Day 57

1 Samuel 1; 1 Samuel 2; 1 Samuel 3; 1 Samuel 4; 1 Samuel 5

Hannah prays for a son and vows to give him to the Lord. Eli the priest blesses her. Samuel is born. Hannah loans him to the Lord. Hannah sings praises to the Lord. Samuel ministers before the Lord. Eli blesses Elkanah and Hannah, and they have sons and daughters. The sons of Eli reject the Lord and live in wickedness. The Lord rejects the house of Eli. The Lord calls Samuel. The house of Eli will not be purged by sacrifices and offerings. Samuel is recognized as a prophet by all Israel. The Lord appears to him. The Israelites are smitten and defeated by the Philistines, who also capture the ark of God. Eli’s sons are slain, Eli dies in an accident, and his daughter-in-law dies in childbirth. The Philistines place the ark in the house of Dagon, their god. The Philistines in Ashdod, then Gath, and then Ekron are plagued and slain because the ark is lodged with them.