Speaker 1: After Saul proved his worth by defeating the Ammonites, Samuel
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 1: saw it as the perfect moment. In chapter twelve, verse one,
• 1:32:21
  Speaker 1: we read, Samuel said to all Israel, I have listened
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 1: to everything you said to me, and have set a
• 1:32:29
  Speaker 1: king over you. Samuel was formally acknowledging that the transition
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 1: was complete. The people had asked for a king, and
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 1: God had granted their request through Samuel. Samuel went on
• 1:32:40
  Speaker 1: to remind the people that he had been their leader
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 1: for many years from his youth. In verse two, he says,
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 1: now you have a king as your leader. As for me,
• 1:32:53
  Speaker 1: I am old and gray, and my sons are here
• 1:32:55
  Speaker 1: with you. I have been your leader from my youth
• 1:32:57
  Speaker 1: until this day. Before stepping away entirely, Samuel wanted to
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 1: clear his name. In verse three, he asked the people
• 1:33:05
  Speaker 1: an important question here I stand testify against me in
• 1:33:10
  Speaker 1: the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox
• 1:33:13
  Speaker 1: have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have
• 1:33:16
  Speaker 1: I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From Whose hand have
• 1:33:20
  Speaker 1: I accepted a bribe to turn a blind eye. If
• 1:33:23
  Speaker 1: I have done any of these things, I will make
• 1:33:26
  Speaker 1: it right. It was a bold question. Samuel was challenging
• 1:33:30
  Speaker 1: any one he may have wronged to speak up. If
• 1:33:33
  Speaker 1: he had taken someone's property, judged unfairly, or accepted bribes,
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 1: Now was the time to say it. The people's response
• 1:33:41
  Speaker 1: in verse four was unanimous. You have not cheated or
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 1: oppressed us. They said, you have not taken anything from
• 1:33:48
  Speaker 1: any one's hand, and Samuel pressed further. The Lord is
• 1:33:51
  Speaker 1: witness against you, and also his anointed ist witness this
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 1: day that you have not found anything in my hand,
• 1:33:59
  Speaker 1: and the people confirmed he is witness. This public affirmation
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 1: of Samuel's integrity is striking. After so many years as judge,
• 1:34:09
  Speaker 1: no one could accuse him of corruption or injustice, a
• 1:34:14
  Speaker 1: sharp contrast to his sons, who accepted bribes and perverted justice.
• 1:34:20
  Speaker 1: With his name cleared, Samuel took the opportunity to give
• 1:34:24
  Speaker 1: the people a history lesson. In verses six to eleven,
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 1: he reminds them how God had brought the Israelites out
• 1:34:31
  Speaker 1: of Egypt, how they had often forgotten him, how God
• 1:34:34
  Speaker 1: had allowed their enemies to oppress them when they strayed,
• 1:34:37
  Speaker 1: and how he sent judges to deliver them when they
• 1:34:40
  Speaker 1: cried out for help. It was a reminder that the
• 1:34:43
  Speaker 1: true king of Israel had always been the Lord. Verse
• 1:34:47
  Speaker 1: twelve makes it clear why the people had asked for
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 1: a human king. But when you saw that Nahash, king
• 1:34:54
  Speaker 1: of the Ammonites, was moving against you, you said to me, no,
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 1: we want to king to rule over us. Even though
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 1: the Lord your God was your king. Their request for
• 1:35:05
  Speaker 1: a king wasn't born out of a desire to serve
• 1:35:08
  Speaker 1: God better, but out of fear of their enemies and
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 1: a wish to be like the other nations. It showed
• 1:35:14
  Speaker 1: a lack of trust in the Lord as their protector.
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: Yet despite this rejection, God, in his mercy, still gave
• 1:35:22
  Speaker 1: them a chance. In verse thirteen, Samuel says, now here
• 1:35:26
  Speaker 1: is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See,
• 1:35:29
  Speaker 1: the Lord has set a king over you. Then Samuel
• 1:35:32
  Speaker 1: explains the conditions under which things would go well under
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 1: the new monarchy. In verse fourteen, he says, if you
• 1:35:41
  Speaker 1: fear the Lord and serve and obey him, and do
• 1:35:44
  Speaker 1: not rebel against his commands, and if both you and
• 1:35:48
  Speaker 1: the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God, good.
• 1:35:51
  Speaker 1: But if you do not obey the Lord, and if
• 1:35:54
  Speaker 1: you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you,
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 1: as it was against your ancestors. Even with a human king,
• 1:36:03
  Speaker 1: Israel's success or failure would still depend on their obedience
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 1: to the Lord. The king was not a replacement for God.
• 1:36:11
  Speaker 1: He was merely a human leader who also needed to
• 1:36:14
  Speaker 1: follow the Lord. To underscore the seriousness of this message,
• 1:36:18
  Speaker 1: Samuel did something dramatic verses sixteen to eighteen. Tell us,
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 1: now then stand still and see this great thing the
• 1:36:27
  Speaker 1: Lord is about to do before your eyes, is it
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 1: not wheat harvest. Now I will call on the Lord
• 1:36:33
  Speaker 1: to send thunder and rain, and you will realize what
• 1:36:36
  Speaker 1: an evil thing you did in the eyes of the
• 1:36:39
  Speaker 1: Lord when you asked for a king. Then Samuel called
• 1:36:42
  Speaker 1: on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent
• 1:36:45
  Speaker 1: thunder and rain. The people all stood in awe of
• 1:36:49
  Speaker 1: the Lord and of Samuel. Rain during the wheat harvest
• 1:36:53
  Speaker 1: was unusual and harmful. It was a clear sign of
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: God's power and a confirmation that Samuel truly spoke on
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 1: his behalf. The people were terrified and begged Samuel to
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 1: pray for them, admitting they had sinned by asking for
• 1:37:08
  Speaker 1: a king, but Samuel didn't want to leave them in despair.
• 1:37:12
  Speaker 1: In verse twenty he comforts them, do not be afraid.
• 1:37:15
  Speaker 1: You have done all this evil. Yet do not turn
• 1:37:18
  Speaker 1: away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all
• 1:37:20
  Speaker 1: your heart, And in verse twenty two he reminds them
• 1:37:24
  Speaker 1: of God's faithfulness. For the sake of his great name,
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 1: the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 1: was pleased to make you his own. Samuel closed his
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 1: speech with a promise and a warning. The promise in
• 1:37:38
  Speaker 1: verse twenty three was as for me, far be it
• 1:37:42
  Speaker 1: from me that I should sin against the Lord by
• 1:37:45
  Speaker 1: failing to pray for you, And I will teach you
• 1:37:49
  Speaker 1: the way that is good and right. Though he would
• 1:37:51
  Speaker 1: no longer be judge, Samuel would remain God's profit, praying
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 1: for the people and teaching them God's ways. The warning
• 1:38:01
  Speaker 1: in verses twenty four and twenty five was, but be
• 1:38:04
  Speaker 1: sure to fear the fail Lord and serve him faithfully
• 1:38:07
  Speaker 1: with all your heart. Consider what great things he has
• 1:38:10
  Speaker 1: done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil,
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 1: both you and your king will perish. And so Samuel
• 1:38:17
  Speaker 1: stepped down as judge, but not as prophet. One era
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 1: had ended and another was beginning. Now. The big question
• 1:38:25
  Speaker 1: was how would Saul lead the people in this new chapter.
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 1: Time would tell. Even though he had been anointed and
• 1:38:33
  Speaker 1: publicly presented as king, Saul still had to prove himself
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 1: as a military leader. The opportunity came quickly when Nahash,
• 1:38:41
  Speaker 1: king of the Ammonites, attacked the Israelite city of Jabesh Giliad.
• 1:38:47
  Speaker 1: In chapter eleven, verses one and two, we read of
• 1:38:50
  Speaker 1: Nahash's cruelty. Nahash the Amonite came up and besieged Jabesh Giliad,
• 1:38:56
  Speaker 1: and all the men of Jabesh said to him, make
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you.
• 1:39:04
  Speaker 1: But Nahash the Ammonite replied, I will make a treaty
• 1:39:08
  Speaker 1: with you only on the condition that I gouge out
• 1:39:11
  Speaker 1: the right eye of every one of you, and so
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 1: bring disgrace on all Israel. It was a brutal condition.
• 1:39:18
  Speaker 1: Nahash didn't just want to conquer the city, he wanted
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 1: to humiliate all of Israel. The elders of Jabesh asked
• 1:39:25
  Speaker 1: for seven days to seek help. If no one came
• 1:39:29
  Speaker 1: to rescue them, they would surrender to Nahash's terrible demands.
• 1:39:34
  Speaker 1: When the messengers reached Gibeer Saul city and told the
• 1:39:38
  Speaker 1: people what was happening, every one broke down in despair
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 1: and wept. In verse five, Saul was returning from the
• 1:39:45
  Speaker 1: fields with his oxen when he heard the people crying,
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 1: He asked, what's wrong with the people, why are they weeping?
• 1:39:53
  Speaker 1: Upon hearing about the situation in Jabesh, Gilead. Something powerful
• 1:39:57
  Speaker 1: stirred within t Saul. In verse six we read when
• 1:40:02
  Speaker 1: Saul heard their words, the spirit of God came powerfully
• 1:40:05
  Speaker 1: upon him, and he burned with anger. Now filled with
• 1:40:09
  Speaker 1: God's power, Saul took bold, dramatic action to rally all
• 1:40:14
  Speaker 1: of Israel for war. In verse seven we see his strategy.
