Stories of the Bible, Volume 1: The People of the Chosen Land

At Mount Ephraim there dwelt a man, named Elkanah, with his good wife, Hannah.

These good people had one son, Samuel, whom they loved with great tenderness. He was their only child; but, though they loved him so, they carried him when he was yet a tiny boy to the temple and left him with the holy priests.

"Here is my child," the good mother said. "I give him now to our God, the God of Israel. So long as he lives shall he be the Lord's."

Then the priest, Eli, took the child and blessed it, and blessed the mother too; and Samuel grew up a true, honest boy, and came in time to be himself a holy priest.

One night, when Samuel lay upon his bed, he heard a voice calling, "Samuel, Samuel!"

"Here am I, Eli," Samuel answered; for he thought it was the voice of the priest.

But Eli said, "No, my son, I did not call thee."

And Samuel went and lay down upon his bed again.

Again the voice called, "Samuel, Samuel!"

And again Samuel ran to Eli's bedside, saying, "Here am I, Eli."

A third time, even, the voice called. A third time Samuel ran to Eli's bedside.

"Samuel," Eli said, when the lad came a third time, "it may be it is the voice of the Lord. Go back to thy bed; and if it speaks again, say, 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'"

Samuel obeyed; and a fourth time the voice called.

Then Samuel answered as Eli bade him. And the voice then said, "Lo, I am about to punish Eli and his sons; for the sons are wicked and Eli punishes them not."

Now, these sons were priests in the temple with their father, and Eli knew full well that they were wicked men. Still, because they were his own sons, and he loved them, he had not driven them forth from the temple.

Poor old Eli was sad when Samuel told him what the voice had said to him; but he bowed his head and said, "It is the voice of God that hath spoken. Let him do with me what seemeth to him wise and good."

Then came a great battle between the Philistines and the Israelites; and in this battle the Israelites were beaten, and the two sons of Eli slain.

Eli was too old to go himself into the battle, and so he sat at the gate of the city and waited with the people for news of the battle.

At last a man came running. His clothes were rent, and there was dust upon his head, and from this the people knew that he brought sad news only.

Then they set up a weeping and wailing; and old Eli, whose eyes were dim with age, said, "What is this noise I hear? Why do the people cry?"

Then the messenger said, "I have just come from the battle-field."

Eli's heart beat fast. "Tell me," he cried with trembling voice, "what has happened there?"

The messenger dreaded to tell the old priest the sad news; but he said, "Alas! alas! the Israelites are conquered! Your own sons have fallen; and even the Ark which the Israelites carried into battle has been taken!"

Poor old Eli! This was more than he could bear. The Ark taken! And the old man threw up his hands and fell back, dead.

Now, the Ark was taken by the Philistines to one of their own heathen temples, and one of their idols was set upon it.

The Philistines thought the Ark was one of the gods of the Israelites, just as their idols were their gods; so they set it up on their altar, and it was their chief god, Dagon they called it, that they set beside it.

But when the Philistines went into their temple the morning after the battle, there lay Dagon upon the floor.

"This is strange!" they said; and they put the idol back upon the Ark again.

The next morning, again was the idol found upon the floor, its hands and its head broken.

Then a dreadful plague settled upon the people. "It is the idol of the Israelites that has done all this!" the people cried. "Let us send it away!"

So the Ark was sent to Gath; but there a plague fell upon the people.

"We will not have it among us!" the people of Gath cried; so they sent it on to Ekron.

But when the people of Ekron saw it coming, they cried out, "Take away this idol of the Israelites! We fear the plague that is sure to come with it!"

At last the Philistines said, "We will not have it in our land." So they placed it upon a cart, and they fastened two cattle to the cart. Then they set the cart upon a road leading towards Bethshemesh and bade the oxen go.

The oxen, obedient, carried the Ark out upon the road, turning neither to the right nor to the left, and straight into the village of Bethshemesh.

Now, the people of the village were at work in their fields, for it was harvest time.

They heard the coming of the cart and looked. "It is the Ark! It is the Ark!" they cried; and the Levites came and took the Ark and set it upon a great stone.

Then followed a day of great sacrifice and rejoicing. And the Israelites later repented of all their sins, and came to Samuel and asked him what they should do.

Samuel called them all to him at Mizpah, and there he prayed for them and taught them wisely and well.

But as he was teaching them and offering sacrifices, lo! a great army of Philistines drew near. They had come again to fight the Israelites.

But Samuel bade them have no fear; for this time it was the Philistines that were to be conquered and not the Israelites.

So the Israelites made ready for battle; but, before they were ready, a great black cloud rolled up across the sky. The winds blew, the hail fell, and the skies blazed with terrible lightnings.

Never had such a storm been known either to Philistines or Israelites.

"Fear not," Samuel said; "this is God's hand." And the Philistines fled in terror.

