Study Desk

The leaders of all the tribes of Israel took their places in the meeting of the people of God. There were 400,000 soldiers with swords.

The Israelites went up to the city of Bethel and asked God, "Which tribe shall be first to attack the Benjaminites?" The Lord answered, "Judah shall go first."

The Israelites asked the Lord a question. (In those days the Ark of the Agreement with God was there at Bethel.

The people went to the city of Bethel and sat before God until evening, crying loudly.

They said, " Lord , God of Israel, why has this terrible thing happened to us so that one tribe of Israel is missing today?"

Early the next day the people built an altar and put burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God on it.

So that is what the Benjaminites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them, took her away, and married her. Then they went back to the land God had given them and rebuilt their cities and lived there.

Then the Israelites went home to their own tribes and family groups, to their own land that God had given them.

But Ruth said, "Don't beg me to leave you or to stop following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

May the Lord reward you for all you have done. May your wages be paid in full by the Lord , the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for shelter."

Eli answered, "Go! I wish you well. May the God of Israel give you what you asked of him."

Every year Elkanah went with his whole family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and to keep the promise he had made to God.

"There is no one holy like the Lord . There is no God but you; there is no Rock like our God.

"Don't continue bragging, don't speak proud words. The Lord is a God who knows everything, and he judges what people do.

If you sin against someone, God can help you. But if you sin against the Lord himself, no one can help you!" But Eli's sons would not listen to him, because the Lord had decided to put them to death.

A man of God came to Eli and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron when they were slaves to the king of Egypt.

"So the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your family and your ancestor's family would serve me always.' But now the Lord says: ‘This must stop! I will honor those who honor me, but I will dishonor those who ignore me.

Eli asked, "What did the Lord say to you? Don't hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you."

When some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let's bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord here from Shiloh and take it with us into battle. Then God will save us from our enemies."

They were afraid and said, "A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We're in trouble! This has never happened before!