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1 Samuel 1:24-28

22 Dec

When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:24-28

Dear God, I wonder what this day was like for the three-year-old boy Samuel. How did his mother prepare him for this day? Was he scared? Excited? Did she tell him what a miracle baby he was? Did he know how Eli had blessed her and asked that God grant her request? It’s interesting to note that she never told him what was distressing her.

And then from Eli. Was he surprised when Hannah showed up with Samuel and said, “Here he is. He’s yours now”? How did his boys feel about it? How old were they when this three-year-old boy showed up to be raised by Eli and, seemingly, them. We know that in a few years they will be behaving badly and God will curse them and Eli because of their behavior. But here, in this moment, there had to have been a lot of surprise and more than a little distress.

But you use the distress to form us. In this case, you used it to form Samuel. And then, several years later, as Eli’s sons are doing bad things, and Samuel might be tempted to model their behavior, you warned him to not do those things. That they and Eli would pay for them. You were calling Samuel to a different and higher ethic and standard. You were calling him to take his worship of you and his charge before you seriously.

Father, I want to take my worship of you and my charge before you more seriously as well. It’s Christmas week. I want to keep my eyes on you. I want the things of earth to grow strangely dim in the light of your glory and grace. I need your glory in my life. I need your grace. I need to give your grace as well. Help me to do that so that you might be glorified in everything.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 22, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 22

07 Jun

22 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

5 Now the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— 7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”

9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!” 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 19 Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”

1 Samuel 22

Dear God, so whether or not David was alone when he visited Ahimelech in chapter 21, he has some people with him now. And these aren’t necessarily the best of the best. The honorable of the honorable. I guess one might put a label of “deplorables” on them. I checked four different translations (NKJV, NIV, NASB, and NLT) and all of them used the word “discontented.” I have to say, the idea of drawing the discontented to my side does not excite me. Sure, it might work for a week, but long-term, it’s a tough group to have as your allies because sooner or later they will be discontented with me.

Other things to notice in this chapter:

  • David looked after his parents, but his brothers apparently joined his band of discontented men.
  • There sure do seem to be a lot of prophets who get words from you. David was certainly ready to listen to the one in Gad and heed his counsel.
  • When Saul commands his men, he plays on tribal loyalty. He reminds his men that they are of the same tribe and that David of Jesse (and Judah) will not treat them as favorably as he does.
  • Saul spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself in verse 8: 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.” Oh, how there are times when I feel sorry for myself.
  • Saul is paranoid and sees betrayal when it’s not there.
  • Saul’s paranoia is ruthless as he kills everyone and everything. If only he had been that zealous for you a few chapters ago.
  • Ahimelech (whose grandfather was Phinehas) and his family are living out the curse from 1 Samuel 2:30-33: 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ‘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 that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. I’m sorry, but this seems sad and unnecessary to me. Does it still work this way?
  • Doeg was a special kind of awful to be able to kill 85 men in one day. I don’t care if they were bad guys, that is awful. But these were good priests. Was he that desperate for Saul’s approval? He had certainly thrown in his lot with Saul at that point. I’m kind of surprised we don’t hear from Doeg again after this story. I would think that he would have been more prominent in Saul’s regime at that point.
  • A quick look at Abiathar through the rest of the story shows he stayed loyal to David even in the Absalom uprising.

Father, I think I want to focus on two main things with this lesson this week: Jonathan’s motivation and Saul’s motivation. There will be some other stuff in here, but for the most part I want to talk about Jonathan just being willing to live in the moment and discern what you are calling him to do in the moment vs. Saul being paranoid about the future. This whole story is driven by Saul’s paranoia, and it’s his paranoia that leads to his downfall. He wants his own greatness so badly that he’s willing to commit any sin to accomplish it. And the irony is that if hadn’t tried to kill David, David wouldn’t be on the run, the priests would have lived, and everyone could have just stayed in their places. But one king’s evil simply destroyed a lot of lives. Oh, please keep me from any evil that will destroy other lives.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 7, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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Fathers of the Bible — Eli

13 Feb

Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord ’s offerings with contempt. But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people. One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel! “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death. And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day! “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”
1 Samuel 2:11-18,22-36

Dear God, Eli is one of those complicated people we come across in the Bible. He seems to genuinely love you, and he seems to be willing to admonish others he thinks are being inappropriate (see 1 Samuel 1:12-14 when he rebukes Hannah), but he is weak when it comes to leading his sons as his successors in the temple.

