1 Samuel Series Wk 3 - “Something Hard to Say”

 In 1999 Tracy Lawrence wrote a song with a couple of guys called “Lessons Learned.” The first verse talks about a young boy stealing some candy and his dad giving him a spanking for it. The second verse shares about the boy playing catch and learning to drive with his grandfather; but the boy laments that he didn’t listen to the wisdom his grandfather gave and then the man passed away. 

The chorus that ties it all together reads,

Lessons learned, man they sure run deep

They don't go away and they don't come cheap

Oh theres no way around it

Cause this world turns on lessons learned.

We all learn some hard lessons in our lives. Mostly out of our own foolishness, but one of the reasons the Scriptures were given to us, is so that we can learn lessons through others people’s lives, that way we can avoid the downside of learning the lessons through our foolishness. 

So let’s learn a few lessons today as we come back to our series in the books of Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in the first verse of the third chapter in First Samuel. As we open to First Samuel 3:1, let’s take a quick look at where we are in the series. 

In our first week we talked about the books of Samuel show the narrowing of God’s work in bringing about his redemption to the whole world. This is kicked off by Hannah’s heartfelt desire for a son, which aligned with God’s will in redemption. In this we saw how God calls us to have our desires conform to his will. When this happens, we begin to see the work of God explode in our lives. 

Last week, we then looked at Eli’s sons who were abusing their spiritual offices by taking more from the people than was allotted to them, and also taking advantage of women who came to worship God. Due to their sin, God had spoken through a prophet that he was judging them. This reminded us that we are to only look at human leaders as supplements to Jesus who is our first in everything. If we had no one else, Jesus would be enough. When Jesus is in his rightful place in our lives, we can then see and expose leaders who cause spiritual abuse. 

With these things refreshed in our minds, we can move on to our passage in First Samuel 3:1. Let’s read together.

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

v.1 - The passage begins by telling us that Samuel was ministering, or serving God under the guidance of Eli. However, it is made clear that people were not hearing directly from God in this time. So the prophet that came to Eli in the last chapter was a rare occurrence, and could be why their name was not recorded; it might have been their only time prophesying. 

But why was God’s speaking rare in those days? Could it be due to Israel’s rebellion in the latter part of Judges? Could it be the sin of the people as seen through the Judges themselves, and especially Samson? For whatever reason, God had not been speaking and so, to hear from him was a a true event. And yet, God hadn’t stop speaking, as can be seen in the unnamed prophet. So God wasn’t done with Israel, but kept silent for his own purposes. 

v.2-9 - This leads us into God speaking. We’re given the time and the location of God’s communication with Samuel. It’s sometime before dawn, because the lamp in the tabernacle was still burning. Samuel is sleeping close to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was housed. 

Then we’re given a little insight into Samuel’s spiritual state. We’re told that at this point in Samuel’s life he doesn’t know the Lord yet. It’s interesting that the same language is used of Eli’s sons in chapter 2. Both the sons, and Samuel do not know, or have an intimate relationship with God. However, Eli’s sons, who should know God, were rebelling against him purposefully, whereas Samuel was still young. How young? Some commenters believe he is about twelve, which is the time of manhood in Jewish tradition. Due to youth, Samuel is still innocent in knowing God because he has not yet learned about him. He had not yet encountered God’s word. And so the difference between the sons not knowing God and Samuel, is that former had access to the knowledge of God and was responsible for that knowledge, while the latter was just now coming into his own. But after this morning, everything changes.

In God’s calling, we get a three-fold repetition which connects to the idea of God’s completeness. In other words, this is truly a divine calling. The call is similar to that of Moses who is called to the burning bush. However, this calling is quieter. Whereas the bush is an overwhelming marvel, this is the still small voice that Elijah experiences on the mountain in First Kings 19.

In response to the calling, Samuel instinctively goes to Eli, because, who could be calling Samuel at this hour? It must be Eli. But Eli wasn’t the caller, and after the third time this happens, Eli realizes that God is calling out to Samuel, and the mentor instructs the young man to respond humbly as a servant.

v.10-18 When the third call comes, Samuel does as Eli instructs and then we read a curious statement, “And the Lord came and stood …” Is this a theophany? Is Samuel seeing a being before him, or is it a presence that is so tangible that Samuel feels it? It’s not clear, but what is clear is the message God has for Samuel. 

