May 14th

And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Make us know how we shall send it to its place.”

So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but you shall surely return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not turned away from you.”

Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that bring the land to ruin, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land.

Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had abused them, did they not allow the people to go, and they went?

So now, take and make a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them.

And take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go.

See, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that smote us; it happened to us by chance.”

Then the men did so and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.

And they put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, as well as the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors.

And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there, and a large stone was there; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh.

And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Yahweh.

So the five lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that day.

Now these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;

and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of Yahweh is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

Then He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?”

So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down and take it up to you.”

And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and brought the ark of Yahweh up and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and set apart Eleazar his son as holy in order to keep the ark of Yahweh.

Now it happened from the day when the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and set your hearts toward Yahweh and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone.

Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.”

And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. Then the sons of Israel heard it and were afraid of the Philistines.

So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to Yahweh our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh; and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and Yahweh answered him.

Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were defeated before Israel.

So the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.”

So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Thus Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

And he used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.

But his return would be to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to Yahweh.

And it happened when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel.

The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and took bribes and caused justice to turn aside.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.”

But the thing was evil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

So now, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly testify to them and tell them of the custom of the king who will reign over them.”

So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who had asked of him a king.

And he said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots.

And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers.

He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants.

He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

He will also take your male slaves and your female slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work.

He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”

Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us,

that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

So Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of Yahweh.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen, and you do not accept our witness.

If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed.