I Samuel, Part 2

I Samuel 3

I Samuel 3:8 - Why did it take Eli three times to realize this was a message from God? Eli had received word from God in the past. I Samuel 3:1 says that word of the Lord was rare in those days.
I Samuel 3:10 - Samuel slept every night near the ark of the covenant. Getting direct word from God was a big deal!
I Samuel 3:15 - Samuel was not given a fun message to deliver. This was legitimately scary for a young man. Eli had already been warned by God about the behavior of his sons, but we are not told Samuel was party to this. By giving this warning to Samuel to take to Eli, God was warning Samuel also. This may have also been a bit of a test for Samuel to see if he would be able to take bad news to people in high places. God would require this many more times in the future.
I Samuel 3:18 - To his credit, Eli accepted the judgment. However, Eli also did not act to repent and restrain his sons. We have examples in the Bible of God relenting from judgment He had planned to bring down on people because they acted swiftly to change their ways (Ninevah, for example).

I Samuel 4:3 - The Philistines assumed God was with Israel, but Israel did not consider this.
I Samuel 4:10 - Because Israel did not consult with God, they lost 4,000 men (I Samuel 4:2), then another 30,000 men.
I Samuel 4:4 - Hophni and Phineas thought God had to be with them if they had the ark of the covenant with them. This was a grace misunderstanding of how God works (not to mention a violation of God’s laws about the ark).
I Samuel 4:18 - As if the death of his sons was not enough, it seems to have been the capture of the ark that truly stunned Eli, resulting in his death.