Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”
“Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

• 1 Samuel 1:1-28

Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I delight in your deliverance.
“There is no one holy like the Lord;
    there is no one besides you;
    there is no Rock like our God.
“Do not keep talking so proudly
    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
    and by him deeds are weighed.
“The bows of the warriors are broken,
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.
“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
    he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
    those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
    the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
    and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.
But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home. And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.
“‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”’”

• 1 Samuel 2:1-36

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

1 Samuel 1:2 ‘two wives’: “Although polygamy was not God’s intention for mankind (Gen. 2:24), it was tolerated, but never endorsed in Israel (see Deut. 21:15–17). Elkanah probably married Peninnah because Hannah was barren. Hannah. Meaning ‘grace,’ she was probably Elkanah’s first wife. Peninnah. Meaning ‘ruby,’ she was Elkanah’s second wife and the first bearer of his children.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 1:3 ‘this man went up … yearly’: “All Israelite men were required to attend 3 annual feasts at the central sanctuary (Deut. 16:1–17). Elkanah regularly attended these festivals with his wives. The festival referred to here was probably the Feast of Tabernacles (Sept./Oct.) because of the feasting mentioned in 1:9. The LORD of hosts. This is the first OT occurrence of ‘hosts’ being added to the divine name. ‘Hosts’ can refer to human armies (Ex. 7:4), celestial bodies (Deut. 4:19), or heavenly creatures (Josh. 5:14). This title emphasizes the Lord as sovereign over all of the powers in heaven and on earth, especially over the armies of Israel. Shiloh. Located about 20 mi. N of Jerusalem in Ephraim, the tabernacle and ark of the covenant resided here (Josh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31). Eli. Meaning ‘exalted is the LORD.’ He was the High-Priest at Shiloh. Hophni and Phinehas. Each of Eli’s two priestly sons had an Egyptian name: Hophni (‘tadpole’) and Phinehas (‘nubian’).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 1:7 ‘did not eat’: “Hannah fasted because of the provocation of Peninnah. She did not eat of the peace offerings.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 1:10-17 ‘The Promise of Hannah’s Son’: “Hannah, distressed and shamed at her barrenness, prayed before the Lord at the tabernacle at Shiloh. In her prayer she vowed that if the Lord granted her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service at the tabernacle for his entire lifetime. In addition, she made a commitment that he would live the life of a Nazirite (Numbers 6:5). The high priest and Israel’s judge, Eli, mistaking Hannah’s passionate and emotional plea before the Lord for public drunkenness, rebuked her. Realizing his error following correction by Hannah, the priest benevolently responded, ‘May the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him’ (1:17). Hannah understood Eli’s words as the Lord’s response to her prayer. The fulfillment of this ‘promise’ was recorded in verse 20: ‘It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord”‘ (1:20).
“Three years later, in fulfillment of her commitment, Hannah delivered her son, Samuel, to the tabernacle and into the care of Eli the priest (1 Samuel 1:24-28).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

1 Samuel 1:15 ‘sorrow from polygamy’: “The special cause of Hannah’s sorrow arose from the institution of polygamy, which, although it was tolerated under the old law, is always exhibited as a most fruitful source of sorrow and sin. Never in Holy Scripture is it set forth as admirable. In most cases the proofs of its evil effects lie open to the sun. We ought to be grateful that under the Christian religion that abomination has been wiped out, for even with such husbands as Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon, it did not work toward happiness or righteousness. In the case before us, Elkanah had trouble enough through wearing the double chain, but still the heaviest burden fell on his beloved Hannah, the better of his two wives. The worse the woman, the better she could get on with the system of many wives, but the good woman was sure to suffer under it. Though dearly loved by her husband, the jealousy of the rival wife embittered Hannah’s life and made her ‘a woman with a broken heart.’ We thank God that no longer is the altar of God covered with tears, with weeping, and with crying out of those wives of youth who find their husbands’ hearts estranged and divided by other wives (see Mal 2:13). Because of the hardness of their hearts, the evil was tolerated for a while, but the many evils that sprang from it should suffice to put a ban on it among all who seek the welfare of our race. In the beginning the Lord made for man but one wife. And why only one? For he had the residue of the Spirit and could have breathed into as many as he pleased. Mala­ chi answers, ‘Godly offspring’ (Mal 2:15). As if it was clear that the children of polygamy would be ungodly and only in the house of one man and one wife would godliness be found.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 1:22 ‘weaned’: “As was customary in the ancient world, Samuel was probably breast fed for two to three years. Then he was left to serve the Lord at the tabernacle for the rest of his life.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 1:24 ‘three bulls … ephah of flour … skin of wine’: ”According to Num. 15:8–10, a bull, flour, and wine were to be sacrificed in fulfillment of a vow. Hannah brought all 3 in larger measure than required. An ephah was about .75 bu.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 2:3-4 ‘Hannah’s Song’: ”The cause for this failure is found in the song Hannah sings after her prayer is answered and she gives birth to a boy, Samuel. …
“Hannah goes on to sing that God exalt the lowly and casts down the proud. In this book we see the eternal conflict between the proud, self-sufficient heart and the humble spirit that depends on God. This was Israel’s problem. The priesthood was failing not because of any flaw in the priestly institution (which God established to symbolize the coming ministry of Jesus the Messiah). Rather, the priesthood was failing because the people refused to bow before the Lord. They refused to come for cleansing. They refused to turn from idolatry. As a result, the priesthood was about to pass away as an effective means of mediation between God and His people.“