Samuel is told of the judgment of God upon Eli’s sons, which is going to be soon. This first encounter with God is not a calling of hope, but a word of despair. And what is Samuel’s response? To spend the rest of the time laying in his bed until it’s morning. Why? Because Samuel was afraid of what God had said to him, because it was judgment against his guardian and mentor Eli, and Eli’s sons.

But Eli wanted to hear what God had said, and though Samuel was reluctant, needing a little harsh word from Eli to share, Samuel did tell him. It is here that we again see, that even though Eli had his faults in turning a blind eye to his sons’ evil deeds, he was still accepting of God’s will. 

v.19-21 - The chapter closes with us being told for a third time in two chapters, that Samuel was growing, except this time, all Israel took notice that God was with him. The chapter begins with God speaking being a rare event, and it ends with God’s word being known through a new prophet, Samuel.

There are a few of lessons to glean from this portion of Scripture, and each lesson could be its own sermon. 

The first half of the passage focuses on listening for God. We need to be listening for God to speak. Even if we have never heard him, even if it seems rare, we need to have our ears open to it. How can we do this? By doing what we know he already wants. We don’t need to know the intricacies of the doctrine of the Trinity, or a clear picture of how the full divine presence of God the Son combines with the fully human experience producing the God-man Jesus. If we know we are to love God and love others as ourselves, we already have a full life of duties to engage in. So let us be about those things that God has already called us to, with the expectation of more from him in the future.

We see this in Samuel’s life, he was growing in God’s presence even before he heard from God. How was that possible? Because he was honoring both his parents and his guardian by performing service to God in the tabernacle. 

Another lesson is that we need mentors in our lives who can direct us when we don’t know what’s going on. Samuel didn’t know what God’s voice was like, but Eli did. So Eli, though he wasn’t perfect and he himself was under judgment, was able to direct his mentee to what a proper response to God’s call was like. We need mentor’s in our lives that can direct us into the deeper things of the faith, because they have walked there themselves. 

Does that mean we look to them instead of God? No! It means we take their advice and incorporate it in our pursuit of Jesus. Even in someone’s failings, we can still be directed to God, we just have to be on our guard that we are seeking God and not them.

 

A third lesson we can glean from this, is that God doesn’t always give messages of hope, sometimes the message is one of judgment. We all want good news, but sometimes we can’t avoid the bad. When it comes to God getting us back to him, sometimes we have to hear the hard truths. 

This would be a failing later on in history when prophets would show up speaking all sorts of good things, but giving out false hope. In Jeremiah 23:16 we’re told, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.’”

Paul would warn against this in Second Timothy 4:3, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.”  

Say what you will about Eli, he took the bad news and trusted in the will of God. If we’re doing something bad, we need to be willing to hear it. We need to be willing to be corrected, so that we may grow in our relationship with God. As Proverbs 27:6 states, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” 

If we are going to grow in our relationship with Jesus, there will be many, many times when we have to be corrected. In order to see the greater work of God, we must be accepting of that correction. Not one of us has made it to being fully conformed to the image of Jesus, so until that time, we all have things that God is working on and we need to be mindful of that.

A final lesson we can glean from this passages is from Samuel at the end. He was afraid to give the bad news; it kept him up for the rest of the night. It’s hard enough to hear bad news, but it’s also hard to share that bad news with a friend. 

Too often I have had to be the one to share bad news with people, only for them to fly off the handle and never speak to me again. This happened within the first few months after I came to Quartzsite. We had a teen in the youth group that was a part of our leadership team. One day in the van, as we were picking up teens, she was gossiping and bashing another teenager. When we arrived at the church, I told her that as a Christian, and especially as a leader, that was unacceptable. Maybe it was the way I said it, not enough grace perhaps, but she never came back to the youth group or the church. I have only seen her at a distance, and we have never talked. 

It hurts, but it wouldn’t be the last time. In fact, I have to speak to someone this week about something they are doing that is not in keeping with the clear teaching of the Scriptures, and I’ve been praying it goes well. I never want to share bad news, but sometimes we have to and let God work in the shattered pieces that happens from it.

