Study Desk

"Do not go on boasting so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.

"He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them.

"He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail.

And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

And his mother would make for him a little robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

"If one person sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a person sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death.

Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house?

'But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

'And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, "Please assign me to one of the priest's offices so that I may eat a piece of bread."'"

Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.

"For I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for the wrongdoing that he knew, because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.

He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!"

And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD was coming into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.

Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn, and dust on his head.

When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out.

Then the one who brought the news replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken."

And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or pay attention.

After they had taken it away, the hand of the LORD was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that tumors broke out on them.