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1 Samuel 1-3
The Rise of the Righteous
and Fall of the Failures
Psalm 40:9-17 Preserved and Delivered
9.“I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.10.I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your hesed/loyal covenantal love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.11.Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh. Let your hesed/loyal covenantal love and your faithfulness continually preserve me.12.For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me.13.Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, Yahweh.14.Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.15.Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, "Aha! Aha!"16.Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, "Let Yahweh be exalted!"17.But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God."
Observation
40:9-17.If we delight to do God's will, His law/rules/commands should be in our heart. If we want God to delight in us and deliver us, then we need to be delighting in His will and declaring His righteousness and hesed. God comes to our aid so He can be seen/glorified. He is seen in our praise of what He has done for us. David needs deliverance from the oppression of his enemies, which have surrounded him because of his sin (verse 12). David doesn't despair, but seeks God's favor and salvation/deliverance. He says that all those who seek God righteously will wind up rejoicing in His deliverance, and asks God to consider his plight, and quickly.
Application
Delight in doing God's will, and don't fail to ask for help and deliverance as needed; when God provides, proclaim His praises.
Prayer
God, thanks that I can trust You to be loyal to me and all Your promises; may I be loyal to seek and do what pleases You. Amen.
Proverbs 11:15-17 Wiser Ways to Live
15.“He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.16.A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain only riches.17.The loyal/hesed man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.“Observation
11:15-17.Being prudent, gracious and loyal gains blessings of safety, honor, and good, while those who are reckless, violent, and cruel trouble their own souls. One who provides collateral for the debt of someone they don't know, usually does so as prideful means of boosting ones own value. It usually backfires. While violent men who have no regard for others might gain riches, the greater good of honor, can be obtained by graciousness. Hesed, or loyalty to covenant obligations, was something that Proverbs 3:3 said we should bind to ourselves and write on the tablet of our heart. Hesed is a very godly characteristic and results in benefiting oneself. Those who break a covenant, usually harming another in the process, wind up harming themselves.
Application
Wise living yields blessing without regret.
Prayer
God, thanks for the wisdom of Proverbs, so I can avoid pain, and experience good. Amen.
1Samuel 1-3 The Rise of the Righteous and Fall of the Failures
This first book of Samuel serves as the transition from Israel being ruled by Judges, to having a King, and introduces the role of a specialized prophet who reveals God's will. (Moses and Joshua were exceptional, combining the role of prophet and ruler.) These opening chapters introduce us to the rise of Samuel and decline of the house of Eli, the high priest. Samuel sought and did God's will, Eli didn't. Hannah's hymn of praise in the beginning of chapter two is magnificent.
1 Samuel 1 Prayers Heard and Promises Fulfilled
1.Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite2.and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.3.This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Yahweh, were there.4.When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:5.but to Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had shut up her womb.6.Her rival provoked her severely, to make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.7.As he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Yahweh, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and didn’t eat.8.Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why don’t you eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"9.So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh.10.She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, and wept bitterly.11.She vowed a vow, and said, "Yahweh of Hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."12.It happened, as she continued praying before Yahweh, that Eli saw her mouth.13.Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.14.Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you."15.Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before Yahweh.16.Don’t count your handmaid for a wicked woman; for I have been speaking out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation."17.Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him."18.She said, "Let your handmaid find favour in your sight." So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn’t sad any more.19.They rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before Yahweh, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Yahweh remembered her.20.It happened, when the time had come, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of Yahweh."21.The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.22.But Hannah didn’t go up; for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh, and stay there forever."23.Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may Yahweh establish his word." So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.24.When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to Yahweh’s house in Shiloh. The child was young.25.They killed the bull, and brought the child to Eli.26.She said, "Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh.27.For this child I prayed; and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him.28.Therefore also I have granted him to Yahweh. As long as he lives he is granted to Yahweh." He worshipped Yahweh there.Observations
1:1-8.Because of the taunting of the fruitful wife, barren Hannah was very unhappy, despite the favor of her husband.
1:9-18.
Instead of escaping her problems in wine, Hannah silently pours out her heart to God, asking for a son and vowing to give him back to God as a Nazarite (note the parallels to Samson). Eli, blesses her in the name of Yahweh.
1:19-28.
So God delivers, and so does Hannah.
Application
Pour out your problems to God (rather than others), and fulfill your promises when God graciously answers.
Prayer
God who grants desires, I pray that You would align my heart with Your will, and graciously answer my requests. Without faltering, I will use whatever You give me, to better serve You. Amen.
