Sunday, February 6: Samuel

Samuel 7

Last week, we saw Israel in a hard place. Defeated by the Philistines in battle, the future was unsure. Had God abandoned them? Would they fall back into slavery? What was the path forward?

In that passage, the elders conclude that the reason they lost the battle was because they did not bring the ark with them into battle. They remedied the situation, sending to Shiloh for the ark and with it, the crooked priests Phineas and Hophni.

The plan did not work as intended.

Because of the sins of Eli, Hophni, and Phineas, Israel was once again routed in battle, the priests were killed, and the ark was captured. This defeat led to 20 years of oppression by the Philistines.

In chapter 7, Israel finally turns to God for deliverance. Once again, they face opposition at the hands of the Philistines, only this time, they turn to Samuel for advice. Samuel shows up and encourages a different path forward than the elders in chapter 4.

Samuel’s approach made all the difference.

In life, we will face hardship similar to the Israelites. We will be tempted to run for the ark to solve our problems. But 1 Samuel 7 encourages us to take a different approach—prayer.

Join us this week as we talk about prayer and decision making. What do we do when times are tough? If prayer is step one, what is step two?

See you on Sunday!

Service times are at 9:30 & 11:00. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch live at those times.