The story of Samuel being called by God gives me goosebumps. How many times in my own life have I heard God's call, sometimes even at night, alone, in the silence of my dark room, pulling at my heart? And yet how often have I resisted that call, or ignored it, or pretended i didn't hear it, or even promised myself that I would answer it only to forget my promise soon after? Too often to count. Yet God keeps calling to me. I am trying to do as Samuel did--to respond with "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." But it is hard. I am happy and blessed and more or less comfortable where I am. Those are good things. Great things. Yet God may be calling me to something more or something different--something unknown. And unlike Samuel, I am afraid.
The remainder of this passage tells of the Philistines capture of the Ark, the sufferings they undergo as a result, the return of the Ark to Israel, and the subsequent defeat of the Philistines.
Comic moments (to me a least): the Philistines send back a guilt offering along with the Ark, in the form of golden hemorrhoids. Yup, golden hemorrhoids (according to my translation). Umm, ok. Also, two of the minor characters in this passage have names that we find, many centuries later, as prominent characters in classic works of literature: Ichabod (Crane) and Ebenezer (Scrooge).
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