1 Samuel 2 Excellent Mother..Evil Father
1.Hannah prayed, and said: "My heart exults in Yahweh! My horn is exalted in Yahweh. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.2.There is no one as holy as Yahweh, For there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.3."Talk no more so exceeding proudly. Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth, For Yahweh is a God of knowledge. By him actions are weighed.4."The bows of the mighty men are broken. Those who stumbled are armed with strength.5.Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. Those who were hungry are satisfied. Yes, the barren has borne seven. She who has many children languishes.6."Yahweh kills, and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.7.Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up.8.He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.9.He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; for no man shall prevail by strength.10.Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. "Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."11.Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served Yahweh before Eli the priest.12.Now the sons of Eli were base men; they didn’t know Yahweh.13.The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;14.and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.15.Yes, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw."16.If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires"; then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force."17.The sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men despised the offering of Yahweh.18.But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.19.Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.20.Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "Yahweh give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of Yahweh." They went to their own home.21.Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before Yahweh.22.Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.23.He said to them, "Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.24.No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make Yahweh’s people disobey.25.If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Yahweh, who shall entreat for him?" Notwithstanding, they didn’t listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh intended to kill them.26.The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favour both with Yahweh, and also with men.27.A man of God came to Eli, and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, ‘Did I reveal myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?28.Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? Did I give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?29.Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honour your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?’30."Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Be it far from me; for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.31.Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.32.You shall see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which I shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.33.The man of yours, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall consume your eyes, and grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age.34."’This shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die35.I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.36.It shall happen, that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, "Please put me into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread."Observations
2:1-10.This magnificent hymn of praise shows that Hannah had her theological act together, tying in her experience with God to His broader sovereign purposes. She knew God in over thirty aspects of His character, previewing the kingship and Messiah. How does her view of God compare with yours?
2:11-17.
Continuing in the unholy tradition of “holy” hypocrites, Eli, the high priest, failed to train his kids, passing on his self-indulgent lifestyle resulting in the destruction of his wicked family. Remember that the wicked are those who mouth God's word and don't obey it (Ps 50). God had assigned the priests a portion of the boiled meat; they wanted it roasted, before it was even offered to God, despising both His provision and priority. Bad idea.
2:18-21.
In contrast, Samuel grows before Yahweh, and God blesses Hannah for the faithful fulfillment of her vow, giving her back multiple times what she gave God.
2:22-26.
Eli has been lounging in his lazy-boy recliner, and not managing his own house, much less the house of God. Instead of overseeing his sons, he has to be told what's going on, and then mildly admonishes his sons. They ignore him. He seems more concerned with what people will say, than with the violation of God's will. He obviously has failed to instill in his sons a fear of God that would spare them from catastrophe.
2:27-34.
God sends a “man of God” (OT term for prophet) to deliver the bad news that because Eli cared more about what his kids wanted than what God wanted (a common error of modern parents) they would all be losers, despite their privileged position and past favor.
2:35-35.
God wants His servants to be faithful to Him, embracing His purposes and intent on delighting His heart. Those are the ones who will enjoy enduring blessing.
Application
If you have Hannah's perspective on God, you won't have Eli's pain in parenting.
Prayer
God, You are magnificent and mighty to bless and to judge; may I daily be among Your holy ones, whom You protect and bless. Amen.
1 Samuel 3 When God Speaks, His Servants Hear
1.The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. The word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.2.It happened at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),3.and the lamp of God hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in the temple of Yahweh, where the ark of God was;4.that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am."5.He ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He said, "I didn’t call; lie down again." He went and lay down.6.Yahweh called yet again, "Samuel!" Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He answered, "I didn’t call, my son; lie down again."7.Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was the word of Yahweh yet revealed to him.8.Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child.9.Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.10.Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak; for your servant hears."11.Yahweh said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.12.In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end13.For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.14.Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice nor offering forever."15.Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.16.Then Eli called Samuel, and said, "Samuel, my son!" He said, "Here I am."17.He said, "What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you."18.Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, "It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him."19.Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.20.All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.21.Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.Observations
3:1-10.Like Samuel, we need to cultivate a sensitivity to God's voice. We can't know God's subjective will (things concerning our life which are not clearly revealed in Scripture, like job, spouse, house, etc) unless we are doing His objective will (things clearly revealed for us to obey).
3:11-18.
Eli complacently accepts God's judgment for his failure as a father, just like he complacently accepted his son's wickedness. It is the job of parents to teach their offspring to be responsive to them, and then God, by disciplining for self-control. Otherwise the parents are directly responsible for the destruction of their children.
Application
We must learn the Truth, live the Truth, and then love others with the Truth, especially our children.
Prayer
God who communicates, may I be quick to hear and do Your will. Give me grace/power to pass on a godly lifestyle to others. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: Hannah says it well: 2:2 There is no one as holy as Yahweh, there is no one besides Him, nor is there any rock like our God. 3 Yahweh is a God of knowledge. By Him actions are weighed. 4-5 (and circumstances reversed) 6 "Yahweh kills, and makes alive. He brings down to the grave, and brings up. 7 Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up. 8 He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them. 9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; for no man shall prevail by strength. 10 Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. "Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Us in a nutshell: We have the privilege of bringing our requests before God and having Him hear and answer us. We are also privileged to hear His will and do it. Failure to act in accord with His revelation results in destruction and loss of privilege. The lazy lose every time.