I wonder how much of this was the problem of nepotism and how much of it was Eli just not being strong with his sons. He does rebuke them at one point, but he doesn’t do anything about it. And apparently this weakness played out not only in his life and the lives of his two sons, but throughout his lineage.

One of the problems of nepotism is the respect that you lose from others around you. How did the people feel about going to the temple when they saw what Eli was allowing his sons to do? I’m sure they grumbled and gossiped about it. It was obviously a poor witness to everyone else involved, including young Samuel. I believe that’s why, in chapter 3, you showed up to warn Samuel that you saw what Eli and the boys were doing and you weren’t going to tolerate it. I think you were warning Samuel to not follow their example.

Father, give me the strength to stand up for you, care for those you have put around me for whom you need me to care, and not take the easier path for my own sake. Guide me in shrewdness and wisdom. Help me to be strong and yet as gentle as possible so that I might be a reflection of you and how you deal with us. And in the one situation that is particularly on my mind this morning, I ask that you will make my path straight and prepare the way for me. I could really use some divine intervention.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2020 in 1 Samuel, Fathers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Hannah

12 Feb

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut. ” As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.” The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently. ” “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise. ” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there. Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions. The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong. Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away. The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up. The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order. “He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.” Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.
1 Samuel 1:9-2:11

Dear God, Hannah is a fascinating woman. She really wanted a child, she got her child, she lived up to her end of the bargain with you, and then she prayed a prayer of vindication pretty much directed at Peninnah. We will learn later that you blessed her with more children, but I can’t imagine how much she must have lived Samuel.

Life is so different for women than men, and, frankly, I’m probably foolish to even try to put myself in Hannah’s place. She had endured a lot of hurt and sorrow. She was childless. I remember the stress my wife and I went through when it took us a few months to get pregnant the first time we started trying. I can’t imagine the strain of years and years. I also can’t even begin to understand the complication of having another woman in the home who is having children with your husband. I know it was the culture, but that’s just messed up, although it seems to be a repeated theme for those you use (Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, etc.).

I really like the picture that the author paints later in 1 Samuel 2:18-21:

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord–a boy wearing a linen ephod. 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. 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 the Lord.” Then they would go home. And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy SAmuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

I love the image of Hannah working on Samuel’s robes. I don’t know how ornate they were allowed to be, but I’ll bet she made them as beautiful as possible. And I’ll bet Samuel loved getting a new one each year–at least until he was older and was probably embarrassed by it. I picture her running to him and hugging him. I picture his stoic father looking at him with pride. I picture her bringing the five new babies over the years. Maybe Samuel was a little jealous of the first one or two, but, like all older children, learned to deal with it and love his younger siblings.

Father, once again, Hannah wasn’t a perfect person and she wasn’t a perfect parent. It’s obvious she was still bitter towards Peninnah, and I’m sure Peninnah didn’t care much for her either. Their children. Probably didn’t get along much better than did Isaac and Ishmael. But that’s what you use. You use imperfect people, parents, and children to enter the world. You work through us all. As we saw with Samson, you sometimes work through us even when we have no relationship or regard for you. So I offer my life to you. It’s broken. It can be messy. It is most certainly flawed and even sometimes sinful. But it’s what I have to bring to your cross–to the altar. I give it to you and ask that you use it as you will.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2020 in 1 Samuel, Mothers of the Bible

 

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