1 Samuel 1
Notes
Transcript
shows the transition from the age of the judges to the age of the kings
in the age of the judges, we saw 7 times where Israel became sinful, got in trouble, and God sending them a deliverer
the period of the judges was essentially like having local rulers and not one centralized king
this book was written by Samuel and the events took place roughly around the year 1000 bc
this is in a time called the iron age
there were many big changes in the area, a couple of generations before this book, all the civilizations in the area went through a period of major collapse
as you might have guessed, iron started to be utilized more during this time
philistines - the philistines mostly came from the greek islands 100-200 years before the time of samuel, they were settlers there due to the upheaval in the region
major changes in the area, a bit of a chaotic time
Book of Samuel was originally one book, as was Kings and Chronicles
they were split by the translators of the Septuagint, which ended up sticking
1 Samuel 1.1 “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-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:”
So he and his family live a bit outside of jerusalem
We get his geneology which was very valued in the OT, for instance, the priest system worked because of this
Jesus’ geneology was important, both from His mother and Father
1 Samuel 1.2 “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.”
We see that Samuel’s father had two wives, and we see this a few times throughout the OT, like with Jacob, Rachel, and Leah
interestingly, there is no verse in t he Bible that says anything like “thou shalt not have two wives”
this was not God’s intention for marriage, of course, we see that Adam only had Eve, and in the NT we see Paul telling people to love their wives and such in the singular tense
Jesus does this as well, “a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” - singular
just wanted to point this out in case you would ever need to answer the question or if someone brought it up to you
“had no children”
The Bible says that bearing a child is one of God’s greatest blessing
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: And the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; So are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: They shall not be ashamed, But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
back in these days, it was viewed as shameful for women not to have kids, and sometimes even viewed as a punishment from God
carrying on the family name was important to people then, and so if a women couldn’t have children it would jeopardize that
many times in these days the woman would even be left behind or discarded by the husband
BACK TO SAMUEL VERSE - so we see that hannah was in a bad spot, she was missing out on having her own kid, she was at risk of family issues, and was at risk of public shame because of people thinking God was punishing her
as we’ll see later, this is really, really bothering hannah, she was at a low point
but we know that God cares about the poor, the downtrodden, the needy
we can see that in how Jesus went about His ministry, He cared for all
if you read throughout the Exodus story and read the law you’ll even see there that God gave moses laws which looked out for people in hard situations
widows, foreigners, etc
we will see it in this story as well, God looking out for the needy
He cares about us ALL, He’s not a respecter of persons, He doesn’t play favorites or make differences
we’re all on the same level under Christ, and that’s a beautiful thing
doesn’t matter if we’re poor, rich, widowed, high status, low status, ANYTHING, He loves us all the same
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, the husband, took his family to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice
“A number of the sacrifices provided an opportunity for a shared meal, especially the fellowship offering. When a sacrificial meal was included, the priest as well as the family of those offering sacrifice would receive portions of the meat.”
let’s talk about Shiloh for a second
you might be thinking, “why didn’t he go to jerusalem to sacrifice?”
David hadn’t conquered Jerusalem and God hadn’t declared it the city He wanted to be worshipped in yet
during this time period, the Jews were worshipping and sacrificing in Shiloh
Shiloh was a bit north of Jerusalem
v5 - “he loved hannah” - we see that Elkanah is an example of a good husband
even though Hannah would have been seen as shameful for her inability to have a child, he loved her anyway, and treated her well anyway
this is what a spouse should do, they should love their spouse despite the problems they might be going through
it’s a lifetime commitment, the two have become one flesh, Christ tells us that the only legitimate reason for divorce is adultery.
Christ tells us that what God has joined together, let no man separate
God has joined the couple together
of course it’s not always easy, but it’s a serious and lifelong commitment, and should be treated that way, unlike our modern culture is doing
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.
so someone, likely one of Elkanah’s other wives, who didn’t like hannah started jabbing and insulting her about being barren
so again, hannah is dealing with a lot in her mind, she’s not only stressed our herself, but she’s dealing with people jabbing her
this is just one of those things we have to deal with, but it’s best in these situations to try to confide in God, and not strike back, that will only make it worse
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?
we see the point that hannah was getting to, being jabbed likely all the time about her condition
these things can wear us down, it can feel like we’re ground down to dust sometimes
but we can always know that God is with us always, even to the end of the age
He’s always with us, and that is the greatest thing of all, and if He is with us, who can be against us?
here is a verse to think about in a situation like this
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, And the Lord shall reward thee.
what solomon is saying is that we should be good to those who hurt us, and if they continue to hurt us, all they are doing is building up judgement upon themselves
on top of that, you will be in the right, which God sees, and you will be rewarded
BACK TO SAMUEL VERSE - we see that Elkanah continues to try to be a good husband, and tries to comfort hannah, and we can see that he’s consistently good to her
again, this is the duty of the spouse, to comfort and bet there for one another
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.
she was in bitterness of soul, she was broken, she’d finally reached a breaking point
we’ve all been there at times, surely we can all relate
and she started pouring her heart out to the Lord, which is the best thing we can do, and we know that God will hear us
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.
she pleads to God, asking for His help, asking sincerely for a child
she’s laying it all out there, pouring her heart to God, begging Him
the reason she says no razor shall come upon his head is essentially because of something called the nazarite vow, which was a dedication to God, and part of the vow involved not taking a razor to their head
So hannah says, God, if you give me a child, I will dedicate Him to you and you alone
it’s amazing how good of a heart that Hannah had, how much faith she had in God, how much she believed
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.
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.
God had answered her prayer
God saw her, God saw her suffering, He knew the situation she was dealing with
God heard her and cared for her
and He answered her prayers
we don’t pour out our soul to God in vain, we don’t just speak to the air or send out prayers to the air
God cares about us all, God hears us all
in fact, God WANTS to hear from us, He wants to bear our burdens
God doesn’t just let suffering go unnoticed, He is there for us, whether we think He is at the time or not
Not only do we have an example of faith and devotion from hannah, but we see God’s care and love playing ou
she dealt with her problem for a long time, and sometimes we have to deal with problems for a long time
we don’t always know they “why” behind something happening to us, we don’t always know the reasons for things
but we never have to question whether or not God is there for us
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.
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.
we can all take an example from hannah, her attitude, her faithfulness, her humility, her devotion
we see that God gave her a child, and she felt the desire to do something for the Lord
this is a good attitude for us to have as well, God saved us, it’s only right that we try to do something for Him
so this is the origin of samuel, hannah’s miraculour child that God blessed her with, and as we will go on to see, this will usher in a new age in the history of Israel