The First Book of Samuel
There was a man named Elkanah and he had two wives.
The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah
had children, but Hannah had no children. And once a year the family went to
worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD in Shiloh, where the priest named Eli
was.
And when Elkanah offered his sacrifice to the LORD,
he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and daughters equal portions.
But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion for he loved her very much, but the
LORD had shut up her womb and she could not have children.
And Peninnah made fun of her and caused her to be
sad because she had children and Hannah had none. Every year it was always the
same, Peninnah would remind Hannah the LORD had given her no children and it
would make Hannah very sad.
That year when Peninnah made fun of Hannah she cried
and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you
cry? And why do you not eat? And why is it you are so sad in your heart? Am I
not better to you than ten sons?”
So Hannah got up and went to eat and drink and then
went to the house of the LORD. And she was very sad in her soul, and she prayed
to the LORD, and cried very much.
And she made a vow, and said, “O LORD of hosts, if
you will look upon my sorrow, and remember me, and give me a son, then I will
give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and I shall never cut his hair.”
Now, Eli the priest sat upon a seat in the house of
the LORD, and he noticed Hannah praying before the LORD, and how she moved her
mouth. When Hannah prayed she spoke only in her heart, her lips moved but no
voice could be heard. And because of this Eli thought she was drunk.
And Eli said to her, “How long have you been drunk?”
And Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a very sad woman full of
sorrow. I am not drunk, nor have I had any wine or strong drink. I am only
pouring out my soul before the LORD.
Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and may
God grant you the petition that you asked of him.” So Hannah rose up and left,
and went her way, and she did eat and drink, and was not sad any longer.
The next morning Elkanah and his wives and children,
rose up early and worshiped before the LORD, and returned to their house in
Ramah. Then the LORD remembered Hannah and she conceived a child, and she had a
son, and she named him Samuel, because she had asked him of the LORD.
When her husband, Elkanah and his family went to
offer the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go.
She said to her husband, “After the baby is weaned, I will take him and give
him to the Lord where he will live always.”
“Do what you think is best,” her husband replied,
“Stay here until you have weaned him, the Lord has made good his word.”
And when she had weaned Samuel, she took him up to
he house of the LORD in Shiloh, along with a bull to sacrifice to the Lord.
When the bull had been sacrificed she brought her son to Eli along with some
flour and wine. She said to Eli, “I am the woman that stood here by you praying
unto the LORD. For this child I prayed, and the LORD has given me the petition
that I asked of him. Therefore I am lending him to the LORD for as long as he
lives.”
Let’s think about this a moment. It
must have been very hard for this mother to take her only child at the time and
leave him at the house of the Lord where she would only see him once a year.
But, Hannah had made a vow to the Lord, and we must remember when we make a vow
to the Lord, we must keep it. We must be careful what we promise the Lord. The
Bible says if we make a vow and do not keep it, it is a sin. Hannah kept her
vow to God even thou it must have been extremely hard for her to do so. Here
are just a few verses from the Bible about keeping vows:
Numbers 30:2, “When a man vows a vow
unto the Lord,… he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that
proceedeth out of his mouth.”
Deuteronomy 23:21, “When thou shalt
vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it, for the
Lord thy God will surely require it of thee, and it would be sin in thee.”
Ecclesiastes 5:5, “Better that thou
shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”
And Samuel being just a child, ministered before the
LORD, wearing a white linen priestly garment. And every year his mother made
him a little robe and brought it to him when they came yearly to sacrifice.
And Eli blessed Elkanah and Hannah, and said, “May
the LORD give you more children since Hannah did loan her son to the LORD.” And
it came to pass that Hannah did conceive and have more children, she had three
sons, and two daughters.
And the child Samuel grew before the LORD and
ministered to the LORD in the presence of the priest Eli.
And Eli had two sons. These men did not know the
Lord, they were sons of the devil. They took bribes from the people and had no
respect for the Lord’s sacrifice. Their sin was very great before the Lord.
Eli tried to talk to his sons about all the evil
things he heard from the people that his sons were doing. But his sons would
not listen to their father, so the Lord plan to slay them.
In those days, the word of the Lord was rare and so
were visions. One night Eli who was growing old and could not see very well
anymore was lying in bed, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD.
There the LORD called Samuel, and he ran to Eli
thinking it was he, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I
did not call go lie back down.”
And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel ran
to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call,
my son, go lie down.”