In this one chapter, we can see at least four lessons that we can learn. My challenge for you this week is to seek the Holy Spirit in which of these four lessons he wants you to work on. Do you need to work on listening God? Do you need mentors or fellows believers to help point you to the deeper things of God? Do you need to be accepting of bad news and correction? Do you need courage to speak bad news to someone? 

Seek the Holy Spirit to reveal which of these four lessons he wants to work in you this week, as he brings you closer to the image of Jesus.

Let us be a people who do not merely hear the words of Scripture, but work them out in our lives to the glory of God. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 2 - “One Spiritual Guide”

  Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: Pastor gets up every Sunday and preaches his sermons, he is well liked and everything seems to be going good with the ministry, then one day you hear through the grapevine that he ran off with the female music leader. Or maybe this one, the pastor is a great preacher, everyone enjoys his sermons, but he is found in his office with the pianist by one of the elders of the the church, but not everyone wants to see him go because he’s just too good at speaking. There are countless examples of pastors falling to sin. How about the pastor who, unknown to his congregation, was selling the church’s property out from under them. Or the pastor who keeps asking for his pay to be increased, at the expense of those around him. But it’s not just pastors. What about President Clinton in the 90s, Nixon in 70s, Kennedy in the 60s. What about the teachers who take advantage of their students, or the celebrities who are caught up in all sorts of acts of depravity?

The old saying, absolute power corrupts absolutely, is not quiet right. A better saying would be, power brings out corruption. Positions of influence and power allow the sin that corrupts us to flourish if not kept in check. No matter if you are a seasoned pastor, or just getting started as a YouTuber. If sin is given a blind eye, it will derail anyone’s life.  

And it’s this idea of the sin of a leader that brings us back to our summer series where we are picking it back up in First Samuel chapter 2, verse 12. As we open up to First Samuel 2:12, let’s look back on the first week and bring ourselves back up to speed on where we are. 

In our first week, we looked at where the books of Samuel come into the story of God’s redeeming work. God had brought the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the Promise Land by way of Moses’ leadership. Joshua then led the nation over the Jordan River, conquering the vast majority of the land. Then God used Judges to implement his judgment against the nations who continued in the area. However, these Judges mirrored the sinful spiral that Israel, as a nation, was descending into, which led to a civil war between the Hebrew Tribes. Yet God gave hope as he prepared the landscape for a redeemer was to come. 

The books of Samuel show us that narrowing work of God, as he continues to work in the short and long term with Israel and the world. This narrowing begins with the heartfelt desire of a woman. Hannah desired a son, and God granted her prayer. Hannah returned the boy to the Lord, singing of his greatness and showing how faithful she was. It is here that we pick our passage in First Samuel 2:12.

12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Our passage today comes in three parts: The sin of Eli’s sons, Eli’s realization of his sons’ sins, and God’s passing of judgment.

In the passage we just read, we see how deep the sin of the sons’ is. Now what we read is that they took more meat than what was allotted to them. This was a direct violation of Leviticus 7:31, and the provision that God had set out for them. To us, that might not sound that bad, all they were doing was taking extra food for themselves. But it goes deeper than that. The first word that describes Eli’s sons is that they are worthless. The Hebrew word is bliya`al (bel-e-yah’-al) and means wicked. In the book of Judges, it is a word that is used to connect the evil of people with the work of Satan. In other words, a person has become so evil, that they are of no worth for the community. They are destroyers to the goodness of what God is doing. The action of rebellion in taking more than God allotted is simply a symptom of the deeper depravity that is going on in their lives.

The next thing that describes them is that “They did not know the Lord.” This means they did not concern themselves with understanding, or seeking, or being in the will of God. Their desire was for themselves, and reveals that the evil of the Book of Judges was alive and well even in the priests of God. 

This is contrasted with Hannah and Samuel. Hannah receives a blessing from Eli and by God in having more children. Whereas Samuel grows in God’s presence, more on this in a little while.

Let’s continue reading in verse 22,

22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

  The worthlessness of the sons comes out even more. Not only are they taking additional food, but they are also engaging in immoral acts with women coming to the tabernacle. They were taking advantage of their spiritual office and committing acts with women who desired to be closer to God. 