• 1:40:18
  Speaker 1: He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces,
• 1:40:21
  Speaker 1: and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming this
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 1: is what will be done to the oxen of any
• 1:40:27
  Speaker 1: one who does not follow Saul and Samuel. Then the
• 1:40:31
  Speaker 1: fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they
• 1:40:34
  Speaker 1: came out together as one. It was as summons no
• 1:40:37
  Speaker 1: one could ignore. The message was clear any one who
• 1:40:41
  Speaker 1: didn't answer the king's call would face serious consequences, and
• 1:40:46
  Speaker 1: the result stunning. In verse eight we read that three
• 1:40:51
  Speaker 1: hundred thousand men from Israel and thirty thousand from Judah
• 1:40:55
  Speaker 1: responded and dissembled at Bezik. Saul then sent this message
• 1:40:59
  Speaker 1: to the men of Jabesh, Gilead. By the time the
• 1:41:03
  Speaker 1: sun is hottest tomorrow, you will be rescued. When the
• 1:41:07
  Speaker 1: men of Jabesh received that message, they were overjoyed. They
• 1:41:11
  Speaker 1: told the Ammonites. Tomorrow, we will surrender to you, and
• 1:41:15
  Speaker 1: you can do with us whatever you like. This was
• 1:41:18
  Speaker 1: a clever military ruse. By giving the Ammonites the false
• 1:41:22
  Speaker 1: impression that Jabesh would surrender the next day, Saul insured
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 1: they would lower their guard The next day, just as planned,
• 1:41:31
  Speaker 1: Saul divided his army into three groups and launched a
• 1:41:35
  Speaker 1: surprise attack on the Ammonite camp during the last watch
• 1:41:39
  Speaker 1: of the night. In verse eleven, it says the next day,
• 1:41:42
  Speaker 1: Saul separated his men into three divisions. During the last
• 1:41:46
  Speaker 1: watch of the night, they broke into the Ammonite camp
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 1: and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those
• 1:41:53
  Speaker 1: who survived were scattered so that no two of them
• 1:41:56
  Speaker 1: were left together. It was a crushing victory. The Ammonites
• 1:42:00
  Speaker 1: were completely defeated, and the survivors were scattered so thoroughly
• 1:42:05
  Speaker 1: that not even two stayed together. The threat was eliminated
• 1:42:09
  Speaker 1: and Jabesh Gilead was saved from disgrace. This victory changed
• 1:42:15
  Speaker 1: how the people viewed Saul. He was no longer just
• 1:42:18
  Speaker 1: the man anointed by Samuel. He had proven himself as
• 1:42:21
  Speaker 1: a military leader on the battlefield. In verse twelve, some said,
• 1:42:26
  Speaker 1: who was it that asked, shall Saul reign over us?
• 1:42:29
  Speaker 1: Bring those men here so we can put them to death.
• 1:42:32
  Speaker 1: They were referring to those who had previously despised Saul,
• 1:42:36
  Speaker 1: saying how can this man save us now? They wanted
• 1:42:39
  Speaker 1: to punish these so called traitors, but Saul showed not
• 1:42:43
  Speaker 1: only courage, but also wisdom and generosity. In verse thirteen,
• 1:42:48
  Speaker 1: he replied, no one will be put to death to day,
• 1:42:52
  Speaker 1: for this day the Lord has rescued Israel. It was
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 1: a noble response. Instead of seizing the moment to take
• 1:42:59
  Speaker 1: revenge on those who had doubted him, Saul chose to
• 1:43:02
  Speaker 1: celebrate the victory that God had given all of Israel.
• 1:43:05
  Speaker 1: He acknowledged that the deliverance came from the Lord, not
• 1:43:09
  Speaker 1: from his own strength. Seeing this maturity in Saul, Samuel
• 1:43:14
  Speaker 1: seized the opportunity to establish the monarchy. In verse fourteen,
• 1:43:18
  Speaker 1: he said to the people, come, let us go to
• 1:43:21
  Speaker 1: Gilgal and there renew the kingship. So the entire nation
• 1:43:25
  Speaker 1: went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king before the Lord.
• 1:43:30
  Speaker 1: In verse fifteen we read there at Gilgal they made
• 1:43:33
  Speaker 1: Saul king in the presence of the Lord, and they
• 1:43:36
  Speaker 1: sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, Saul and all the
• 1:43:40
  Speaker 1: Israelites held a great celebration. It was a solemn ceremony
• 1:43:44
  Speaker 1: with sacrifices to the Lord and joyful celebration. Now Saul
• 1:43:49
  Speaker 1: was firmly established as king. He had been anointed privately
• 1:43:53
  Speaker 1: by Samuel, chosen publicly at Mizpah, and now confirmed at
• 1:43:57
  Speaker 1: Gilgal after a major military treeumph. No one could question
• 1:44:01
  Speaker 1: his authority or his ability to lead the people into battle.
• 1:44:05
  Speaker 1: Saul had started well, filled with the spirit of God.
• 1:44:09
  Speaker 1: He showed courage to face the enemy, wisdom in planning
• 1:44:12
  Speaker 1: the battle, and generosity in forgiving his critics. The people
• 1:44:17
  Speaker 1: had every reason to celebrate their new king. But despite
• 1:44:21
  Speaker 1: this strong beginning, it didn't take long for Saul to
• 1:44:25
  Speaker 1: reveal that not everything was right in his heart. In
• 1:44:28
  Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, verse one, the Bible tells us Saul was
• 1:44:33
  Speaker 1: thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned
• 1:44:36
  Speaker 1: over Israel forty two years. He was in the prime
• 1:44:39
  Speaker 1: of life, with everything ahead of him. Early in his reign,
• 1:44:44
  Speaker 1: Saul organized a standing army of three thousand men. Two
• 1:44:48
  Speaker 1: thousand stayed with him in Micmash and in the hill
• 1:44:51
  Speaker 1: country of Bethel, and a thousand were with his son
• 1:44:54
  Speaker 1: Jonathan in Gibeah. The rest of the people were sent home. Jonathan,
• 1:44:59
  Speaker 1: displaying the same bravery as his father, attacked and defeated
• 1:45:03
  Speaker 1: a Philistine outpost at Geba. Though it was a significant victory,
• 1:45:07
  Speaker 1: it came with serious consequences. In verse four, we read
• 1:45:12
  Speaker 1: all Israel heard the news, Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost,
• 1:45:17
  Speaker 1: and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines. Furious,
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 1: the Philistines mobilized a massive army in retaliation. In verse
• 1:45:26
  Speaker 1: five we see the scale of the threat. The Philistines
• 1:45:30
  Speaker 1: assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers,
• 1:45:35
  Speaker 1: and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
• 1:45:39
  Speaker 1: They went up and camped at Mishmash, east of beth Avon.
• 1:45:43
  Speaker 1: It was a terrifying army. The Israelites realized how grave
• 1:45:47
  Speaker 1: their situation was. In verse six, we read how they
• 1:45:50
  Speaker 1: reacted when the men of Israel saw that their situation
• 1:45:54
  Speaker 1: was critical and that their army was hard pressed. They
• 1:45:57
  Speaker 1: hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in
• 1:46:01
  Speaker 1: pits and cisterns. And in verse seven, some Hebrews even
• 1:46:05
  Speaker 1: crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
• 1:46:09
  Speaker 1: Fear had spread throughout the Israelite camp. Many were deserting, hiding,
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 1: or fleeing far away. Those who remained with Saul were
• 1:46:19
  Speaker 1: trembling with fear. As verse seven states, Saul was in
• 1:46:23
  Speaker 1: Gilgall waiting for Samuel as they had agreed. In verse eight,
• 1:46:27
  Speaker 1: we read he waited seven days, the time set by Samuel,
• 1:46:31
  Speaker 1: But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men
• 1:46:34
  Speaker 1: began to scatter. The situation was tense. The Philistine army
• 1:46:39
  Speaker 1: was ready to attack. Israelite soldiers were deserting, and Samuel,
• 1:46:43
  Speaker 1: who was supposed to come and offer sacrifices and give guidance,
• 1:46:47
  Speaker 1: appeared to be late. Then Saul made a fatal decision.
• 1:46:52
  Speaker 1: In verse nine, we read, so he said, bring me
• 1:46:56
  Speaker 1: the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. And Saul offered
• 1:47:00
  Speaker 1: up the burnt offering. But this was something only priests
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 1: were authorized to do. As king, Saul had no right
• 1:47:07
  Speaker 1: to offer sacrifices. He was overstepping into a religious role
• 1:47:11
  Speaker 1: that wasn't his to take. Right after Saul finished offering
• 1:47:15
  Speaker 1: the burnt sacrifice, Samuel arrived. In verse eleven, Saul tried
• 1:47:20
  Speaker 1: to justify his actions. When I saw that the men
• 1:47:23
  Speaker 1: were scattering, and that you did not come at the
• 1:47:26
  Speaker 1: set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
• 1:47:30
  Speaker 1: I thought, now the Philistines will come down against me
• 1:47:34
  Speaker 1: at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor,
• 1:47:37
  Speaker 1: so I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. Saul
• 1:47:40
  Speaker 1: gave three reasons for his disobedience. The people were scattering,
• 1:47:45
  Speaker 1: Samuel was late, and the Philistines were about to attack.
• 1:47:49
  Speaker 1: In other words, the situation called for action, so he acted.
• 1:47:54
  Speaker 1: It seemed reasonable, but it ignored the fundamental truth that
• 1:47:58
  Speaker 1: God had given clear commands that were not to be broken,
• 1:48:02
  Speaker 1: no matter how difficult the circumstances. Samuel's response was blunt
• 1:48:07
  Speaker 1: and severe. In verse thirteen, he says, you have done
• 1:48:10
  Speaker 1: a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the
• 1:48:14
  Speaker 1: Lord your God gave you. If you had, he would
• 1:48:17
  Speaker 1: have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. And
• 1:48:21
  Speaker 1: in verse fourteen he adds, but now your kingdom will
• 1:48:24
  Speaker 1: not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after
• 1:48:28
  Speaker 1: his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people.
• 1:48:31
  Speaker 1: Because you have not kept the lord's command. What devastating
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 1: words for Saul to hear. His kingdom would not be
• 1:48:39
  Speaker 1: established forever. God had already chosen another man, a man
• 1:48:44
  Speaker 1: after his own heart, to replace him, all because of
• 1:48:48
  Speaker 1: this single act of disobedience. It might seem like a
• 1:48:52
  Speaker 1: harsh punishment for what could be seen as a minor mistake,
• 1:48:56
  Speaker 1: but God sees the heart. This act revealed something deeper
• 1:49:00
  Speaker 1: about Saul's character. Under pressure, he trusted his own judgment
• 1:49:05
  Speaker 1: rather than obeying God's word. He chose to do what
• 1:49:08
  Speaker 1: seemed right in his own eyes, instead of waiting on
• 1:49:11
  Speaker 1: God's timing. After this confrontation, Samuel left Gilgal and went
• 1:49:17
  Speaker 1: to Gibea. Saul counted the men who were still with
• 1:49:20
  Speaker 1: him only six hundred, a tiny army compared to the
• 1:49:24
  Speaker 1: Philistine forces. The situation was desperate, and this wouldn't be
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 1: the last time Saul would be tempted to take matters
• 1:49:31
  Speaker 1: into his own hands when facing hardship. Despite the harsh
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 1: rebuke for his disobedience at Gilgal, God still gave Saul
• 1:49:41
  Speaker 1: another chance to prove his faithfulness. In Chapter fifteen, verse one,
• 1:49:46
  Speaker 1: we read Samuel said to Saul, I am the one
• 1:49:49
  Speaker 1: the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel.
