Samuel's Birth

This past Sunday we started studying the book of 1 Samuel in Sunday School. The books of 1&2 Samuel are really one book but it was too long to fit onto one scroll, so that's why it's split as we have it today. The book is next in line chronologically after the book of Judges. We will see that Samuel becomes the last of the judges before Israel then has kings in authority over them.

Read verses 1-2: Elkanah is an Israelite living in Ephraim. If we look in 1 Chron. 6:33-34, we see he is a Levite. Elkanah also has two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah has children but Hannah does not. In biblical times this is a big deal; much of a woman's worth was tied to being able to provide children (particularly sons), to her husband.

Read verse 3: Elkanah goes to sacrifice and worship yearly at the temple, which shows us he follows the Lord. Remember in Judges we saw that people do whatever they want, including Levites. So we are being shown that Elkanah was different in this regard – he obeyed the Lord.
We are also introduced to Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phineas. All three are priests at the temple.



Read verses 4-5: Elkanah loves Hannah more than Peninnah, but the Lord closed Hannah's womb. Sometimes in Scripture barrenness is a result of sin – this does not seem to be the case here.

Read verse 6: Evidently Peninnah is a bit of a jerk and taunts Hannah. (Clearly, rivalry between wives is one of the many reasons God discourages polygamy.)

Read verses 7-8: year after year, Peninnah continually taunts Hannah, Hannah weeps and doesn't eat… Elkanah tries to console her saying he's better than 10 sons – typical egotistical male :-)

Read verses 9-10: Hannah is praying and weeping and Eli is watching her.

Read verse 11: Hannah vows to the Lord that if He remembers her and gives her son, then she'll give him back to the Lord.
She also says no razor shall touch his head which means she's promising that he will be a Nazarite for his lifetime… Just like Samson's parents promised of him.

Read verses 12-14: Hannah is praying silently and moving her lips, so Eli assume she's drunk and tries to send her away. It's a sad state of affairs that it was a normal thing for a priest to see people drunk at the temple and to assume that this was the case. It shows how depraved people were during the time of the judges.

Read verses 15-16: Hannah explains she's not drunk but praying deeply and asks not to be thought of as a worthless woman.
What do you think of when you hear the phrase "worthless woman"? For me, I automatically think back to the phrase "worthless fellows" that we kept on seeing judges and how every time it referred to them as worthless fellows it meant something bad was about to happen… And it also makes me think of the contrast in the book of Ruth where Ruth's referred to as a worthy woman or a woman of excellence…

Read verses 17-18: Eli asks God to grant Hannah her prayer. Hannah is encouraged and goes on the way.

Read verse 19: Elkanah and Hannah get up and worship and go home. They "know" each other, in the biblical sense. The Lord remembers her.
A note on the Lord remembering her… When I read a passage that says God remembers, I get a little concerned because does that mean God can forget me? Be assured that God hadn't forgotten Hannah. When it says the Lord remembers in the Bible, it is always followed by an action… So we should be expecting something to happen since were told the Lord remembered her. (For more on this, see the post Remember.)

Read verse 20: Sure enough, Hannah gets pregnant and has a baby. She named him Samuel which means: I have asked for him from the Lord.

Read verses 21-23: As he does every year, Elkanah goes to sacrifice. Hannah says she'll stay and nurse Samuel and bring him when he's weaned. Generally it's at about 2 to 3 years old that the child's weaned. Elkanah says it's okay.

Read verses 24-25: Once Samuel is weaned, Hannah brings him along with offerings to sacrifice. They offer the sacrifices then take Samuel to Eli.

Read verses 26-28: Hannah reminds Eli of who she is and then give Samuel to him for the Lord to use.

Application:

• When people are hurting, don't say stupid stuff. Be there for them though.
• Don't give up on prayer. Hannah prayed for his sons year after year.
• Don't be worthless; be worthy!
• In your joy/happiness, don't forget the Lord. They still went to sacrifice as always.
• Keep your word. Hannah promised God if she'd give her son back to him and when the time comes, she does. Don't bargain with God and then back out. (Ecc. 5:4-5)

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We are currently going through 1 Samuel in the youth group Sunday School class. These are my lessons turned into posts.