Whether Eli brushed over their sin when he was younger, or it just became apparent as Eli grew older, he rebukes the sons, but they do not listen. They are already too deep into their depravity to hear him, and God has already passed his judgment on them. 

Yet, Eli sees a need for an interceder between man and God, but since there is none at this time, their is no one to argue on their behalf to God. God’s judgment then has no restraint and pours out on the sinful. This won’t be the last time the Scriptures point us to the need for an intercessor between God and man.

Again, this is contrasted with Samuel, who we’re told is growing; this time in physicality and in favorability in the sight of God.

We pick up the final section in verse 27,

27 And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. 34 And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. 35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. 36 And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

This is God’s judgment on Eli’s house. Since Eli didn’t correct his sons sooner, whether by indifference or lack of supervision, and has seemed to also been fine with eating the meat they bring to him, God has brought judgment on the whole household. This proclamation of judgment is brought to Eli by an unknown prophet, who beings to speak of God’s grace on the linage of Aaron. Yet, this grace will not be extended to Eli’s linage. 

Yet, there is still hope. A faithful priest will rise where there was none. Implying that the boy Samuel, who is growing in the presence of God. Who is becoming stronger physically, and who has God’s favor on him, will be that priest. And our passage ends with the destruction of Eli’s line assured by God.

Eli’s sons are not unique and we have similar abusers of authority today. We have pastors and teachers, evangelists and prophets, ministers and “apostles” who use their offices of authority to take more than they should from the people of God. They use their authority to coerce and manipulate women into immoral acts. They mesmerize and brainwash others by slick words and outgoing personalities. 

Right now, there is a man going viral on social media claiming to be the successor of both Jesus and Muhammed. He is claiming to be Al Mahdi, or the Islamic Messiah. He is claiming to be the true Pope of the Catholic Church. Yet, he is just another, in a long line of spiritual abusers just like Eli’s sons. However the trap is, we can point to people like that and easily see the depravity and falsity they do, but become blind to the one’s around us. Those that seek more and more money, who speak out of both sides of their mouths, who manipulate and denigrate those around them. 

This is what the Catholic Church did when they swept the sexual abuse of children under the rug. It is what the Alliance did when they did not confront Ravi Zacharias in his immoral acts. We cannot point to a leasder’s sinful acts, and turn a blind eye to the one’s around us and let it happen. 

Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:15-23 sound heavier with this situation, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

This is why we are not to trust in man for our spiritual connection to God. Man is not our interceder. Man is fallen apart from Christ’s work, and we should not place out trust into any one human spiritual leader as our end all, because they can become corrupted by the office they hold. Jesus is our one and only interceder.

Recently Pope Francis died and Pope Leo was elected. Millions mourned the passing of the one and celebrated the new, but this is a man who, though may or may not have spiritual wisdom, is just another man. 

The passage we read today, points us to a greater priest who is incorruptible. In the short term, that was Samuel, but in the long term, we are being pointed to Christ. As the Hebrew writer reveals, “14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)”

Humans struggle with sin even when they come to Christ. To look to any singular human individual as the end all of spiritual guidance is to leave ourselves open to spiritual manipulation. There is only one spiritual guide we need, and that’s Jesus himself. Pastors are good to aid us in our walk, teachers are good to help us see things we haven’t before, but it’s only Jesus who saves, heals, and guides by the Holy Spirit to bring us ever closer to our Father and his will. When we have Jesus as our ultimate teacher, it will be easier to discern those that want to manipulate us, calling them out when necessary. 

My challenge for you this week is to ask yourself, is there a human spiritual teacher, or pastor, or guru, who you think can do no wrong? Do you follow this person in everything they say? If you do, you need to break free of that. I’m not saying they’re not a good teacher or pastor, but Jesus needs to be the only one who can do no wrong in our eyes. Seek the Lord to break you of this attachment.

If you do not have such an attachment, then pray for those who do. Those who are spiritual deceived by people like this Al Mahdi, and other false teachers, pastors, and prophets. Cult leaders love these types of people, but so do false pastors and teachers. Pray for them that God would break them of these sinful attachments.

