Come Follow Me 2026 · Week 23
Weekly Overview
June 1–7 - Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7
Week at a Glance
This week covers two linked stories from Israel’s late judges period into the rise of prophetic leadership. Ruth follows a Moabite widow who binds herself to Israel’s covenant people and is redeemed through Boaz, placing her in the family line of David. 1 Samuel 1–7 shifts to Shiloh and the ark, where Hannah’s answered prayer brings Samuel, Israel’s priesthood leadership collapses under Eli’s corrupt sons, the ark is captured and returned, and Samuel leads Israel to repentance and deliverance from the Philistines.
Historical & Cultural Context
5 topics · Geography, customs, archaeology
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Historical & Cultural Context
5 topics · Geography, customs, archaeology
Bethlehem, Moab, and survival in a famine economy
Ruth opens in Bethlehem of Judah, whose Hebrew name, Beit Lechem, means “house of bread” or “granary.” The irony is deliberate: a famine drives Elimelech’s family away from the place known for wheat and barley (Ruth 1:1). Judah’s hill country includes steep slopes and thin soils, so a drought or failed rains could push a household into crisis. Migration for food was a standard ancient strategy, and Moab, east of the Dead Sea in what is now central-western Jordan, could offer different rainfall patterns and pasture.
Moab was close enough for travel yet far enough to feel like a different world. Israel and Moab shared a border and a long, tense history, but the story assumes ordinary movement across that boundary when survival required it. When Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem, the narrative places them in an agricultural calendar that mattered for daily bread: the barley and wheat harvests. Their poverty is not an abstract condition. A widow without husband or sons had little legal claim to land and few economic options, so the Lord’s law of mercy, and the community’s willingness to live it, becomes the practical setting for redemption.
Gleaning and the law’s built-in mercy for the poor
Ruth’s work in the fields depends on a practice anchored in Israelite law: gleaning. Leviticus required landowners not to reap the corners of fields and not to gather every last stalk, so “the poor and stranger” could survive (see Leviticus 19:9–10; 23:22). Gleaning was not charity as a one-time gift. It was a structured economic safety net that preserved dignity through labor and restrained the powerful by commandment.
Ruth is both “poor” and “stranger,” a Moabite living in Judah. Her ability to glean shows how covenant law could protect outsiders when Israel kept its obligations. The book also shows how easily that protection could be undermined by predatory men, which is why Boaz’s instructions to his workers matter. He uses authority to create safety, food, and belonging, and he does it in the ordinary space of a harvest field.
Shiloh, the Tabernacle, and Israel’s central worship before Jerusalem
1 Samuel 1 begins at Shiloh, the major Israelite worship center before the temple in Jerusalem. Shiloh lay in the hill country of Ephraim, a landscape of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and springs that supported settlement and pilgrimage. Families traveled there for feasts and sacrifices, and priests served at the Tabernacle in a system that blended worship, law, and national identity.
Archaeology at Tel Shiloh has produced evidence consistent with a cultic center in Iron Age I. Excavators uncovered “altar horns,” a characteristic feature of Israelite altars also described in the Tabernacle instructions (Exodus 27:2). That material detail helps readers picture Hannah’s world: a real sanctuary complex where offerings were processed, meat was portioned, and priestly authority could bless or exploit. Eli’s household sits at the intersection of worship and power, which explains why the corruption of his sons becomes a national problem, not a private sin.
Philistines as Sea Peoples, and why Israel feared them
The Philistines dominate 1 Samuel 4–7 as Israel’s most dangerous neighbor. In the late Bronze Age collapse and the early Iron Age, Egypt’s control over Canaan weakened, and groups often called “Sea Peoples” settled along the southern Levantine coast. Egyptian reliefs at Medinet Habu from the reign of Ramesses III (around 1177 BCE) depict and name some of these groups, and many scholars connect the Peleset with the biblical Philistines. By the period of Samuel, the Philistines held a coastal pentapolis of major cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.
Excavations at Philistine sites such as Tel Miqne (Ekron) and Tell es-Safi (Gath) show a distinct material culture, including “bichrome” pottery and Aegean-influenced architecture. Faunal remains also point to different foodways, including pig consumption, which contrasts sharply with Israelite highland sites where pig remains are rare. In practical terms, Israel faced a well-organized coastal power with urban centers and military capacity, pressing into the central hills where Israel’s tribal settlements were more dispersed.
