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The time of the Judges was a turbulent cycle of
paganism, judgment from God, repentance, and a return to paganism.
Samuel was the man that the Lord used to stabilize Israel and return
the nation back to true worship. His conception was miraculous as
Hannah was unable to conceive. It was a joyous day when she was
finally able to fulfill her promise to the Lord and bring young
Samuel to the tabernacle at Shiloh. Samuel was raised under the
tutelage of Eli and he witnessed the iniquity of Hophni and Phinehas
and how they were sexual predators to the women that came to worship
at the tabernacle. Eventually Jesus activated Samuel with a message
of impending judgment for Eli and his sons and Samuel's showed his
character when he boldly spoke as a prophet of the Lord. God used
the Philistines to carry out the foreseen judgment. The conflict
became so desperate that the Israelites tried to use the Ark of the
Covenant as a good luck charm. Thirty four thousand men died, among
them were Hophni and Phineas, and Eli broke his neck upon hearing
the bad news, but Samuel was firmly established in the eyes of the
Israelites as a man of God. |
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