City of Shiloh

     On our trip to Israel, we visited the ancient city of Shiloh in the Ephraim hill-country. This was the religious capital of Israel for 300 years before Jerusalem became capital. The story of Samuel begins in this city with his mother, Hannah, being distraught over being barren. She tells God she will give her son back to him if she can just become pregnant.

^{1 Samuel 1:9} Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “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.”

I found it ironic that at the same site that Hannah cried out about being barren, today a fig tree nows grows. It is a reminder of the parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13:6-9. Although it may seem as though the soil is not fertile now, wait on the Lord, and He will produce fruit.