Mizpah, assemblies, and the hard work of national repentance
Samuel’s renewal movement gathers Israel at Mizpah, generally identified with Tell en-Naṣbeh about 15 km north of Jerusalem. Mizpah’s archaeology fits its biblical role as an assembly and defensive site. Excavations have revealed substantial Iron Age fortifications, including a wide wall and offset-inset towers, with storerooms and silos that could support large gatherings. Evidence of conflict in the 11th–10th century BCE, including collapsed sling stones and burn layers, matches the era’s instability.
Mizpah also shows that repentance in ancient Israel was public and communal. People gathered, confessed, fasted, and removed rival worship. Samuel’s leadership is not only spiritual; it is judicial and national. The victory in 1 Samuel 7 has no known extra-biblical record, which fits how ancient inscriptions typically worked. Major empires recorded their own triumphs, not the defeats and skirmishes that mattered most to small hill-country peoples.
Key People
5 people in this week's reading
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Key People
5 people in this week's reading
Ruth
Ruth is a Moabite widow who chooses Israel’s God and Israel’s people at great personal cost (Ruth 1:16). She lives as a “stranger” in Bethlehem and survives through gleaning, the covenant law’s provision for the vulnerable (Ruth 2:2). Her righteousness is practical: loyalty to Naomi, willingness to labor, and moral courage to seek lawful redemption. Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of David (Ruth 4:17), placing a Gentile convert within Israel’s royal line and, later, within the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5–6).
Naomi
Naomi begins as a bereaved Israelite woman returning from Moab with no husband, sons, or secure claim to land. She interprets her suffering in covenant terms, calling herself Mara because “the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). Naomi also acts with wisdom inside Israel’s kinship system, guiding Ruth toward a lawful redeemer and seeking “rest” for her (Ruth 3:1). Her story moves from emptiness to renewed family life as Obed is born and the women of Bethlehem bless the Lord for not leaving her “without a kinsman” (Ruth 4:14).
Boaz
Boaz is a landowner in Bethlehem and a near kinsman of Elimelech’s family (Ruth 2:1, 20). He embodies covenant kindness in a setting where power could exploit the poor. He protects Ruth in the fields, provides food, and then pursues redemption through proper legal channels at the city gate (Ruth 2:8–16; 4:1–10). Boaz’s role as kinsman-redeemer makes him a useful type for understanding the Redeemer’s work: he pays a cost to restore inheritance and family security, and he does it publicly and lawfully.
Hannah
Hannah is an Israelite woman who worships at Shiloh and suffers the grief and social shame of barrenness (1 Samuel 1:6–7). Her prayer models covenant faith: she vows that if the Lord grants a son, she will dedicate him to lifelong service (1 Samuel 1:11). She keeps that vow, bringing Samuel to Shiloh after weaning (1 Samuel 1:24–28). Her song in 1 Samuel 2 frames the Lord as the God who reverses human status and anticipates the rise of “his anointed” (1 Samuel 2:10), a significant hint as Israel approaches kingship.
Samuel
Samuel is the child of Hannah’s vow and becomes the pivotal prophetic leader as Israel transitions from the judges era toward monarchy. He grows up at Shiloh under Eli’s priesthood administration, receives the Lord’s call when “there was no open vision” (1 Samuel 3:1), and becomes recognized throughout Israel as a true prophet (1 Samuel 3:20). In 1 Samuel 7 he functions as judge, intercessor, and reformer, leading Israel to abandon idols and return to covenant worship, then witnessing the Lord’s deliverance from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:3–12).
Doctrinal Themes
Jesus Christ as Redeemer, and redemption as restoration of inheritance · Trusting God through delay, loss, and unanswered timelines · Reverence, priesthood responsibility, and the danger of treating holy things as tools
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Doctrinal Themes
Jesus Christ as Redeemer, and redemption as restoration of inheritance · Trusting God through delay, loss, and unanswered timelines · Reverence, priesthood responsibility, and the danger of treating holy things as tools
Jesus Christ as Redeemer, and redemption as restoration of inheritance
Ruth’s central institution is the goel, the kinsman-redeemer, who could redeem land and preserve a family line. Boaz redeems Naomi’s household publicly at the gate, paying a cost to restore what death and poverty had stripped away (Ruth 4:9–10). The law-bound nature of the process matters. Redemption is not a vague sentiment; it is a real transfer of claims, obligations, and protection.
