Study Desk

Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer the sacrifice for that year and the gift he had promised to the Lord . He took his family with him.

And now I give this child to the Lord . He will serve the Lord all his life." Then Hannah left the boy there and worshiped the Lord .

He protects his holy people. He keeps them from stumbling. But evil people will be destroyed. They will fall in the darkness. Their power won't help them win.

The Lord destroys his enemies. God Most High will thunder in heaven against people. The Lord will judge even the lands that are far away. He will give power to his king. He will make his chosen king strong."

Elkanah and his family went home to Ramah, but the boy stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under Eli the priest.

and use it to get some meat out of the pot or kettle. The priest is supposed to take whatever his helper removes from the pot with the special fork. This is what the priests should have done for the Israelites who came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh.

Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, "May the Lord give you more children through Hannah who will take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to the Lord ." Elkanah and Hannah went home.

Eli was very old. He heard about the bad things his sons were doing to the Israelites at Shiloh and how his sons were having sexual relations with the women who served at the door of the Meeting Tent.

Eli said to his sons, "The people here told me about the evil things you have done. Why are you doing such things?

There is only one man I will save to serve as priest at my altar. He will live until his eyes wear out and his strength is gone. But all of your descendants will die by the sword.

I will choose a priest I can trust. This priest will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong, and he will always serve before my chosen king.

Eli's eyes were getting so weak that he was almost blind. One night he went to his room to go to bed.

I will do everything I said I would do against Eli and his family, everything from the beginning to the end.

I told Eli I would punish his family forever. I will do this because Eli knew his sons were saying and doing bad things against God. But he failed to control them.

Then Samuel would announce the Lord 's message to all the people of Israel. When Eli was very old, his sons lived more and more in a way the Lord considered evil. At that time the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites made their camp at Ebenezer. The Philistines made their camp at Aphek.

One of the men who ran from the battle was a man from the tribe of Benjamin. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness.

When the Benjamite man mentioned God's Holy Box, Eli fell backward off his chair near the gate and broke his neck. Eli was old and fat, so he died. He had led Israel for 20 years.

But the next morning when the people of Ashdod got up, they found Dagon on the ground again. Dagon had fallen down before the Lord 's Holy Box. This time, Dagon's head and hands were broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only his body was still in one piece.

Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord . He prayed to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered his prayer.

Samuel led Israel all his life.