Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Reflections on 1 Samuel 1


    1 Samuel 01 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Elkanah lived in Ramah, a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephraim tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.
  2. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.
  3. Once a year Elkanah traveled from his hometown to Shiloh, where he worshiped the LORD All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the LORD's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests.
  4. Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters.
  5. But he gave Hannah even more, because he loved Hannah very much, even though the LORD had kept her from having children of her own.
  6. Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children,
  7. especially when the family went to the house of the LORD each year. One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat.
  8. So Elkanah asked, "Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
  9. When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship.
  10. Hannah was brokenhearted and was crying as she prayed,
  11. "LORD All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I will give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut."
  12. Hannah prayed silently to the LORD for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk.
  13. (SEE 1:12)
  14. "How long are you going to stay drunk?" he asked. "Sober up!"
  15. "Sir, please don't think I'm no good!" Hannah answered. "I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the LORD about my problems."
  16. (SEE 1:15)
  17. Eli replied, "You may go home now and stop worrying. I'm sure the God of Israel will answer your prayer."
  18. "Sir, thank you for being so kind to me," Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.
  19. Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the LORD. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the LORD blessed Elkanah and Hannah
  20. with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the LORD for him.
  21. The next time Elkanah and his family went to offer their yearly sacrifice, he took along a gift that he had promised to give to the LORD.
  22. But Hannah stayed home, because she had told Elkanah, "Samuel and I won't go until he's old enough for me to stop nursing him. Then I'll give him to the LORD, and he can stay there at Shiloh for the rest of his life."
  23. "You know what's best," Elkanah said. "Stay here until it's time to stop nursing him. I'm sure the LORD will help you do what you have promised." Hannah did not go to Shiloh until she stopped nursing Samuel.
  24. When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah took Samuel to the LORD's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull, a twenty-pound sack of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.
  25. (SEE 1:24)
  26. "Sir," Hannah said, "a few years ago I stood here beside you and asked the LORD
  27. to give me a child. Here he is! The LORD gave me just what I asked for.
  28. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will be the LORD's servant for as long as he lives." Elkanah worshiped the LORD there at Shiloh, and

    As we read this account of the birth of Samuel with some foreknowledge of the events, we realize that God was providing Israel, through this birth of the child Samuel, a strong leader who would see the nation through a historical transition which ended the period of judges and ushered in the era of the kings. As is often the case, God's purposes were birthed out of personal grief. In this case, it is the childlessness of Hannah, Samuel's mother.

    Samuel's parents, Elkanah and Hannah, were faithful worshippers of God, making annual treks to Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifices. These times seemed to also heighten Hannah's grief over being barren, made especially troublesome due to the taunting of her rival, Peninnah, Elkanah's second wife who had children. On a particular annual visit to Shiloh, Hannah was especially troubled and poured out her heart to the Lord.  As she prayed, she made a vow to the Lord that "if You will take notice of Your servant's affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut." (1:11) Eli, the priest, observed her praying silently and thought her drunk because her lips moved but she made no sound. When he scolded her for being drunk she explained that she was praying "from the depth of my anguish and resentment." (1:16) Eli then told her to "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the petition you've requested from Him." (1:17)

    God did grant her petition, and soon after returning home she conceived and gave birth to the son Samuel. After Samuel was born, Hannah did not make the annual trip to Shiloh until he was weaned. When he was weaned Hannah again made the trip taking with her a special sacrifice to offer to the Lord in thankfulness for answering her prayer. She also presented Samuel to Eli, giving him to stay and live at the temple in keeping with her vow to give the son to the Lord. Samuel was probably three years old at this time.

    We can learn from this that personal joy emerges from joining ourselves with God's purposes. It is doubtful that Hannah had any clue of what God had planned, but in her desire for a son she chose to give back to God for His purposes the son He gave her should He answer her prayer. It was out of this commitment to God that Hannah received the joy of having a son that she desired. And it was from her commitment that God raised up a priest who would lead Israel through a huge transition.

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