That concrete model helps readers understand what scripture means when it calls Christ “Redeemer.” Job’s testimony, “I know that my redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25), points to a living kinsman who can act. The Book of Mormon uses the same covenant logic: “there could be no redemption for mankind” without Christ’s atoning sacrifice (Alma 34:9), and “he redeemeth none such that rebel against him” (Mosiah 15:26). Ruth shows redemption as restoration into a household and an inheritance, which aligns with the Lord’s promise to make His covenant people “heirs” through Christ (see Romans 8:17).
Trusting God through delay, loss, and unanswered timelines
Ruth and Hannah live in the space between promise and fulfillment. Naomi returns empty, and Ruth’s future depends on harvest labor and the willingness of others to do what is right (Ruth 1:20–22; 2:2–3). Hannah prays year after year, misunderstood by a priest, and still pours out her soul before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:10–15). Neither woman controls the timing, yet both act with faith inside their circumstances.
The Book of Mormon gives language for this kind of discipleship: “ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). Doctrine and Covenants 98:1 teaches, “I say unto you, my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted.” Comfort in scripture often comes with assignment, not with immediate relief. Ruth goes to the fields; Hannah keeps her vow; Samuel grows and serves. The Lord’s guidance often appears as the next faithful step rather than a full map.
Reverence, priesthood responsibility, and the danger of treating holy things as tools
1 Samuel 4–6 confronts a recurring temptation: substituting religious symbols for covenant obedience. Israel brings the ark to battle as if possession guarantees protection, saying, “that… it may save us” (1 Samuel 4:3). The result is disaster: defeat, the ark captured, and the collapse of Eli’s house (1 Samuel 4:10–11, 18). The Lord then demonstrates His sovereignty in Philistine territory, and later judges irreverence in Israel when men treat the ark casually (1 Samuel 5:3–4; 6:19–20).
The Doctrine and Covenants warns that priesthood authority is inseparable from righteousness: “when we undertake to cover our sins… behold, the heavens withdraw themselves” (D&C 121:37). Eli’s sons model that withdrawal. They hold office at the sanctuary yet “knew not the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:12), exploiting worshippers and corrupting sacrifice. Samuel’s rise shows the Lord’s remedy: revelation, repentance, and leaders who hear and obey. The ark episode teaches that God’s power is not manipulated; it is accessed through covenant faithfulness and reverence.
Come Follow Me Tie-In
What to expect in Sunday's discussion
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Come Follow Me Tie-In
What to expect in Sunday's discussion
Come, Follow Me centers this week on how the Lord turns tragedy into triumph and how disciples trust God in uncertain circumstances. Ruth’s story gives a concrete setting for that theme: widowhood, poverty, and foreignness become the ground where covenant kindness and lawful redemption bring a future Naomi could not see at the border of Moab.
The manual also emphasizes hearing and obeying the Lord’s voice and trusting Him rather than relying on symbols. 1 Samuel 3 shows a child learning to recognize revelation, answering, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9). 1 Samuel 4–6 warns against treating the ark as a guarantee of safety while ignoring commandments, and 1 Samuel 7 shows the path back: repentance, putting away false gods, and seeking the Lord’s help through a prophet who intercedes for the people.
Reference Layer
Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries
Ruth 1: Covenant loyalty in loss and displacement
Naomi’s family migrates from Bethlehem to Moab during famine · Ruth covenants to stay with Naomi and worship Israel’s God · Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem at the beginning of harvest
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Ruth 1: Covenant loyalty in loss and displacement
Naomi’s family migrates from Bethlehem to Moab during famine · Ruth covenants to stay with Naomi and worship Israel’s God · Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem at the beginning of harvest
Ruth begins “in the days when the judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1), a period marked elsewhere by instability, yet this story narrows to a household. Elimelech, Naomi, and their sons leave famine-struck Bethlehem for Moab. Elimelech dies, the sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, and then both sons die (Ruth 1:3–5). Naomi and her daughters-in-law are left without husbands or sons, which in that economy meant severe vulnerability.
Naomi hears that “the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread” (Ruth 1:6), and she sets out for Judah. She urges Orpah and Ruth to return to their mothers’ houses, where remarriage might be possible. Orpah returns, but Ruth binds herself to Naomi with language that sounds like covenant commitment: “whither thou goest, I will go… thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Ruth’s choice is not only family loyalty; it is conversion in the fullest sense, a decision to live among Israel and worship Israel’s God.
