Year One, August 10

Put Not Your Trust in Princes1

1 Samuel 8:1; 3-22

1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. (Grace cannot be passed down from generation to generation. An honored father may have disgraceful children. Perhaps Samuel was wrong in making his sons judges. We do not read that the Lord instructed him to appoint them. Great people should not injure the church or the state by putting their children into offices that they are not qualified to fill.

4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. (This little sentence is most instructive. When we are perplexed or displeased, we should turn immediately to prayer. We continually read of the prayers of the Lord Jesus. We ought to imitate him in this. As the fish loves the stream, and the bird the branch, so the believer loves prayer.)

7And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” (They wanted to do things their way and the Lord finally allowed them to have it. But they were to be warned of the consequences, so they would not be ignorant about the decision they were making. Many things that people’s hearts lust after will be their curse. God may allow them to have their heart’s desire, but he does it in anger and he knows it will bring them only limited satisfaction.)

10So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

Under the government of God they had been free from taxes and demands of service. But if they chose to put their necks under the yoke of a king, they would have to keep them there. When Christians are free from the cares and worries of a complicated and strict form of church government, they are better off not changing things. Let us not run into spiritual bondage willingly. It is delightful to serve King Jesus, but it is hard to serve others, or live for self-promotion, wealth, or tradition.

19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.” (May God save us from having our prayers answered like theirs were! Oh Lord, if we ask anything that is not according to your will, please have mercy on us and refuse our request.)

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¹ Psalm 146:3

Year One, August 9

Till Now the LORD Has Helped Us1

1 Samuel 7:1-13; 15-17

1And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the LORD. (The ark of God was moved from Shiloh, but the light of God that it represented2 was even brighter than before.) 2From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. (This was a happy sorrow. They were full of regret because the Lord had left them. Whenever people seek God and mourn over their sin, he will soon make his presence known to them. Anyone who has not yet found Jesus, should sigh and cry after him. It will not be long before he looks on us in love. God had already come back to Israel when the people lamented after him. When a soul sighs for the Lord, the Lord is already with it.)

3And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only. (Their repentance would not have been real if it did not change the way they lived. People cannot keep their sins and have their God. No one can serve two masters.)

5Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you. 6So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the LORD and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. (Yet they had no cause for fear, because they were now reunited with God. The person who is at peace with God should be fearless.)

8And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” (They spoke wisely, and showed that they had faith as well as fear. Faith in God gave them faith in the power of prayer.) 9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

True repentance, true prayer, and faith in the true Lamb of God, will win the day.

10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.

12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer (or, stone of help), for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” (Samuel won that battle on his knees. Then he placed a stone as a reminder to praise the Lord for answering prayer. Praying people are thankful people.) 13So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (God does not abandon his faithful servants when they grow old. And they do not ask their Lord for permission to retire and stop serving him. To serve God from our childhood to our old age is an honor. May such grace be given to the young members of our family.) 16And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the LORD.

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¹ 1 Samuel 7:12

² 1 John 1:5 , “God is Light.”

Year One, August 8

Nations Will Fear the Name of the LORD1

1 Samuel 6:1-10; 12-15; 19-21

1The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” (They were correct in believing that some acknowledgement of their fault must go with the ark when they returned it. If people want to be forgiven, they must use every possible way to right the wrongs they have committed. Even unbelievers understand this.)

4And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. 6Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? (It is likely that a plague of mice had been destroying their crops at the same time the tumors were tormenting their bodies. Therefore, they recognized that both judgments came from Jehovah.)

7“Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up the calves at home.

12And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. (How wonderfully God guided these animals. Of their own accord they wandered away from their calves, lamenting them as they went along. Without a driver they chose the nearest road to the city of the Levites. God led the cows every step of the way.)

13Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. (They must have been shocked to see the ark returning to them without any human assistance. God wanted them to understand that this was completely his doing.) 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD.

19And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the LORD. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great blow. (The God who judged his enemies for their blasphemy, also judges his own people for not obeying his law. He demands the deep respect of all who come near him. Let us never treat holy things lightly.) 20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” (Instead of confessing their own sin, they laid the blame at the door of God’s incomparable holiness. People have not changed. They still complain that God is too strict.)

