This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
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Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the
books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
1SAMUEL
INTRODUCTION:
CHAPTER 1
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramatha'im-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And 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 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
Elkanah was from Ramah, in Ephraim's territory. But the first verse tells us that he was an "Ephrathite," which means he also had connections to Ephratah, or Bethelehem (see Ruth 1:2).
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
Hannah was greatly agitated by her "adversary." She was very conscious of not having born a son, and didn't understand why she should be constantly "provoked" about it. Now maybe her adversary was Peninah (the second wife) in the flesh, but her real adversary was Satan.
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.
When it came time to pray, Hannah went before God at the tabernacle. She promised God that if He would give her a son, she would see to it that this son was consecrated to God.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Eli was watching Hannah as she prayed. Since her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out, he assumed she was drunk. And he reproved her.
19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.
23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.
When they returned home Hannah became pregnant. The son born was named Samuel, because she had asked God for him.
24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.
25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.
27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
Hannah's devotion to God took precedence over her devotion to the son. She took him, along with great sacrifices and offerings of praise, to the tabernacle. There she turned the child over to Eli (the High Priest) for training and rearing.
Please continue to follow along with us in Bible Study.
There are always those critics who will say that Samuel could not have written all of this book - and certainly not the book of 2Samuel. Well, they're probably correct. But that's no big deal. The books carry the name of Samuel because he was the most influential prophet in Israel since Moses and Joshua.
Samuel probably wrote part of this book. And this book and 2Samuel were probably completed by Nathan and Gad (see 1Chronicles 29:29). This question that critics often pose is not vitally important. The question of whether it is a divinely inspired writing is much more important. But most critics who question Samuel as partial writer also question God as Divine Author. That's why they're critics and not believers.
Samuel was actually the last judge in that era of Israel's history. He fills a transition period from approximately 400 years as a "loose republic" to a "monarchy." Samuel ushered in and even anointed the king (Saul). He also anointed the second king, David. John the Baptist is similar to Samuel in this respect. After some 400 years of no anointed king in Israel, John the Baptist ushered in THE King, our LORD, JESUS CHRIST.
While 1Samuel is historical in nature, it presents many thematic and moral principles incorporated into that history. Therefore, the book is very good for sharing morality by storytelling. For instance, Hannah's trust in God, her request of God, and her devotion. Or another instance, Saul's impatience and subsequent spiritual decline. And one other, I might mention, Davids humble submission o his king even though he was persecuted and sought out for execution.
How beautifully that last instance represents our Lord, Jesus being submissive to His mission from the Almighty King even though He was unjustly persecuted and killed by wicked hands.
1Samuel is a wonderful book. And as with all other books of the Bible,
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and cofort of the Scriptures might have hope."(Romans 15:4)
However 1Chronicles 6 (one of the "lineage" passages), tells us that Elkanah was a Levite, and a descendent of Korah. Connecting this passage with Exodus 6, we see that Elkanah was a descendent of Levi through his son Korah.
Elkanah had two wives. Hannah is mentioned first, and probably was his first wife. However, she was childless and this may have been the reason he had a second wife. Deuteronomy 21:15 allowed a man to have two wives. However it always caused problems.
God's ideal for marriage is ONE man for ONE woman for ONE lifetime. (See Genesis 2:24)
God's law recognizes that man is a sinner, and provides for correction and instruction.
As we can see, Hannah was suffering two-fold. She suffered inwardly because she was unable to bear children even though she desired it greatly. She also suffered at the hands of her "adversary" (probably Peninah) by being constantly reminded of not having children (verse 6).
Elkanah really loved Hannah as one can see by his actions. When it was time for offerings and sacrifices, he always gave Hannah a "worthy portion" (verse 5) - which means "double."
The story of Elkanah and Hanna and the subsequent birth of Samuel takes place during the time when Eli was High Priest of Israel (verse 3). Eli had two sons (Hophni and Phinehas) who were very wicked (see 2:22). But these two sons were officiating as priests in the Lord's tabernacle.
Everytime they went to the tabernacle to pray, pay tithes, make offerings and sacrifices - Hannah's adversary provoked her to the point of anger. The word for "fret" (verse 6) means "thunder."
Do you sometimes feel VERY AGITATED at some people because of how they treat you? Remember, the REAL adversary is Satan! (See Ephesians 6:12)
As Paul told Timothy (1Timothy 1:18) "war a good warfare." Hold to faith, and have a good conscience.
Now there's a promise that no person can keep! But Hannah knew if God would GIVE that son, HE HIMSELF would help her to keep the promise.
She also promised this son would be a "nazarite." You'll remember from our discussion of Samson that a nazarite was a very consecrated person who never cut his hair (except for trimming), and never ate or drank anything from the grapevine. In other words, his looks and appearance would be an exhibition of his character and purpose.
Are ours?
Hannah's nature of humility and faith are exhibited in her answer.
She did not become abrasive when she was reproved, but she answered with honesty and with words that communicated great faith.
She was "sorrowful" (verse 15), and the weight of her sorrow was so much that it caused her great grief (verse 16).
When Eli realized that she was genuinely faithful, he offered a brief prayer that she would receive grace from God, and that her request would be granted.
Hannah was very relieved at Eli's prayer. Her sorrow was lifted (verse 18). She believed that God would indeed answer her prayer. Perhaps this is an Old Testament object lesson concerning Jesus' statement in Matthew 18:19. If two genuine believers agree in a request to God, He will grant it!
The next year, when it came time for the trip to the tabernacle, Hannah didn't go. She kept Samuel home with her. She said she would do that until he was "weaned." Elkanah agreed. However, he said, "..the LORD establish His word..."
ELkanah knew that the child was a promise from God, and he knew what Hannah had promised. Being a godly man married to a godly woman, he acknowledged there would come a time when they would take Samuel to the tabernacle and leave him there.
She reminded Eli of the prayer she had prayed, and the prayer that he had prayed. Samuel was the answer to that prayer. And she told Eli of the promise to give the child to God for rearing.
My friends, we do not know how to raise children. Most of the time, parents have children while they are still children themselves. We MUST give the children to God for proper rearing. That means we should study God's Word and instruct our children according to God's Word regardless of what the world may think about it.
Children are a gift from God. We should acknowledge that and raise them according to His instructions.