1 Samuel 7–9

¹So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark of the Lord. They took it up to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They set his son Eleazar apart to guard the ark.

Samuel Brings the Philistines Under Israel’s Control

²The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for a long time. It was there for a full 20 years. All of the people of Israel were filled with sorrow. They looked to the Lord for help.

³Samuel spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Do you really want to return to the Lord with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your strange gods. Get rid of your statues of goddesses that are named after Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the powerful hand of the Philistines.”

⁴So the people of Israel put away their statues of gods that were named after Baal. They put away their statues of goddesses named after Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.

⁵Then Samuel said, “Gather all of the people of Israel together at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.”

⁶When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in the sight of the Lord. On that day they didn’t eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, “We’ve sinned against the Lord.” Samuel was the leader of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them.

When the people of Israel heard about it, they were afraid. ⁸They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God to help us. Keep praying that he’ll save us from the powerful hand of the Philistines.”

⁹Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord to help Israel. And the Lord answered his prayer.

¹⁰The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away. ¹¹The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Car. They killed them all along the way.

¹²Then Samuel got a big stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer. He said, “The Lord has helped us every step of the way.”

¹³So Samuel brought the Philistines under Israel’s control. The Philistines didn’t attack their territory again.

The Lord used his powerful hand against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴The Philistines had captured many towns between Ekron and Gath. But they had to give all of them back. Israel took back the territories near those towns from the powerful hand of the Philistines.

During that time Israel and the Amorites were friendly toward each other.

¹⁵Samuel continued to lead Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶From year to year he traveled from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He served Israel as judge in all of those places. ¹⁷But he always went back to Ramah. That’s where his home was. He served Israel as judge there too. And he built an altar there to honor the Lord.

Israel Asks Samuel for a King

8When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons to serve as judges for Israel. ²The name of his oldest son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They served as judges at Beersheba. ³But his sons didn’t live as he did. They were only interested in making money. They accepted money from people who wanted special favors. They made things that were wrong appear to be right.

⁴So all of the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all of the other nations have.”

⁶Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord.

⁷The Lord told him, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king. ⁸They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day. Now they are deserting you too.

⁹“Let them have what they want. But give them a strong warning. Let them know what the king who rules over them will do.”

¹⁰Samuel told the people who were asking him for a king everything the Lord had said. ¹¹Samuel told them, “Here’s what the king who rules over you will do. He will take your sons. He’ll make them serve with his chariots and horses. They will run in front of his chariots. ¹²He’ll choose some of your sons to be commanders of thousands of men. Some will be commanders of fifties. Others will have to plow his fields and gather his crops. Still others will have to make weapons of war and parts for his chariots.

¹³“He’ll also take your daughters. Some will have to make perfume. Others will be forced to cook and bake.

¹⁴“He will take away your best fields and vineyards and olive groves. He’ll give them to his attendants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and a tenth of your grapes. He’ll give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶He will also take your male and female servants. He’ll take your best cattle and donkeys. He’ll use all of them any way he wants to.

¹⁷“He will take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You yourselves will become his slaves.

¹⁸“When that time comes, you will cry out for help because of the king you have chosen. But the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”

¹⁹In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰Then we’ll be like all of the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”

²¹Samuel heard everything the people said. He told the Lord about it. ²²The Lord answered, “Listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to your own town.”

Samuel Anoints Saul to Be Israel’s Leader

9There was a man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was a very important person. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah from the tribe of Benjamin. ²Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man. There wasn’t anyone like him among the people of Israel. He was a head taller than any of them.

³The donkeys that belonged to Saul’s father Kish were lost. So Kish spoke to his son Saul. He said, “Go and look for the donkeys. Take one of the servants with you.”

⁴Saul and his servant went through the hill country of Ephraim. They also went through the area around Shalisha. But they didn’t find the donkeys. So they went on into the area of Shaalim. But the donkeys weren’t there either. Then Saul went through the territory of Benjamin. But they still didn’t find the donkeys.

⁵When Saul and the servant who was with him reached the area of Zuph, Saul spoke to him. He said, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

⁶But the servant replied, “There’s a man of God here in Ramah. People have a lot of respect for him. Everything he says comes true. So let’s go and see him now. Perhaps he’ll tell us which way to go.”

⁷Saul said to his servant, “If we go to see the man, what can we give him? There isn’t any food in our sacks. We don’t have a gift for the man of God. So what can we give him?”

⁸The servant answered Saul again. “Look,” he said. “I’ve got a tenth of an ounce of silver. I’ll give it to the man of God. Then maybe he’ll tell us which way to go.”

⁹In Israel, prophets used to be called seers. So if a man wanted to ask God for advice, he would say, “Come on. Let’s go to the seer.”

¹⁰Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea. Come on. Let’s go and ask the seer.” So they started out for the town where the man of God lived.

¹¹They were going up the hill toward the town. Along the way they met some young women who were coming out to get water from the well. Saul and his servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹²“Yes, he is,” they answered. “In fact, he’s just up ahead of you. So hurry along. He has just come to our town today. The people are going to offer a sacrifice at the high place where they worship. ¹³As soon as you enter the town, you will find him. He’ll be there until he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t start eating until he gets there. He must bless the sacrifice first. After that, those who are invited will eat. So go on up. You should find him there just about now.”

¹⁴They went up to the town. As they were entering it, they saw Samuel. He was coming toward them. He was on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵The Lord had spoken to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had said, ¹⁶“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man. He is from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people Israel. He will save them from the powerful hand of the Philistines. I have seen how much my people are suffering. Their cry for help has reached me.”

¹⁷When Samuel saw a man coming toward him, the Lord spoke to Samuel again. He said, “He is the man I told you about. His name is Saul. He will govern my people.”

¹⁸Saul approached Samuel at the gate of the town. He asked Samuel, “Can you please show me the house where the seer is staying?”

¹⁹“I’m the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go on up to the high place ahead of me. I want you and your servant to eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I’ll tell you what’s on your mind. Then I’ll let you go. ²⁰Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago. They’ve already been found. But who are all of the people of Israel longing for? You and your father’s whole family!”

²¹Saul answered, “But I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. It’s the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the least important in the whole tribe of Benjamin. So why are you saying that to me?”

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