21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to you.”

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¹ Psalm 102:15

Year One, August 7

For the LORD Is a…Great King Above All Gods1

1 Samuel 5:1-4; 6-12

1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. (The true God would not tolerate having an idol standing upright in the same temple with his ark. Therefore, down it must go. The ark was brought into the house as a captive, but immediately became a conqueror. If the Lord, by his Spirit, comes into the human heart, sin soon falls before him.) So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. (It was a worthless god that needed help putting itself back in place. Idolatry makes people foolish. If it did not, they would see how irrational their behavior is.)

4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. (The second fall was greater than the first, for the fish god was broken, and only his scaly tail remained. The head and hands which symbolized wisdom and power, were dashed to atoms. The ark in the pagan temple resulted in the destruction of Dagon. Grace in the heart destroys the power and energy of sin.)

6The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.

10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people. 11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. (This disease was not only extremely painful but was intended to embarrass the Philistines, because they dared to seize the ark of God and held it in contempt. How glad they would have been to get rid of their captive, who even in captivity achieved victory over them.)

We have a summary of this part of Israel’s history in the Psalms. Let us read it.

  

Psalm 78:58-66

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;

they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,

and he utterly rejected Israel.

60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,

the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

Shiloh was abandoned. The ark never returned to it. The place became a desert and no buildings remained standing. The lampstand of the Lord went out in Shiloh.

61 and (the Lord) delivered his power to captivity,

his glory to the hand of the foe.

62 He gave his people over to the sword

and vented his wrath on his heritage.

63 Fire devoured their young men,

and their young women had no marriage song.

64 Their priests fell by the sword,

and their widows made no lamentation.

The wife of Phinehas was so overcome with sorrow because the ark had been captured by the Philistines, that she was unable to grieve over the death of her husband.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

like a strong man shouting because of wine.

66 And he put his adversaries to rout;

he put them to everlasting shame.

Wickedness will not win for long. God will always be victorious.

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¹ From Psalm 95:3

Year One, August 6

For You Are the Glory of Their Strength1

1 Samuel 4:12-18; 20-22

12A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. (Bad news is sure to find a messenger and a swift one. Sadly, the good news of the Gospel often remains untold.) 13When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. (In this way, the prophecy that the judgments of the Lord on Eli’s sons was fulfilled and the two ears of everyone who heard of it tingled.2 Shiloh had been contaminated with sin, and as a result, the city was infected with sorrow.) 14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli.

15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

The distinguished old priest, within two years of a century old, endured all the sad news patiently until the messenger came to the last item.

18As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. (First his heart was broken and then his neck. Eli fainted from grief and the fall caused his death. No sword of the Philistines could have killed him any more effectively than this terrible news that God’s ark was captured. Nothing affects good people as much as injury to the Church or dishonor brought upon the name of the Lord.)

The sad news that the ark was taken, and that her husband had been killed, caused the pregnant wife of Phinehas to go into labor and die right after the child was born.

20And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” (She seems to have been a God-fearing woman, though her husband was a wicked man. Her faith led her to forget her own miseries, because the miseries of the Church of God were even greater. She named her child Ichabod, which means, “without honor” or, “where is the glory?” because honor and glory had been taken away from Israel. Her death was another strike against Eli’s house, but it was sent in love to her, because she was spared from seeing Israel’s sorrow.)

The sad story of the destruction of Eli’s family is a special warning to all parents to not allow sin to go unpunished in their households. Lack of discipline is lack of love. Let us see what Solomon says about it.

  

Proverbs 23:13-18

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child.

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14 If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol.

Charles Bridges3 in his “Exposition on the Book of Proverbs,” says, “Eli tried gentler means and the sad result is written for our instruction. Is it not cruel love that turns away from painful duty? To tolerate sin in a child is tantamount to hating him in our heart. Is it not better that the flesh should smart than that the soul should die? What if your child should rebuke you throughout eternity, for the neglect of that timely correction that might have saved their soul from hell.”

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16 My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right.

It is a father’s greatest happiness to have a son who is not only good himself, but the bold champion of goodness, speaking out bravely for right and truth and God.