• 1:49:53
  Speaker 1: So listen now to the message from the Lord. Samuel
• 1:49:56
  Speaker 1: then delivered a very specific command from God at attack
• 1:50:00
  Speaker 1: and completely destroy the Amalekites, a people who had attacked
• 1:50:04
  Speaker 1: Israel when they came out of Egypt. Verse three makes
• 1:50:08
  Speaker 1: the instruction clear. Now go attack the Amalekites and totally
• 1:50:13
  Speaker 1: destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them.
• 1:50:17
  Speaker 1: Put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle
• 1:50:20
  Speaker 1: and sheep, camels and donkeys. It was a difficult command,
• 1:50:25
  Speaker 1: but an unambiguous one. The Amalekites and everything they had
• 1:50:29
  Speaker 1: were to be wiped out. Nothing was to be spared.
• 1:50:34
  Speaker 1: Saul mobilized his army two hundred thousand foot soldiers from
• 1:50:39
  Speaker 1: Israel and ten thousand from Judah. As he approached the
• 1:50:43
  Speaker 1: Amalekite city, he was careful to warn the Kenites who
• 1:50:47
  Speaker 1: lived among them to move away. The Kenites were descendants
• 1:50:51
  Speaker 1: of Moses' father in law and had shown kindness to
• 1:50:54
  Speaker 1: Israel in the past. Then Saul attacked the Amalekites and
• 1:50:58
  Speaker 1: defeated them thoroughly from Havilah to Shur, near the Egyptian border.
• 1:51:03
  Speaker 1: But here's the problem. In verse nine, we read, but
• 1:51:07
  Speaker 1: Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of
• 1:51:10
  Speaker 1: the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, everything
• 1:51:14
  Speaker 1: that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely.
• 1:51:18
  Speaker 1: But everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
• 1:51:23
  Speaker 1: This was clear disobedience to God's command. Saul was supposed
• 1:51:27
  Speaker 1: to destroy everything, but he chose to spare king Agag
• 1:51:31
  Speaker 1: and the best of the live stock. Maybe he thought
• 1:51:34
  Speaker 1: a gag would be a valuable prisoner of war, a
• 1:51:37
  Speaker 1: trophy of victory, and the animals. It probably felt like
• 1:51:42
  Speaker 1: a waste to destroy what could be useful. God's response
• 1:51:45
  Speaker 1: was immediate. In verse ten, we read, then the word
• 1:51:48
  Speaker 1: of the Lord came to Samuel. I regret that I
• 1:51:51
  Speaker 1: have made Saul king, because he has turned away from
• 1:51:54
  Speaker 1: me and has not carried out my instructions. Samuel was angry,
• 1:51:59
  Speaker 1: and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
• 1:52:02
  Speaker 1: Samuel was deeply disturbed. He had anointed Saul as Israel's
• 1:52:07
  Speaker 1: first king, and now Saul had failed again. He spent
• 1:52:11
  Speaker 1: the entire night crying out to the Lord, perhaps interceding
• 1:52:15
  Speaker 1: for Saul, perhaps seeking strength for the confrontation he knew
• 1:52:20
  Speaker 1: was coming. The next morning, Samuel went to find Saul.
• 1:52:24
  Speaker 1: When he arrived, Saul greeted him confidently, the Lord bless you.
• 1:52:29
  Speaker 1: I have carried out the Lord's instructions. What self deception.
• 1:52:33
  Speaker 1: Saul truly believed he had obeyed, even though he had
• 1:52:37
  Speaker 1: spared a gag and the best animals. But Samuel wasn't fooled.
• 1:52:41
  Speaker 1: In verse fourteen, he asks, what then is this bleating
• 1:52:45
  Speaker 1: of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of
• 1:52:48
  Speaker 1: cattle that I hear? Saul's response in verse fifteen reveals
• 1:52:52
  Speaker 1: his mindset. The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites. They
• 1:52:57
  Speaker 1: spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sack
• 1:53:00
  Speaker 1: sacrifice to the Lord, your God, but we totally destroyed
• 1:53:03
  Speaker 1: the rest. Notice how Saul tries to dodge responsibility. The
• 1:53:09
  Speaker 1: soldiers brought them as if it wasn't his decision, and
• 1:53:13
  Speaker 1: he tries to make his disobedient sound like devotion to
• 1:53:17
  Speaker 1: sacrifice them to the Lord. But God hadn't asked for sacrifices,
• 1:53:22
  Speaker 1: he had commanded complete destruction. Samuel cuts Saul off and says, enough,
• 1:53:27
  Speaker 1: let me tell you what the Lord said to me.
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 1: Last night. When Saul asks him to speak, Samuel delivers
• 1:53:33
  Speaker 1: a piercing question. Although you were once small in your
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 1: own eyes, did you not become the head of the
• 1:53:40
  Speaker 1: tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king over Israel,
• 1:53:45
  Speaker 1: and he sent you on a mission, saying, go and
• 1:53:48
  Speaker 1: completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites. Wage war against
• 1:53:54
  Speaker 1: them until you have wiped them out. Why did you
• 1:53:57
  Speaker 1: not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on them,
• 1:54:00
  Speaker 1: plunder and do evil In the Lord's sight? That question
• 1:54:03
  Speaker 1: strikes at the heart of the issue. Saul had forgotten
• 1:54:06
  Speaker 1: his humble beginnings. He once saw himself as the least
• 1:54:11
  Speaker 1: from the least clan of the smallest tribe of Israel. Now,
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 1: as king, he thought he could reinterpret God's commands on
• 1:54:19
  Speaker 1: his own terms. Saul tries to defend himself in verse twenty.
• 1:54:24
  Speaker 1: But I did obey the Lord. I went on the
• 1:54:26
  Speaker 1: mission the Lord assign me. I brought back Agag, king
• 1:54:30
  Speaker 1: of the Amalekites, and I totally destroyed the Amalekites, he
• 1:54:34
  Speaker 1: insists again in verse twenty one. The soldiers took sheep
• 1:54:38
  Speaker 1: and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was
• 1:54:41
  Speaker 1: devoted to God in order to sacrifice them to the
• 1:54:44
  Speaker 1: Lord your God. At Gilgal. Once again, Saul shifts the
• 1:54:49
  Speaker 1: blame to the soldiers and tries to frame disobedience as worship,
• 1:54:55
  Speaker 1: but Samuel doesn't accept the excuse. In verse twenty two,
• 1:54:59
  Speaker 1: he gives a response that echoes through the centuries. Does
• 1:55:03
  Speaker 1: the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much
• 1:55:07
  Speaker 1: as in obeying the Lord. To obey is better than sacrifice,
• 1:55:11
  Speaker 1: and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
• 1:55:14
  Speaker 1: For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance,
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 1: like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the
• 1:55:22
  Speaker 1: word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.
• 1:55:26
  Speaker 1: It's a powerful statement. God isn't interested in religious rituals
• 1:55:31
  Speaker 1: if they don't come from a heart of obedience. Rebellion
• 1:55:35
  Speaker 1: against God is likened to witchcraft and arrogance, to idolatry.
• 1:55:39
  Speaker 1: Saul had rejected God's word, and now God rejected Saul
• 1:55:43
  Speaker 1: as king. Finally, Saul admits his sin in verse twenty four.
• 1:55:48
  Speaker 1: I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions.
• 1:55:52
  Speaker 1: I was afraid of the men, and so I gave
• 1:55:55
  Speaker 1: in to them. But his confession feels shallow, especially when
• 1:56:00
  Speaker 1: right after asking for forgiveness, he pleads with Samuel to
• 1:56:03
  Speaker 1: honor him in front of the people's leaders. He still
• 1:56:07
  Speaker 1: cares more about his image than his relationship with God.
• 1:56:11
  Speaker 1: Samuel announces the final sentence in verse twenty eight, the
• 1:56:15
  Speaker 1: Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you to
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 1: day and has given it to some one better than you.
• 1:56:22
  Speaker 1: And in verse twenty nine he adds, he who is
• 1:56:25
  Speaker 1: the glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind,
• 1:56:30
  Speaker 1: for he is not a human being that he should
• 1:56:32
  Speaker 1: change his mind. The decision was final. God had rejected
• 1:56:37
  Speaker 1: Saul as king and chosen another to take his place.
• 1:56:41
  Speaker 1: From that moment on, Samuel did not see Saul again
• 1:56:45
  Speaker 1: until the day of his death, though Samuel mourned for
• 1:56:49
  Speaker 1: him verse thirty five. It was a tragic end to
• 1:56:53
  Speaker 1: what could have been a glorious reign. Saul, Israel's first king,
• 1:56:57
  Speaker 1: had been chosen and anointed by Godd, but he failed
• 1:57:01
  Speaker 1: to obey. His disobedience at Gilgal had shaken his reign.
• 1:57:06
  Speaker 1: His disobedience regarding the Amalekites sealed it. Now God would
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 1: seek a man after his own heart to lead his people.
• 1:57:17
  Speaker 1: The story of Saul teaches us a valuable lesson. God
• 1:57:21
  Speaker 1: values obedience above all else. It doesn't matter how religious
• 1:57:25
  Speaker 1: we appear. If we don't obey his word, our actions
• 1:57:28
  Speaker 1: do not please him. As Samuel said so clearly two,
• 1:57:33
  Speaker 1: obey is better than sacrifice. Samuel was still mourning for
• 1:57:37
  Speaker 1: Saul despite all the king's disobedience. The old prophet had
• 1:57:41
  Speaker 1: hoped he would change, but in verse Samuel sixteen to one,
• 1:57:45
  Speaker 1: God speaks directly to Samuel, how long will you mourn
• 1:57:49
  Speaker 1: for Saul? Since I have rejected him as king over Israel.
• 1:57:53
  Speaker 1: Fill your horn with oil and be on your way.
• 1:57:55
  Speaker 1: I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have
• 1:57:58
  Speaker 1: chosen one of his sons to be king. God was
• 1:58:03
  Speaker 1: ready to move forward, even if Samuel was still holding
• 1:58:06
  Speaker 1: on to the past. It was time to seek a
• 1:58:09
  Speaker 1: new king for Israel, someone with a heart aligned with gods,
• 1:58:15
  Speaker 1: and that someone was among Jesse's sons, a man from Bethlehem.
