1 Samuel 8:1-22

8 As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. 7 “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. 8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. 9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

Samuel Warns against a Kingdom
10 So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

21 So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, 22 and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.

The collective decision of the community was taken seriously. There are ‘movements’ in society which need to work themselves out; here the people of God found themselves in tension between the traditional and the new, but in the case of the monarchy the new was not to be rejected. ‘The time was ripe for the king, i.e. for the development of a state, even though the manifold dangers which could now cause theological chaos were seen all too well.’ This is the kind of dilemma in which Christians all too often find themselves. The ideal is not an option, because it would not find support, so another way has to be chosen which involves a compromise. The Lord, like a master chess-player, achieves his objective despite human plans and policies that temporarily impede what he wants to do.

Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 93.

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

1 Samuel 8:11 - 18

11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

10–18. Even though the Lord sanctioned the monarchy, he gave advance warning of the price Israel would pay for this innovation. It is interesting and instructive to note the social ideals that had obtained in Israel up to this time. Each family had been autonomous, under the leadership of its elders. It had been beholden to no-one, whereas under a king military and agricultural conscription would restrict Israel’s liberty. Nor would the women of the family escape, for as perfumers and cooks and bakers they would serve the royal house. Taxation, which had been unknown, would become increasingly oppressive, until the people were virtually slaves, and cried out for liberation. But having made a deliberate choice of this form of government, Israel would have to live with its restricting demands.
The ways of the king (cf. v. 9) could be translated ‘the justice of the king’ (Heb. mišpāṭ has both meanings). There could be an element of satire in the wordplay, especially in the light of what follows. Yet the description of the requirements of the king is not exaggerated; indeed they are modest compared with the demands made by the modern state. While Israel was loosely organized under tribal leaders it was a threat to no-one, but once it had been organized as a monarchy it became part of the political map, a contestant in the power-struggle for domination, and in order to have an effective army conscription was imposed. All these developments took place as early as the reign of David (2 Sam. 6:1; 8:15–18), though it was under Solomon that the system became burdensome and oppressive (1 Kgs 12:4), and led to the rejection of Solomon’s successor by the northern tribes.

His servants (vv. 14, 15) are ‘ministers’ of court, who, in acknowledgment of services rendered, are presented with the best land confiscated from others by the king. Monarchs in Ugarit (Ras Shamra), to the north, rewarded their personal retainers in property for their services to the king. Such practices were already well established in association with the monarchy.

Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 91–92.

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

1 Samuel 8:11 - 20 

11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

ISRAEL CANNOT BE dissuaded; their course is set. Having heard what they can expect from such a king, they persist in their demand and elaborate on their motives. The desire to be “like all the other nations,” is repeated (8:5, 20). To this is added, “with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” The lust for territorial security is stated in general terms here. But we can assume the long-standing Philistine threat has taken its toll on Israel. Later, in his farewell address, Samuel gives the further detail that the elders are concerned about Nahash the Ammonite, who comes into the story shortly after Saul becomes king (1 Sam. 11; see 12:12). This being the case, Israel is worried about the Ammonites to the east and the Philistines to the west. Their meager military resources are to be tested on two fronts. Apparently, the people of Israel have not learned sufficiently enough from the genuine repentance and glorious victory over the Philistines recorded in chapter 7.

Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 152.

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

1 Samuel 8:10-20

10 So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army,[a] some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle[b] and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

Nothing that Samuel could say had any influence with the elders of Israel, for their minds were made up. Did they expect one of their number to become the first king, and had they a proposal to put forward? If so, they were disappointed, for suggestions were not invited. Samuel’s one concern was to consult Israel’s Lord for direction, and since the Lord directed him to go ahead and make them a king, that was the end of the matter. The conference had completed its agenda, and the elders could return home.
From Israel’s earliest days, God himself had directed his people, revealed his commands and given suitable leaders. Though the monarchy would introduce undesirable social changes, three considerations weighed with the people: i. they wanted to be like all the nations, to have influence and status; ii. they desired that our king may govern us, so lifting responsibility from local leaders and providing a figure-head; iii. and they wanted someone to go out before us and fight our battles, a focal person, already accepted and therefore immediately prepared to lead the army against any invader. But what does the new divine directive say to us?

Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 93.

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

1 Samuel 8:1-5

Israel Requests a King
As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

8:4–5 appoint for us a king … like all the nations. Samuel had appointed judges. The elders, recognizing his authority, ask for a king. (To judge can also carry the nuance “to govern.”) They want to exchange their unique glory as the people of the incomparable God (2:2), who had brought them out of Egypt (8:8) and was even now protecting them (10:19), for status in the world, in order to be “like all the nations.” The law had given permission, but not a requirement, to appoint a king (Deut. 17:14–20).

8:5 A king like the nations contrasts with God’s kingship (v. 7). God intends Israel to have a king (Deut. 17:14–20), but the people’s desires and the kings themselves fall short. Saul’s failure contrasts with David’s success. But eventually David too fails (2 Samuel 11). The failure of merely human kings points to the need for the perfect king, Christ, who will be divine and human (Isa. 9:6–7).


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 503–504.

Israel looked around at the nations surrounding them and saw something they wanted: a king like everyone else. They looked at what other nations had and decided that what God had given them wasn't enough.

We may not be asking God for a king today, but we know the feeling.
IF I had their marriage, THEN I would feel secure.
IF I had their house, THEN I would feel successful.
IF my kids were like their kids, THEN I would feel like I was doing something right.
IF I had their opportunities, their influence, their finances, their friendships, their life… THEN I would finally be satisfied.

Comparison has a way of turning someone else's life into evidence that God has not given us enough. But look at what Israel was forgetting. They already belonged to God. He had rescued them, provided for them, protected them, and called them His treasured possession. They were looking at the nations around them and longing for what those nations had, while overlooking what they already had in God.

We can fall into that same way of thinking. The thing we're comparing ourselves to may not even be wrong. The problem comes when we begin believing that having it would finally give us something our hearts are desperate for. We start attaching our peace to an outcome or measuring God's goodness by what we can see in someone else's life.

Maybe you've been waiting for something to change. Maybe you've been looking at someone else's life and wondering why God hasn't given you the same thing. Your circumstances may not look like someone else's, but that does not mean God has forgotten you. Your life does not have to match the people around you for you to be secure in Him.

• Think about the people that most often compare yourself too. What do you find yourself thinking, “If I had BLANK, THEN…”? Fill in the blank and then finish the sentence honestly.
• What are you hoping that person, circumstance, achievement, possession, or opportunity would give you? Take some time to name the deeper desire underneath it rather than stopping at the thing you want.
• How has that desire affected the way you see God's provision in your life right now? Has it made you more grateful for what He's given you, or has it caused what you already have to feel less valuable?
• Bring that desire honestly to God today. What do you need to surrender to Him, and what truth about His character do you need to hold onto when comparison starts pulling your attention away?

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.

(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)

1 Samuel 8

Israel Requests a King
8 As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. 7 “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. 8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. 9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

Samuel Warns against a Kingdom
10 So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. 12 Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. 13 The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. 14 He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

21 So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, 22 and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.

5–6. The day of confession and fasting at Mizpah was the culmination of Samuel’s programme of reform. Mizpah (modern Tell en-Nasbeh) was in Benjamite territory, on the main north-south road across the hills, and only five miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem. The first walled city on the site was founded c. 1100 BC, during the Israelite period, and it was one of the places on Samuel’s regular circuit (v. 15). It commanded views through the valleys to the west, had already been a rallying point (Judg. 20:1), and after the fall of Jerusalem even became the capital (2 Kgs 25:23).
They drew water and poured it out before the Lord, evidently as a symbol of the washing away of communal guilt, for which Samuel prayed (cf. Lam. 2:19; Mark 1:4)—the visible sign reinforcing the divine response to the confession of sin.
Samuel judged the people … at Mizpah (cf. v. 15): In this instance his role as judge involved a pastoral concern, with particular reference to the covenant relationship between an apostate people and their holy God. So far as we know, only Gideon among the ‘major’ judges came near to playing such a role (Judg. 6:25–27), though Deborah was both prophetess and judge (Judg. 4:4). In the person of Samuel the role of judge took on prophetic and priestly significance.


Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 84–85.

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

1 Samuel 7:9-10

9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.

10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.

