There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite[a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah
He has a great personality. Wait for it.
son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.
Mr. E has dedication.
4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.
We’ve seen this intro before. God is about to do something really cool, but I’m not going to spoil it for you just yet. Let’s keep reading.
6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
What a terrible way to live.
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
Mrs. P is a loser.
8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I imagine this being said in a happy go lucky sort of attitude. Not abrupt questioning as it may seem. Though, maybe he was into interrogation, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I like to think he’s an easy going dude.
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.
Eli does this a lot.
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.”
12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth.13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
Silent prayer wasn’t much of a thing in those days. It would have been new to Eli.
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
I can’t stress this enough. God is not a genie. God grants positive answers to our prayers when we are praying for the right things. The things He wants to do.
18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[b] saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
God wanted to give Hannah a son, so He did.
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”[c]
A whole year has passed within a few paragraphs. Trying to let that sink in.
23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
Nursing means he’s sucking. Weened means Samuel gets his food in regular ways. It seems obvious, but some people might not know.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e] an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord.27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Samuel would now live at the temple full time and do whatever he was told. It must have been hard to give him up.
Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
Everyone had a horn back then.
My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
Mostly that one other woman who kept making fun of her, probably.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world. 9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails; 10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
God is in charge no matter how bad it seems.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
Samuel’s folks would visit him whenever they were in town.
12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.
This won’t end well.
13 Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
If you remember the procedures for various burnt offerings back in Leviticus, you’ll know that this was nothing like what they were supposed to be doing. That’s why the Lord is not happy with them. Those rules were there for safety and health.
17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[b] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.
See this is not good,.
18 But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
Think bathrobe, but cooler.
19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
I knew I was right. Samuel’s folks did come back to visit.
20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to[c] the Lord.” Then they would go home.21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
You trust in God, stuff works out according to His will. Not yours, not mine, His.
22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
Definitely a mess there.
23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good.25 If one person sins against another, God[d] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
If they had been acting better earlier, maybe the outcome would have been different. Eli could have solved the problem more effectively being the dad in that situation. That wasn’t a time to be passive.
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
He was not influenced by the other guys.
27 Now a man of God
Some different guy who is not Samuel, because Samuel is still little at this point. With the Lord’s leading, Samuel will eventually be doing these things too.
came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh?28 I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.
Translation: You’ve totally been warned in the past, but you have refused to knock it off.
29 Why do you[e] scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
This was never the way it was supposed to go. Remember the spiral I kept talking about through Judges? It’s still happening at this point. If the priests don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing it’s not a great situation.
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.
They weren’t doing the jobs they were called to.
31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.
Tough punishment for terrible behaviour. How you act matters, especially in a position of authority over others.
33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.
Seriously, this is important. God has specific ways He is to be honoured. They were making up their own rules instead. They were warned. They knew what they were doing. Now there’s consequences for the sin.
34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind
I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.
Good plan.
36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”’”
“Please, sir…May I have some ‘ore?”
-Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
I know what that’s like. He was already spiritually blind before this happened though. The physical manifestation of what had been happening in Eli’s heart.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Calling three times means it’s important.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.
That would feel funny.
12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end.13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain them.
Eli was too passive.
14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
Only Jesus can help them now.
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”
OK…but you’re not going to like it.
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
Eli is resigned to his fate at this point. No fight left. Probably never had any in the first place.
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba.
From the north point to the south point.
recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
They’re going to have a special friendship.
Scripture Discussed: 1 Samuel 1 through 1 Samuel 3
IIWAC: Boy Meets World, Wickedness, The Call
He has a great personality. Wait for it.
son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.
Mr. E has dedication.
4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.
We’ve seen this intro before. God is about to do something really cool, but I’m not going to spoil it for you just yet. Let’s keep reading.
6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
What a terrible way to live.
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
Mrs. P is a loser.
8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I imagine this being said in a happy go lucky sort of attitude. Not abrupt questioning as it may seem. Though, maybe he was into interrogation, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I like to think he’s an easy going dude.
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.
Eli does this a lot.
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.”
12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
Silent prayer wasn’t much of a thing in those days. It would have been new to Eli.
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
I can’t stress this enough. God is not a genie. God grants positive answers to our prayers when we are praying for the right things. The things He wants to do.
18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[b] saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
God wanted to give Hannah a son, so He did.
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”[c]
A whole year has passed within a few paragraphs. Trying to let that sink in.
23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
Nursing means he’s sucking. Weened means Samuel gets his food in regular ways. It seems obvious, but some people might not know.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e] an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Samuel would now live at the temple full time and do whatever he was told. It must have been hard to give him up.
Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
Everyone had a horn back then.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
Mostly that one other woman who kept making fun of her, probably.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
God is in charge no matter how bad it seems.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
Samuel’s folks would visit him whenever they were in town.
12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.
This won’t end well.
13 Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
If you remember the procedures for various burnt offerings back in Leviticus, you’ll know that this was nothing like what they were supposed to be doing. That’s why the Lord is not happy with them. Those rules were there for safety and health.
17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[b] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.
See this is not good,.
18 But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
Think bathrobe, but cooler.
19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
I knew I was right. Samuel’s folks did come back to visit.
20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to[c] the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
You trust in God, stuff works out according to His will. Not yours, not mine, His.
22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
Definitely a mess there.
23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, God[d] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
If they had been acting better earlier, maybe the outcome would have been different. Eli could have solved the problem more effectively being the dad in that situation. That wasn’t a time to be passive.
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
He was not influenced by the other guys.
27 Now a man of God
Some different guy who is not Samuel, because Samuel is still little at this point. With the Lord’s leading, Samuel will eventually be doing these things too.
came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.
Translation: You’ve totally been warned in the past, but you have refused to knock it off.
29 Why do you[e] scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
This was never the way it was supposed to go. Remember the spiral I kept talking about through Judges? It’s still happening at this point. If the priests don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing it’s not a great situation.
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.
They weren’t doing the jobs they were called to.
31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, 32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.
Tough punishment for terrible behaviour. How you act matters, especially in a position of authority over others.
33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.
Seriously, this is important. God has specific ways He is to be honoured. They were making up their own rules instead. They were warned. They knew what they were doing. Now there’s consequences for the sin.
34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind
I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.
Good plan.
36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”’”
“Please, sir…May I have some ‘ore?”
-Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
I know what that’s like. He was already spiritually blind before this happened though. The physical manifestation of what had been happening in Eli’s heart.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Calling three times means it’s important.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.
That would feel funny.
12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain them.
Eli was too passive.
14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
Only Jesus can help them now.
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”
OK…but you’re not going to like it.
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
Eli is resigned to his fate at this point. No fight left. Probably never had any in the first place.
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba.
From the north point to the south point.
recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
They’re going to have a special friendship.
Scripture Discussed: 1 Samuel 1 through 1 Samuel 3