Lessons from 1 Samuel 1-7

1:1-28 - Hannah ‘wept’. Hannah ‘was no longer sad’ (7,18). What made the difference? No child had been born. She had not even conceived. These things did not happen until later (21). Why was there such a change in Hannah? She believed. God’s Word had been spoken (17). Hannah believed His Word. She rejoiced in Him. Jesus emphasized the importance of praying with faith (Mark 11:24). We are to ‘ask in faith’, to pray ‘the prayer of faith’ (James 1:6; 5:15). We are also to pray ‘according to His will’ (1 John 5:14-15). God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). God does not always answer our prayers in the way that we want. Sometimes, rather than changing our circumstances, He simply speaks His Word to us: ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Always, He ‘gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

2:1-36 - What a contrast between the son of Hannah and the sons of Eli – ‘the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord… in the favour of the Lord’, ‘the sons of Eli were worthless men; they had no regard for the Lord (21,26,12). This is the difference between ‘the children of God’ and ‘the children of the devil’ (1 John 3:10). God’s Word speaks to us with a promise and a warning: ‘those who honour Me I will honour and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed’ (30). Let your attitude to the Lord be summed up in the words of Hannah: ‘There is none holy like the Lord, there is none like Thee; there is no rock like our God’ (2). Let us find our joy and our strength in the Lord: ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord’ (1). May the Lord help us to be ‘His faithful ones’ who walk with Him (9).

3:1-4:22 - The call of Samuel is a vivid example of what God can do in the lives of children. Samuel’s early response to God set in motion a whole process of events leading Samuel to become ‘a prophet of the Lord’ through whom ‘the Word of the Lord… came to all Israel’ (3:10,19-4:1). Let us ground our children in Christ, encouraging them to have great expectations of what God can do in and with their lives as they grow up, loving Him. The people of Israel were ‘defeated’ by the Philistines. The greatest tragedy of this defeat was the ‘capture’ of ‘the ark of God’: ‘The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured’ (4:10-11,22). We may lose ‘goods, honour, children, wife’ (Church Hymnary, 406). The glory of God among His people – We must not lose this!

5:1-6:16 - In 5:3-4, we read of God’s superiority over Dagon – ‘The Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King’ (Jeremiah 10:10). ‘The hand of the Lord was heavy’ on those who set themselves against Him (5:6-7,9,11). Let ‘the Lord alone be exalted’. He is our only ‘Saviour’ (Isaiah 2:17-18; 43:10-11). Through His victory over Dagon, the Lord calls us to be completely devoted to Him: ‘Down went Dagon, smashed in pieces when the ark of God came in. So shall God destroy those idols that defile our hearts within. Come, Lord, and destroy them’. The return of the ark brought joy (6:13). When the Lord is restored to His rightful place among His people, there is joy. ‘Heaven came down and glory filled my soul’. When the Lord comes to us, we ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory’ (1 Peter 1:8).

6:17-7:17 - God is ‘holy’ (20). He calls His people to be holy. With His call to holiness, there is His promise of blessing (3). Committed to serving the Lord only and calling on the Lord for His help, Israel wins a great victory over the Philistines (4-11). God’s people give thanks to Him – ‘Until now the Lord has helped us’ (12). The victory over the Philistines was spectacular. There were, however, many ‘ordinary’ days. Here, we may learn from Samuel. He served the Lord ‘all the days of his life’ (15). The spectacular triumphs were few and far between. The ‘ordinary’ days were many – ‘he went on a circuit year by year…’(16). In all his journeys, he did not forget to ‘come home’ (7:17). Other places and other people seem to be so interesting. Don’t forget – There is much work to be done at ‘home’.