And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And
Samuel again ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
Then Eli begin to realize that the LORD was calling
Samuel. So he said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, you
say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”’ So Samuel went to lie down again.
And the LORD came and stood as the other times, and
said, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to
do something in Israel that everyone who hears it their ears will tingle. On
that day I will bring about things against Eli concerning his house from
beginning to end. I am about to punish his house forever, for the sin that he
knew his sons were committing against the LORD, and he did not stop them.”
Samuel rose up the next morning and opened the doors
of the house of the LORD. And he was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli
called Samuel and said, “What was it the LORD told you? Do not hide it from
me.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing. And Eli said, “It is the
LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and the
Lord let none of the words He gave Samuel fall to the ground (meaning
everything he said came true). And all Israel knew that Samuel was established
as a prophet for the LORD.
One day the Philistines attacked God’s people. Eli’s
sons were killed in battle, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken.
Upon hearing the news of the Ark being taken Eli fell backward from his seat,
broke his neck and died, for he was an old man and heavy. And his daughter in
law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child and about to deliver. When she heard that
the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and husband were dead she
began to labor. When the child was born and she lay dying, the midwife with her
said, “Do not fear, you have born a son.” She did not answer not regard the
midwife, but said, “The glory is departed from Israel, for the Ark of God is
taken.”
After several months, the Philistines returned the
ark to Israel, where it remained over twenty years. As Israel cried out to God
for help against the Philistines, Samuel instructed them to get rid of all the
false gods they had been worshipping. With Samuel’s leadership, and by God’s
power, the Philistines were overcome, and there was a time of peace between
them. Samuel was recognized as the judge of all Israel.
And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
From year to year he went from city to city, judging in all those places. But
he always went back to his home in Ramah where he also held court for all
Israel. He also had an altar to the Lord built there.
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as
Israel’s leaders. But his sons did not follow his ways. They made money
dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.
The elders of Israel gathered together one day, came
to Samuel and said, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. We
want you to appoint us a king like all the nations around us.”
But what they said displeased Samuel so he prayed to
the Lord. And the Lord told him, “Listen to what the people say. It is not you
they have rejected, but it is Me they have rejected as their king.” The Lord
said, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
God lead Samuel to a young man named Saul, and
Samuel anointed him as Israel’s first king. After a couple of years, Samuel
learned that Saul had been rejected by God to lead his people because of his
disobedience. Saul immediately warned Saul that God had already sought out a
replacement for him. After Saul continued to disobey, Samuel denounced him as
king.
Samuel returned home, never to see Saul again, but
he mourned for him until the day he died. God instructed Samuel to choose
another king from the family of Jesse, and Samuel anointed Jesse’s youngest
son, David, the next king of Israel.
When Samuel died, the children of Israel gathered
together and mourned for him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah.
Samuel is one of the most intriguing
figures of the Old Testament. The name Samuel means “asked of God”.
Samuel is one of three men mentioned
in the Bible who were born under a Nazarite Vow and to a mother who had
previously been barren: Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist.
We meet Samuel’s parents before we
meet him. We meet him as a baby, we see him as national leader, an intercessor,
and even a prophet. Samuel was from the tribe of Levi. This qualifies him to
serve in the house of the Lord as a priest. But he was much more than a priest.
He was also the last person to be judge of Israel. Why is he the last? Because
after Samuel, Israel is led by kings. Samuel is a star player in the story of
Saul and David: the first two God-anointed kings of Israel.
In the book of Acts, Peter considers
Samuel to be the first of the prophets after Moses. Samuel’s prophetic ministry is significant because it begins
at a time when words from the Lord are rare and infrequent. But after Samuel,
Israel’s history comes alive with prophetic revelations.
Though Samuel had deep reservations
about letting the people have a king, he was quick to consult God about the
matter and abided by His decisions. Many of us may consult God about important
decisions in our lives, but how many of us are ready to accept His counsel and
abide by it, especially when it appears to go against our own desires? After making his sons judges, it must
have been the saddest thing for Samuel to learn that they were unfit to lead.
When he consulted God about the people’s request for a king, nothing was said in
defense of his sons. Samuel was obedient to God’s instructions to give the
people what they wanted. God told Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected,
but Me. They do not want Me to rule over them.”
Like Samuel, obedience to God’s Word
must always be our top priority. Samuel was a great man of God and scripture
never tells of a time when he wavered in his walk with the Lord. I encourage
you to get to know him in the first book of Samuel.
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