• 1:58:19
  Speaker 1: But there was a problem. Samuel, always cautious, asked, how
• 1:58:25
  Speaker 1: can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will
• 1:58:28
  Speaker 1: kill me. In verse two, the Lord responds with a plan.
• 1:58:32
  Speaker 1: Take a heifer with you and say, I have come
• 1:58:35
  Speaker 1: to sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice,
• 1:58:39
  Speaker 1: and I will show you what to do. You are
• 1:58:42
  Speaker 1: to anoint for me the one I indicate. It was
• 1:58:46
  Speaker 1: a risky mission. Even though Samuel was God's prophet and
• 1:58:50
  Speaker 1: respected by the people, Saul was still king and had
• 1:58:54
  Speaker 1: the power to execute any one seen as a threat.
• 1:58:57
  Speaker 1: If Saul found out Samuel was anointing a new king
• 1:59:00
  Speaker 1: while he was still on the throne, it could be
• 1:59:03
  Speaker 1: considered treason, a crime punishable by death. The solution was
• 1:59:10
  Speaker 1: a half truth. Samuel would go to Bethlehem to offer
• 1:59:14
  Speaker 1: a sacrifice that was true, but he wouldn't reveal the
• 1:59:18
  Speaker 1: main reason to anointer new king. It wasn't a lie,
• 1:59:22
  Speaker 1: but it wasn't the full truth either. In his wisdom,
• 1:59:26
  Speaker 1: God allowed Samuel to conceal part of the truth to
• 1:59:29
  Speaker 1: protect himself. Samuel obeyed the Lord and went to Bethlehem,
• 1:59:34
  Speaker 1: but when he arrived, something unexpected happened. In verse four
• 1:59:39
  Speaker 1: we read Samuel did what the Lord said. When he
• 1:59:43
  Speaker 1: arrived at Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled when
• 1:59:46
  Speaker 1: they met him. They asked, do you come in peace?
• 1:59:50
  Speaker 1: Why were the elders trembling at Samuel's arrival, maybe because
• 1:59:54
  Speaker 1: an unannounced visit from a prophet often meant trouble, a
• 1:59:58
  Speaker 1: rebuke for sin, or the announce of some disaster, or
• 2:00:02
  Speaker 1: maybe because of the tensions between Samuel and Saul. They
• 2:00:06
  Speaker 1: didn't want to get caught in the middle of a
• 2:00:08
  Speaker 1: power struggle. Samuel reassured them, yes, in peace, I have
• 2:00:13
  Speaker 1: come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come
• 2:00:17
  Speaker 1: to the sacrifice with me. In verse five, he also
• 2:00:21
  Speaker 1: consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
• 2:00:26
  Speaker 1: The consecration likely involved washing, putting on clean clothes, and
• 2:00:31
  Speaker 1: abstaining from certain activities, a spiritual preparation for an encounter
• 2:00:36
  Speaker 1: with God. It was a common ritual before any sacred event.
• 2:00:42
  Speaker 1: Samuel's visit caused quite a stir in Bethlehem. A prophet
• 2:00:47
  Speaker 1: of God didn't just show up every day. People must
• 2:00:50
  Speaker 1: have wondered why Samuel had chosen their small town to
• 2:00:53
  Speaker 1: offer a sacrifice, and why he specifically invited Jesse and
• 2:00:57
  Speaker 1: his sons. But no one knew the real purpose behind
• 2:01:00
  Speaker 1: the visit, no one except Samuel and Guard himself. The
• 2:01:06
  Speaker 1: stage was set for one of the most important moments
• 2:01:08
  Speaker 1: in Israel's history the anointing of a new king, a
• 2:01:13
  Speaker 1: king chosen not for his appearance or strength, but for
• 2:01:16
  Speaker 1: his heart. When the time for the sacrifice came, Samuel
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 1: stood before Jesse and his sons. His eyes immediately landed
• 2:01:23
  Speaker 1: on the eldest Eliab. He was tall and handsome, much
• 2:01:28
  Speaker 1: like Saul had been when he was chosen. In his heart,
• 2:01:32
  Speaker 1: Samuel thought, surely, this is the Lord's anointed. But in
• 2:01:37
  Speaker 1: chapter sixteen, verse seven, the Lord said something to Samuel
• 2:01:41
  Speaker 1: that would forever change the way he judged. People do
• 2:01:44
  Speaker 1: not consider his appearance or his height, for I have
• 2:01:48
  Speaker 1: rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things
• 2:01:51
  Speaker 1: people look at. People look at the outward appearance, But
• 2:01:55
  Speaker 1: the Lord looks at the heart. What a powerful lesson God.
• 2:02:00
  Speaker 1: God doesn't judge as we do. He's not impressed by
• 2:02:02
  Speaker 1: outward appearance, height, beauty, or physical strength. What truly matters
• 2:02:07
  Speaker 1: to him is the heart, the thoughts, desires, and deepest motivations.
• 2:02:13
  Speaker 1: One by one, Jesse's sons were brought before Samuel. After
• 2:02:18
  Speaker 1: Eliab came Abinadab, then Shammer, and so on. Samuel examined
• 2:02:22
  Speaker 1: seven of Jesse's sons, but the Lord said, of none
• 2:02:25
  Speaker 1: of them, this is the one. Confused, Samuel asked Jesse
• 2:02:30
  Speaker 1: in verse eleven, Are these all the sons you have?
• 2:02:33
  Speaker 1: Jesse replied, there is still the youngest, but he is
• 2:02:37
  Speaker 1: tending the sheep. It's interesting how Jesse didn't even think
• 2:02:40
  Speaker 1: to bring his youngest son to the sacrifice. Maybe because
• 2:02:44
  Speaker 1: he was just a boy, or maybe someone simply had
• 2:02:47
  Speaker 1: to stay with the sheep. Either way, the young shepherd
• 2:02:51
  Speaker 1: wasn't considered important enough to be included, but he was
• 2:02:55
  Speaker 1: exactly the one God had chosen. Samuel said to Jesse,
• 2:03:00
  Speaker 1: send for him. We will not sit down until he arrives.
• 2:03:03
  Speaker 1: So Jesse sent for him. When the boy arrived, Verse
• 2:03:06
  Speaker 1: twelve describes him, he was glowing with health and had
• 2:03:10
  Speaker 1: a fine appearance and handsome features. And the Lord said,
• 2:03:14
  Speaker 1: rise and anoint him. This is the one. Without hesitation.
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 1: Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed the young
• 2:03:22
  Speaker 1: shepherd in the presence of his brothers. Verse thirteen tells
• 2:03:25
  Speaker 1: us what happened next. And from that day on the
• 2:03:28
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. What an
• 2:03:33
  Speaker 1: extraordinary moment. A young shepherd, the youngest of eight brothers
• 2:03:39
  Speaker 1: anointed as the future king of Israel, and immediately the
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 1: spirit of the Lord came upon him, empowering him for
• 2:03:47
  Speaker 1: the immense task ahead. David's brothers must have been stunned.
• 2:03:53
  Speaker 1: Why the youngest, Why not one of them, older, more experienced.
• 2:03:57
  Speaker 1: But God had his reasons. He had found in David
• 2:04:02
  Speaker 1: a heart after his own. After the ceremony, Samuel returned
• 2:04:06
  Speaker 1: to Rama. The first part of his secret mission was complete.
• 2:04:09
  Speaker 1: He had anointed Israel's new king, just as God had commanded.
• 2:04:14
  Speaker 1: Now it was time to wait for God to open
• 2:04:16
  Speaker 1: the way for David to ascend the throne. David, meanwhile,
• 2:04:21
  Speaker 1: went back to tending his sheep. Outwardly, nothing had changed.
• 2:04:26
  Speaker 1: He was still a shepherd, but inwardly everything was different.
• 2:04:31
  Speaker 1: The spirit of God was now upon him, preparing him
• 2:04:34
  Speaker 1: for his future role. This story shows how God often
• 2:04:38
  Speaker 1: chooses the unlikely, the small, the seemingly insignificant to carry
• 2:04:43
  Speaker 1: out his greatest works. As the apostle Paul would say
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 1: centuries later, God chooses the weak things of the world
• 2:04:51
  Speaker 1: to shame the strong. While the spirit of the Lord
• 2:04:55
  Speaker 1: came upon David, something terrible was happening to Saul. In
• 2:05:00
  Speaker 1: verse fourteen, we read now the spirit of the Lord
• 2:05:04
  Speaker 1: had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
• 2:05:07
  Speaker 1: Lord tormented him. What a contrast David receiving the spirit
• 2:05:12
  Speaker 1: Saul losing it. It was as if a spiritual transfer
• 2:05:15
  Speaker 1: had occurred from the rejected king to the chosen one,
• 2:05:19
  Speaker 1: and in the absence of the Lord's spirit, an evil
• 2:05:22
  Speaker 1: spirit came to torment Saul. Saul's attendants noticed the change
• 2:05:27
  Speaker 1: in his behavior. He was restless, troubled, perhaps even violent
• 2:05:31
  Speaker 1: at times. In verse fifteen, they said, see, an evil
• 2:05:36
  Speaker 1: spirit from God is tormenting you. Then they offered a
• 2:05:39
  Speaker 1: solution in verse sixteen. Let our Lord command his servants
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 1: here to search for someone who can play the harp.
• 2:05:46
  Speaker 1: He will play when the evil spirit from God comes
• 2:05:49
  Speaker 1: on you, and you will feel better. Saul agreed and said,
• 2:05:53
  Speaker 1: find someone who plays well and bring him to me.
• 2:05:58
  Speaker 1: One of the servants remembered someone I have seen, a
• 2:06:01
  Speaker 1: son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play
• 2:06:04
  Speaker 1: the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior.
• 2:06:07
  Speaker 1: He speaks well and is a fine looking man, and
• 2:06:11
  Speaker 1: the Lord is with him. Isn't it amazing how God works?
• 2:06:15
  Speaker 1: The very man Saul was seeking to soothe his tormented spirit.
