The Story of the Chosen People (Yesterday's Classics) (12 page)

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AMSON
was succeeded by Samuel, the last judge of Israel, and the first prophet of a long series which was continuous until the return from captivity in Babylon, as you will see.

Samuel was the son of a Levite and his wife, Hannah. This woman, having remained childless for many years, once went up to Shiloh to worship the Lord. She prayed so fervently before the altar that Eli, the high priest, concluded from her excited gestures that she must be the worse for strong drink.

He was about to turn her out of the holy place when she told him the cause of her grief. Eli then blessed her, and promised her a son. When Samuel was born, Hannah rejoiced greatly, but remembering the vow she had made to give her child to the Lord, she brought him to the temple as soon as he was weaned.

There the mother left her only son in the care of Eli, the high priest, and went home, where God rewarded her for her sacrifice by giving her three other sons and two daughters to cheer her old age.

Eli, the high priest, was a very good man, but very weak. Instead of training his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in the way they should go, he treated them with such indulgence that they soon took to evil ways.

When the father saw this, he called his sons to him, reproached them for their bad conduct, and sadly compared them to Samuel, who "was in favor both with the Lord and also with men." But this reproof came too late, and the young men went on doing wrong, until a prophet came to tell Eli that both his sons would die on the same day, and that instead of them God would find a priest worthy of serving him.

Eli was already very old and nearly blind. He dwelt in the temple, where he once laid himself down to sleep in his chamber. Near him, but in another room, lay Samuel, and there the voice of the Lord suddenly called the child.

With cheerful readiness, Samuel answered, "Here am I." He thought that the aged high priest had called him, so he ran into Eli's room to ask his wishes. "But Eli sent Samuel back to bed, thinking that he had been dreaming. The call was twice repeated, and at last the priest bade Samuel answer, should he hear the voice again, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Once more the voice fell upon Samuel's listening ear, and when he had answered, according to Eli's orders, the Lord said that he would execute judgment upon the sons of Eli, who would die in punishment for their sins.

When morning came, Eli called Samuel to him, and asked what the Lord had said. Samuel now reluctantly repeated the words he had heard, and the old man, whose heart was broken with grief, bowed his head and cried: "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good."

From that day Samuel was a prophet of the Lord, and he silently watched the Israelites, who were gathering their forces together; for they had decided to make a great effort to free themselves from the hated yoke of the Philistines.

In the very first battle, however, the Israelites were defeated, and lost four thousand men. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, thought that they might be more successful if they only had the Ark in their midst; so they now brought it into camp, although they had no authority for doing so.

The Israelites, who remembered the miracle of the Jordan and the falling of the walls of Jericho, received the Ark with loud shouts of joy. But this gladness was soon turned into mourning; for, in the very next battle, the Philistines, fighting with the energy of despair, killed Hophni and Phinehas, together with thousands of their followers, and gained possession of the precious Ark.

They bore this treasure off in triumph,—for they knew the immense importance it had in the eyes of the Israelites,—and placed it as a trophy in the temple of Dagon, their principal god, who was half man and half fish.

The news of the Israelites' defeat and great loss was quickly carried to Shiloh by a soldier who managed to escape from the general massacre. He presented himself before Eli, with torn garments and with earth on his head, in token of great mourning.

The high priest was silent and apparently unmoved, as he heard of the death of his sons and the destruction of the army; but when the messenger added that the Ark of God had fallen into the enemy's hands, Eli fell back from his seat and died.

That same day, the young wife of Phinehas heard the mournful tidings, and gave birth to a son, whom she called Ichabod ("where is the glory?"), because with the loss of the sacred Ark she said, "The glory is departed from Israel."

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HE
Philistines, who had won such a brilliant victory, and had secured such a fine prize, were beside themselves with joy. But when they again entered their temple, this joy was changed into amazement; for they found their god lying in fragments at the foot of the Ark.

Soon after, all the men of the city became ill, and hosts of mice overran the land, causing great damage. They soon blamed the Ark for these misfortunes, and carried it elsewhere; but wherever it went, plagues and calamities went with it. Weary of suffering, the Philistines finally made up their minds to send the Ark back to the Israelites.

Under the direction of their priests, they made golden emblems of their plagues, placed them in a coffer of precious wood, and set it with the Ark upon a new cart, to which they harnessed two young cows that had never yet borne the yoke.

These animals were allowed to go as they pleased, and soon turned into the road leading to Beth-shemesh, slowly followed by five Philistine lords, who wished to see what would happen. The cart passed near some harvest fields, where the Israelites were working, and when they saw the Ark they rejoiced aloud.

Then the Levites came forward and took possession of the treasure. They used the cart for firewood and the cows for victims, and offered up a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the miraculous return of the Ark which they had lost.

But some of the men, having ventured to peer into the Ark in idle curiosity, were slain. When the people of Beth-shemesh saw this, they were afraid to keep the Ark among them, and begged the men of Kirjathjearim to take it into their city. This request was cheerfully complied with, and the Ark remained there for many years, causing many blessings to fall upon the house under whose roof it had found shelter.

The Israelites had failed to shake off the Philistine yoke as easily as they expected; so they now gladly listened to Samuel's advice, and began to repent of their sins. To recover the favor of God, they set aside the idols which they worshiped. Then they came together at Mizpeh and implored Samuel to pray aloud in their behalf.

In the very midst of this prayer, their old enemies, the Philistines, fell upon them. But this time the Lord was with his people, and he sent a sudden and timely thunderstorm, which filled the hearts of the Philistines with superstitious dread. They were so terrified that they turned and fled, and thus the Israelites won an easy victory.

