Bible in a Year March 23: 1 SAMUEL 1-3

 

March 23: 1 SAMUEL 1-3

1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in early Hebrew manuscripts. Apparently when the books were translated into Greek (for a document called the Septuagint) the scrolls weren’t big enough so it had to be divided into two sections. We don’t know who wrote them, but it is likely that Samuel either wrote parts of them or at least supplied information for the sections before his death.

1 Samuel takes us through the time of Samuel’s leadership, the establishment of the kingship of Saul and up to Saul’s death. Samuel is a strong leader as a judge, prophet, and priest and he pulls the Israelites back to God. The book provides a lot of history and demonstrates God’s sovereignty over all things and how he delegates that to the leaders of the nation.

The key verse is probably 1 Samuel 8:6-7 “But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.’”

However, 1 Samuel 15:22-23 is also important: “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king’".

Hannah is devastated that she has not been able to bear a child. It doesn’t matter that her husband has finally gotten an heir (more about that later), she, like so many women, is desperate to feel quickening in her womb and to hold a child of her own. After years of prayer she gets her son, only to give him up to the Lord. Do you think she was asking to be let out of her vow on that long walk to Shiloh when she handed him over to Eli?

And while we might be judgmental toward Peninnah and her torturous taunting of Hannah, she also had a bit of a rough time. She was chosen as a second wife, most likely brought into the family only because Hannah was barren, with the sole purpose of providing an heir. She was successful, but her husband still showed favoritism to Hannah. I have to wonder how she felt after Hannah, too, had a son. Did she feel more than useless – especially after Hannah did such a noble thing?

Which woman can you relate to most?

I love that we are able to see Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving. I do wonder, however, if verse 2:3 was dedicated to Peninnah! It’s sweet that Hannah brought Samuel a miniature priest’s outfit each year when she visited.

When I read 1 Sam 2:26, “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men,” I couldn’t help but think of Luke 2:52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Can you think of any other person who has similar text?

The call of God on Samuel is also interesting – Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the Ark was! Was he actually in the inner room? Verse 3:10 says God actually came and stood in the room with Samuel, and that was where he resided in the Tabernacle. We don’t know how old Samuel was at the time, but he was able to report all that God said when he reported back to Eli. I imagine I’d be so in awe that I was actually hearing the voice of God that I’d probably forget everything he said – perhaps divine visits are imprinted on our brains and hearts. God was with Samuel as he continued to grow and he ‘let none of his words fall to the ground’. Apparently Samuel was well respected by all of Israel before the prophecies he’d received about Eli and his sons came true.

TOMORROW’S TEXT: 1 Samuel 4-7