Let us be Jesus people. With one Lord, and one confession of the only High Priest we need. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 1 - “A Heart In God’s Will”

 There has been a lot of great mothers throughout the centuries. Mothers that have stood against impossible odds for their children, who have endured many hardships to care and provide for others as they go without. They are teachers, caregivers, and sometimes, bull dogs. God made women to bear many burdens, and because of this, a woman’s ability to care goes beyond their own biological children. 

One such mother was a woman named Monica. In the fifth century A.D. she gave brith to one of the most important theologians of the Church. In his younger days, he was a rascal. In his own words he was a thief and a fornicator. He lived from himself. But Monica was persistent in her love and care for her son. She wanted not only good for him in life, but she wanted him to know Jesus as his Savior. Though he would party, she would take him to task. Once he tried to sail away from his home, just to find her dogging him. Decades went by with no show of change in the young man’s life, until he finally went away and found that the life and beliefs he held failed compared to Christ. Monica was blessed to see her one desire fulfilled, her son became a Christian. That man was Augustine and went on to influence many of the doctrines we have today.

But it was Monica’s perseverance in pointing her son back to Jesus, whether he wanted to hear it or not, that stands as a testimony to all mothers who care for their children.

This brings us to our summer series in the book of 1st Samuel, where we’ll be picking it up in the first chapter. As we open up to 1st Samuel chapter 1, verses 1, let’s first talk about what we do in these summer series and then I’ll give a little background to the book before we begin.

First, these summer series are not to be an in-depth verses-by-verse treatments of the passages we will cover. Rather, these summer series are to see the bigger picture of how the passages connect with each other within the book itself and how they connect to the greater story that the Scriptures are telling us about God. So sometimes, like today, we will read only parts of the larger passages. That means your homework every week is to go back and read through the whole passage that we cover. Sometimes it my be looking at a handful of verses, other times it will cover multiple chapters. But we need to see the greater thought process of the Holy Spirit through his word, and these summer series are meant to do just that.

Next, we have to understand where the book is placed within the canon of Scripture. The first book tells of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, and God’s special work through the lineage of Abraham. The purpose of his work is to bring about a blessing for all people. It is also to break sin’s power through the seed of Eve. 

The next four books focuses the reader’s attention to the linage of Abraham: its brith, slavery, exodus, and covenant with God. These books end with the nation of Israel on the eastern banks of the Jordan River ready to enter God’s Promised Land. 

The book of Joshua then delivers on God’s promise that the Israelites would subdue the land if they followed him, which in a great amount, they do. The next book, Judges, opens to a new generation that is becoming rebellious to God’s rule over them. The individual judges show us the spiritual and moral decline of Israel over the course of a few hundred years. The book of Judges ends with the statement, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Jdg. 21:25)” Israel was on the brink of civil war, because they had almost completely abandoned their covenant with God as their king and instead followed their own sinful desires. 

It is after Judges that we get a curious book. A story about a woman, who was not an Hebrew, but who was faithful to her Hebrew mother-in-law. This woman, Ruth, is then married to Boaz and produces a son, Obed, but the book quickly transitions to her great-grandson David.

Which half of 1st Samuel and the majority of 2nd Samuel focuses on. However, we must understand that the book of Samuel, that we cut up into two parts, is about God’s continued redemption of humanity through the seed of Eve and the linage of Abraham. What we will read over the next two summers is how that focus narrows, eventually leading to Jesus. If we see this underlying story of God’s redemption work at play, then everything will make sense as we make our way starting, not with David, who was the last thought in Ruth, but with Hannah, another woman who is a faithful servant of God. Let’s read together her story, starting in 1st Samuel 1:1.

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim (Ramathigh-aim)—zophim (zo-f-im) of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”

Walking through Hannah’s story we see a man from the area of Ephraim. The last time we heard about Ephraim in Scripture it wasn’t good. In the book of Judges, we read a story about a Levite journeying into the land to find his concubine, and after finding her, experienced the same sin of Sodom. In the end the concubine was murdered and a civil war began. So to have a man from Ephraim begin this book, we are returning, in a sense, to a place of horrible sin.

Though this man himself is in sin by having multiple wives, he seems to be trying to be faithful to God by going to participate in the yearly sacrifice to the Lord. It is on these long treks that we learn that there is strife in the household. Like Rachel and Leah in the book of Genesis, the man loves one wife more than the other, even though the loved wife has bore no sons. Yet due to he infertility, Hannah is ridiculed and treated poorly by her husband’s second wife. Even though he professes his love for her and makes sure she is taken care of, the societal shame of not having children weighs on her. 