Then, when the storm was over, and again the sun shone out, Samuel took a great stone and set it up near Mizpah; and the stone at Mizpah was for a sign to the Israelites that "God shall watch ever over thee and me."

And Samuel named the stone Ebenezer—which means, a stone of help.

For many years now Samuel had been judge over Israel; and so long as the people obeyed him they were safe and happy.

But there came a time when Samuel was an old, old man. Then the Israelites came to him and said, "Thou art very old; thy sons, who now judge over us, are not like thee. Let us have a king."

But Samuel said, "God only is the king of the Israelites."

The people would not listen to the words of Samuel. "We will have a king," they said. "We will be like other nations. We will have a king, and he shall go into battle with us."

And so it came about that from out their number a king was chosen.

Now, there was a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who had a son, named Saul.

Saul was a tall, strong, brave, young man, and of him the Lord said to Samuel, "If the Israelites have a king, let this man Saul be that king."

One day it chanced that the cattle belonging to Kish, Saul's father, strayed away; and Kish said to Saul, "Take a servant with thee and go and seek the cattle that have strayed."

So Saul took a servant, and they searched the country round about, going great distances; still the cattle could not be found.

At last Saul said to the servant, "I am tired with this search. Let us go back and tell my father all we have done."

Then the servant said, "There is a prophet living near this place into which we have come. Let us seek him; for I am told he is most wise. Perhaps he may help us to find our cattle."

"Let us go to him," Saul answered readily; and so the two men came into the city where Samuel dwelt; for it was he they sought.

As they drew near the city, they met two young women coming to a well to draw water.

"Tell me, is the prophet here?" Saul asked.

And the young women said, "Yes, to-day he offers sacrifice in the city. First, he blesses the sacrifice, and then the people feast; and now he is going towards the temple. Make haste and you will see him."

Saul and the servant hurried on towards the gate of the city; and there they saw an old man, sitting alone.

"Tell us," said Saul, "where we may find the prophet Samuel."

And the old man answered, "I am Samuel. Come and feast with me; and to-morrow thou shalt go. Grieve not about the cattle; already they are found. But come with me, for I have much to tell thee. The desire of all Israel is upon thee and upon thy father's house."

Then Saul said, "Why dost thou speak so to me? Knowest thou not that my family is one of the least of the tribe of Benjamin?"

But Samuel knew; and he led Saul to his house and feasted him. And when the feast was over, Samuel said to Saul, "The people of Israel desire a king; and it is thou, Saul, whom the Lord has chosen to be that king."

Then, when morning came, Saul and his servant set out upon their journey home; and Samuel went with them, even unto the city gates. Then Samuel said to the servant, "Go on before. I would speak once more with Saul alone." And when he had gone, Samuel poured oil upon the head of Saul and kissed him, saying, "God has chosen thee to be king to rule over his people in Israel."

Then Samuel went back to his home, and Saul went on his way. It was to him a strange journey back to his home, for God had already given him great wisdom and power. Already the gift of prophecy was his; and when he met a company of prophets, he too prophesied with them of things to come.

And the people wondered to hear Saul uttering prophecies. "What does this mean?" they cried. "Is Saul also a prophet?"

But now Samuel called all the tribes of Israel together at Mizpah. "It is your wish," he said, "that a king should be chosen to rule over you and lead you forth into battle. Now, God is not pleased that you should choose a king; for he was himself your king. Still, because it is your wish, a king shall be chosen by God. And that man chosen shall be Saul."

"But where is Saul?" the people asked; for nowhere was Saul to be found.

Then the Lord told the people that Saul was hiding; and he bade them go and search for him in that place which God should name.

The people obeyed, and Saul was found and brought before the people.

"Is this the man?" the people asked. And the Lord said, "This is the man."

Then the people shouted, and Saul was made king over the Israelites.

Then Samuel said to the people, "Behold I am an old man. My hair is white with age. All my life I have been with you, from the time when I was a little child until now. Tell me, have I ever oppressed you, or have I ever taken anything from you?"

And all the people shouted, "No! No! Never! Never have you oppressed us or wronged us in any way!" For the people all loved Samuel, from the oldest to the youngest.

"Wait, then," said Samuel, "and hear what I would say to you. Many years ago God brought your fathers out of Israel and gave this land to them for a possession.

"Often your fathers rebelled against God; and as often he sent punishment upon them that they might turn back to him. Sisera and the Philistines and the Moabites God sent to fight against the Israelites; but whenever they repented and turned back, then He forgave them. Many good captains He sent them,—Gideon, Jepthah and Samson.

"And now you have asked for a king, and God has given you one. And so long as the king and his people are true to the one God, so long shall His blessing be upon you."

And so ended that time in the history of the children of Israel when they were content to be ruled over by Judges chosen by God; and of these Judges, Samuel was the last.