Shiloh Archives - Dennis Conrad Author

Right From Wrong!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom to know right from wrong and to live according to doing the right things. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The two sons of Eli, the priest, Hophni and Phinehas, did wrong in the sight of the Lord.

Israel went to battle the Philistines. At a point, the Philistines were winning. In 1 Samuel 4:1-9 we learn some fighters went to the elders of Israel and asked them to bring the Arc of the Covenant from Shiloh to be near the fighting. Eli’s sons were with the arc.

When the arc arrived, the Philistines heard the shouts coming from the camp of Israel. At first, the Philistines felt intimidated and recalled how the Lord had brought plagues on Egypt.

1 Samuel 4:10-11 (ESV) tells what happened next.

“So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 And the arc of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”

We learn in 1 Samuel 4:18 (ESV) a man of Benjamin ran and came to Shiloh. He told Eli and others what happened.

“As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.”

So ends the story of Eli and his sons.

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Called By The Lord!

Called By The Lord!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who are called by the Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Samuel kept waking up and running to Eli, the priest. “Here I am, for you called me.”

But Eli had not called, so he told Samuel to go back to sleep. Yet, it happened more than a few times…and Eli finally told Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:9 (ESV),

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.”

The Lord called again, and he told Samuel that Eli’s sons would be killed. Then, Eli asked Samuel what the Lord had said, and Samuel told Eli his sons would die. Eli accepted the news.

In 1 Samuel 3:19-21 (ESV) we see who will take over for Eli, the priest.

“And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

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