This battle put an end to the Philistine oppression, which had lasted forty years; and Samuel, growing old, now judged Israel with the help of his two sons. The prophet dwelt at Ramah, where the people often came to consult him, because they knew that he could give them very good advice.

The end of Samuel's long life was clouded on account of the bad behavior of his sons, and because of the persistent request of the elders that he would give them a king. They said that they wanted such a ruler to defend them in case of new attacks on the part of their enemies.

Samuel vainly tried to convince the elders that God was the best king, and that the theocracy under which they lived was the very best system of government for them; they would not believe him. So Samuel, warned by God that it would be well to give the people their own way, finally told them that he would soon choose a king for them.

A few days later, a young man named Saul came to the prophet to ask where he could find his father's asses, which had wandered out of their pasture and were lost. Advised by God, Samuel led the man into his own house, told him that the asses were already found, and, after detaining him over night, started out with him on his homeward journey on the morrow.

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AMUEL
and Saul had not gone very far before the prophet bade the young man send his servant on ahead. When the man had gone, and they were alone, Samuel told Saul to stop, and took out "a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him." This was to show that he took Saul for his king.

As Saul seemed to be somewhat amazed and doubtful, Samuel told him that he had been made king by God's will, and that as a proof he would soon hear of the safety of his father's asses, would receive a present, and would be inspired by the spirit of the Lord to utter a prophecy.

All these things happened just as Samuel had foretold; and the people, hearing Saul prophesy for the first time, exclaimed in wonder: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" The new king did not immediately assume his royal state, however, but returned quietly to his father's house.

Not very long after this event, Samuel called all the elders of the people together, and bade them select their king by lot. Their choice also fell upon Saul; but when his name was called, he was nowhere to be seen, although he was taller than any one else. It seems that he had hidden himself through modesty; but the people at once began to search for him, and he was soon forced to come out from his hiding place.

Saul was led into the very midst of the assembled people and was welcomed with the cheer: "God save the king!" So far as we know, this is the first time that writers mention this cry, which has since been heard many times and in many countries.

Escorted by a volunteer bodyguard, Saul went home to Gibeah, where he quietly staid until the people of another town begged him to save them from the hands of their enemies, the Ammonites, who kept them closely besieged.

Prompted by the spirit of God, Saul now collected an army of three hundred and thirty thousand men, fell suddenly upon the Ammonites, and completely defeated them. Then he went to Gilgal, where Samuel publicly laid down his charge as judge, and gave the people over to Saul's care.

Although the great army had gone home, Saul soon raised a new force of three thousand men, with which he proceeded to make war on the enemies of Israel. In this work he was greatly helped by his son Jonathan, a young man of great valor.

Saul's small army was once encamped at Gilgal, when they became frightened at the numbers of the enemy, and postponed an attack, intending to wait until Samuel could come and offer up a prayer in their behalf. But Samuel did not come as soon as he was expected; so Saul became impatient, and decided that he would offer up the sacrifice, although he knew that he had no right to do so.

Saul had just finished this religious ceremony when Samuel appeared. The prophet, who knew that the king had done wrong, now reproved him, and foretold that in punishment for this sin the crown would not long remain in his hands, and would never belong to his children.

When Saul heard these words, he was troubled and ashamed, and did not dare to begin the war. The Philistines, seeing this, spread rapidly over the country, and took away all the weapons that the Israelites had. Then they carried away all the smiths, and thus forced the Chosen People to come into their enemy's camp to have even their tools sharpened.

This tyranny soon became so unbearable that Jonathan resolved to end it. Accompanied only by his armor-bearer, he boldly entered the Philistine camp, and slew many men. A timely earthquake, occurring at the same moment, bewildered the Philistines so sorely that they fell upon one another with drawn swords. Their own work of destruction was then finished by the Israelites, who crept out of the caves where they had taken refuge, and joined in the slaughter with hearty good will.

This massacre was finally seen from Saul's camp, and he gave his men orders to follow the fugitives, rashly adding: "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening." Saul said these words, intending to show his men that they must pursue the enemy without stopping for rest or refreshment; and he little thought that the curse would fall upon his own son.

It seems that Jonathan had not heard his father's command; and, in passing through a forest, he dipped his rod in a honeycomb, and put it to his mouth. This act of disobedience was soon discovered by Saul, who would have punished it by death, as he had vowed, had not all the people insisted that their favorite Jonathan must live.

T
HE
campaign against the Philistines was followed by a long series of victories over the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Amalekites, and Saul, having subdued all his enemies, could at last assume the royal state. But even in the midst of his splendor he could not forget Samuel's prophecy, and kept wondering how he could secure the crown to his descendants.

From time to time the prophet Samuel still appeared at the king's court, to bring him God's commands, and on one occasion he bade Saul fight the Amalekites, and utterly destroy them and all their possessions. Instead of obeying this order faithfully, Saul carried it out only in part; for he divided the best of the spoil among his people, and spared the life of Agag, the King of the Amalekites.

But on the way home Saul was met by Samuel, to whom God had said: "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king." When Samuel reproved Saul for his disobedience, the king vainly tried to excuse himself by saying that he had saved the cattle to offer up in sacrifice; but the prophet would not listen to him.

Then Samuel went on to tell Saul that on account of his disobedience, he would no longer be helped by God. Terrified by these words, the king now clung to the prophet's mantle, imploring forgiveness for his sins, until a piece of the garment was torn off and remained in his hands.

The prophet made use of this accident to illustrate the meaning of his words, and said: "The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than thou." But before leaving court, Samuel himself saw that God's commands were fully obeyed, by sending for the captive king Agag, and cutting off his head.