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SECTION XXXIX.

JEHOVAH SPEAKS TO THE CHILD SAMUEL, AND REVEALS HIS PURPOSE IN REGARD TO ELI'S FAMILY-ELI'S HUMBLE SUBMISSION.

ABOUT this time the instances of divine communications had become rare; "and there was no open vision." Some time had elapsed since the anonymous prophet had been sent with God's awful message to Eli; and yet no reformation had taken place in his sons; and it does not appear that he had become more faithful and decisive in the treatment of his sons, and probably the deep impression which the prophet's words must have made upon his mind, was nearly obliterated, when it pleased God to send him another message by his young servant Samuel, who ministered unto the Lord before him. And it came to pass, at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, that the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and

And he said, I called not;

said, Here am I, for thou calledst me. lie down again; and he went and lay down. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. And the Lord came and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel: then Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant heareth. And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house. When I begin I will also make an end, for I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not. And, therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son, and he answered, Here am I. And he

said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me, of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." As the Lord is very merciful and repenteth him of the evil which he has intended and threatened, it cannot be doubted, that if Eli, upon the first divine warning, had immediately set himself to reform his house and to restrain his sons, or to put them out of the way of doing so much evil, the dreadful judgments denounced against his family would have been averted; for in such threatenings there is commonly an implied condition, that if the parties concerned repent and turn unto God with all their heart, their iniquities shall be forgiven. But when men persevere in transgression, there is a certain point beyond which mercy will not pursue them; when the Lord utterly refuses to hear any intercessions or accept any sacrifices or offerings in behalf of the guilty transgressor. There is a day of grace; and there is a time when, in just judgment, the things which make for peace are hidden from the eyes of men. Eli and his sons might have escaped from these heavy judgments, if they had repented when the man of God was sent with the solemn admonition, which we have recorded above; but now, the day of grace was past. Now the purpose of God is irrevocably fixed, that his house shall not be purged, and that the threatened punishment shall fall upon him. The submission of Eli to the divine will in this matter is truly remarkable. He was conscious of his own ill-desert, and was convinced that he justly deserved to suffer all that had been threatened. He said not a word, therefore, in extenuation of his sin; nor did he complain of the severity of the divine wrath; nor ask that the awful curse should be averted or mitigated. He bows in submission to the divine will, and meekly says, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." He knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right; and as he had revealed that his sin should not escape punishment, he sees nothing left for him but humble submission. There is a remarkable parallelism between the conduct of Eli and that of Aaron. Indeed, the resemblance between these two saints is very striking, and also between the calamities which befel them. Both were high-priests-both had irreligious sons, who, while they ministered at the altar, by their transgressions provoked Jehovah to cut them off; and it is probable that, in either case, the oldest of these young men, if he had lived, would have been advanced to the office of high-priest. When Nadab and Abihu were struck dead, "Aaron held his peace;" and Eli spoke, but only said, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.",

From the time that the Lord made himself known unto Samuel, when a child, he continued more and more to make communications unto him, until it was well understood from Dan even to Beer-sheba, "that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord." "And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." "And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the Word of the Lord." And the word of Samuel was regarded by all Israel as a revelation from God; and he was respected and venerated as a prophet of the Lord.

SECTION XL.

THE ISRAELITES DEFEATED BY THE PHILISTINES THE TWO SONS OF ELI SLAIN, AND THE ARK TAKEN-THE INTELLIGENCE OVERCOMES ELI, WHO FALLS BACK AND BREAKS HIS NECK-THE WIFE OF PHINEHAS ALSO EXPIRES.

In this period a war occurred between the Israelites and their inveterate foes, the Philistines. The Israelites encamped in a place which afterwards received the name of Ebenezer, on account of a circumstance which shall hereafter be mentioned. The Philistines pitched not far off, in a place called Aphek. The contending armies soon joined battle, and Israel was smitten before the Philistines; and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. "When the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies." This was a very unlawful enterprise. The ark, when deposited in the tabernacle, was not to be removed, but by divine direction; and on this occasion, no prophet was consulted, and no inquiry was made of the Lord by Urim and Thummim, or by any other means; but a hasty resolution was formed in the camp, under the consternation produced by their recent defeat. Besides, it was a weak and superstitious opinion that the mere presence of the ark could save them from their enemies. If God was not on their side, in vain did they trust to the ark, which was, indeed, a symbol of the divine presence, but possessed no power whatever independent of God. Eli, to whom the care of the ark belonged, ought firmly and strenuously to have resisted this desecration of the ark of the covenant; but it was the weakness of this good man not to be able to oppose the will of others, even when it was evil. And his two wicked sons, who seem to have had the charge of the tabernacle and its sacred furniture, would be disposed to comply with the wishes of the people and the elders. Accordingly,

they sent to Shiloh and brought from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims. Hophni and Phinehas accompanied the impious and mad expedition. "And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp, and they said, Wo unto us, for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. Wo unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? These are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Quit yourselves like men, and fight." Battle was now joined, and again Israel was smitten, and the people fled to their tents, and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. The sad tidings of this disastrous defeat was brought to Shiloh by a man of Benjamin, who came the same day with his clothes. rent, and with earth upon his head. Eli, who was in great anxiety, had taken his seat by the wayside, watching; "for his heart trembled for the ark of God." As soon as the tidings were heard, there arose a general cry of distress among the people, which, when Eli heard, he said, "What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old, and his eyes were dim that he could not see." And when he was informed that this man had come immediately from the camp, he said, "What is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people: and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And it came pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell from the seat backward, by the side. of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died; for he was an old man and heavy; and he had judged Israel forty years. And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not, for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named

the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her fatherin-law and her husband." And in her last moments she repeated what may be considered a sad prediction, "The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken."

SECTION XLI.

THE ARK CARRIED TO ASHDOD AND PLACED BY DAGON-THIS IDOL FALLS ON THE FLOOR, AND IS MUTILATED-THE PHILISTINES, AFFLICTED WITH DISEASE AND MICE, SEND BACK THE ARK.

THE Philistines having got possession of the ark of God, brought it to Ashdod, and placed it in the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. Next morning a remarkable thing was discovered by the inhabitants of Ashdod. "Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day."

However the lords of the Philistines might have triumphed, in consequence of the capture of the ark of the Lord, yet it now became an embarrassing question how they should dispose of it; for the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, causing them to be afflicted with a painful and troublesome disease; so that they said, "The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our God. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction." "Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron." But the Ekronites, as soon as it arrived, cried out, saying, "They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there." And the men who did not die were afflicted with a very disagreeable disease; so that the cry of the city went up to heaven. The time of the continuance of the ark in the land of the Philistines was seven months.

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