Monday's Devo - From Judgment to Promises

Read 1Sam 3:20-4:11
Samuel was known as a prophet of God from "Dan to Beersheba". From "Dan to Beersheba"... I remember reading that many times in the Bible so I looked it up. It is a saying that is used 8 times in the Bible. Dan was the most northern Israelite city and Beersheba was the most southern place in the land. I looked them up on a map and it was hard for me to believe they meant south and north since they were not that far apart. So I dug deeper. I found that "Beersheba" means "well of an oath" and these wells were dug about 5 meters deep. "Dan" on the other hand means "judge" and is in the hill country. It makes me wonder if the difference was vertical instead of horizontally. The judges like Samson came from Dan. The Anti-Christ is believed to come from Dan. So could Dan mean "high; pride; self-exaltation?" Beersheba seemed to be a place where God had given His promises and these wells were physical memorials to God's promise. Abraham dug them and Isaac had to contend for the land they were on, then redig them. So Dan and Beersheba seem like opposites: judgment and promises kind of like the Old covenant (judgment) and the New covenant (promises).
On with the story... "The Lord appeared again in Shiloh". "Shiloh" means "tranquility; prosperity; safety."
Into chapter 4: You would think that now a godly man is their prophet that everything would go well, but no. They have to reap the years of rebellion they sowed. The Philistines come against them and slaughter 4,00 of them. So they decide to call on God and go get the Ark of the Covenant. It has become an idol to them, not a way of life. Hophni and Phinehas bring it into the camp with enough shouting and fanfare to scare the Philistines into fighting even harder so they won't become their slaves. The next day the Israelites lose 30,000 men, the ark gets confiscated, and Eli's 2 sons were killed. All of this is fulfillment of God's judgments.
I'm glad God put it "from judgment to promises." We are suppose to love his judgments because they are true and righteous. They lead us to His promises which are yea and amen! Lord, lead us through your judgments to your promises!