Bede

Samuel slept until morning, etc. The Lord remained in secret rest with the Father, with whom he ceaselessly arranged and governed all things invisibly, waiting for when, with the night of vices dispelled by the host of virtues, the lights of evangelical truth would reveal themselves, when the shadow of the law departed. And immediately, wherever he saw the dawn of faith rising in anyone's heart by the breath of the Sun of righteousness, opening the more abundant gifts of his Spirit, he promised the hope of entrance to the eternal house in heaven. This happens not only then among the Jews but also among us to this day; for whoever has not yet received the grace of Christ, or having received it, has cast it away by the merits of sins, to this person placed in the night of blindness, Christ, who always watches in the saints, sleeps, and the entrance of the heavenly kingdom is closed to him. But when he receives the light of hoped-for and sought-for forgiveness, immediately the Lord, as if awakened from sleep, opens the doors of virtues, which he had closed at the coming of the evening of faithlessness. This sense agrees beautifully with another trope, that while the Lord sleeps, the sailors are in danger; while he awakens, they are freed (Matthew 8).

And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized, etc. And the Catholic, that is, the universal Church, the spiritual Israel, which has been gathered from the beginnings of renouncing the devil to the font of baptism, knows that Jesus Christ, who is called "God with Us," is the preacher of faith. For Dan is interpreted as "judgment." It signifies that time for the Church, of which it is said: "Now is the judgment of this world, now the prince of this world will be cast out" (John 12). Beersheba, however, which is interpreted as "well of the oath," or "seventh well," or "well of satisfaction," signifies the full reception of baptism, when, with the devil exorcised, renounced, and expelled from the heart, each one enters the font of regeneration to be consecrated by the sevenfold grace of the Spirit and to be filled by the abundance of heavenly gifts. Even the very location of these places alludes not insignificantly to the sacraments of the Church, because the terminus of the land of Judea was Dan to the north and Beersheba to the south, a mystical distance well known to those who can sing with the spouse: "Awake, O north wind, and come, south wind, blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out" (Cant. 4). Dan, moreover, is a village about four miles from Paneas towards Tyre, from which place the river Jordan takes its name, as Jor means "river" or "stream" in Hebrew; this also not insignificantly points to the beginning of baptism. Furthermore, Beersheba is a city or village in the tribe of Judah, lying to the south, as we have said. Therefore, all Israel, that is, the people of Christians intent upon the vision of God, from Dan to Beersheba, from the north to the south, that is, from the catechumens to the faithful, from those who have just now expelled the harsh blasts of the ancient enemy, to those who have already been filled with the most radiant warmth of the Holy Spirit, recognizes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believers have eternal life in His name. In this reading, the person of blessed Samuel may well be referred to those very members of Christ, exalted by the merit of pure humility, about whom He Himself says: "Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18). Those sleeping in the temple of the Lord, that is, who have turned away from the external cares of the world with the whole light of their heart directed solely towards contemplating the divine will above, are taught how the secrets of heavenly judgments are revealed in many ways which the old, blinded, and rejected Eli did not see, just as the Lord Himself, who speaks in the Gospel, says: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes" (Matt. 11). In this context, the crowned humility of the penitents and the condemned impiety of the proud are presented as an example, so that by these things it is manifestly shown that the hidden things of the wise of the world and the revealed mysteries to the humble are spoken.

When the battle began, Israel turned their backs to the Philistines, etc. Once the conflict between Israel and the pagan peoples broke out over true religion, with the former fighting for the worship of the one true God and the latter for the defense of idols, Israel’s faith failed, and it fell into the errors of the pagans more easily than the pagans could be converted to follow its faith. Nonetheless, a significant portion, although others sinned, remained steadfast in defending the camp of spiritual virtues. Do not think these words refer to the status of the ancient people of God merely allegorically, but also that they have a moral application for you. For whenever you try to fight back unclean spirits in a spiritual venture, not relying on your own strength but trusting in that stone which was cut without hands from the mountain (Dan. II), and which alone knows how to overthrow the kingdoms of the devil, immediately the enemies of truth oppose your every good deed with new fury. However, be careful not to turn the back of your mind to the enemies by sinning, as the apostle James warns: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James IV). Yet since it is written: The outcome of battle is varied, and now the sword consumes one, now another (2 Sam. II), if by chance you have retreated and the enemy has prevailed for a time, if he has trampled the fruitful fields of your good conduct, and boasted that he laid low prudence, fortitude, justice, and temperance, the four most excellent leaders followed by the whole army of virtues, you should not abandon the camp of your best purpose, which you have pitched near the firm rock, but rather with the remedy of humility and repentance restore the lost ranks of virtues with new forces; according to him who said: If the spirit of a ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for composure mitigates great offenses (Eccl. X). Therefore, when the danger of conflict from adversaries presses, offer the Ark of fervent faith as your aid. But if perchance the wicked by mixing in heresy, or by any other kind of deceit, should take it away for a time, still the aid of divine mercy will not fail you, which often allows its own to fall temporarily that, recognizing their own weakness, they might afterwards be more cautious in virtues and kept perfect for rewards. Finally, the Ark soon returns home joyfully and stays in the city’s citadel for twenty years, because virtue often received again through repentance fills the mind even more ardently than before the storm of temptation, and accompanies it to fulfill the complete Decalogue of divine law, and to receive the perpetual joy of the heavenly reward. But now that we have touched on these moral interpretations, let us return to the order of the lesson and seek the new fruits of spiritual allegory in the very old forest of the letter.