Before Samuel was born, Israel had no king, and everyone did as they pleased. Its religious corruption was evident from the behavior of Eli the priest and his two sons. Israel was weak and struggling, and its primary foreign enemy was the Philistines, who constantly harassed them. The Philistines had been continually immigrating by sea to Canaan, and by this time, they occupied most of the coastal plain, extending north to Aphek, indicating their influence had penetrated central Canaan. They continuously attacked the Israelites, becoming their great enemy. At this time, Egypt’s national power was in decline; it was not only inactive militarily and politically but was increasingly submitting to the priests. The weak pharaohs could only control the northern Delta region and were no longer capable of participating in international affairs. Israel temporarily escaped Egyptian control, and Egypt did not rise again until after 930 BC.
By the time of Samuel, Israel had initially been defeated by the Philistines. Under Samuel’s twenty years of teaching, the entire nation turned to the LORD and experienced revival. They once defeated the Philistines, recovered lost territories, and also made peace with the Amorites, bringing peace to the land for twenty years.
2、The Israelites fought the Philistines, were defeated, and consequently transported the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh to Ebenezer (1 Samuel 4:1-4).
3、Israel was defeated by the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured. The Philistines transported the Ark to Ashdod, then to Gath, and then to Ekron. The Ark remained in Philistine territory for seven months, bringing great disaster to each place it visited (1 Samuel 4:10-11, 5:1-12).
4、The five Philistine cities each sent gifts of restitution and returned the Ark to the Israelites at Beth Shemesh (1 Samuel 6:1-16).
5、The people of Beth Shemesh presumptuously looked into the Ark, and many were killed. The people of Kiriath Jearim were then asked to take the Ark, and it remained there for a long time until King David had it brought to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 6:19-7:2).
6、After twenty years of Samuel’s diligent efforts, the Israelites returned to the LORD. They defeated the attacking Philistines at Mizpah, recovered lost territory from Ekron to Gath, and experienced peace for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:5-14).
7、Samuel annually went on circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and then returned to Ramah (1 Samuel 7:15-17).
The above text and images are used with authorization from the “Holy Light Biblical Geography Information Network.”
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