9–11. The whole burnt offering in this instance was offered in penitence and as a gift to secure the Lord’s favour, ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’ (Lev. 1:13). Though the approaching Philistines threatened to interrupt the worship, and action seemed imperative, faith held out, and the Lord thundered with a mighty voice. The weather frequently played a part in the outcome of a battle (Josh. 10:11; Judg. 5:4, 20, 21; cf. 1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 18:13). It is surprising that, in a land subject to earthquakes, more frequent reference is not made to this alarming phenomenon as an instrument of the Lord’s intervention (though Amos, cf. Amos 1:1; 8:8, etc., and other prophets do so use it). Intimidated by the thunder-storm that broke up their battle lines, the Philistines fled downhill towards their own territory, while the Israelites had the double advantage of height from which to hurl their missiles on the enemy below, and growing confidence in their likely victory. Beth-car, mentioned only here, has not been identified. The enemy was decisively defeated.

Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 85–86.

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

1 Samuel 7:12-17

12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”

13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. 16 Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. 17 Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.

7:16 Bethel was one of the most important sacred sites, being associated with the patriarchs (see Gen. 35:15). The ark was there at one time (Judg. 20:26–27). Joshua 18:21–22 lists it as a Benjaminite city, but during most of history it was a part of Ephraim. It was in Bethel, as well as in Dan, that Jeroboam established a sanctuary for worshiping a golden calf as a rival to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:28–29). The modern site is Beitin, 10 miles (16 km) north of Jerusalem, at the intersection of two major highways—the mountain ridge road and the main road leading from Jericho to the coastal plain. The site of Gilgal has not yet been identified. It was the place on “the east border of Jericho” where Joshua and the Israelites camped after crossing the Jordan River (Josh. 4:19, etc.). This ancient city was a place of worship and sacrifice in the Benjaminite district. Gilgal was important in the kingship of Saul: he was ordered to go there and wait on God after his private anointing (1 Sam. 10:1); there the people made him king (11:15); and there his perpetual (i.e., dynastic) kingship was rejected (13:8–15) and finally negated (15:23). Later, in the eighth century, Amos (Amos 4:4; 5:5) and Hosea (Hos. 4:15; 9:15; 12:11) denounced Gilgal, along with Bethel, as an active but illegitimate place of worship. Thus, the narrator summarizes Samuel’s era: Israel was secure and stable both externally and internally under the judgeship of Samuel, for the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines and there was peace between the Israelites and the Amorites. Samuel’s annual visits from his hometown of Ramah gave the people confidence and trust in God and in Samuel’s leadership. In the next episode, however, the people of Israel senselessly request a new institution (kingship) rather than a new judge, despite Samuel’s opposition.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 503.

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

12. So remarkable a deliverance could not be allowed to sink into oblivion, hence Samuel’s memorial-stone, set up like our war memorials in a prominent place. But Samuel’s stone recalled not the names of the dead but the living Lord God, the Helper of his people. Ebenezer means ‘stone of help’ or ‘stone of the Helper’, a name frequently applied to the Lord (e.g. the refrain ‘He is their help and their shield’ in Ps. 115:9–11). The explanation of the name, Hitherto the Lord has helped us, can mean either ‘as far as this geographical spot’, which fits the context well, or ‘until now’; the Hebrews loved to use words and expressions with double meanings, and most likely kept both senses here. The reminder of prayer answered in the past would encourage faith in God for further blessing:

    We’ll praise Him for all that is past.
    And trust Him for all that’s to come.


Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 86.

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

7:3–4 Returning here is the act of repentance, i.e., a change of direction back to the Lord. Samuel gives three commands: (1) turn away from idolatry; (2) direct the heart to the LORD; and (3) serve him alone (see Deut. 6:4–15; Josh. 24:14–28; Judg. 10:6–16). Foreign gods and the Ashtaroth refers to the totality of idols. The Baals and the Ashtaroth has the same meaning.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 502.

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.

(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

1 Samuel 7

7 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the Lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the Lord had abandoned them.

Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)

7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.

10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.

12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah.[a] He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”

13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. 16 Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. 17 Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.

1 Samuel 6:7-12
7 “Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen. 8 Put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want. 9 If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the Lord who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”

10 So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen. 11 Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart. 12 And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

Romans 5:8
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

6:7–9 This is an experiment to discover whether the cause of the Philistines’ troubles was a natural event (coincidence, v. 9) or a supernatural one (it is he who has done us this great harm, v. 9). Untrained milk cows could not pull a cart together well, and if they went anywhere, it would be home to their calves. Therefore, if they pulled the cart uphill toward Israel, it must be the work of the Lord (v. 9).

6:11 The golden mice and the images of their tumors refers either to 10 items or to five (see note on v. 4). If the latter, then the images would be “mouse-shaped” gold items made to symbolize their tumors.

6:12 Beth-shemesh was partway up the Sorek Valley, a valley connecting Israel and Philistia, the scene of many of Samson’s exploits. Zorah, Eshtaol, Timnah, and Delilah’s home were all in that valley (Judg. 13:25; 14:1; 16:4). Ekron was near the place where the valley opens up into the plain.

6:12 By miraculous power God delivers the ark, the symbol of his name, prefiguring the miraculous deliverance of Christ from death.


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 501.

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

6:15 Beth-shemesh is listed among the Levitical cities in Josh. 21:16.

6:17–18 This is a formal list with a heading, details (lit., “for Ashdod one; for Gaza one; for Ashkelon one; for Gath one; for Ekron one”), and summary. Many similar lists have been discovered all over the ancient Near East. In these, the summary always encapsulates the details. This structure suggests that the gold tumors in the heading and details may be the same as the gold mice in the summary (v. 18; see also the lists in 30:26–31 and 2 Sam. 23:8–39; but see notes on 1 Sam. 6:4; 6:11). The summary is: “and [or, namely] the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” i.e., both walled forts and their surrounding unwalled villages. This phraseology was probably chosen to ensure that no part of the Philistine territory was left out. The five cities named in v. 17 would include “all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,” since each of the five Philistine cities would have unwalled villages associated with it. (Note “Ashdod and its territory” in 5:6; a similar phrase refers to a political unit in Assyrian annals. In 27:5–6, Ziklag is a “country town” belonging to the “royal city” of Gath.) This list may have been put into the box with the gold items.

6:19 The Hebrew expression looked upon indicates staring, and perhaps gloating; this irreverence explains why God struck some of the men. The puzzling Hebrew text “seventy men, fifty thousand men” (ESV footnote) may possibly mean “seventy men, i.e., five people out of every thousand” (or “every clan”). If this is the correct meaning, then the population of the city would have been 14,000 people (or 14 clans).

6:20 The people of Beth-shemesh sound like the people of Ashdod (5:7–8).

6:21 Kiriath-jearim was about 10 miles (16 km) farther up the Sorek Valley toward Jerusalem. It was a strategic location, situated on a hill at the juncture of the boundaries of Judah, Dan, and Benjamin.


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 501–502.

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

1 Samuel 5:6-12

6 Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. 7 When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.” 8 So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.

10 So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!” 11 The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. 12 Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.

5:6 The tumors, together with an apparently abnormal number of mice in the area (6:5), have led most commentators to identify the disease as bubonic plague. Yet 5:12 has no reference to the mice at all. See note on 6:4.

5:8 The five (6:4, 16) lords were the rulers of the five ruling Philistine cities (i.e., the Philistine pentapolis; see 6:17). Gath was the city of Goliath (17:4), Achish (21:10; 27:2), and Ittai and the 600 Gittites (2 Sam. 15:18–19). Gath is probably Tel ets-Tsafi, about 12 miles (19 km) east of Ashdod and 5 miles (8 km) south of Ekron (1 Sam. 5:10), at the foot of the Judean hills.

5:10 Ekron is another city of the Philistine pentapolis, most probably Tel Miqne, 22 miles (35 km) west of Jerusalem, on the western border between Philistia and Judah. This journey of the ark, taken from city to city by its panicky “captors,” is almost a parody of a triumph march. Ekron has been discovered and excavated by archaeologists. A monumental inscription, belonging to the early seventh century B.C., has been found in what appears to be a temple complex. It is a plea to a goddess to protect Achish, the ruler of Ekron, and to bless him with long life, and to bless his land.

5:11 a deathly panic. I.e., one that causes death.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 500.

