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January 1 - 1 Samuel 4 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is, Monday.
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  It is the 1st of January 2024. Welcome to this New Year.
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  It is great that you and I get to share this time together at
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  the start of a new year. And what a year we have planned,
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  friend. We are going to cover some
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  serious headway into the Bible. This year we have got books of
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  Samuel and Kings, but we're also going to read a couple of
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  Gospels and Acts and some of their favorite epistles from the
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  New Testament. It is going to be a glorious
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  year. In February we will release all
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  of the readings for the year, but trust me, it is going to be
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  a glorious year in God's Word where we will engage in some of
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  our favorite stories from the Old Testament, some of our
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  favorite moments from the New Testament, and of course we are
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  also not. Of course we are also.
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  I'm going to be reading some books of poetry and wisdom.
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  Ah, it is going to be glorious. And I'm so glad that you can
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  join me. Or I can join you in whatever is
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  happening in the year ahead. I wish you a wonderful year
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  filled with so many good things. I'm sure life will have its UPS
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  and its downs and its challenges, and it's tears and
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  it's laughter. But let us, you and I, as we
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  make all sorts of New Year's resolutions, let us plan that
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  through it all, each day we will come before our incredible God
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  and we will hear God's Word speaking into our life.
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  And that the Holy Spirit will breathe life into this
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  commitment. And this time and that we will
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  hear the voice of God speaking clearly and boldly into our
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  daily life. Isn't that the greatest way to
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  start the new year? I reckon that's pretty sparky.
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  So let's do it. Let us start this 1st of January
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  by reading the next chapter of the book of First Samuel.
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  And this is a sad one. This is where it all goes very,
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  very wrong. Israel loses the Ark of the
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  Covenant. How could that even happen?
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  And then Eli and his sons meet their end.
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  Yep, it's a big one. So join me, friends, as we put
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  down all that waits for us today and read together First Samuel
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  Chapter 4, and Samuel's words went out to all the people of
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  Israel. At that time, Israel was at war
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  with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped
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  near Ebenezer and the Philistines were at AFEC.
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  The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel,
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  killing 4000 men. After the battle was over, the
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  troops retreated to their camp and the elders of Israel asked
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  why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines.
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  Then they said let's bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord
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  from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with
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  us, it will save us from our enemies.
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  So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the ark of the covenant of
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  the Lord of Heaven's armies, who was enthroned between the
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  cherubim Hofny and Phineas. The sons of Eli were also there
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  with the ark of the covenant of God.
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  When all the Israelites saw the ark of the covenant of the Lord
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  coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made
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  the ground shake. What's going on?
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  The Philistines asked what's all the shouting about in the Hebrew
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  camp. When they were told it was
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  because the Ark of the Lord had arrived, they panicked.
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  The gods have come into their camp.
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  They cried. This is a disaster.
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  We have never had to face anything like this before.
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  Help. Who can save us from these
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  mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who
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  destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the
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  wilderness. Fighters never before
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  Philistines. If you don't, we will become the
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  Hebrew slaves, just as they have been.
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  Ours stand up like men and fight.
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  So the Philistines fought desperately and Israel was
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  defeated again. The slaughter was great. 30,000
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  Israelite soldiers died that day.
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  The survivors turned and fled to their tents.
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  The Ark of God was captured, and Hofny and Phineas, the two sons
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  of Eli, were killed. A man from the tribe of Benjamin
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  ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that
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  same day. He had torn his clothes and put
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  dust on his head to show his grief.
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  Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle,
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  for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God.
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  When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an
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  outcry resounded throughout the town.
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  What is all the noise about? Eli asked.
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  The messenger rushed over to Eli, who was 98 years old and
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  blind. He said to Eli, I have just come
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  from the battlefield. I was there this very day.
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  What happened? My son Eli demanded.
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  Israel has been defeated by the Philistines, the messenger
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  replied. The people have been
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  slaughtered, and your two sons, Hofny and Phineas, were also
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  killed. And the Ark of God has been
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  captured. When the Messenger mentioned
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  what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his
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  seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died for
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  he was old and overweight. He had been Israel's judge for
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  40 years. Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife
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  of Phineas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery.
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  When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that
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  her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor
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  and gave birth. She died in childbirth, but
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  before she passed away, the midwives tried to encourage her.
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  Don't be afraid, They said you have a baby boy, but she did not
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  answer or pay attention to them. She named the child Ichabod,
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  which means where is the Glory? For she said Israel's glory is
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  gone. She named him this because the
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  Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and
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  husband were dead. Then she said, the Glory has
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  departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.
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  Lord, you are bigger than our human minds can comprehend.
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  And when we feel like we're in situations where you and your
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  will have been defeated, Lord, that is never the case.
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  You are bigger than any circumstance that we might face,
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  or we might experience or we might interpret or believe that
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  may have defeated you or your plans.
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  But there is no defeat in your plans, for you are sovereign
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  over all, and your plans always, always win out.
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  Father, thank you that you are so much greater than anything
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  that this world may have to throw at you.
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  Throw at your Kingdom or your followers.
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  Help us always know that you, He who is in US, is greater than He
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  who is in the world. You are our mighty, mighty,
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  loving Savior God, and we rest in that knowledge and in your
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  care. And we can pray all of these
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  things through the saving name of your son Jesus.
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  Amen.