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 1: Was the same young man Samuel had just anointed as
• 2:06:22
  Speaker 1: the next king. God was paving the way for David
• 2:06:26
  Speaker 1: to enter the royal court. Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying,
• 2:06:31
  Speaker 1: in verse nineteen, send me your son David, who is
• 2:06:35
  Speaker 1: with the sheep. Jesse prepared a gift for the king,
• 2:06:38
  Speaker 1: a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and
• 2:06:41
  Speaker 1: a young goat, and sent his son David with them
• 2:06:44
  Speaker 1: to Saul. When David arrived, Saul took a liking to him.
• 2:06:49
  Speaker 1: In verse twenty one we read David came to Saul
• 2:06:53
  Speaker 1: and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and
• 2:06:57
  Speaker 1: David became one of his armor bearers. Saul had no
• 2:07:01
  Speaker 1: idea that this young man had been anointed to replace
• 2:07:04
  Speaker 1: him as king. Saul was so pleased with David that
• 2:07:07
  Speaker 1: he sent word to Jesse, saying, allow David to remain
• 2:07:10
  Speaker 1: in my service, for I am pleased with him. And
• 2:07:13
  Speaker 1: so David began to play the harp for Saul whenever
• 2:07:16
  Speaker 1: the evil spirit came upon him. In verse twenty three
• 2:07:19
  Speaker 1: we see the result. Whenever the spirit from God came
• 2:07:23
  Speaker 1: on Saul, David would take up his harp and play.
• 2:07:27
  Speaker 1: Then relief would come to Saul. He would feel better,
• 2:07:30
  Speaker 1: and the evil spirit would leave him. David's music had
• 2:07:34
  Speaker 1: a therapeutic effect on Saul. The sweet sounds of the
• 2:07:38
  Speaker 1: harp soothed his troubled mind and temporarily drove away the
• 2:07:42
  Speaker 1: evil spirit. It was as if David was ministering to Saul,
• 2:07:47
  Speaker 1: even without realizing that he would one day take his place.
• 2:07:51
  Speaker 1: This story reminds us of the power of music to
• 2:07:54
  Speaker 1: heal and bring comfort. It also shows how God can
• 2:07:58
  Speaker 1: use the talents he gives us to open doors, sometimes
• 2:08:02
  Speaker 1: even doors to royal palaces. At this point, David was
• 2:08:06
  Speaker 1: established in Saul's court, serving as both a musician and
• 2:08:10
  Speaker 1: armor bearer, but his greatest test was still ahead. The Philistines,
• 2:08:15
  Speaker 1: long time enemies of Israel, had assembled their armies for war.
• 2:08:19
  Speaker 1: In chapter seventeen, verse one, we read the Philistines gathered
• 2:08:23
  Speaker 1: their forces for war and assembled at Soko in Judah.
• 2:08:28
  Speaker 1: They pitched camp at ephiz Damim between Soko and Azeka.
• 2:08:33
  Speaker 1: Saul and the Israelites also gathered and camped in the
• 2:08:36
  Speaker 1: Valley of Elah, ready to face the Philistines. The two
• 2:08:41
  Speaker 1: armies were stationed on opposite hills with the valley between them.
• 2:08:45
  Speaker 1: That's when a terrifying figure emerged from the Philistine side.
• 2:08:50
  Speaker 1: In verse four, the Bible describes him a champion named Goliath,
• 2:08:54
  Speaker 1: who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp.
• 2:08:58
  Speaker 1: He was over nine feet tall. Goliath was a giant,
• 2:09:02
  Speaker 1: not just in size, but in weaponry as well. He
• 2:09:05
  Speaker 1: wore a bronze helmet and a coat of scale armor
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 1: that weighed a hundred and twenty five pounds. He had
• 2:09:11
  Speaker 1: bronze grieves on his legs, and his spear's iron point
• 2:09:14
  Speaker 1: alone weighed fifteen pounds. He was a human war machine
• 2:09:19
  Speaker 1: built to terrify and terrify. He did every day for
• 2:09:23
  Speaker 1: forty days straight. Goliath would come out and challenge the
• 2:09:27
  Speaker 1: Israelite army. In verse eight, he shouted, why do you
• 2:09:31
  Speaker 1: come out and line up for battle? Am I not
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 1: a Philistine? And are you not the servants of Saul?
• 2:09:37
  Speaker 1: Choose a man and have him come down to me.
• 2:09:40
  Speaker 1: If he is able to fight and kill me, we
• 2:09:42
  Speaker 1: will become your subjects. But if I overcome him and
• 2:09:45
  Speaker 1: kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.
• 2:09:49
  Speaker 1: This was a call for single combat, a common practice
• 2:09:53
  Speaker 1: at the time, instead of full scale battle, each side
• 2:09:57
  Speaker 1: could send a champion to determine the outcome. But who
• 2:10:01
  Speaker 1: in Israel had the courage to face this mountain of
• 2:10:03
  Speaker 1: a man. In verse eleven, we see their reaction on
• 2:10:07
  Speaker 1: hearing the Philistines words. Saul and all the Israelites were
• 2:10:11
  Speaker 1: dismayed and terrified. Even King Saul himself, who should have
• 2:10:15
  Speaker 1: been leading by example, was shaken. For forty days, the
• 2:10:20
  Speaker 1: Israelite army lived under a shadow of fear. It was
• 2:10:24
  Speaker 1: at this critical moment that David entered the scene. He
• 2:10:27
  Speaker 1: wasn't with the army. He had returned to Bethlehem to
• 2:10:30
  Speaker 1: tend his father's sheep. His three oldest brothers were with
• 2:10:34
  Speaker 1: Saul at the battlefield. One day, Jesse sent David with
• 2:10:39
  Speaker 1: food for his brothers and told him to check on
• 2:10:42
  Speaker 1: their well being. David obeyed. In verse twenty we read
• 2:10:46
  Speaker 1: early in the morning, David left the flock with a shepherd,
• 2:10:49
  Speaker 1: loaded up, and set out as Jesse had directed. He
• 2:10:53
  Speaker 1: reached the camp as the army was going out to
• 2:10:55
  Speaker 1: its battle positions, shouting the war cry. David left his
• 2:11:00
  Speaker 1: supplies with the keeper of the provisions and ran to
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: greet his brothers. While they were talking, Goliath came out
• 2:11:07
  Speaker 1: and issued his usual challenge. The Israelites once again fled
• 2:11:11
  Speaker 1: in fear. David was puzzled. In verse twenty six, he asked,
• 2:11:17
  Speaker 1: who is this uncircumcised philistine that he should defy the
• 2:11:22
  Speaker 1: armies of the living God. To David, this wasn't just
• 2:11:25
  Speaker 1: an insult to Israel, it was an affront to God himself. Eliab,
• 2:11:31
  Speaker 1: David's oldest brother, got angry at his questioning. In verse
• 2:11:35
  Speaker 1: twenty eight, he scolded, David, why have you come down here?
• 2:11:39
  Speaker 1: And with whom did you leave those few sheep in
• 2:11:42
  Speaker 1: the wilderness. I know how conceited you are and how
• 2:11:45
  Speaker 1: wicked your heart is. You came down only to watch
• 2:11:49
  Speaker 1: the battle. Elib's words dripped with jealousy and contempt for
• 2:11:53
  Speaker 1: his younger brother. Perhaps he still resented that Samuel had
• 2:11:57
  Speaker 1: chosen David over him, but David didn't let that stop him.
• 2:12:01
  Speaker 1: He simply replied, now what have I done? Can't I
• 2:12:05
  Speaker 1: even speak? And he kept asking about Goliath. When Saul
• 2:12:09
  Speaker 1: heard that someone was asking questions about the giant, he
• 2:12:13
  Speaker 1: sent for him. To his surprise, it was David, his musician.
• 2:12:17
  Speaker 1: In verse thirty two, David said to Saul, let no
• 2:12:21
  Speaker 1: one lose heart on account of this philistine. Your servant
• 2:12:25
  Speaker 1: will go and fight him. Saul was baffled. How could
• 2:12:29
  Speaker 1: this young man possibly face the giant verse thirty three.
• 2:12:33
  Speaker 1: He replied, you are not able to go out against
• 2:12:36
  Speaker 1: this philistine and fight him. You are only a young man,
• 2:12:39
  Speaker 1: and he has been a warrior from his youth. But
• 2:12:42
  Speaker 1: David had experienced that Saul didn't know about. In Verses
• 2:12:46
  Speaker 1: thirty four thirty seven, he explained, your servant has been
• 2:12:49
  Speaker 1: keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear
• 2:12:53
  Speaker 1: came and carried off a sheep from the flock. I
• 2:12:56
  Speaker 1: went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from
• 2:12:59
  Speaker 1: its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 1: by its hair, struck it, and killed it. Your servant
• 2:13:06
  Speaker 1: has killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised
• 2:13:10
  Speaker 1: philistine will be like one of them, because he has
• 2:13:13
  Speaker 1: defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who
• 2:13:17
  Speaker 1: rescued me from the poor of the lion and the
• 2:13:20
  Speaker 1: poor of the bear, will rescue me from the hand
• 2:13:23
  Speaker 1: of this philistine. What amazing faith. David wasn't relying on
• 2:13:29
  Speaker 1: his own strength but on the Lord who had already
• 2:13:32
  Speaker 1: delivered him before. To him, Goliath was no greater threat
• 2:13:38
  Speaker 1: than a lion or a bear. More importantly, Goliath had
• 2:13:41
  Speaker 1: defied the living God, and that could not go unanswered.
• 2:13:45
  Speaker 1: Faced with such unwavering confidence, Saul relented, Go and the
• 2:13:50
  Speaker 1: Lord be with you. Saul tried to outfit David with
• 2:13:54
  Speaker 1: his own armor, but it was too big and clumsy.
• 2:13:57
  Speaker 1: In verse thirty nine, David said, I I cannot go
• 2:14:00
  Speaker 1: in these because I am not used to them. Instead,
• 2:14:04
  Speaker 1: he took his staff, chose five smooth stones from a stream,
• 2:14:08
  Speaker 1: placed them in his shepherd's bag, and with his sling
• 2:14:11
  Speaker 1: in hand, approached the Philistine. When Goliath saw David, he
• 2:14:16
  Speaker 1: was furious. In verse forty three, he said, am I
• 2:14:21
  Speaker 1: a dog that you come at me with styx? And
• 2:14:25
  Speaker 1: he cursed David by his gods. But David stood firm.
