June 6 – Turning Back to God

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Welcome to Bible Chat, where we
have devotional conversations

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rooted in Scripture and relevant
for today, June 6th.

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Turning back to God Have you
ever drifted, not physically,

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but spiritually?
Like one day you realize that

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God used to be at the center of
your life, and somewhere along

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the way He got pushed to the
edges.

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You’re still doing OK, maybe
even doing fine on the outside.

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But deep inside, you know the
connection isn’t what it used to

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be.
That’s exactly where the

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Israelites found themselves in
First Samuel Chapter 7.

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They had been living with
foreign gods, taking up space in

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their hearts.
They had walked away from the

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God who had carried them,
protected them, and provided for

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them.
And Samuel comes to them with a

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direct message, not one of
condemnation but of invitation.

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First Samuel Chapter 7 verse 3
says if you are returning to the

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Lord with all your heart, then
put away the foreign gods and

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direct your heart to the Lord
and serve Him only, and He will

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deliver you out of the hand of
the Philistines.

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That word if is key.
It’s not a barrier, it’s an

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invitation.
God isn’t standing with his arms

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crossed waiting to punish them.
He’s standing with his arms

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open, waiting to receive them.
But he does ask for something.

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Your whole heart, not a partial
return, not keeping 1 foot in

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and 1 foot out.
He says, come back fully.

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Put away the things that have
taken my place, and I will meet

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you there.
Proverbs chapter 17, verses 10

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and 11 add important context
here.

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Someone who is truly wise
responds to correction.

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A single rebuke can penetrate a
heart that’s open.

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But a fool keeps pushing against
wisdom, keeps choosing

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rebellion, and eventually faces
serious consequences.

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The Israelites learned this the
hard way over and over again.

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But every time they return to
God, he was faithful.

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And Psalm 65, verse 5 gives us a
picture of what that

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faithfulness looks like.
By awesome deeds you answer us

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with righteousness, oh God of
our salvation, the hope of all

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the ends of the earth.
This is not a passive God.

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This is a God who answers with
awesome deeds.

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He doesn’t just accept our
return quietly.

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He responds powerfully.
He delivers.

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He restores.
He brings hope.

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So wherever you are today,
whether you’ve been drifting for

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a week or a few years, the door
is open.

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The invitation is real.
God doesn’t want a version of

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your life where he’s squeezed in
between everything else.

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He wants the center.
And when you give him that,

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everything else begins to align.
Let’s pray.

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Heavenly Father, thank you for
never giving up on us even when

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we drift away.
Thank You that your door is

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always open and your arms are
always ready to receive us.

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Help us to come back to you with
our whole heart, not partially,

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not conditionally, but fully
show us the things we need to

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put away and fill those spaces
with more of you.

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We trust that when we return you
meet us with awesome deeds in

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Jesus name, Amen.
When the battle feels personal,

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relentless, and too heavy to
name, your prayers do not have

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to fall silent.
Under Siege is a prayer script

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series for believers walking
through fear, betrayal,

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spiritual pressure and unseen
conflict.

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With a warm, faith centered
focus.

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These books give voice to the
cry for help, the fight for a

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steady mind, the weariness that
longs to run, the chaos of

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hostile environments, the pain
of broken trust, and the

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confidence to leave judgement in
God’s hands.

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This series helps you pray with
discernment, endurance, and

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covenant trust.
When the pressure is real and

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the path feels narrow, stand
firm.

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Pray clearly.
Remember that God hears his

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people in the middle of the
battle.

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Order now on Amazon or visit
prayerscripts.org.

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Now I invite you to spend time
with God in today’s three-year

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Bible reading plan.
Proverbs chapter 17 verses 10 to

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11 World English Bible a rebuke
enters deeper into one who has

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understanding than 100 lashes
into a fool.

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An evil man seeks only
rebellion, therefore a cruel

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messenger shall be sent against
him.

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Psalm Chapter 65 World English
Bible Praise waits for you, God

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in Zion.
Vows shall be performed to you.

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You who hear prayer, all men
will come to you.

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Sins overwhelmed me, but you
atoned for our transgressions.

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Blessed is the one whom you
choose and cause to come near,

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that he may live in your courts.
We will be filled with the

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goodness of your house, your
holy temple.

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By awesome deeds of
righteousness you answer us, God

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of our salvation, You who are
the hope of all the ends of the

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earth, of those.
Who are far?

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Away on the sea, by your power,
you form the mountains.

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Having armed yourself with
strength, you still the roaring

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of the Seas, the roaring of
their waves, and the turmoil of

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the nations.
They also, who dwell in faraway

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places, are afraid at your
wonders.

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You call the mornings dawn and
the evening with songs of joy.

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You visit the earth and water
it.

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You greatly enrich it.
The river of God is full of

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water.
You provide them grain, for so

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you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows, you

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level its ridges.
You soften it with showers.

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You bless it with a crop.
You crown the year with your

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bounty.
Your carts overflow with

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abundance.
The wilderness grasslands

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overflow.
The hills are clothed with

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gladness.
The pastures are covered with

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flocks.
The valleys also are clothed

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with grain.
They shout for joy.

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They also sing First Samuel
chapters six to seven World

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English Bible.
Yahweh’s ark was in the country

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of the Philistines seven months.
The Philistines called for the

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priests and the diviners,
saying, what shall we do with

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Yahweh’s ark?
Show us how we should send it to

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its place.
They said, if you send away the

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ark of the God of Israel, don’t
send it empty, but by all means

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return a trespass offering to
Him.

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Then you will be healed, and it
will be known to you why His

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hand is not removed from you.
Then they said, what should the

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trespass offering be which we
shall return to him?

