Category: Scripture

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, His special possession. When you leave me today, you will see two men outside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?'”

“When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on the their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and a third will b carrying a wineskin full of wine. They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.”

“When you arrive at Gibeah of God where the garrison of the Philistines is located you will meet a band of prostitutes coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”

“Here I am,” Samuel replied.

“What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me! So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let Him do what He thinks is best.”

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. (vv. 15-21, NLT)

Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rate, and visions were quite uncommon.

One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it? ” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I an. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” so he did.

Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am.” Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed”

Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time, and once more, Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls you again, say, ‘Speak , Lord, your servant is listening.” So Samuel went back to bed.

And the Lord cam and called as before, “Samuel!”

And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats agains Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings.” (vv. 1-14, NLT)

When the child [Samuel] was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord to give me this boy, and He has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there. (vv. 24-28, NLT)

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and wen to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place besides the entrance to the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: ” O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to You. He will be Yours for his entire lifetime, as as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”

As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watch her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he though she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded.

“Throw away your wine!”

“Oh no sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or any thing stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of Him.”

“Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back home and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. (vv. 9-18, NLT)

Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord who now has provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daugher-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”

Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. (vv. 14-17, NLT)

“The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after the youngest man, whether rich or poor. No don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. But while it’s true that I am one of the family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let. him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.” (vv. 10-13, NLT)

At mealtime Boaz called to her “Come over her, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over. (v. 14, NLT)

So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, if filled the entire basket. She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.

“Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who help you!”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing is kindness to us as well as your dead husband. THat man is one of our closest relative, on of our family redeemers.”

Then Ruth sai “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.” (vv. 17-21, NLT)

Now there was a wealth and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband Elimelech.

One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,”Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”

Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. As it happened, she found herself working at a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative if her father-in-law, Elimelech.

While she was there, Boaz arrived from Betlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.

“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.

Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is the young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”

And the foreman replied, “Sh is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.

Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain, don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

In the days when the judges rules Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the county of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and lilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.

Then Emilelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her sons or her husband. (vv. 1-5. NLT)