While the crowd around him went into wild yells of joy,his hands grasped the blocks of granite.With a sudden heaving of his broad shoulders,he pushed the pillars away from him.
They crashed into a hundred pieces.
The roof fell in.
The people in the temple and those on the roof were all killed.And underneath the ruins lay the broken body of a hero who in death had atoned for the foolish mistakes of his youth.
But while all these spectacular events were taking place,other and very subtle influences were at work to change the divided Jewish tribes into a real nation.The people still refused to call their ruler a King.But the power of the Judges was being steadily increased.Indeed,if there had been a man of the strength of character of Moses or Joshua,the Jews would gladly have asked him to be their sovereign.
Eli,however,who had succeeded Samson,was a weak man.As for his two sons,Phineas and Hophni,they were despicable characters.They lived without giving a single thought to Jehovah.They cared only for the pleasures of this world and used their father's high position in the state to do all sorts of wicked things.
It was time for a very different sort of leader,and of course,he was found at the right moment.This was the famous prophet Samuel.
He was born in a little village called Ramah.His father was called Elkanah and the name of his mother was Hannah.
For many years,Hannah had had no children and she used to go every year to the temple in Shiloh to pray that she might be given a son.When the child was born,his happy mother called him Samuel and when he was old enough to walk,she took him to Shiloh and asked Eli to give him some work to do in the temple that he might be ever in the presence of Jehovah.
Eli liked the boy,who was very bright,and because he had given up all hopes that his own sons would amount to anything,he began to train little Samuel as a possible successor.
One night,when Eli was closing the doors of the sacred building,he heard a voice calling Samuel by name.The child,who was asleep on a couch,awoke and said:“Yes,master,I am here.What do you want?”
Eli answered that he did not want anything and that he had not called.
The boy lay down again,but for a second time,the voice called,“Samuel!”
This happened three times in succession.Then Eli understood that it was Jehovah who had spoken.He left Samuel alone and Jehovah thereupon told the boy that the sons of Eli must be killed for their sins because their wickedness threatened to destroy all of the people of Israel.
The next morning,Samuel told Eli what had been revealed to him the night before.
Soon all the people heard of it.Thereafter,they treated Samuel with great respect and they said to each other that the boy would surely grow up to be a great prophet and perhaps their ruler.
But ere that day came,and while Eli was still Judge,the Philistines had once more taken to the warpath.
Now it was the habit of the Jews,whenever they went forth to battle,to carry the Ark with them.
Phineas and Hophni,being the sons of Eli,who was both Judge and high-priest,were ordered to conduct the sacred shrine to the Jewish camp.
This they did,although they had offended against all the laws of the land and had greatly displeased Jehovah.