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

1 Samuel 5:1-5

The Ark in Philistia
5 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. 4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.

5:2 Dagon is a deity known from Early Bronze Age Mesopotamian and northern Syrian cities such as Ebla, Mari, Emar, and Ugarit. The Philistines apparently adopted him as their principal god (Judg. 16:23; 1 Chron. 10:10) soon after their arrival in Canaan. It was once thought that the name meant “fish,” but this view is no longer accepted. More recently, derivation from a word meaning “grain” has been proposed, but it is not certain. The practice of capturing the enemy’s gods was common in ancient Near East warfare and is often mentioned in documents such as the Assyrian royal inscriptions. It was understood that a people whose gods were in enemy hands was completely conquered.

5:3 The next morning, the statue of Dagon is found in a position suggesting submission before the ark of the LORD. This has become a battle between deities. Dagon cannot protect himself or his people from the hand of the Lord (v. 6).

5:4 God executes judgment on Dagon, prefiguring the judgment in Christ against all idols and idol worship (Rev. 2:20).

5:5 The temple threshold was considered


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 500.

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

1 Samuel 6:1-6

The Philistines Return the Ark
6 The Ark of the Lord remained in Philistine territory seven months in all. 2 Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, “What should we do about the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how to return it to its own country.”

3 “Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague.”

4 “What sort of guilt offering should we send?” they asked.

And they were told, “Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land. 5 Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land. 6 Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.

6:2 The Philistines reluctantly admit defeat and consult with their priests and diviners on how to send the ark back.

6:3 While a guilt offering as described in Lev. 5:14–17 did not exist for the Philistines, the ancient Near East shared the concept of misappropriating holy things or places for profane use. Thus the Philistines viewed their current plight as God’s “heavy hand” (1 Sam. 5:11) upon them for their desecration of the sacred ark; this desecration required a sacrifice as some kind of recompense to the God of the ark.

6:4 Five golden tumors and five golden mice. The exact relationship between the tumors and the mice is difficult to determine, but from the list in vv. 17–18 one possibility is that only five golden objects are involved and that the “and” should be taken here as “namely,” as is not uncommon in Hebrew, yielding “five golden tumors, namely, five golden mice” (see also v. 11). While that reading is grammatically possible, most interpreters understand 10 items set forth here: five golden tumors as well as five golden mice.

6:5 Even the pagan Philistines must eventually give glory to the God of Israel.


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 500–501.

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.

(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)

1 Samuel 5-6

The Ark in Philistia
5 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. 4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.

6 Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.[a] 7 When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.” 8 So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.

10 So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!” 11 The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it[b] will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. 12 Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.

The Philistines Return the Ark

6 The Ark of the Lord remained in Philistine territory seven months in all. 2 Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, “What should we do about the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how to return it to its own country.”

3 “Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague.”

4 “What sort of guilt offering should we send?” they asked.

And they were told, “Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land. 5 Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land. 6 Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.

7 “Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen. 8 Put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want. 9 If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the Lord who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”

10 So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen. 11 Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart. 12 And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

13 The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed! 14 The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord as a burnt offering. 15 Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors from the cart and placed them on the large rock. Many sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered to the Lord that day by the people of Beth-shemesh. 16 The five Philistine rulers watched all this and then returned to Ekron that same day.

17 The five gold tumors sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the Lord were gifts from the rulers of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The five gold rats represented the five Philistine towns and their surrounding villages, which were controlled by the five rulers. The large rock[a] at Beth-shemesh, where they set the Ark of the Lord, still stands in the field of Joshua as a witness to what happened there.

The Ark Moved to Kiriath-Jearim

19 But the Lord killed seventy men[b] from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the Lord. And the people mourned greatly because of what the Lord had done. 20 “Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”

21 So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them, “The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord. Come here and get it!”

1 Samuel 4:18 - 22

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

4:17 Your two sons … are dead is the sign that Eli had been told to expect as a forewarning of the near demise of his house (2:34), but it seems that he is even more concerned about the ark.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 4:18 - 22

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

4:17 Your two sons … are dead is the sign that Eli had been told to expect as a forewarning of the near demise of his house (2:34), but it seems that he is even more concerned about the ark.

4:19 Bowed is literally “crouched,” the position for giving birth. It was probably a premature delivery brought on by shock.


