M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

4 And Samuel gave those messages to all the Israelites.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer. The Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines brought their forces together to fight against Israel. As the fighting spread, the Israelites lost the battle to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 of them on the field of battle. ³ The rest of the Israelite soldiers returned to camp. Then the elders asked them, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines win the battle over us today? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Let’s take it with us. Then the Lord will save us from the power of our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the ark of the Lord’s covenant law. He sits there on his throne between the cherubim. The Lord is the one who rules over all. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God’s covenant law. The ark was in Shiloh.

⁵ The ark of the Lord’s covenant law was brought into the camp. Then all the Israelites shouted so loudly that the ground shook. ⁶ The Philistines heard the noise. They asked, “What’s all that shouting about in the Hebrew camp?”

Then the Philistines found out that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. ⁷ So they were afraid. “A god has come into their camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸ How terrible it will be for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? They struck down the people of Egypt in the desert. They sent all kinds of plagues on them. ⁹ Philistines, be strong! Fight like men! If you don’t, you will come under the control of the Hebrews. You will become their slaves, just as they have been your slaves. Fight like men!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought. The Israelites lost the battle, and every man ran back to his tent. A large number of them were killed. Israel lost 30,000 soldiers who were on foot. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured. And Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.

Eli Dies

¹² That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front lines of the battle. He went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn. He had dust on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair. He was by the side of the road. He was watching because his heart was really concerned about the ark of God. The man entered the town and told everyone what had happened. Then the whole town cried out.

¹⁴ Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, “What’s the meaning of all this noise?”

The man hurried over to Eli. ¹⁵ Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn’t see. ¹⁶ The man told Eli, “I’ve just come from the front lines of the battle. I just ran away from there today.”

Eli asked, “What happened, son?”

¹⁷ The man who brought the news replied, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. Large numbers of men in the army were wounded or killed. Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead. And the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ When the man spoke about the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He had been sitting by the side of the gate. When he fell, he broke his neck and died. He was old and fat. He had led Israel for 40 years.

¹⁹ The wife of Phinehas was pregnant. She was Eli’s daughter-in-law. It was near the time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the ark of God had been captured. She heard that her father-in-law and her husband were dead. So she went into labor and had her baby. Her pain was more than she could bear. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women helping her spoke up. They said, “Don’t be afraid. You have had a son.” But she didn’t reply. She didn’t pay any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod. She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured. She also said it because her father-in-law and her husband had died. ²² She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured.

Abraham’s Faith Made Him Right With God

4 What should we say about these things? What did Abraham, the father of our people, discover about being right with God? ² Did he become right with God because of something he did? If so, he could brag about it. But he couldn’t brag to God. ³ What do we find in Scripture? It says, “Abraham believed God. God accepted Abraham’s faith, and so his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6)

⁴ When a person works, their pay is not considered a gift. It is owed to them. ⁵ But things are different with God. He makes ungodly people right with himself. If people trust in him, their faith is accepted even though they do not work. Their faith makes them right with God. ⁶ King David says the same thing. He tells us how blessed people are when God makes them right with himself. They are blessed because they don’t have to do anything in return. David says,

⁹ Is that blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have been saying that God accepted Abraham’s faith. So his faith made him right with God. ¹⁰ When did it happen? Was it after Abraham was circumcised, or before? It was before he was circumcised, not after! ¹¹ He was circumcised as a sign of the covenant God had made with him. It showed that his faith had made him right with God before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all believers who have not been circumcised. God accepts their faith. So their faith makes them right with him. ¹² And Abraham is also the father of those who are circumcised and believe. So just being circumcised is not enough. Those who are circumcised must also follow the steps of our father Abraham. He had faith before he was circumcised.

¹³ Abraham and his family received a promise. God promised that Abraham would receive the world. It would not come to him because he obeyed the law. It would come because of his faith, which made him right with God. ¹⁴ Do those who depend on the law receive the promise? If they do, faith would mean nothing. God’s promise would be worthless. ¹⁵ The law brings God’s anger. Where there is no law, the law can’t be broken.

