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The Philistines Take the Special Box of the Agreement

So the news of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They set up their tents beside Ebenezer while the Philistines stayed at Aphek. The Philistines came dressed for battle to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel lost to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 men on the battle-field. When the people returned to the tents, the leaders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord made us lose today to the Philistines? Let us bring the special box that holds the Law of the Lord here from Shiloh. Then He may come among us and save us from the power of those who fight against us.” So the people sent men to Shiloh to take the special box with the Law of the Lord of All Who sits above the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the special box with the Law of God.

When the box with the Law of the Lord came among the tents, all Israel called out with a loud noise, so that the earth shook. When the Philistines heard the noise, they said, “What does this loud noise among the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the special box of the Lord had come among the Israelites. The Philistines were afraid. They said, “A god has come among the tents. Trouble has come to us! Nothing like this has happened before. Trouble has come to us! Who will save us from the hand of these powerful gods? These are the gods who destroyed the Egyptians with all kinds of troubles in the desert. Be strong and act like men, O Philistines. Or you will be made to work for the Hebrews, as they have been made to work for you. Be men and fight.” 10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel lost. Every man ran to his tent. And many were killed, for 30,000 foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 The special box of God was taken. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle and came to Shiloh the same day. His clothes were torn and he had dust on his head. 13 When he came, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for he was very worried about the special box of God. The man told the news in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise in the city, he said, “What does this noise mean?” Then the man came in a hurry and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were weak so that he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle. I ran from the battle today.” And Eli said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 The one who brought the news answered, “Israel has run from the Philistines and there have been many people killed. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the special box of God has been taken.” 18 When he told about the special box of God, Eli fell back off the seat by the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was going to have a child and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the special box of God was taken and that her father-in-law and husband had died, she started to give birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 About the time of her death, the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid. For you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or listen to them. 21 She gave the boy the name Ichabod, saying, “The honor has left Israel,” because the special box of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and husband. 22 She said, “The honor has left Israel, for the special box of God was taken.”

The Philistines and the Special Box

The Philistines took the special box of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. They took the special box of God into the house of Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, they saw that Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the special box of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they got up early the next morning, they saw that Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground in front of the special box of the Lord. And Dagon’s head and both his hands were cut off and lying in the doorway. Only the body of Dagon was left. So the religious leaders of Dagon and all who go into Dagon’s house do not step on the bottom part of the doorway in Ashdod to this day.

The hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites. He filled them with fear and punished them with pain and sores, both Ashdod and its lands. When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The special box of the God of Israel must not stay with us. For His hand is hard on us and on our god Dagon.” So they called together all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “What should we do with the special box of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the special box of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the box of the God of Israel there. But after they had brought it there, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing much fear. He punished both the young and old men of the city, so that sores broke out upon them. 10 So they sent the special box of God to Ekron. When the box of God came to Ekron, the people there cried out, “They have brought the special box of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.” 11 So they called together all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Send away the special box of the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For the people of the city were afraid. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were punished with sores, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Special Box Returned to Israel

The special box of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines seven months. The Philistines called for the religious leaders and those who were wise in secret ways, saying, “What should we do with the special box of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” And they said, “If you send away the special box of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. But be sure to return to Him a sin gift. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand does not turn away from you.” Then they said, “What should we return to Him for a sin gift?” And they said, “Five sores made of gold and five gold mice, as many as there are Philistine leaders. For the same trouble was upon all of you and on your leaders. So make objects to look like your sores and your mice that destroyed the land, and you will give honor to the God of Israel. It may be that He will be easier on you, your gods, and your land. Why do you make your hearts hard as the Egyptians and Pharaoh made their hearts hard? Do not forget how the God of Israel made it hard for them. And did they not let the people go? So now take and make ready a new wagon and two milk cows that have never pulled a load. Tie the cows to the wagon and take their calves away from them. Take the special box of the Lord and put it on the wagon. Put the objects of gold which you return to Him as a sin gift in a box by its side. Then send it away, and let it be gone. And watch. If it goes on the way to its own land, to Bethshemesh, then He has done this very bad thing to us. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that destroyed us. It will have just happened for no reason.”

