GOD TELLS SAMUEL OF DESTRUCTION OF ELI'S HOUSE.—1 Sam. 3:11.
And, after that, God often made His will known to Samuel, and blessed him, and all Israel knew that Samuel was God's own prophet. Think of the great honor and blessing of having God so often speaking to him! But we have that blessing too. God is nearer to a little Christian child than He was to Samuel; for the Holy Spirit speaks in a Christian child's heart, and tells him to be good and dutiful, and to think of God, and say his prayers with all his heart. And that is better than even being a prophet like Samuel. Only we must take great care to attend to that voice; or it will leave off, and then we shall get worse and worse, like those bad sons of poor old Eli.
QUESTIONS.
1. Who was Samuel? 2. Where was he brought up? 3. What did his mother bring him every year? 4. Who was the High Priest? 5. What did Samuel hear? 6. Who did he think was calling? 7. What did he do? 8. What did Eli say? 9. How often did this happen? 10. Was Samuel cross at being called so often? 11. Who was honoring him? 12. What did Eli perceive at last? 13. What did he tell Samuel to answer? 14. What did he hear again? 15. How did he answer? 16. What did the voice tell him? 17. Whose voice speaks to us? 18. How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? 19. What must we take care to do?
THIRD READING.
"The Ark of God is taken.—Samuel 4:17.
GOD helped the Israelites again and again, but they would not leave off their wickedness, and at last He punished them still more. There came up a nation to make war upon them, fiercer than any before, called the Philistines. Then the Israelites fancied that if they took the Ark of the Covenant out into the battle with them they would get the victory, as they had done when Joshua conquered the land.