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 4:12-22

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. 13 Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

14 “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.

The messenger rushed over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and blind. 16 He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”

“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

17 “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

4:12 The messenger ran a distance of nearly 22 miles (35 km). Tearing one’s clothes, often along with putting dirt on one’s head, was the normal reaction to grief or horror in the OT (e.g., 2 Sam. 1:2, 11; 3:31; 13:19, 31; 15:32; Job 2:12).

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 4:12-22

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. 13 Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

14 “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.

The messenger rushed over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and blind. 16 He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”

“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

17 “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

4:11 The capture of the ark, which symbolizes God himself, and the death of the priests is a kind of “humiliation” of God’s name, prefiguring the humiliation of Christ in his crucifixion. But it all takes place in accordance with God’s sovereign purpose (2:34–35; Acts 2:23; 4:25–28).


Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 4:12-22

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. 13 Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

14 “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.

The messenger rushed over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and blind. 16 He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”

“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

17 “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

4:21–22 Like Eli, Phinehas’s wife seems more concerned with the ark than with her husband. Ichabod means “where is the glory?” She mourns for Israel without the presence of God. Departed (Hb. galah) does not mean just to “go away,” but to be “exiled” (see ESV footnote). She doesn’t know that the Lord is going to demonstrate his glory in the land of Philistia, as seen in ch. 5.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499–500.

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.

(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 4:12-22

The Death of Eli
12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. 13 Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

14 “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.

The messenger rushed over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and blind. 16 He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”

“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

17 “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. 20 She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

21 She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

Brandon emphasized that God’s glory is not simply brightness or beauty; it carries weight, significance, and authority. Isaiah’s response to God was not a casual one, he was filled with awe and wonder when he encountered God's glory. 

• What tends to make God feel small or ordinary to us, even though we know He is infinitely holy and glorious? 
• How can familiarity with church, Scripture, worship, or Christian language sometimes make it easier to lose our sense of awe?
• When was the last time you genuinely felt awe toward God? What was happening, and what about God captured your attention?

Brandon pointed out that “the weight of our sin blinds us to the weight of His glory.” Eli and his sons had become so accustomed to dishonoring God that they could treat His sacrifices with contempt and still remain in positions of spiritual authority. 

• Why is persistent, tolerated sin so spiritually dangerous? 
• Where do you think Christians are most tempted to become comfortable with sin because it has been present in their lives for so long? 
• What makes repentance harder when sin has become familiar?

There is a strong connection between Eli sitting on his “throne” at the beginning of his story and falling from that throne at the end. Eli had honored his sons above God, and Israel had attempted to use God’s presence for their own purposes. 

• Share an area of life where surrendering control to God has been difficult for you.
• Have you seen any ways God has been exposing your need for control or challenging your desire to remain “on the throne” in that area?

1 Samuel 4 ends with Ichabod, “the glory has departed”, but scripture points us forward to John 1:14: “The Word became flesh… We have seen His glory.” The glory that Israel could not control and that Moses could not fully behold came near to us in Jesus. The cross shows us both how seriously God takes our sin and how far He was willing to go to redeem us. 

• Why do we sometimes find it easier to focus on God’s forgiveness than on the weight of what Jesus endured to make that forgiveness possible?
•  Where do you personally need to recover a sense of wonder at what Christ has done?

Brandon ended the message by connecting God’s glory to our calling: Jesus is the light of the world, and those who follow Him are called to reflect that light so that others ultimately give glory to the Father. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

• What are some things that can begin to carry more weight in our lives than God does?
• How do we recognize when something good has started taking a place that belongs to God?
• Where is God calling you to stop living for your own glory and intentionally live for His? Could be in your career, relationship, finances, habits, etc.

1 Samuel 4:1-11
1 And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek. 2 The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men. 3 After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.”

4 So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 5 When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!

6 “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived, 7 they panicked. “The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! 8 Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. 9 Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. 11 The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.

4:11 The capture of the ark, which symbolizes God himself, and the death of the priests is a kind of “humiliation” of God’s name, prefiguring the humiliation of Christ in his crucifixion. But it all takes place in accordance with God’s sovereign purpose (2:34–35; Acts 2:23; 4:25–28).

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 499.

6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.

(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)