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 1: In verse forty five, he replied, with boldness, you come
• 2:14:32
  Speaker 1: against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 1: come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,
• 2:14:38
  Speaker 1: the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
• 2:14:42
  Speaker 1: And he made a bold declaration, this very day the
• 2:14:47
  Speaker 1: Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will
• 2:14:50
  Speaker 1: strike you down and cut off your head. To day
• 2:14:54
  Speaker 1: I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to
• 2:14:57
  Speaker 1: the birds of the air and the wild animals, and
• 2:15:00
  Speaker 1: the whole world will know that there is a God
• 2:15:04
  Speaker 1: in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it
• 2:15:07
  Speaker 1: is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves.
• 2:15:10
  Speaker 1: For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give
• 2:15:12
  Speaker 1: all of you into our hands. As Goliath advanced to
• 2:15:16
  Speaker 1: attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to
• 2:15:20
  Speaker 1: meet him. Reaching into his bag, he took out a stone,
• 2:15:24
  Speaker 1: slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The
• 2:15:27
  Speaker 1: stones sank into his forehead and he fell face down
• 2:15:30
  Speaker 1: to the ground. So in verse fifty we read David
• 2:15:34
  Speaker 1: triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone,
• 2:15:38
  Speaker 1: without a sword in his hand, he struck down the
• 2:15:41
  Speaker 1: Philistine and killed him. To complete his victory, David ran
• 2:15:45
  Speaker 1: over and stood above the Philistine. He took Goliath's own sword,
• 2:15:49
  Speaker 1: drew it from its sheath, and killed him, cutting off
• 2:15:52
  Speaker 1: his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their
• 2:15:55
  Speaker 1: champion was dead, they fled. The Israelites now emboldened, chased
• 2:16:00
  Speaker 1: them down and defeated them. This extraordinary victory marked the
• 2:16:05
  Speaker 1: beginning of David's military career. From a humble shepherd boy,
• 2:16:09
  Speaker 1: he became a national hero all because he trusted in
• 2:16:13
  Speaker 1: the Lord and had the courage to face a seemingly
• 2:16:16
  Speaker 1: impossible challenge. David's victory over Goliath instantly made him a
• 2:16:21
  Speaker 1: national hero. When the army returned from battle, something unprecedented happened.
• 2:16:27
  Speaker 1: In chapter eighteen, verse six, we read when the men
• 2:16:30
  Speaker 1: were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the
• 2:16:33
  Speaker 1: women came out from all the towns of Israel to
• 2:16:36
  Speaker 1: meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs,
• 2:16:40
  Speaker 1: and with tambourines and liars. It was a grand celebration,
• 2:16:45
  Speaker 1: full of music and dancing, But the lyrics of the
• 2:16:48
  Speaker 1: women's song sparked a dangerous fire in the king's heart.
• 2:16:52
  Speaker 1: In verse seven, they sang, Saul has slain his thousands
• 2:16:57
  Speaker 1: and David his tens of thousands in dadgine. How those
• 2:17:01
  Speaker 1: words must have hit Saul. He was the king, the
• 2:17:04
  Speaker 1: chosen one, the anointed leader of Israel, and now this
• 2:17:08
  Speaker 1: young shepherd he had brought in to play the harp
• 2:17:11
  Speaker 1: was receiving more praise than he was. Verse eight captures
• 2:17:15
  Speaker 1: his reaction. Saul was very angry. This refrain displeased him greatly.
• 2:17:22
  Speaker 1: They have credited David with tens of thousands, he thought,
• 2:17:25
  Speaker 1: but me with only thousands? What more can he get?
• 2:17:29
  Speaker 1: But the kingdom? Saul realized that David could become a
• 2:17:32
  Speaker 1: threat to his throne. Not only did the people love
• 2:17:35
  Speaker 1: David Moore, but he was also achieving greater success on
• 2:17:39
  Speaker 1: the battlefield, and the most terrifying thing for Saul. From
• 2:17:43
  Speaker 1: that day on, Saul kept a jealous ie on David.
• 2:17:48
  Speaker 1: Jealousy is a powerful and destructive emotion. In Saul's case,
• 2:17:52
  Speaker 1: it soon turned into a deadly obsession. In verse nine,
• 2:17:55
  Speaker 1: we read Saul kept a jealous eye on David, and
• 2:17:59
  Speaker 1: the next day things took a dark turn. Verse ten
• 2:18:02
  Speaker 1: says the next day an evil spirit from God came
• 2:18:06
  Speaker 1: forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house while
• 2:18:09
  Speaker 1: David was playing the liar as he usually did. Saul
• 2:18:13
  Speaker 1: had a spear in his hand. What should have been
• 2:18:16
  Speaker 1: a healing moment through music became a moment of danger
• 2:18:19
  Speaker 1: as David played trying to soothe the troubled King Saul
• 2:18:23
  Speaker 1: was plotting his murder. Verse eleven described Saul's first attempt
• 2:18:28
  Speaker 1: on David's life, and Saul hurled the spear for he
• 2:18:31
  Speaker 1: thought I'll pin David to the wall, but David eluded
• 2:18:35
  Speaker 1: him twice. David narrowly escaped. In his impulsive rage, Saul
• 2:18:40
  Speaker 1: tried to kill him in front of witnesses, not even
• 2:18:43
  Speaker 1: attempting to hide his intentions, but his attempt failed, and
• 2:18:48
  Speaker 1: David quick and agile managed to dodge the spears. The
• 2:18:52
  Speaker 1: failure only deepened Saul's fear. Verse twelve reads Saul was
• 2:18:59
  Speaker 1: afraid of David because the Lord was with David but
• 2:19:03
  Speaker 1: had departed from Saul. He was witnessing his worst nightmare,
• 2:19:07
  Speaker 1: unfold God's favor once his was now clearly with David.
• 2:19:12
  Speaker 1: To get David out of his sight, Saul gave him
• 2:19:15
  Speaker 1: command over a thousand men. In verse thirteen, we read
• 2:19:19
  Speaker 1: so he sent David away from him and gave him
• 2:19:22
  Speaker 1: command over a thousand men, and David led the troops
• 2:19:26
  Speaker 1: in their campaigns. But this plan backfired. Instead of weakening
• 2:19:31
  Speaker 1: David's popularity, it only made him more beloved. Verse fourteen
• 2:19:36
  Speaker 1: says in everything he did, he had great success because
• 2:19:40
  Speaker 1: the lord was with him and verse sixteen ads, but
• 2:19:44
  Speaker 1: all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them
• 2:19:48
  Speaker 1: in their campaigns. Realizing that removing David from court wasn't working,
• 2:19:53
  Speaker 1: Saul tried a new tactic. He offered his daughter Mikhal
• 2:19:56
  Speaker 1: to David in marriage, but with a deadly bride place.
• 2:20:00
  Speaker 1: In verse twenty five, Saul said, tell David that the
• 2:20:04
  Speaker 1: king wants no other price for the bride than a
• 2:20:07
  Speaker 1: hundred Philistine foreskins. To take revenge on his enemies, the
• 2:20:12
  Speaker 1: Bible explains Saul's plan was to have David fall by
• 2:20:15
  Speaker 1: the hands of the Philistines. Saul oh David would die
• 2:20:20
  Speaker 1: trying to collect those Philistine foreskins, but once again his
• 2:20:24
  Speaker 1: plan failed. In verse twenty seven, we read David and
• 2:20:28
  Speaker 1: his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He
• 2:20:32
  Speaker 1: brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the
• 2:20:35
  Speaker 1: king so that he might become the king's son in law.
• 2:20:38
  Speaker 1: Then Saul gave him his daughter Mikhal in marriage. Instead
• 2:20:42
  Speaker 1: of bringing back one hundred, David returned with two hundred.
• 2:20:46
  Speaker 1: He not only survived, but exceeded expectations. Verse twenty nine
• 2:20:52
  Speaker 1: sums it up. Saul became still more afraid of him,
• 2:20:56
  Speaker 1: and he remained his enemy for the rest of his days.
• 2:21:00
  Speaker 1: Between the two men continued to grow. On one side,
• 2:21:04
  Speaker 1: David the young warrior, loved by the people and successful
• 2:21:08
  Speaker 1: in all he did because the Lord was with him.
• 2:21:11
  Speaker 1: On the other, Saul, a king increasingly burdened by his crown,
• 2:21:16
  Speaker 1: consumed by jealousy and fear, abandoned by the spirit of
• 2:21:20
  Speaker 1: the Lord, and tormented by an evil one. The stage
• 2:21:24
  Speaker 1: was set for an ever escalating conflict, one that would
• 2:21:28
  Speaker 1: force David to choose between remaining loyal to a king
• 2:21:32
  Speaker 1: who wanted him dead or fleeing for his life. Saul's
• 2:21:37
  Speaker 1: obsession with killing David only intensified. In chapter nineteen, verse one,
• 2:21:42
  Speaker 1: we read Saul told his son Jonathan and all the
• 2:21:46
  Speaker 1: attendants to kill David, but Jonathan had taken a great
• 2:21:49
  Speaker 1: liking to David. The situation had escalated from impulsive outbursts
• 2:21:54
  Speaker 1: to a calculated murder plot, but Saul hadn't counted on
• 2:21:58
  Speaker 1: the deep friendship that had developed between his son Jonathan
• 2:22:02
  Speaker 1: and David. Instead of obeying his father's command, Jonathan warned
• 2:22:07
  Speaker 1: David in verse two he says, my father, Saul is
• 2:22:11
  Speaker 1: looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your
• 2:22:13
  Speaker 1: guard tomorrow morning, go into hiding and stay there. Jonathan
• 2:22:17
  Speaker 1: promised to speak to his father about David and then
• 2:22:20
  Speaker 1: report back with whatever he found out. He passionately defended David,
• 2:22:25
  Speaker 1: reminding Saul how David had risked his life to kill
• 2:22:29
  Speaker 1: Goliath and how that victory had brought a great deliverance
• 2:22:33
  Speaker 1: to Israel. In verse six, Saul was persuaded by Jonathan's
• 2:22:37
  Speaker 1: defense and swore, as surely as the Lord lives, David
• 2:22:41
  Speaker 1: will not be put to death. Jonathan relayed the conversation
• 2:22:45
  Speaker 1: to David, and David returned to serve in the royal
• 2:22:48
  Speaker 1: court as before. But the peace didn't last. When Israel
• 2:22:53
  Speaker 1: went to war again, David fought the Philistines and won
• 2:22:57
  Speaker 1: a decisive victory. This re ignited Saul's jealousy. In verse nine,
• 2:23:03
  Speaker 1: we read, but an evil spirit from the Lord came
• 2:23:06
  Speaker 1: on Saul as he was sitting in his house with
• 2:23:09
  Speaker 1: his spear in his hand while David was playing the harp.
