๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฏโ€“๐Ÿฑ: ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—นโ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑโ€™๐˜€ ๐—๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜

Published on 10 January 2025 at 10:00

๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฏ–๐Ÿฑ: ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น’๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜

If you haven’t already, take time to read ๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฏ–๐Ÿฑ. These chapters mark significant turning points, including Samuel’s calling as a prophet, God’s judgment on Eli’s household, and the dramatic events surrounding the ark of the covenant.


๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น’๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ (๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐Ÿฏ:๐Ÿญ–๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿญ)

The chapter begins with an important observation: “๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜“๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด; ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ” (1st Samuel 3:1). This sets the tone for a time of spiritual drought in Israel.

God calls Samuel one night while he’s lying in the temple near the ark of the covenant. At first, Samuel mistakes God’s voice for Eli’s, but after being instructed by Eli, he responds, “๐˜š๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ, ๐˜“๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด” (1st Samuel 3:10).

Samuel’s readiness to listen and obey stands in stark contrast to Eli’s sons, who disregard God’s commands. From that moment, Samuel becomes a faithful prophet of the Lord, delivering God’s messages to Israel.


๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€:

• Are we ready to listen when God speaks, even if His message is challenging?

• How can we cultivate a heart like Samuel’s, eager to serve and obey God?

 

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐˜‚๐—น๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜: ๐—˜๐—น๐—ถ’๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฑ (๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ–๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฎ)

God had warned Eli of the consequences of his failure to discipline his sons, and in Chapter 4, those warnings come to pass. Israel faces the Philistines in battle, and in an attempt to secure victory, they bring the ark of the covenant into the camp, treating it as a good-luck charm rather than respecting its sacredness.

The Philistines defeat Israel, killing 30,000 men. Hophni and Phinehas die, and the ark is captured. When Eli hears the news—not just of his sons’ deaths but of the ark’s capture—he falls backward, breaks his neck, and dies.

This moment underscores the dangers of complacency and the consequences of dishonoring God.

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€:

• Do we sometimes treat God’s presence or blessings as tools to serve our own agendas, rather than revering Him as holy?

• How can we guard against complacency in our spiritual lives?

 

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜?

Before we continue, let’s take a moment to understand the significance of the ark of the covenant.

The ark was a sacred chest made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and topped with the mercy seat, where two cherubim faced each other. It was built during the time of Moses as instructed by God (Exodus 25:10–22).

Inside the ark were:

- The tablets of the Ten Commandments, representing God’s covenant with Israel.

- A jar of manna, a reminder of God’s provision in the wilderness.

- Aaron’s staff, which had budded as a sign of God’s chosen leadership.


The ark symbolized God’s presence with His people and was kept in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. Its capture by the Philistines was not only a military loss but a spiritual crisis for Israel.

 

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—”๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€: ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜† (๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐Ÿฑ:๐Ÿญ–๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ)

The Philistines, thinking they’ve triumphed over Israel’s God, place the ark in the temple of their god, Dagon. The next morning, they find Dagon’s statue face down before the ark. They set it up again, but the following day, Dagon’s head and hands are broken off.

God then afflicts the Philistines with plagues wherever the ark is taken. Realizing they can’t handle the power of Israel’s God, the Philistines prepare to return the ark, acknowledging God’s supremacy.

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€:

• How does this story remind us of God’s unmatched power and sovereignty?

• Are there areas in our lives where we’ve underestimated or taken for granted God’s holiness?

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฏ–๐Ÿฑ

1. ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—ฉ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ: Samuel’s story teaches us the importance of being attentive and obedient to God’s calling, even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable.


2. ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ: The Israelites treated the ark as a tool for their own purposes, leading to devastating consequences. We are reminded to honor God with reverence and humility.


3. ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐˜๐˜†: The Philistines’ defeat, even after capturing the ark, shows that God’s power is not confined by human hands or circumstances.

 

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ

• Are you actively listening for God’s voice in your life, and how can you create space to hear Him?

• How do you approach God’s presence—with humility and reverence, or with casual familiarity?

• What steps can you take to ensure your life reflects trust in God’s power and sovereignty?

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—”๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ

Next, we’ll continue with ๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฒ–๐Ÿณ, exploring the return of the ark and how Samuel leads Israel to repentance and victory.

Take time to reflect on the lessons from Chapters 3–5. Let’s keep pressing into God’s Word, seeking deeper understanding and application for our lives!