1 Samuel 1
This book opens with the background of Samuel's family. Elikanah
had two wives, the one of which (Hannah) was barren, unable to have
children 1-5. This was from the Lord 5. Hannah prays for a son that
she will give to the Lord and His service, if the Lord would grant
her request. This she does as a vow before the Lord 10-18. After
returning home Hannah conceives and gives birth to Samuel which
means 'hear of God' 19-20. God heard and answered Hannah's prayer.
Hannah keeps her vow and brings Samuel 'young as he was' 24 to the
house of the Lord in Shiloh 21-28. Samuel is to be trained in the
Lord's service. Notice Hannah's actions in connection with Samuel
she took him, brought him, and gave him to the Lord 24-28.
This was part of their act of worship 28b. Note: Several
things stand out to me as follows: prayer is prompted by the
anguish of soul, It is never futile to pray for the Lord hears and
answers prayer. Second, He is concerned with those things which
burden us. Third, why was a priest sitting at the temple 10 ? I do
not recall a chair being part of the sacred furnishings. Maybe this
little detail is to show us how corrupt the priesthood had become
or to say they were not very busy (ie. not many bringing the
required sacrifices of the Lord). Note: In the midst of struggles
the Lord is working and provides far beyond our need (see: 1 Samuel
2:21) Samuel becomes the prophet of the Lord to the whole nation of
Israel.
1 Samuel 2
Hannah prays and praises the Lord 1-10. The Lord is exalted
throughout this prayer. He is holy 2, He knows 3, is creator 8b,
and judge 10. He is intimately involved in human life and events.
The Lord is the source and sustainer in life. Note: Is the king and
anointed one which Hannah speaks of in verse 10b the Lord Jesus
Christ ? If so, what great insight God gave her. This is truly a
godly prayer with a God-ward focus. Certainly this is a model for
you and me. Contrast godly Hannah with the wicked sons of Eli
described in 12-17,22-25. The wickedness of Hopkins and Phinehas is
seen in the way they treat the Lord's sacrifices with contempt.
They take the Lord's choice portions and threaten those who would
object with force 16-17. Samuel and his mother are a stark
contrast to Eli and his sons 18-21. Note: Samuel is able to
minister before the Lord 18 and grows up 'in the Lord's presence'
21b, despite the sinfulness of the priests at this time. This
indicates the grace of God who can raise up a godly person in the
very midst of corrupt surroundings. Eli attempts to rebuke his sons
(note their deeds v 22) and warns them of sinning
against the Lord 24-25. They do not listen. For them it was too
late because it was the Lord's will to put them to death 25b. (in
this the Lord seals their fate by allowing their own sinful choices
and actions to result in their sentence of death). Samuel, however
continues to grow in stature and is favor with the Lord and with
men 26. These same words were spoken concerning the Lord Jesus in
Luke 2:52. Note: I wonder if Samuel's growing, godly life impacted,
saddened, or convicted Eli, who knew the Lord's truth, but did not
live by it himself, not did his own sons ? Do you learn from the
godly examples God has placed around you or do you reject the Lord,
whom they reflect ?
The Lord sends Eli a message through and unnamed man of God 27-34.
The Lord pronounces judgment on Eli and his descendants because of
their contempt for the Lord 29. The Lord assures that Hophi and
Phinehas will both die on the same day as a sign to Eli that this
is from the Lord 34. The Lord would raise up a faithful priest to
do His will 35. Could this in part be a reference to Samuel and in
a greater way the Lord Jesus Christ ? Here we see in Eli, the
failure of the priesthood which the Lord Jesus fulfills as God the
Father's faithful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17-18, 3:1-2).
1 Samuel 3
The call of Samuel by the Lord is recorded in this chapter. Samuel,
up to this point, did not know the Lord, He had not been revealed
to him 7. Note: The Lord can be at work in a person's life for some
time preparing them to receive His word and call when He gives
them. What a privileged place for Samuel to make his bed, near the
ark of the Lord, in the temple 3.
When Samuel is listening the Lord tells him of the judgment that
will come to Eli and his house for his failures and sins 13. Eli
asks to know what the Lord said and Samuel tells him everything
14-18. Eli responds with 'He is the Lord; let Him do what is good
in His eyes' 18b. This appears to be a passive acceptance of the
Lord's will without any serious heart searching. What a dangerous
place for anyone to be, where the judgment of God does not move one
to fear God and plead His mercy (see: Revelation 6:15-17). Do you
or I yawn when we hear of God who will bring His judgment ?
Be ware and take heed. Samuel continues to grow before the Lord and
is recognized as the Lord's prophet. He must have been given
messages from the Lord to the people since the Lord let none of his
words 'fall to the ground' (ie fail) 20-21. Note: God reveals
Himself to Samuel through His word 21b. The same is true today. God
reveals Himself to us through His Word (the Bible). The only way we
can know Him and His will is through His Word. Thus we must read,
hear, pray to understand, believe, act upon and live out what God
has written in His Word that we might know Him.
1 Samuel 4
The Philistines come against Israel in battle and defeat them 1-2.
The Israelites take the Ark of the Lord into battle thinking 'it'
will grant them victory 3-4. They shout and the Philistines think
they are doomed 5-9. What Israel failed to grasp was that it was
not the Ark that assured them of victory, by the Lord God Almighty.
They treated the Ark as though it had its own power.