• 2:23:13
  Speaker 1: Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear,
• 2:23:17
  Speaker 1: but David eluded him. As Saul drove the spear into
• 2:23:21
  Speaker 1: the wall. That night, David fled and escaped. This time,
• 2:23:26
  Speaker 1: David didn't return to the court. It was clear that
• 2:23:29
  Speaker 1: truce was over and Saul was fully intent on killing him.
• 2:23:34
  Speaker 1: David fled to his house, but Saul didn't give up.
• 2:23:37
  Speaker 1: He sent men to watch David's home and kill him.
• 2:23:40
  Speaker 1: In the morning. Michal, David's wife and Saul's daughter, warned him,
• 2:23:45
  Speaker 1: if you don't escape to night, you'll be dead by morning.
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 1: She helped David slip out through a window, and he
• 2:23:51
  Speaker 1: fled to safety. To by time, Michhal devised a clever trick.
• 2:23:55
  Speaker 1: She took a household idol, a human shaped statue, laid
• 2:23:59
  Speaker 1: it in de David's bed, covered it with clothes, and
• 2:24:02
  Speaker 1: placed goat's hair at the head to resemble him. When
• 2:24:06
  Speaker 1: Saul's men came to get David, Mikhal told them he
• 2:24:09
  Speaker 1: was sick. Saul ordered bring him to me in his
• 2:24:14
  Speaker 1: bed so I may kill him, But when they entered
• 2:24:17
  Speaker 1: they found only the idol in the bed. Saul was
• 2:24:20
  Speaker 1: furious with his daughter. In verse seventeen, he asked her,
• 2:24:24
  Speaker 1: why did you betray me like this and let my
• 2:24:26
  Speaker 1: enemy escape? Mihaal replied, he said to me help me
• 2:24:30
  Speaker 1: get away, or I'll kill you and de lie to
• 2:24:33
  Speaker 1: protect both David and herself from Saul's rage. Meanwhile, David
• 2:24:38
  Speaker 1: had fled to Ramah, where Samuel lived. In verse eighteen,
• 2:24:42
  Speaker 1: we read when David had fled and made his escape,
• 2:24:45
  Speaker 1: he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all
• 2:24:48
  Speaker 1: that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel
• 2:24:51
  Speaker 1: went to Nioth and stayed there. This was a significant
• 2:24:54
  Speaker 1: moment in his time of greatest danger. David turned to
• 2:24:58
  Speaker 1: the man who had anointed him as Israel's future king.
• 2:25:02
  Speaker 1: To David, Samuel represented spiritual guidance, someone who understood God's
• 2:25:07
  Speaker 1: purpose for his life. In Nioth, likely a kind of
• 2:25:12
  Speaker 1: prophetic community near Ramah, David found temporary refuge, but Saul
• 2:25:17
  Speaker 1: soon found out where David was. In verse nineteen, word
• 2:25:22
  Speaker 1: came to Saul David is in Nioth at Rama, so
• 2:25:26
  Speaker 1: he sent men to capture him. But something extraordinary happened.
• 2:25:30
  Speaker 1: When Saul's messengers arrived and saw a group of prophets
• 2:25:33
  Speaker 1: prophesying led by Samuel, the spirit of God came upon
• 2:25:37
  Speaker 1: them and they too began to prophesy. Saul sent two
• 2:25:42
  Speaker 1: more groups of men, and the same thing happened to each. Finally,
• 2:25:46
  Speaker 1: in verse twenty two, Saul himself went to Rama on
• 2:25:50
  Speaker 1: the way to Secu. He asked where Samuel and David
• 2:25:53
  Speaker 1: were and continued on to Nioth. Then in verse twenty three,
• 2:25:57
  Speaker 1: something even more astonishing happened. So Saul went to Naioth
• 2:26:02
  Speaker 1: at Ramah, but the spirit of God came even on him,
• 2:26:06
  Speaker 1: and he walked along, prophesying until he came to Nioth.
• 2:26:10
  Speaker 1: He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in
• 2:26:13
  Speaker 1: Samuel's presence. He lay naked all that day and all
• 2:26:17
  Speaker 1: that night. This is why people say is Saul also
• 2:26:22
  Speaker 1: among the prophets. This was the second time people had
• 2:26:25
  Speaker 1: asked that question about Saul, the first being shortly after
• 2:26:29
  Speaker 1: his anointing. When the spirit of God came upon him
• 2:26:32
  Speaker 1: and he prophesied among the prophets. It was as if
• 2:26:36
  Speaker 1: God were reminding Saul of his original calling before jealousy
• 2:26:41
  Speaker 1: and fear consumed him. This supernatural event gave David the
• 2:26:45
  Speaker 1: time he needed to escape. He fled from Nioth and
• 2:26:49
  Speaker 1: went to find Jonathan. In chapter twenty, they made a
• 2:26:53
  Speaker 1: plan to find out once and for all if Saul
• 2:26:56
  Speaker 1: was truly determined to kill David. Once that became clear,
• 2:27:01
  Speaker 1: especially when Saul even hurled a spear at his own
• 2:27:04
  Speaker 1: son for defending David, Jonathan warned David to flee. This
• 2:27:09
  Speaker 1: marked the beginning of years of running for David. He
• 2:27:11
  Speaker 1: went to nob where he received bread and Goliath's sword
• 2:27:15
  Speaker 1: from the priest a Himelech. Then he fled to Gath
• 2:27:18
  Speaker 1: in Philistine territory, where he pretended to be insane to
• 2:27:22
  Speaker 1: avoid being recognized as the Giant Slayer. From there he
• 2:27:27
  Speaker 1: escaped to the cave of Adullam, where he began to
• 2:27:30
  Speaker 1: attract followers. All those who were in distress, or in
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 1: debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander.
• 2:27:39
  Speaker 1: About four hundred men were with him. From a Dullam,
• 2:27:44
  Speaker 1: David took his parents to Moab for their safety, then
• 2:27:48
  Speaker 1: returned to Judah, hiding in the forest of Herath. Meanwhile,
• 2:27:52
  Speaker 1: Saul discovered the priests of nob had helped David, and
• 2:27:55
  Speaker 1: in a rage, killed eighty five priests and destroyed the
• 2:27:59
  Speaker 1: entire The pursuit continued, with Saul chasing David through the
• 2:28:05
  Speaker 1: wilderness from one hide out to another. Twice, David had
• 2:28:10
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to kill Saul, but he spared him, saying
• 2:28:14
  Speaker 1: I will not lay my hand on the Lord's anointed.
• 2:28:17
  Speaker 1: During all this time, Samuel is no longer mentioned. After
• 2:28:21
  Speaker 1: helping David at Nioth, the old prophet seems to have
• 2:28:24
  Speaker 1: stepped out of the narrative, perhaps due to old age,
• 2:28:28
  Speaker 1: but his impact on David's life was deep and enduring.
• 2:28:32
  Speaker 1: The moment David fled to Ramah to seek out Samuel
• 2:28:36
  Speaker 1: was a turning point in his life. He was leaving
• 2:28:39
  Speaker 1: behind the security of the court, his marriage to Mikhal,
• 2:28:43
  Speaker 1: his friendship with Jonathan, and his position as a military commander,
• 2:28:47
  Speaker 1: all because Saul was determined to kill him. Samuel listened
• 2:28:53
  Speaker 1: as David recounted Saul's attempts on his life as an
• 2:28:57
  Speaker 1: experience Prophet Samuel must have understood that this persecution was
• 2:29:02
  Speaker 1: part of God's plan to shape David's character, yet it
• 2:29:06
  Speaker 1: didn't stop him from offering the young anointed one shelter
• 2:29:10
  Speaker 1: and support. In chapter nineteen, verse eighteen, we read David
• 2:29:15
  Speaker 1: fled and escaped. He went to Samuel at Ramah and
• 2:29:19
  Speaker 1: told him all that Saul had done to him. Then
• 2:29:21
  Speaker 1: he and Samuel went to Nioth and stayed there. Nioth
• 2:29:26
  Speaker 1: was likely a kind of school for prophets. As a
• 2:29:30
  Speaker 1: spiritual leader, Samuel had established communities where young men were
• 2:29:35
  Speaker 1: trained in the scriptures and in prophetic ministry. It was
• 2:29:38
  Speaker 1: a place of spiritual learning and deep communion with God.
• 2:29:43
  Speaker 1: By taking David to Nioth, Samuel was placing him in
• 2:29:47
  Speaker 1: an environment of intense spiritual life. Surrounded by prophets. David
• 2:29:52
  Speaker 1: could find not only physical protection, but also spiritual renewal
• 2:29:57
  Speaker 1: That may have been exactly what he needed after the
• 2:30:00
  Speaker 1: tensions he had experienced at Saul's court. But the safety
• 2:30:03
  Speaker 1: didn't last long. In verse nineteen, we read when Saul
• 2:30:09
  Speaker 1: was told David is at Naioth in Ramah, he sent
• 2:30:12
  Speaker 1: men to capture him. What happened next was extraordinary. In
• 2:30:16
  Speaker 1: verse twenty, the Bible says, but when they saw a
• 2:30:20
  Speaker 1: group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as there leader,
• 2:30:25
  Speaker 1: the spirit of God came upon Saul's men, and they
• 2:30:28
  Speaker 1: also began to prophesy. Imagine the scene, armed soldiers sent
• 2:30:34
  Speaker 1: to arrest David suddenly dropping their weapons and starting to prophesy.
• 2:30:39
  Speaker 1: It was a direct divine intervention to protect David. When
• 2:30:45
  Speaker 1: Saul heard what happened, he sent more messengers, but the
• 2:30:49
  Speaker 1: same thing happened. He sent a third group, and again
• 2:30:53
  Speaker 1: they were all overcome and began to prophesy. Finally, in
• 2:30:57
  Speaker 1: verse twenty two, we read Saul himself went to Rama.
• 2:31:01
  Speaker 1: As he approached Rama, he asked where Samuel and David were.
• 2:31:05
  Speaker 1: Following the directions, he continued toward Nioth, but in verse
• 2:31:09
  Speaker 1: twenty three something surprising occurred. The spirit of God came
• 2:31:14
  Speaker 1: upon him too, and he walked along prophesying until he
• 2:31:18
  Speaker 1: came to Nioth. And verse twenty four adds even more
• 2:31:21
  Speaker 1: surprising detail. He stripped off his garments and prophesied in
• 2:31:26
  Speaker 1: Samuel's presence. He lay that way all day and all night.