They arrive in Bethlehem at the start of harvest (Ruth 1:22). Naomi, once full, now calls herself Mara, “for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). The chapter ends without resolution, but it sets the theological frame: the Lord’s providence will work through ordinary means, including harvest labor, kinship obligations, and covenant kindness.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Naomi’s family migrates from Bethlehem to Moab during famine
- •Ruth covenants to stay with Naomi and worship Israel’s God
- •Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem at the beginning of harvest
Ruth 2: Gleaning, protection, and the first steps of redemption
Ruth gleans in Boaz’s field according to Israel’s law · Boaz protects Ruth and provides for her and Naomi · Naomi identifies Boaz as a near kinsman with redeeming obligations
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Ruth 2: Gleaning, protection, and the first steps of redemption
Ruth gleans in Boaz’s field according to Israel’s law · Boaz protects Ruth and provides for her and Naomi · Naomi identifies Boaz as a near kinsman with redeeming obligations
Ruth goes out “to glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace” (Ruth 2:2). Gleaning was a legal provision for the poor and the foreigner, and Ruth’s work places her under the vulnerability of public spaces. The narrative then introduces Boaz, “a mighty man of wealth” from Elimelech’s kin (Ruth 2:1). Boaz arrives in the fields and blesses his workers, and they answer, “The LORD bless thee” (Ruth 2:4), a small scene that shows covenant speech in daily labor.
Boaz learns Ruth’s identity and her loyalty to Naomi. He praises her for leaving “thy father and thy mother” to come to a people she did not know (Ruth 2:11). He then acts: he commands his men not to touch her, invites her to eat with his workers, and instructs them to leave extra grain for her (Ruth 2:8–16). This is more than kindness. It is protection, inclusion, and provision, all within the framework of Israel’s law.
Ruth returns with an unusually large amount of grain, and Naomi recognizes the hand of the Lord. Naomi says of Boaz, “the man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen” (Ruth 2:20). The chapter ends with Ruth continuing to glean “unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest” (Ruth 2:23). Redemption begins slowly, through repeated days of faithful work and righteous oversight.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Ruth gleans in Boaz’s field according to Israel’s law
- •Boaz protects Ruth and provides for her and Naomi
- •Naomi identifies Boaz as a near kinsman with redeeming obligations
Ruth 3: A lawful appeal to the kinsman-redeemer
Naomi instructs Ruth to seek redemption through Boaz · Ruth asks Boaz to “spread” his garment as a redeemer · Boaz commits to act while honoring the nearer kinsman’s legal right
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Ruth 3: A lawful appeal to the kinsman-redeemer
Naomi instructs Ruth to seek redemption through Boaz · Ruth asks Boaz to “spread” his garment as a redeemer · Boaz commits to act while honoring the nearer kinsman’s legal right
Naomi seeks “rest” for Ruth, meaning security through a household and inheritance (Ruth 3:1). She instructs Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshingfloor after the day’s work, a setting tied to harvest processing and communal labor. The scene can feel unfamiliar to modern readers, but the chapter’s key issue is lawful claim and honorable restraint.
Ruth comes quietly, lies at Boaz’s feet, and when he wakes she identifies herself and asks him to act: “spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman” (Ruth 3:9). The “skirt” or garment edge symbolizes covering and protection, and in this context it is a request for Boaz to fulfill the role of goel, the kinsman-redeemer.
Boaz responds with integrity. He blesses Ruth for seeking covenant security rather than a younger man and promises to act, but he also acknowledges a legal complication: there is a nearer kinsman with first right of redemption (Ruth 3:12–13). He sends Ruth home before dawn with grain as a pledge of his intent, and Naomi reads the sign correctly: “the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day” (Ruth 3:18). The chapter emphasizes chastity, lawful process, and trust in righteous leadership.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Naomi instructs Ruth to seek redemption through Boaz
- •Ruth asks Boaz to “spread” his garment as a redeemer
- •Boaz commits to act while honoring the nearer kinsman’s legal right
Ruth 4: Redemption at the gate, and a lineage toward David
Boaz negotiates redemption publicly at the city gate · The nearer kinsman declines, and Boaz marries Ruth · Obed is born, and the genealogy connects Ruth to King David
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Ruth 4: Redemption at the gate, and a lineage toward David
Boaz negotiates redemption publicly at the city gate · The nearer kinsman declines, and Boaz marries Ruth · Obed is born, and the genealogy connects Ruth to King David
Boaz goes to the city gate, the place where elders sat and legal matters were settled. He presents the case to the nearer kinsman and the elders: Naomi is selling land associated with Elimelech, and the kinsman has the right to redeem it (Ruth 4:3–4). The man initially agrees, but Boaz clarifies that redemption includes marriage to Ruth “to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5). The nearer kinsman refuses, fearing harm to his own inheritance (Ruth 4:6).