The Philistines recognize, some level, that there is a god or gods
who fight for the Israelites 8-9. Israel is defeated and the Ark is
captured and Hophni and Phinehas die 10-11. Eli dies by a broken
neck when he hears of the Ark 18. He was 98 years old, heavy, could
not see, and had led (judged) Israel for 40 years 15,18. This means
he was 58 when he began his leadership role. Note: Eli was a
ungodly leader as seen in his failure and in his family. Sometimes
we suffer because of ungodly leadership, but this is no excuse for
anyone to not follow the Lord (Just look at Samuel and his parents
during this same time frame). Israel's glory has at this point
departed (as represented by the Ark which was taken). Phinehas'
wife names her son Ichabod meaning 'no glory' to express the
sadness of the day's events. Note: Does God write the name Ichabod
over the doors of some churches, families, and individuals who
treat Him as did Eli, his sons, and the people of Israel during
this time ?
1 Samuel 5
The Ark of the Lord is placed by the Philistines into the their
temple and beside their god Dagon 1-2. The next day Dagon is face
fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord 3. After setting Dagon
back up, the next day he is fallen on his face before the Ark with
his head and hands broken off 4. The priest will not walk on the
floor of their temple lest they step on their god 5. (I find this
humorous, but it is a sad picture of a spiritually blinded mind
that can not see the hand of God and how everything is to bow
before Him, even all 'so called gods'). The Lord afflicts the
Philistine people in every town in which the Ark is sent 6-12.
Note: Does the Lord take action on those who treat His sacred
things (The Bible, the Believers, symbols of Christianity) with
contempt or a trivial attitude, today ?
1 Samuel 6
The plan is to send the Ark back to the land of Israel along with
five golden tumors and five golden rats as guilt offering 1-6.
These apparently represented the plagues that the Lord had
inflected on the Philistine people. They send it back on a new cart
with two cows who had never been yoked and had just calved 7. They
do this as an "if", "then" proposition. If it goes by to Beth
Shemesh (Israelite territory), then this was the Lord who brought
the disaster. However if it did not go that way, then this was not
the Lord's hand but 'chance' 8. There is no such thing as chance,
only a sovereign Lord who rules heaven and earth. As they send the
cart on the way the cows keep to the road, straight to Beth Shemesh
lowing all the way (they submit to the will of God) 12. The people
of Beth Shemesh sacrifice to the Lord and the Levites are called
and care for the Ark 13-18. (Five Philistine cities are mentioned
17). God strikes down 70 men of Beth Shemesh for looking into the
Ark 19. (Why do we never learn ?)They at least get it right in
declaring: 'Who can stand in the presence of the Lord,this
holy God ?" 20. The answer is 'No one' ! That is why we
need to be clothed with Christ's righteousness and fit for heaven
by the saving and sanctifying work of God on our behalf. They did
not know all this but it became clearer as they revelation of God
unfolded in His word. The people send to Kiriath Jearim to come and
get the Ark 21.
1 Samuel 7
The Ark is taken to the house of Abinadab whose son Eleazar is
consecrated to guard it 1. It remained there for twenty years 2a.
Note: There is no record of any sacrifices being offered during
this time and 'guarding the ark' does not sound like active
worship. What does this tells us about the place the Lord had in
the lives of His people ? Samuel calls the people to true
repentance before the Lord. This meant a turning from the false
gods and idols which they worshiped to serving the Lord alone 3-4.
At Mizpah, Samuel and the people fast and confess their sins.
Samuel intercedes for them 5-6. Samuel was a judge 6b,15; a prophet
(3:20), and a priest 9-10. The Lord heard his prayer and Israel
defeated the Philistines. 9b-11. The memorial stone which Samuel
set up was named Ebenezer meaning 'stone or rock of help' 12 This
was meant point the Israelites to the Lord who helped them.
Note:Can you say of the Lord, 'He is my Ebenezer' ? Verse 13
says that the Lord's hand was against the Philistines during the
lifetime of Samuel. Can this be due to his godly influence,
instruction, and intercession on behalf of the people of Israel ?
He served as judge throughout the land completing a yearly circuit
15-16. At his home in Ramah he also judged and built and altar to
the Lord (which speaks of personal devotion and communion with the
Lord). Note: Have you considered how one godly life can be used by
the Lord to impact many others ? Oh that God would make each of us
godly examples and leaders in our own sphere of influence by His
grace and Spirit.
1 Samuel 8
Here we have the record of Israel asking for a king to lead them as
the other nations had 5. This was prompted in part by the
corruption of Samuel's sons 1-5a. Note: Godly parents do not
guarantee godly children. His sons made a choice to not walk
in his ways (following the Lord) 3. In asking for a king, Samuel
goes to prayer 6. The Lord tells him this was a rejection of
Himself as their king 7 and reflects the rebellious heart they have
always had as His people 8. Samuel is to warn the people what
having a king will mean 9. Having a king means he will take from
you and make of you what he needs for his own use. He will take a
tenth and the best of what you have and you will be his slaves.
10-17. These are sobering words and sound more like bondage than a
blessing to the people. In fact, they would regret this and cry out
to God for deliverance, but He would refuse to listen to them 18.
The people refuse to listen to Samuel and say 'No' 'We want a king'
'We want to be like all the other nations..' 19-20. Samuel repeats
this back to the Lord 21. The Lord tells Samuel to grant their
request and give them a king 22. Note: I picture Samuel praying
before the Lord with a heavy heart knowing what such a request
meant and how it reflected the rebellion in the heart of the
people. Though I say this carefully, I wonder if the Lord was
grieved in His heart as well. This prayer time was no doubt filled
with sadness as the Lord said 'give them what they want'. (They
just don't realize what they are fore fitting in having the Lord as
their king !) Note: Why do God's people, in every era, seem to want
to be like those around them (who don't know the Lord) ? Don't we
have in our relationship with the Lord something far better and
greater which the world does not have and can never give us ? Why
be like the world in its thinking, philosophy, and approach to life
when we have the Lord's promises and His presence which make us His
unique and peculiar treasure We are called to reflect the
Lord and His holy character not the world in which we live and from
which the Lord has redeemed us. (see: 1 Peter 2:9-10)