I Samuel Chapter 2
Imagine the courage and confidence in God that Hannah had to bring her little boy to the tabernacle to serve God. We do not know the exact age of her son when she kept good on her vow, but we know that she continued to lovingly visit her son. Samuel was old enough to be given little tasks, perhaps things like dusting the furniture.
In this chapter we see a contrast between the son of Elkanah and Hannah, and the sons of Eli the priest. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas were called worthless men by God. They were already serving in the positions of the priesthood, but they did not have faith in God as their father Eli did. His sons were grown men who made the decision for themselves that they were going to do things their own way. The position of high priest was handed down through heredity starting with Aaron. The position should have passed down to the oldest son of Eli, but their hearts were so dark that God decided to pass judgement on them. They were not fit to serve as priests for God.
We could say that the blame would fall on Eli’s shoulders for the outcome of his sons. That would be partly true because he did not correct his sons’ actions, he merely asked them to stop sinning. But the blame really fell on these two sons who were old enough to decide for themselves whether to follow God or not. Sadly, they chose to go their own way, and God knew they were never going to repent. God’s judgement, to the heartache of their father Eli, was that they would both die on the same day.
Let's Reflect
1. In Hannah’s prayer we see how she understood the greatness of God. How did she describe God in verse 2?
2. She also describes the power of God in her prayer. What words stand out to you that speak of God’s power?
3. The sons of Eli had corrupted the sacrificial system. When people came to offer their sacrifice, the best and first portion of the cooked meat was to go to God, a portion to the priest and a portion to the person offering the sacrifice. But Eli’s sons demanded to have a section of the meat first. They were threatening the people to give in to their demands so much so that the Bible says what about their behavior in verse 17?
4. In contrast we see the faithfulness of Elkanah and Hannah who continued to worship God. Their son Samuel continued to be trained and nurtured by the priest Eli. What special blessing did Hannah receive from God?
5. What does the Bible say about the way Samuel was responding to the teachings of God. See verses 21 and 26.
6. On the other hand, the sins of Eli’s own sons were getting back to him. He spoke to his sons explaining the severity of their sins, that they were sins against God. We might be tempted to think it was unfair that judgement came upon them when it says that it was “for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death,” but we must understand that God sees the heart. He knows when someone will repent or not. It says that they would not listen to their father. According to verse 34 what was their ultimate judgement?
7. An unknown man came to speak to Eli. We don’t know who this man was, but he was someone that God used to let Eli know of His pending judgement on his two sons and his family. There would come a time in the future that family descendants would wish that they could be a part of the priesthood because they would be starving. What would future family members beg for?
8. Verse 35 tells us that God will raise up a faithful priest that is not a part of Eli’s family. This is partially fulfilled in Samuel, but later it will be completely fulfilled in whom? (This high priest will serve in this position forever.)