The legal transfer is witnessed publicly, using a customary sign: the removal of a shoe (Ruth 4:7–8). Boaz then declares before the elders and the people that he has purchased the land and taken Ruth as wife, “to raise up the name of the dead” (Ruth 4:10). The community responds with blessings, invoking Rachel and Leah, and Tamar, whose story also involved levirate-like preservation of a family line (Ruth 4:11–12).
The Lord grants conception, Ruth bears Obed, and Naomi’s emptiness is reversed as the women say, “Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman” (Ruth 4:14). The book ends with a genealogy leading to David (Ruth 4:17–22). For Israel, this mattered because kingship would soon rise, and David’s legitimacy included a story of faithful covenant inclusion. For Latter-day Saints, it also matters because Matthew later places this line within the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5–6).
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Boaz negotiates redemption publicly at the city gate
- •The nearer kinsman declines, and Boaz marries Ruth
- •Obed is born, and the genealogy connects Ruth to King David
1 Samuel 1: Hannah’s vow and the birth of Samuel
Hannah prays at Shiloh and vows to dedicate her son to the Lord · Eli blesses her after misunderstanding her prayer · Samuel is born and brought to serve at the Tabernacle
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1 Samuel 1: Hannah’s vow and the birth of Samuel
Hannah prays at Shiloh and vows to dedicate her son to the Lord · Eli blesses her after misunderstanding her prayer · Samuel is born and brought to serve at the Tabernacle
1 Samuel opens in the hill country with Elkanah, who goes up yearly to worship and sacrifice at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3). He has two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah has children, Hannah does not, and her barrenness becomes a point of grief and social humiliation (1 Samuel 1:6–7). In the ancient world, children were tied to inheritance, security, and honor, so Hannah’s pain is not only personal.
At Shiloh, Hannah prays “in bitterness of soul” and makes a vow: if the Lord gives her a son, she will give him to the Lord “all the days of his life,” and “there shall no razor come upon his head” (1 Samuel 1:10–11). Eli initially misreads her silent prayer as drunkenness, but Hannah explains, “I have poured out my soul before the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:15). Eli blesses her, and she leaves with a changed countenance.
The Lord remembers Hannah, she bears a son, and names him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:20). When the child is weaned, she brings him to Shiloh with offerings and fulfills her vow: “therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:28). The chapter frames prophetic leadership as a gift received through covenant faithfulness and kept through sacrifice.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Hannah prays at Shiloh and vows to dedicate her son to the Lord
- •Eli blesses her after misunderstanding her prayer
- •Samuel is born and brought to serve at the Tabernacle
1 Samuel 2: Hannah’s song, and priesthood corruption at Shiloh
Hannah praises the Lord who exalts the humble · Eli’s sons abuse sacrifices and commit sexual sin at the sanctuary · A prophet foretells the downfall of Eli’s house as Samuel grows in favor
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1 Samuel 2: Hannah’s song, and priesthood corruption at Shiloh
Hannah praises the Lord who exalts the humble · Eli’s sons abuse sacrifices and commit sexual sin at the sanctuary · A prophet foretells the downfall of Eli’s house as Samuel grows in favor
Hannah offers a psalm-like prayer that praises the Lord who reverses human status: “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive… he raiseth up the poor out of the dust” (1 Samuel 2:6–8). Her words look beyond her own story toward God’s governance of Israel. The prayer ends with a line that anticipates kingship: “he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed” (1 Samuel 2:10), language that will matter as Saul and David appear.
The chapter then contrasts Hannah’s faith with the wickedness of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas. “The sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:12). They abuse the sacrificial system by taking the best portions by force and by threatening worshippers (1 Samuel 2:13–16). Their sin is not only greed; it is contempt for holy things: “the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD” (1 Samuel 2:17).