This is when she goes to the tabernacle of God and prays. It is a prayer of the heart poured out to God. It is a pleading from a person in distress. Eli, the priest is there, but he doesn’t recognize the anguish in Hannah. She is there late at night, just moving her lips, so he thinks, she must be drunk. 

But no, she is there out of desperation and he softens towards her. He directs her to go in peace with a blessing and she does. Soon after Hannah conceives and Samuel is born.  

  Hannah’s story is like many in the Scriptures. Sarah could not conceive, yet the promise child Issac was eventually born. Rachel could not conceive, yet Joseph and eventually Benjamin were born from her. Hannah’s conception is heartbreaking and yet has purpose. To be barren in the ancient world was to be cursed by the gods, but not necessarily so with the God of the Bible. We may wonder why God holds back those who desire to have children, while others are blessed when they do not want them. Jesus answered this type of question when his disciples ask about why a man was born blind, was it his or his parents’ sin? Jesus said this, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:3)” Though we might not understand why a certain situation occurs, God works his purposes out in all situations, and we must trust in that. 

However, that should not stop us from seeking our heartfelt desire before God. If they are not sinful wants, then we should bring them to God as we see Hannah do. Seeking God in our desires that are not found in sin, are never something that is rejected by God. Yet we must seek his will in our lives above even our purest of wants. 

Hannah would go on to fulfill her vow to God that if he would give her a son, she would give him back to his service. Dropping down to verse 24 we read, “24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there.”

Hannah’s desire was in keeping with the purposes of God. When God’s will and our desire align, mighty works are done in the presence of both the individual’s life who is blessed, and those around them. From here, Hannah breaks out in a worshipful song, about God’s faithfulness and greatness. She begins with, “1 My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. (v.2:1)” The song ends with, “9 He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

And this is where we must zoom out form Hannah’s story to the overarching story of God. See Hannah may not know it, but she is prophesying in her worship. Similar to the women who broken out in blessing at the birth of Ruth’s son, when they shouted, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! (Ruth 4:14)” These women spoke of God’s redeemer, Hannah is speaking of his anointed.

At this time there was no king in Israel, but God himself. No redeemer but God, and though there would be a human king to come, it is God continues to be King over all, and the world’s Redeemer. 

Yet it’s that very Kingship that Israel will reject, seeking to be like those who’s god isn’t the God of Israel. Yet in this moment, God is working our redemption through Hannah, and though she doesn’t see the full scope, she sees that the Lord is working in her life, redeeming her from her perceived shame, and because of that, she worships him and rejoices in his saving work. 

God is calling us to be like Hannah laying the desires of our hearts before him and desiring to be in his will. When our desires match his, we will see his great work in our lives. This is what Paul is talking about when he writes in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

As Christians, our minds are to be renewed, this leads to us being transformed by God and not conformed to this world. This leads us to then know God’s will to which we then desire for our own lives. In this type of living sacrifice, we are giving up of ourselves, and by doing so, we are engaging in true worship. Our desires conform to God’s will and the mighty things God desires to do happen in our lives. 

Hannah gave herself up to God, pleading for what she desired. This aligned with God’s will and he moved a mighty work in her. She then responds with more worship and fulfilling her oath to God in returning her son to be his servant. 

My challenge for you this week is to write down your heart’s desire. Once you do that, ask the Lord if it is a sinful desire or a one that would be within his will. If it is sinful, ask for it to be taken from you, we need a transformation of our desires to be away from sin, so when we recognize that a desire is sinful, we need to seek God to cut it out of our lives. If it isn’t sin, then leave it before the Lord. Leave it there and be satisfied in the peace of God that if it is fulfilled you will praise him, and if it is not, you will praise him. The key to this whole thing is to understand that we should desire the will of God above all things, even our purest desires. It is God’s work we should want, so let’s not let our desires supersede his.

Instead, let us be a people who understand we can bring our heartfelt desires before the Lord, and at the same time, seek his will above all other things, worshiping him not matter what the outcome. Amen.