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They said 5 golden tumors and
five golden mice, for the number

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of the Lords of the Philistines.
For one plague was on you all

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and on your Lords.
Therefore you shall make images

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of your tumors and images of
your mice that mar the land, and

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you shall give glory to the God
of Israel.

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Perhaps He will release His hand
from you, from your gods, and

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from your land.
Why then do you harden your

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hearts as the Egyptians and
Pharaoh harden their hearts?

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When He had worked wonderfully
among them?

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Didn’t they let the people go
and they departed.

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Now, therefore, take and prepare
yourselves a new cart and two

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milk cows on which there has
come no yoke, and tie the cows

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to the cart, and bring their
calves home from them.

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And take Yahweh’s ark and lay it
on the cart.

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Put the jewels of gold which you
return him for a trespass

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offering in a box by its side,
and send it away that it may go.

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Behold, if it goes up by the way
of its own border to bait

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Shemesh, then He has done us
this great evil.

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But if not, then we shall know
that it is not His hand that

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struck us.
It was a chance that happened to

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us.
The men did so and took 2 milk

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cows and tied them to the cart
and shut up their calves.

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At home they put Yahweh’s ark on
the cart and the box with the

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golden mice and the images of
their tumors.

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The cows took the straight way
by the way to Bait Shemesh.

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They went along the highway,
lowing as they went, and didn’t

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turn away to the right hand or
to the left, and the Lords of

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the Philistines went after them
to the border of Bait Shemesh.

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The people of Bait Shemesh were
reaping their wheat harvest in

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the valley, and they lifted up
their eyes and saw the ark and

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rejoiced to see it.
The cart came into the field of

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Joshua of Bait Shemesh, and
stood there where there was a

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great stone.
Then they split the wood of the

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cart and offered up the cows for
a burnt offering to Yahweh.

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The Levites took down Yahweh’s
ark and the box that was with

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it, in which the jewels of gold
were, and put them on the great

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stone.
And the men of Bait Shemesh

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offered burnt offerings and
sacrificed sacrifices the same

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day to Yahweh.
When the five Lords of the

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Philistines had seen it, they
returned to Ekron the same day.

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These are the golden tumors
which the Philistines returned

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for a trespass offering to
Yahweh, for Ashdod one, for Gaza

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one, for Ashkellen one, for Gath
one, for Ekron one and the

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golden mice.
According to the number of all

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the cities of the Philistines
belonging to the 5 Lords, both

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of fortified cities and of
country villages, even to the

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great stone on which they set
down Yahweh’s ark, that stone

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remains to this day in the field
of Joshua of Beit Shemesh.

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He struck of the men of Beit
Shemesh because they had looked

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into Yahweh’s ark.
He struck 50,070 of the men.

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Then the people mourned because
Yahweh had struck the people

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with a great slaughter.
The men of Beit Shemesh said,

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Who is able to stand before
Yahweh, this holy God, To whom

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shall He go up from us?
They sent messengers to the

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inhabitants of Koriath Jirim,
saying, The Philistines have

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brought back Yahweh’s ark, come
down and bring it up to

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yourselves.
The men of Koriath Jirim came

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and took Yahweh’s ark and
brought it into AB and Adab’s

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house on the hill and
consecrated Elizar his son to

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keep Yahweh’s ark.
From the day that the ark stayed

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in Koriath Jirim, the time was
long, for it was 20 years and

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all the House of Israel lamented
after Yahweh.

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Samuel spoke to all the House of
Israel saying, If you are

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returning to Yahweh with all
your heart, then put away the

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foreign gods and the Ashtaroth
from among you and direct your

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hearts to Yahweh and serve Him
only and He will deliver you out

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of the hand of the Philistines.
Then the children of Israel

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removed the bales and the
Ashtaroth and served Yahweh

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only.
Samuel said, Gather all Israel

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to Mizpah and I will pray to
Yahweh for you.

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They gathered together to Mizpah
and drew water and poured it out

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before Yahweh, and fasted on
that day and said, There we have

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sinned against Yahweh.
Samuel judged the children of

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Israel in Mizpah.
When the Philistines heard that

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the children of Israel were
gathered together at Mizpah, the

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Lords of the Philistines went up
against Israel.

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When the children of Israel
heard it, they were afraid of

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the Philistines.
The children of Israel said to

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Samuel, Don’t stop crying to
Yahweh, our God for us, that He

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will save us out of the hand of
the Philistines.

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Samuel took a suckling lamb and
offered it for a whole burnt

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offering to Yahweh.
Samuel cried to Yahweh for

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Israel, and Yahweh answered him.
As Samuel was offering up the

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burnt offering, the Philistines
came near to battle against

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Israel.
But Yahweh thundered with a

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great Thunder on that day on the
Philistines and confused them,

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and they were struck down before
Israel.

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The men of Israel went out of
Mizpah and pursued the

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Philistines and struck them
until they came under bait car.

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Then Samuel took a stone and set
it between Mizpah and Shen, and

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called its name Ebenezer,
saying, Yahweh helped us until

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now.
So the Philistines were subdued,

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and they stopped coming within
the border of Israel.

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Yahweh’s hand was against the
Philistines all the days of

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Samuel.
The cities which the Philistines

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had taken from Israel were
restored to Israel, from Ekron,

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even to Gath, and Israel
recovered its border out of the

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hand of the Philistines.
There was peace between Israel

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and the Amorites.
Samuel judged Israel all the

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days of his life.
He went from year to year in a

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circuit to Bethel, Gilgol, and
Mizpah, and he judged Israel in

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all those places.
His return was to Rama, for his

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house was there, and he judged
Israel there, and he built an

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altar to Yahweh there.
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