Eli rebukes them, including their sexual misconduct at the tabernacle entrance (1 Samuel 2:22), but he does not remove them. A “man of God” prophesies judgment on Eli’s house for honoring his sons above the Lord (1 Samuel 2:29–31). The sign will be the death of both sons “in one day” (1 Samuel 2:34). Meanwhile “the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men” (1 Samuel 2:26). Israel’s priesthood leadership is rotting at the center, and the Lord is preparing a prophet.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Hannah praises the Lord who exalts the humble
- •Eli’s sons abuse sacrifices and commit sexual sin at the sanctuary
- •A prophet foretells the downfall of Eli’s house as Samuel grows in favor
1 Samuel 3: The call of Samuel in a time of scarce revelation
The Lord calls Samuel repeatedly in the night · Samuel receives and delivers a hard prophecy against Eli’s house · Samuel becomes recognized throughout Israel as the Lord’s prophet
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1 Samuel 3: The call of Samuel in a time of scarce revelation
The Lord calls Samuel repeatedly in the night · Samuel receives and delivers a hard prophecy against Eli’s house · Samuel becomes recognized throughout Israel as the Lord’s prophet
The chapter begins with a sobering condition: “the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (1 Samuel 3:1). That scarcity fits the moral climate at Shiloh. Samuel, still a boy, sleeps near the sanctuary, and the Lord calls his name. Samuel runs to Eli, assuming the voice is human authority (1 Samuel 3:4–6). After the third call, Eli perceives that the Lord is calling the child and instructs him to answer, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9).
When the Lord speaks, He gives Samuel a message of judgment against Eli’s house for iniquity that Eli did not restrain (1 Samuel 3:13). Samuel fears to tell Eli, but Eli insists, and Samuel reports “every whit” (1 Samuel 3:18). Eli submits: “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good” (1 Samuel 3:18).
The chapter ends with Samuel established as a prophet: “the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19). “All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD” (1 Samuel 3:20). Prophetic authority emerges in a sanctuary where priestly authority has failed, and the Lord restores revelation to guide the nation.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •The Lord calls Samuel repeatedly in the night
- •Samuel receives and delivers a hard prophecy against Eli’s house
- •Samuel becomes recognized throughout Israel as the Lord’s prophet
1 Samuel 4: The ark is captured, and Eli’s house falls
Israel brings the ark to the battlefield as a talisman · The Philistines defeat Israel and capture the ark · Eli dies, and Ichabod is named as a sign of departed glory
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1 Samuel 4: The ark is captured, and Eli’s house falls
Israel brings the ark to the battlefield as a talisman · The Philistines defeat Israel and capture the ark · Eli dies, and Ichabod is named as a sign of departed glory
Israel goes to battle against the Philistines and is defeated. The elders propose a religious solution that treats the ark like a weapon: “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that… it may save us out of the hand of our enemies” (1 Samuel 4:3). Hophni and Phinehas accompany the ark, and Israel shouts so loudly that the earth rings (1 Samuel 4:5). The Philistines fear at first, then fight hard.
Israel suffers a catastrophic defeat. Thirty thousand footmen die, the ark is taken, and Hophni and Phinehas are killed (1 Samuel 4:10–11). A messenger runs to Shiloh with torn clothes and earth on his head, signs of mourning. Eli, old and blind, hears the news. When he learns the ark is taken, he falls backward, breaks his neck, and dies (1 Samuel 4:18).
Phinehas’s wife goes into labor and names her son Ichabod, saying, “The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken” (1 Samuel 4:21–22). The chapter exposes a central lesson for covenant Israel: holy objects do not substitute for holiness. Possessing the ark without repentance and obedience brings judgment rather than protection.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Israel brings the ark to the battlefield as a talisman
- •The Philistines defeat Israel and capture the ark
- •Eli dies, and Ichabod is named as a sign of departed glory
1 Samuel 5: The Lord defends His own holiness in Philistine cities
The ark is placed in Dagon’s temple and Dagon falls before it · Plagues strike Philistine cities that host the ark · Philistine leaders seek a way to send the ark away
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1 Samuel 5: The Lord defends His own holiness in Philistine cities
The ark is placed in Dagon’s temple and Dagon falls before it · Plagues strike Philistine cities that host the ark · Philistine leaders seek a way to send the ark away
The Philistines bring the ark to Ashdod and place it in the temple of Dagon, treating Israel’s God as a conquered deity (1 Samuel 5:1–2). In the morning, Dagon is fallen on his face before the ark. They set him up again, and the next morning he falls with head and hands broken off (1 Samuel 5:3–4). The scene is a polemic in action: the Lord’s power does not depend on Israel’s army, and the ark does not become a trophy.