• 2:31:31
  Speaker 1: That is why people say, is Saul also among the prophets?
• 2:31:35
  Speaker 1: What an unusual scene, the king of Israel, who had
• 2:31:38
  Speaker 1: come to kill David, now lying on the ground, stripped
• 2:31:41
  Speaker 1: of his royal garments, caught in a prophetic trance for
• 2:31:45
  Speaker 1: an entire day and night. No wonder, the people asked
• 2:31:49
  Speaker 1: that ironic question, is Saul also among the prophets? This
• 2:31:55
  Speaker 1: wasn't the first time that phrase had been used about Saul.
• 2:32:00
  Speaker 1: In chapter ten, after he was anointed by Samuel, the
• 2:32:03
  Speaker 1: spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among
• 2:32:07
  Speaker 1: the prophets, causing people to say the very same words.
• 2:32:11
  Speaker 1: Now years later, it happened again, but under very different circumstances.
• 2:32:16
  Speaker 1: The first time it was a sign that God was
• 2:32:19
  Speaker 1: with Saul, equipping him to lead Israel. This time it
• 2:32:23
  Speaker 1: seemed more like an obstacle, a way of protecting David
• 2:32:27
  Speaker 1: by temporarily incapacitating Saul. Samuel, as the leader of the prophets,
• 2:32:33
  Speaker 1: witnessed all of this. He saw how God was protecting David,
• 2:32:38
  Speaker 1: the man he had anointed to be the future king,
• 2:32:40
  Speaker 1: and perhaps he also felt sorrow for Saul, seeing just
• 2:32:45
  Speaker 1: how far the king had fallen. For David, this incident
• 2:32:49
  Speaker 1: must have been a powerful confirmation that God was with him.
• 2:32:52
  Speaker 1: Even when the King of Israel, with all his resources,
• 2:32:55
  Speaker 1: came personally to capture him, God could intervene in miraculous
• 2:33:01
  Speaker 1: ways to keep him safe. Although the Bible doesn't mention
• 2:33:04
  Speaker 1: it directly, it's possible that during this time in Nioth,
• 2:33:08
  Speaker 1: under Samuel's guidance, David composed some of his psalms. Many
• 2:33:13
  Speaker 1: of them speak about trusting God during times of persecution
• 2:33:16
  Speaker 1: and hardship, and this encounter in Nioth surely strengthened that trust.
• 2:33:23
  Speaker 1: This was the last recorded meeting between Samuel and David,
• 2:33:26
  Speaker 1: and one of Samuel's final acts of ministry. The old
• 2:33:30
  Speaker 1: prophet who had anointed both Saul and David, had fulfilled
• 2:33:34
  Speaker 1: his role in God's plan. Soon he would be called
• 2:33:37
  Speaker 1: to his eternal rest. In chapter twenty five, verse one,
• 2:33:42
  Speaker 1: we read the simple yet profound words, Now Samuel died,
• 2:33:47
  Speaker 1: and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they
• 2:33:51
  Speaker 1: buried him at his home in Ramah. Samuel, who had
• 2:33:55
  Speaker 1: served God and Israel since his boyhood, was finally called home.
• 2:34:00
  Speaker 1: His death marked the end of an era. He was
• 2:34:03
  Speaker 1: the last of the judges, the kind of leader who
• 2:34:06
  Speaker 1: had guided Israel since the days of Joshua, and he
• 2:34:10
  Speaker 1: was also the first of the great prophets who would
• 2:34:12
  Speaker 1: rise in Israel and Judah in the centuries to come.
• 2:34:16
  Speaker 1: The fact that all Israel assembled and mourned for him
• 2:34:20
  Speaker 1: shows the deep respect and love the people had for Samuel.
• 2:34:25
  Speaker 1: He had been a constant presence in their lives, a
• 2:34:28
  Speaker 1: moral and spiritual authority who had led them through a
• 2:34:30
  Speaker 1: turbulent time of transition. As a judge, Samuel traveled the
• 2:34:35
  Speaker 1: country every year, settling disputes and maintaining justice. Unlike his
• 2:34:40
  Speaker 1: own sons, he never accepted bribes or perverted justice. In
• 2:34:45
  Speaker 1: his farewell speech as judge, he challenged the people to
• 2:34:49
  Speaker 1: point out any one he had cheated or oppressed, and
• 2:34:52
  Speaker 1: no one could. As a prophet, Samuel was the voice
• 2:34:56
  Speaker 1: of God to the people. It was through him that
• 2:34:59
  Speaker 1: God spoke to establish the monarchy, to reject Saul, and
• 2:35:03
  Speaker 1: to choose David. His words never failed. Everything he prophesied
• 2:35:08
  Speaker 1: came to pass because the Lord was with him. As
• 2:35:11
  Speaker 1: a priest, Samuel had ministered before the Lord from childhood.
• 2:35:15
  Speaker 1: Under Eli's training, he offered sacrifices, interceded for the people,
• 2:35:20
  Speaker 1: and taught them the ways of the Lord. Few figures
• 2:35:24
  Speaker 1: in Israel's history combined these three rolls judge, prophet and priest.
• 2:35:31
  Speaker 1: Like Samuel did, perhaps only Moses before him, And like Moses,
• 2:35:37
  Speaker 1: Samuel was a transitional leader, guiding Israel from one form
• 2:35:41
  Speaker 1: of government the judges, to another, the monarchy. Samuel did
• 2:35:46
  Speaker 1: not live to see David take the throne. After his death,
• 2:35:49
  Speaker 1: David moved to the wilderness of Paran, continuing his life
• 2:35:53
  Speaker 1: as a fugitive. Saul's pursuit would go on for a
• 2:35:56
  Speaker 1: while longer until the final battle against the Phyllis Deans,
• 2:36:00
  Speaker 1: where Saul and Jonathan would die, paving the way for
• 2:36:04
  Speaker 1: David to become king. But even without seeing the fulfillment
• 2:36:09
  Speaker 1: of everything he had prophesied, Samuel left this world with
• 2:36:13
  Speaker 1: the satisfaction of having been faithful to his calling. From
• 2:36:16
  Speaker 1: the moment he answered as a boy, speak Lord, for
• 2:36:19
  Speaker 1: your servant is listening. To his final days, Samuel served
• 2:36:24
  Speaker 1: the Lord with integrity. His legacy extended far beyond his lifetime.
• 2:36:29
  Speaker 1: The prophets who came after him, Nathan, gad Elijah, elisha, Isiah, Jeremiah,
• 2:36:35
  Speaker 1: and many others, followed his example of boldly proclaiming God's truth,
• 2:36:40
  Speaker 1: even when it meant confronting kings. The Book of Acts
• 2:36:45
  Speaker 1: in the New Testament acknowledges this legacy. In chapter three,
• 2:36:49
  Speaker 1: verse twenty four, Peter says, Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all
• 2:36:54
  Speaker 1: the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. Samuel
• 2:36:58
  Speaker 1: is seen as the beginning of a prophetic line that
• 2:37:01
  Speaker 1: pointed to the coming of the Messiah. The author of
• 2:37:05
  Speaker 1: the Epistle to the Hebrews also honors Samuel, placing him
• 2:37:08
  Speaker 1: alongside figures like Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jefther, and David as
• 2:37:13
  Speaker 1: examples of faith. But perhaps Samuel's greatest legacy was his
• 2:37:18
  Speaker 1: influence on David. It was Samuel who anointed the young
• 2:37:22
  Speaker 1: shepherd boy, recognizing him as God's chosen one to lead Israel.
• 2:37:27
  Speaker 1: It was Samuel who provided refuge to David when he
• 2:37:31
  Speaker 1: was fleeing from Saul. And it was likely Samuel who
• 2:37:34
  Speaker 1: helped David understand that despite the persecution he faced, God
• 2:37:39
  Speaker 1: still had a plan for his life. The impact of
• 2:37:42
  Speaker 1: this guidance can be seen in David's psalms, which expressed
• 2:37:47
  Speaker 1: deep trust in God even in the hardest of circumstances.
• 2:37:51
  Speaker 1: That kind of faith, shaped in part by Samuel's influence,
• 2:37:55
  Speaker 1: would become a defining trait of David's reign, a rain, remember,
• 2:38:00
  Speaker 1: but as that of a man after God's own hut.
• 2:38:04
  Speaker 1: With Samuel's death, a chapter in Israel's history came to
• 2:38:07
  Speaker 1: a close, But his life and ministry paved the way
• 2:38:10
  Speaker 1: for a new era, the era of kings and prophets,
• 2:38:14
  Speaker 1: which would continue to shape Israel's story for centuries to come.
• 2:38:18
  Speaker 1: And so this extraordinary man who began life as a miracle,
• 2:38:23
  Speaker 1: granted to a praying mother, and became one of Israel's
• 2:38:27
  Speaker 1: greatest leaders finished his journey. As Hebrews eleven thirty nine
• 2:38:31
  Speaker 1: forty says, these were all commended for their faith, yet
• 2:38:36
  Speaker 1: none of them received what had been promised, since God
• 2:38:39
  Speaker 1: had planned something better for us, so that only together
• 2:38:42
  Speaker 1: with us would they be made perfect. Dear friend, who
• 2:38:46
  Speaker 1: has followed this journey through the life of Samuel, the
• 2:38:49
  Speaker 1: last Judge of Israel, we've come to the end of
• 2:38:52
  Speaker 1: this incredible biblical story. We've seen how God worked through
• 2:38:56
  Speaker 1: a boy born from a desperate prayer and raised him
• 2:39:00
  Speaker 1: into one of the greatest leaders Israel has ever known.
• 2:39:04
  Speaker 1: We followed Samuel from his childhood in the tabernacle, through
• 2:39:08
  Speaker 1: his nighttime calling, his establishment as a prophet, the transition
• 2:39:12
  Speaker 1: to monarchy, all the way to the final moments of
• 2:39:15
  Speaker 1: his life when he protected young David from Saul's wrath.
• 2:39:20
  Speaker 1: If this story of faith, courage, and faithfulness has inspired you,
• 2:39:24
  Speaker 1: don't keep it to yourself. Share this video with friends
• 2:39:27
  Speaker 1: and family who also need to hear how God can
• 2:39:30
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