1 Samuel 3
The Lord spoke to Samuel, saying "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house. I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them." All Israel knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear to Samuel and to give him messages and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.

1 Samuel 2 records a prayer from Hannah, which boasts in the Lord's provision, faithfulness, and complete sovereignty. She lifts Him up, acknowledging the Lord as the source of all good, rebuking the proud and arrogant. Hannah declares, "it is not by strength that one prevails... for the foundations of the earth are the Lord's and on them He has set the world... the Lord is a God who knows.. He sees the sins of men.. those who oppose the Lord will be broken...the Lord will judge the ends of the earth... but He will guard the feet of His faithful servants." Hannah's son Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli and "continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people". Eli's sons, however, were doing wicked things and disgracing their family. Eli received a prophesy from the Lord, " Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence... I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever, but now far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age... I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always."

1 Samuel 1
A man named Elkanah and his household went up from his town for their annual time of worship and sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh. Elkanah's wife, Hannah, prayed and weeped bitterly in anguish about her closed womb, and she made a vow, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." Eli, the priest in Shiloh, blessed Hannah saying, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him. " After returning to their home town, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel. Later, after Samuel was weaned, Hannah took her boy and returned to the the house of the Lord at Shiloh where Eli was priest. She said to Eli, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD."

Ruth is a book about a widow and her faithful daughter-in-law, who are rewarded for their faithfulness by God's provision. Naomi's daughter-in-law, Ruth, said "Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." Naomi needed a relative on her husband's side to "redeem" her husband's land and property in order to maintain their family name and estate. God provided Boaz, who was a relative and became interested in helping Ruth and Naomi. Before witnesses, Boaz announced that he would take Ruth as his wife and redeem the property of Elimelek and Mahlon. The Lord blessed Ruth further by giving her a son by Boaz, and the people said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

Hallelujah!

Judges 21 The Israelites mourned for their brethren Benjamite tribe, yet did not yield from their decision to prohibit any Israelite daughter to marry a Benjamite. Instead, they offered the surviving women from the conquered tribe of Jabesh Gilead and also suggested a plan for the remaining Benjamite men to take wives from the clan of Shiloh. The Israelites then left and went home to their own tribes an clans.

Judges 20
The other tribes of Israel came together to avenge the Benjamite men who raped and killed the wife of the Levite ( Judges 19). The men of Israel destroyed all the Benjamite men, animals, and livestock. They also set their towns on fire.