17 Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

18 Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

The trouble in this life will soon be over and then the godly will begin their best life. Their hope is a certain hope. May the Lord teach us as a family to serve him faithfully, so that we may be blessed both here and hereafter.

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¹ Psalm 89:17

² 1 Samuel 3:11

³ Charles Bridges (1794-1869). An evangelical pastor and theologian in the Church of England.

Year One, August 5

Act Like Men, Be Strong1

1 Samuel 3:19-21

19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. 21And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. (Samuel was faithful when God spoke to him the first time and therefore the Lord honored him again. May all young Christians be unwavering and true from the start and God will bless them. Meanwhile God was preparing terrible judgment for the wicked sons of Eli.)

  

1 Samuel 4:1-11

1bNow Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” (The Israelites trusted in the ark instead of the God it represented. They forgot that the most holy symbols will not bring blessings to ungodly hearts. God shows us here that religion on the outside is worthless unless holiness is on the inside. It is pointless to trust in words and ceremonies. They cannot help us if the Lord is not with us. A cross hanging from our neck is worthless, but Christ in the heart is precious.)

4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (God had his own way to bring Eli’s sons to the battlefield where they were doomed to lose their guilty lives. God knows how to reach wicked people and deliver justice to them.)

5As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.

Overconfident people are always ready to shout, but before long they will have reason to weep and wail, just as these noisy boasters did. The law was in the ark, but what help could the law they had broken bring to them. Its very presence condemned them. Those who trust in the law face certain judgment.

6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

The Philistines were idolators and thought the ark was God himself. However, they were correct in thinking that if God was on Israel’s side, it would not go well with them. If they had understood that God is Almighty, they would not have attempted to fight against him. But they thought Jehovah was like their own god, Dagon, who had only limited powers. Therefore, they showed their bravery by deciding to fight like true soldiers. If these Philistines could be so bold in what appeared to be a hopeless situation, how brave should we be who have the assurance of victory, because the Lord of hosts is with us? Our Lord says to us, “Take courage, and be men.” To be cowardly in the cause of Jesus would be disgraceful! Never let the fear of others have the slightest power over you. Do not doubt the reality of the power of your Lord.

10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty-thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11And the ark of God was captured, (The ark was never captured until it was defended with physical weapons. True religion will always suffer when people try to defend it with force.) and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Lord kept his word. He will be just as faithful to keep his threats as to he is to keep his promises. Woe to us if we continue in sin; because the Lord will certainly punish us. Are we all saved in Christ Jesus?

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¹ 1 Corinthians 16:13

Year One, August 4

Those Whom He Predestined He Also Called1

1 Samuel 3:1-18

1Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. (Josephus2 claimed that Samuel was about twelve years of age at this time, and so he was like our blessed Lord Jesus, who at that age said, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”3 How charming a sight it is to see a young child serving the Lord.) And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. (The sin of the priests and the people had made prophetic visions very rare.)

2At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

4Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” (God calls his servants when he pleases, and it is well for them to be able to reply, “Here I am.” Whether it is for duty or suffering, the true child of God says, “Here I am.”) 5and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. (That is, Samuel was not a prophet yet and did not know the Lord with the clarity he would later receive. But without doubt, he was already a godly child.)

8And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” (Samuel’s behavior was lovely, honest and obedient. Do we not wish that all children were like this?) Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

When God speaks to us, it is a great mercy to have a listening ear. But a deaf ear is a sad judgment against us.

11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” (Their day of grace was over and their doom was sealed. What a warning to those who do not respect holy things. These men used the grace of God as an excuse to act wickedly.)

15Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. (He did not become arrogant because he had seen a vision. He went about his daily work, even as our Lord did when he returned from Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph, and was submissive to them. Holy children are always humble children.) And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” (Eli’s conscience convicted him. The Lord had spoken and he was afraid that something terrible was going to happen.)

18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. (This was a difficult order for Samuel, but grace made him do his duty.) And he said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.” (Eli was wrong with his sons, but he was right with God. We must admire the old man’s holy submission and imitate it.)

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¹ Romans 8:30

² Flavius Josephus was a first century Jewish historian.

³ Luke 2:49