I Sam 3-4

1 Sam 3

God speaks to Samuel in the middle of the night. Samuel thinks it is Eli, so he runs to Eli who says he did not call for Samuel. This happens several times and eventually Eli thinks it might be God calling Samuel, so he instructs Samuel to “Here I am, God”. This happens and Samuel get a prophecy that is very anti-Eli.

The next morning, Samuel is terrified about what God said about Eli. Eli asks Samuel what God said, which Samuel says. Eli knows this is from God.

1 Sam 4

The story takes a darker turn as the prophecies against Eli become fulfilled.

The Philistines are still the main enemy (like during Samson) and they defeat the Israelites in battle. The Israelites send for the Ark in the hopes this will help defeat the Philistines. Eli’s sons accompany the Ark to this battle.

However, the Philistines win again. They even killed Eli’s sons and captured the Ark. Word of this gets back to Eli, who falls over and breaks his neck. The text says he had “judged” Israel for 40 years, so I guess he was the current Judge.

Eli’s daughter-in-law is in labor at the time she hears of the news. She dies in childbirth but not before naming her son “Ichabod” because the glory has departed from Israel.