(48) Saul defeats the Ammonites

 

About a month later,

The Ammonites attacked Israelite city Jabesh.

 

When Saul, back at his hometown, heard what

was happening in one of Israel's city,

the spirit of God came upon Saul and he became very angry.

 

Saul urged people to follow him and Samuel

into the battle against the Ammonites.

and he found 300,000 men of Israel.

 

When Saul and his army had arrived,

he divided the army into 3 groups

and did a surprise attack against the Ammonites

and won.

 

Israelites exalted Saul and Samuel.

 

Then Samuel reaffirmed Saul's kingship front of people.

They held a ceremony before God

and crowned Saul as their king officially.

 

(47) Israel's 1st King Saul

 

As Samuel grew old,

he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.

However, they were not quite like their father,

for they loved money.

 

So Israelites brought their complaints before Samuel.

 

"Your sons are not like you.

Give us a king like the other countries have."

 

Samuel was very upset when he heard their asking,

so he went to God and asked.

 

"Do as they ask."

God replied.

"But do not fail to warn them about

how a king will treat them."

 

Samuel warned the people but

they did not have any room in their heart for any advice.

They refused to listen.

 

One day, Kish's donkeys wandered away,

so he sent his son Saul to go look for them.

 

Saul listened to his father's request

and went out to look for them

with his servant.

 

But they could not find the donkeys

so they went to see the seer, a prophet.

 

When Samuel noticed Saul, as Saul approached Samuel,

 God said,

"That's the man I will appoint."

 

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head.

 

Later Samuel called all the people of Israel

and announced,

 

"This is the man God has chosen as your king!"

 

Samuel also taught Israelites

the rights and duties of a king.

 

 

(46) Philistines capture the Ark

 

At that time, Israel was at war with the Philistines.

 

Israelites had brought the Ark of the covenant into the battleground,

thinking God will be with them

and fight for them.

 

When Philistines saw the Ark of the covenant,

they panicked.

So they fought desperately,

and Israel was defeated

Even worse, the Ark was captured.

 

However,

ever since they placed the Ark into the tample of Dagon, their idol. 

 the Philistines were having plagues of tumors all around

for God afflicted them.

 

After 7 months of disaster within Philistia,

the Philistines returned the Ark back to Israelites.

And the Philistines did not invade Israel for long time.

 

Thoughout Samuel's lifetime,

God protected Israel from the Philistines' attack.

Samuel continued as Israel's judge for the rest of his life.

 

 

(45) God speaks to Samuel

 

God remebered Hannah's prayer,

and she gave birth to a son.

She named him Samuel.

 

She waited until the baby was weaned,

then she took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, to Eli.

 

Though Samuel was only a boy,

he was the God's helper.

He was serving God by assisting Eli.

 

One night, Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.

Suddenly, God called out,

 

"Samuel!, Samuel!"

 

He ran to Eli.

"I am here, Did you need something?"

 

Eli replied,

"No I did not call you,

go back to bed."

 

Same thing happend again 2 more times,

 

Then Eli realized it was God who was calling Samuel.

so he told Samuel,

"Go back to bed again,

and if someone calls you again,

say, 'Yes, God, your servent is listening.'"

 

Samuel did not know God because he had never had

a message from God before.

 

And God called Samuel as before,

 

Samuel replied,

"Yes, your servent is listening."

 

I have warned Eli about his 2 sons

but he has not disciplined them yet.

I will punish against Eli and his family."

 

Since then, as Samuel grew up,

God was with him.

All the people of Israel recognized Samuel as a prophet.

 

And God continued to give his message to Israel through Samuel.

 

 

 

(44) Hannah's prayer

 

There was a man named Elkanah.

He had 2 wives, Hannah and Peninnah.

Peninnah had children, while Hannah did not.

 

One day they were at Shiloh and

Hannah went to the Tabernacle to pray to God.

 

"God, please look down upon my sadness

and allow me to have a son,

then I will give him back to you,

He will be yours for his entire life."

 

As she was praying, Eli the priest watched her.

He noticed her lips were moving but no sound was coming out,

so he thought she was drunk.

 

"Throw away your wine!

Did you have to come here drunk?"

 

She replied,

"Oh no, I am not drunk.

I was just pouring out my heart to God."

 

Eli told her,

"Cheer up, may God answer your prayer."

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

She went back and

she was no longer sad.

(43) Judges 6 - Samson's last victory

 

Later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah.

The Philistines went to her and said,

 

"Figure out what makes Samson so strong and

how to tie him completely.

We will pay you for the information you will provide."

 

So Delilah asked Samson,

 

"Please, tell me what makes you so strong,

and what it would take to tie you up securely?"

 

Samson told her if he was tied up with 7 new bowstrings,

then he would be as weak as others.

 

She tried as Samson said but figured out that he lied.

 

She asked him several more times,

only to figure out that he lied again.

 

Delilah cried her heart out to Samson,

"How can you say you love me

when you don't even trust me?"

 

Finally, Samson told her his secret

that he was not allowed to cut his hair

for God chose him from his birth.

 

That night, Delilah called a man to shave off his hair,

and God had left Samson.

 

The Philistines captured Samson and gouged out his eyes.

They held a festival to celebrate Samson's captivity.

and they wanted Samson to perform for them.

 

Now they were holding their festival in the temple,

Samson asked the servant to place his hands against the 2 pillars.

 

Samson prayed to God one last time,

"God, remember me again.

Give me strength one last time

so I can pay back the Philistines.

Let me die with them."

 

He pushed against the pillars

and the temple crashed down on the Philistines.

Samson killed more people when he died than

he had during his lifetime.

 

 

(42) Judges 5 - Samson

 

Again Israelites worshiped other gods,

so God handed them over to the Philistines for 40 years.

 

In those days,

there was a man named Manoah.

He and his wife had no child because she was unable to beome pregnant.

One day,

the angel of God came to Manoah's wife and said

"you will soon beome pregnant and have a son.

you must not drink any alcoholic drink.

and his hair must never be cut.

He will rescue Israel from the Philistines."

 

When her son was born, they named him Samson.

God's spirit began to take hold of Samson as he grew up.

 

But when he grew up,

Samson was passionately in love with a Philistine girl.

He disgraced both his parents' advice and God's law by

marrying a woman from the pagan culture.

 

But God still gave him strength to protect Israel from the Philistines.