A plague then strikes the Philistines. The text describes “a very great destruction” and “emerods” (1 Samuel 5:9), a humiliating affliction that spreads as the ark is moved from city to city, from Ashdod to Gath to Ekron. Each city tries to pass the ark along, and the fear becomes political: “they have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people” (1 Samuel 5:10).
The chapter’s theological point is sharp. Israel lost the ark because of covenant corruption, yet the Lord remains sovereign. Even in enemy territory, He vindicates His holiness and compels recognition that Israel’s God cannot be managed or domesticated.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •The ark is placed in Dagon’s temple and Dagon falls before it
- •Plagues strike Philistine cities that host the ark
- •Philistine leaders seek a way to send the ark away
1 Samuel 6: The ark returns, and Israel learns reverence again
Philistines return the ark with offerings and a test involving milk cows · The ark arrives at Beth-shemesh and sacrifices are offered · Irreverence brings judgment, and the ark is sent to Kirjath-jearim
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1 Samuel 6: The ark returns, and Israel learns reverence again
Philistines return the ark with offerings and a test involving milk cows · The ark arrives at Beth-shemesh and sacrifices are offered · Irreverence brings judgment, and the ark is sent to Kirjath-jearim
After seven months, Philistine priests and diviners advise returning the ark with a “trespass offering” (1 Samuel 6:1–3). They propose a test to determine whether the plagues came from Israel’s God or by chance: place the ark on a new cart with two milk cows that have calves at home, then see whether the cows go straight toward Israelite territory (1 Samuel 6:7–9). The cows go directly to Beth-shemesh, lowing as they go, and the Philistines follow to the border (1 Samuel 6:12).
The people of Beth-shemesh rejoice, offer sacrifices, and the Levites handle the ark (1 Samuel 6:13–15). Then a severe warning follows. Some men look into the ark, and the Lord smites them (1 Samuel 6:19). The people ask, “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?” (1 Samuel 6:20). The ark’s return does not erase the need for holiness; it intensifies it.
They send the ark to Kirjath-jearim (1 Samuel 6:21). Archaeology at Kirjath-jearim has revealed a massive platform interpreted as a shrine related to the ark’s later housing there for about two decades. The narrative moves the ark away from Shiloh’s disgraced priesthood and places it in a new location, awaiting a future restoration of proper worship under righteous leadership.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Philistines return the ark with offerings and a test involving milk cows
- •The ark arrives at Beth-shemesh and sacrifices are offered
- •Irreverence brings judgment, and the ark is sent to Kirjath-jearim
1 Samuel 7: Samuel leads repentance, and the Lord delivers Israel
Samuel calls Israel to put away idols and return to the Lord · Israel repents at Mizpah and the Lord routs the Philistines · Samuel sets up Ebenezer and judges Israel in a circuit from Ramah
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1 Samuel 7: Samuel leads repentance, and the Lord delivers Israel
Samuel calls Israel to put away idols and return to the Lord · Israel repents at Mizpah and the Lord routs the Philistines · Samuel sets up Ebenezer and judges Israel in a circuit from Ramah
The ark remains at Kirjath-jearim, and “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:2). Samuel calls the nation to covenant reform: “If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth… and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 7:3). Israel responds by removing idols and serving the Lord only (1 Samuel 7:4).
Samuel gathers Israel at Mizpah for fasting, confession, and intercession: “We have sinned against the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:6). The Philistines hear of the assembly and attack. Israel asks Samuel to cry to the Lord, and Samuel offers a suckling lamb as a burnt offering (1 Samuel 7:8–9). The Lord answers with direct intervention: “the LORD thundered with a great thunder… and discomfited them” (1 Samuel 7:10). Israel pursues and defeats them.
Samuel sets up a memorial stone and names it Ebenezer, saying, “Hitherto hath the LORD helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12). The Philistines are subdued, and Israel recovers territory (1 Samuel 7:13–14). Samuel then judges Israel, traveling in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and returning to Ramah (1 Samuel 7:15–17). The chapter shows what Israel’s leaders had lacked: covenant fidelity, prophetic guidance, and communal repentance that leads to real deliverance.
Key Verses
Key Events
- •Samuel calls Israel to put away idols and return to the Lord
- •Israel repents at Mizpah and the Lord routs the Philistines
- •Samuel sets up Ebenezer and judges Israel in a circuit from Ramah