¹⁶ The promise is based on God’s grace. The promise comes by faith. All of Abraham’s children will certainly receive the promise. And it is not only for those who are ruled by the law. Those who have the same faith that Abraham had are also included. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ It is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5) God considers Abraham to be our father. The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also creates things that did not exist before.

¹⁸ When there was no reason for hope, Abraham believed because he had hope. He became the father of many nations, exactly as God had promised. God said, “That is how many children you will have.” (Genesis 15:5) ¹⁹ Abraham did not become weak in his faith. He accepted the fact that he was past the time when he could have children. At that time Abraham was about 100 years old. He also realized that Sarah was too old to have children. ²⁰ But Abraham kept believing in God’s promise. He became strong in his faith. He gave glory to God. ²¹ He was absolutely sure that God had the power to do what he had promised. ²² That’s why “God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6) ²³ The words “God accepted Abraham’s faith” were written not only for Abraham. ²⁴ They were written also for us. We believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. So God will accept our faith and make us right with himself. ²⁵ Jesus was handed over to die for our sins. He was raised to life in order to make us right with God.

42 Then all the army officers approached Jeremiah. They included Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah. All the people from the least important of them to the most important also came. ² All of them said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please listen to our appeal. Pray to the Lord your God. Pray for all of us who are left here. Once there were many of us. But as you can see, only a few of us are left now. ³ So pray to the Lord your God. Pray that he’ll tell us where we should go. Pray that he’ll tell us what we should do.”

⁴ “I’ve heard you,” Jeremiah the prophet replied. “I’ll certainly pray to the Lord your God. I’ll do what you have asked me to do. In fact, I’ll tell you everything the Lord says. I won’t keep anything back from you.”

⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “We’ll do everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us to do. If we don’t, may he be a true and faithful witness against us. ⁶ It doesn’t matter whether what you say is in our favor or not. We’re asking you to pray to the Lord our God. And we’ll obey him. Things will go well with us. That’s because we will obey the Lord our God.”

⁷ Ten days later a message came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ⁸ So Jeremiah sent for Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the other army officers with him. Jeremiah also gathered together all the people from the least important of them to the most important. ⁹ He said to all of them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. You asked me to present your appeal to him. He told me, ¹⁰ ‘Stay in this land. Then I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will plant you. I will not pull you up by the roots. I have decided to stop bringing trouble on you. ¹¹ Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon. You are afraid of him now. Do not be,’ announces the Lord. ‘I am with you. I will keep you safe. I will save you from his power. ¹² I will show you my loving concern. Then he will have concern for you. And he will let you return to your land.’

¹³ “But suppose you say, ‘We won’t stay in this land.’ If you do, you will be disobeying the Lord your God. ¹⁴ And suppose you say, ‘No! We’ll go and live in Egypt. There we won’t have to face war anymore. We won’t hear the trumpets of war. And we won’t get hungry.’ ¹⁵ Then listen to what the Lord says to you who are left in Judah. He is the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Have you already made up your minds to go to Egypt? Are you going to make your homes there? ¹⁶ Then the war you fear will catch up with you there. The hunger you are afraid of will follow you into Egypt. And you will die there. ¹⁷ In fact, that will happen to all those who go and make their homes in Egypt. All of them will die of war, hunger and plague. Not one of them will live. None of them will escape the trouble I will bring on them.’ ¹⁸ He is the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says, ‘My great anger has been poured out on those who used to live in Jerusalem. In the same way, it will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. People will use your name in a curse. They will be shocked at you. They will say bad things about you. And they will say you are shameful. You will never see this place again.’

¹⁹ “The Lord has spoken to you who are left in Judah. He has said, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Here is something you can be sure of. I am warning you about it today. ²⁰ You made a big mistake when you asked me to pray to the Lord your God. You said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us everything he says. We’ll do it.’ ²¹ I have told you today what the Lord your God wants you to do. But you still haven’t obeyed him. You haven’t done anything he sent me to tell you to do. ²² So here is something else you can be sure of. You will die of war, hunger and plague. You want to go and make your homes in Egypt. But you will die there.”

For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang the words of this song to the Lord. He sang them when the Lord saved him. He saved him from the power of all his enemies and of Saul. David said,