10 The men did so. They took two milk cows and tied them to the wagon, and shut up their calves at home. 11 They put the special box of the Lord on the wagon, and the box with the gold mice and the objects made to look like their sores. 12 And the cows went straight toward Bethshemesh. They went along the straight road, making a sound as they went. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the leaders of the Philistines followed them to the outside of Bethshemesh. 13 Now the people of Bethshemesh were gathering their grain in the valley. They looked up and saw the special box of the Lord, and were glad to see it. 14 The wagon came into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite and stopped there by a big stone. They cut the wood of the wagon into pieces and gave the cows as a burnt gift to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the special box of the Lord and the box that was with it that had the objects of gold, and put them on the big stone. The men of Bethshemesh gave burnt gifts in worship that day to the Lord. 16 When the five leaders of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

17 These are the sores made of gold which the Philistines returned for a sin gift to the Lord. There was one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 And the gold mice were as many as the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five leaders, both cities with walls and country towns. The big stone where they set the special box of the Lord is there in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite to this day.

19 The Lord killed some of the men of Bethshemesh because they had looked into the special box of the Lord. He killed 70 (50,070) men. And the people were filled with sorrow because the Lord had killed so many of them.

The Special Box at Kiriath-jearim

20 The men of Bethshemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom can we send Him?” 21 So they sent men to the people living in Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the special box of the Lord. Come down and get it.”

The men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the special box of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They set apart his son Eleazar to keep the special box of the Lord.

Samuel Judges for Israel

The special box stayed in Kiriath-jearim a long time, for it was twenty years. And all the family of Israel cried with sorrow for the Lord.

Then Samuel said to all the family of Israel, “Return to the Lord with all your heart. Put away the strange gods and the false goddess Ashtaroth from among you. Turn your hearts to the Lord and worship Him alone. Then He will save you from the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away from among them the false gods of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped the Lord alone.

Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered at Mizpah. They got water and poured it out before the Lord as a gift, and did not eat that day. They said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. The Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, so the leaders of the Philistines went to battle against them. When the people of Israel heard about it, they were afraid of the Philistines. The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the Philistines.” Samuel took a young lamb and gave it as a whole burnt gift to the Lord. Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was burning the gift to the Lord, the Philistines came near to battle against Israel. But the Lord made a loud thunder that day against the Philistines, making them afraid. So they lost the battle with Israel. 11 The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after the Philistines, killing them almost as far as Bethcar.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He gave it the name Ebenezer, saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.” 13 So the Philistines were beaten. They did not come into the land of Israel again. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel’s life. 14 The cities the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned, from Ekron to Gath. Israel saved their land from the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 Every year he went around to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there. He judged Israel there also, and built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Asks for a King

When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges in Israel. The name of his first-born son was Joel. And the name of his second son was Abijah. They were men who judged in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside to get money. They took pay to do things that were not right and fair. Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “See, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Choose a king to rule over us like all the nations.” But Samuel was not pleased when they said, “Give us a king to rule over us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all they say to you. For they have not turned away from you. They have turned away from Me, that I should not be king over them. They are doing to you what they have done since the day I brought them out of Egypt until now. They have turned away from Me and worshiped other gods. So listen to their voice. But tell them of the danger and show them the ways of the king who will rule over them.”

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked him for a king. 11 He said, “This will be the way the king will rule over you. He will take your sons and make them drive his war-wagons, be his horsemen, and run in front of his war-wagons. 12 He will choose leaders of thousands and of fifties. He will choose men to plow his ground, gather his grain, and make objects for war and for his war-wagons. 13 He will take your daughters to make perfume, work with the food, and make bread. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vines and olives, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth part of your grain and your vines to give to his leaders and his servants. 16 He will take your men servants and your women servants and the best of your cattle and your donkeys, and use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth part of your flocks, and you yourselves will be made to work for him. 18 You will cry out in that day because of your king you have chosen for yourselves. But the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We will have a king rule over us, 20 so we may be like other nations. Our king may rule over us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 After Samuel heard all the people’s words, he told the Lord what they had said. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and choose a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every one of you go home to his city.”