DAY 080: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR – 1 SAMUEL 6-10

March 19, 2024

1 SAMUEL 6-10
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DAY 080: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Today’s journey begins with the Philistines returning the ark of the Lord to Israel. After the ark is returned, Samuel leads Israel against the Philistines, defeating them at Mitzpah. The Israelites ask Samuel for a king.

Take some time to pray for God’s guidance as we study 1 Samuel 6-10. While you are in prayer you may have something you want to share with the Lord or maybe seek His help for someone. Read 1 Samuel 6-10. Let’s begin.

The books of First and Second Samuel were originally one book, that was later split in two due to its length. Before the start of this book, Israel had resided in the Promised Land for some time, and we saw their continued moral decline under the rule of judges. The books of Samuel are books of transition. In these books, the 12 Tribes of Israel are united into one nation under one king. First and Second Samuel is a character-driven story, with the three main characters of Samuel, Saul, and David. These men, especially Saul and David, have their own character strengths and weaknesses. We are going to study these as we journey through their lives.

1 Samuel 6-10: The Philistines wanted to return the ark of the Lord to Israel, as the five leaders of the Philistines and their cities were suffering. To prove that the suffering was caused by the God of Israel, they placed the ark on a wooden cart, along with golden and silver gifts, drawn by two cows who had young calves penned up. If the cows went to Beth Shemesh (Israel), rather than their calves, the Philistines would know their afflictions were caused by the God of Israel. The cows delivered the ark of the Lord to Beth Shemesh. God struck down 70 inhabitants of Beth Shemesh for mishandling the ark of the Lord, and the ark and sent it on to Kiriath Jearim, where it remained for 20 years.

Samuel encouraged the people of Israel to forsake the false gods they worshiped and give all of themselves to the true God, the God of Israel. The people confessed their sins to God and put away their idol worship. Samuel leads them against, and defeats, the Philistines at Mitzpah. Israel was at peace throughout Samuel’s lifetime.

As Samuel grew old, the true heart of many, maybe most, of the people of Israel were revealed. Rather than rejoice and serve the Lord honorably in the positions He had given them, Joel and Abijah, the sons of Samuel, used their positions to steal from the people the Lord had selected them to serve. Samuel, at the Lord’s direction, anoints Saul King of Israel. Some people of Israel were unhappy with God’s selection of Saul as their king. Saul remained silent even though he knew that some were unhappy with his selection as king. (1 Samuel 6:1-10:27)

After reading chapters 6 through 10, consider the following: What strengths and weaknesses did you observe in the people in today’s reading? Did you see yourself in any of the characters you read about today? How so? What can you learn about your character from today’s reading? Reflect on your own character, is it all pleasing to the Lord?

Godspeace!