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

1 Samuel 2:7 ‘Hannah’s clear view’: “What a clear view Hannah had of the sovereignty of God, and how plainly she perceived that God overrules all mortal things and does as he wills. How she seemed to glory in the power of that almighty hand whose working unbelievers cannot discern, but which, to this gracious woman’s opened eyes, was so conspicuous everywhere.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:8 ‘a spiritual beggar’: “Fallen man, whether he knows it or not, is spiritually a beggar. Do any of us see our own portraits here? I can see just what I was by nature-utterly penniless. If we turn an unbeliever inside out, we cannot find a penny’s worth of merit in him.  The rags with which he professes to cover himself are so filthy he would be far better without them. We may search into a person’s thoughts, words, and actions. We may ransack them and turn them over again, and again and again-and we may put the most charitable construction that we can on them-but if we judge according to truth and according to the Word of God, which is the only true way of judging, we must say of all that is in humanity, ‘Absolute futility. Everything is futile’ (Ec 1:2). Never was a beggar so short of money as a sinner is short of merit.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:8 ‘penniless beggars’: “What is a beggar? He is one who is penniless. Empty his pockets, and you will not find a single penny there. Take his old clothes from his back, and see what they will fetch-no one will give a penny for them. He has not a foot of land that he can call his own, and the last six feet that he is pretty sure to have must be given to him by the parish, and it will perhaps be even then given grudgingly. His old hat has almost lost its crown, and his feet can be seen through his dilapidated shoes. The old proverb says that a beggar can never be bankrupt, but it would be more correct to say that he is never anything else but bankrupt.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:10 ‘The prophecy of a future Israelite king’: “Within the concluding verse of Hannah’s beautiful song of praise to the Lord (2:1- 10) is the introduction of one of the Hebrew Bible’s central theological terms and concepts. First Samuel 2:10 contains Scripture’s initial use of the word Messiah (or “anointed,” Hebrew, mashiach). …
“From this preliminary reference and through both books of Samuel and the remainder of the historical writings and the Hebrew prophets, the complex of Jewish messianic thought, hope, and expectation develops, culminating in the revelation of the Messiah Himself within the Gospel narratives. Undoubtedly, Mary’s familiarity with Hannah’s song and its messianic content prompted her, following her angelic visitation and announcement, to use this ancient poem as a prototype for her own song of praise to the Lord, often referred to as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). This passage has long been interpreted in Jewish tradition as a messianic text (Midrash Rabbah Lamentation, II, 6 as quoted in Buckel, ‘1 Samuel,’ Rabbinic Messiah, electronic edition).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

1 Samuel 2:12 ‘should but does not know God’: “Yet they were priests, and when someone stands up to minister, and by virtue of the office is supposed to know the Lord yet really does not, he stands not only in a position of the utmost guilt but also in a position in which he is never likely to get a blessing. He seems to be beyond the reach of the ordinary agencies of mercy because he has assumed a position to which he has no right.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:13 ‘the priest’s custom’: “Not content with the specified portions of the sacrifices given to the priests (Deut. 18:3), Eli’s sons would take for themselves whatever meat a 3-pronged fork would collect from a boiling pot.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 2:15 ‘before they burned the fat’: “The law mandated that the fat of the sacrificial animal was to be burned on the altar to the Lord (Lev. 7:31). In contrast, Eli’s sons demanded raw meat, including the fat, from the worshipers.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 2:18 ‘Samuel protected in the midst of corruption’: “What a contrast there was between little Samuel and the sons of Eli. He was not led astray by the evil example of those who were older than he and to whom he would naturally look up to because of their high office. This dear child escaped contamination because God’s grace preserved him and also because his mother’s prayers, like a wall of fire, were around him.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:20-21 ‘Eli’s Prophetic Blessing’: “Eli would have occasion to see Samuel’s parents, Elkanah and Hannah, as they came annually to the tabernacle at Shiloh to worship God and visit their son. Just as he had pronounced blessing on Hannah following their unique introduction, ‘Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord”’ (2:20). Hannah, once barren and distraught, eventually gave birth to three more sons and two daughters (2:21).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

1 Samuel 1:22 ‘lay with the women’: “Eli’s sons included in their vile behavior having sexual relationships with the women who served at the tabernacle (see Ex. 38:8). Such religious prostitution was common among Israel’s Canaanite neighbors.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 2:23 ‘Eli’s gentle rebuke’: “That is the way Eli rebuked his sons. ‘And very gently he did it, dear old man,’ says someone. Yes, but we shouldn’t imitate him. If we do, we may also inherit the curse that came on his house. There are other virtues in this world besides gentleness. Sometimes we need the power to speak sternly-to rebuke with firmness and severity-and Eli did not have this. He was an easygoing old soul. But when the honor of God is at stake, such action as his is out of place. It is all very well to have everybody saying, ‘Mr. So-and-So is such an amiable man. There is no sectarianism and no bigotry about him. He never says a word to offend anybody.’ But Martin Luther was not at all that kind of man, and where would we have been without such protests as his?”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Samuel 2:26 ‘Comparing Eli and Samuel’: “I ask, which is nearer to Jesus? Does the child with little experience have.an advantage over  the man of wide experience? There is no difference! Jesus Christ stands in the middle of life’s experiences and;anyone can reach Him, no matter who he is! …
‘Read the early chapters of First Samuel and consider that the boy Samuel was twelve. He was just a lad. And then there was Eli, 98 years old. Here are the two of them-the boy and the aged man.
“What experience had the boy had? Practically none. What experience had the old man had? Practically all. He had run the whole scale, the gamut of human possibilities. Yet God was just as near to young Samuel who had no experience as He was to Eli who had found out through the years what life was all about.”

• A. W. Tozer, Tozer Speaks

1 Samuel 2:27-34, 36; 3:11-14 ‘The Line of Eli Divinely Cursed’: “In contrast to Hannah’s son, dedicated to the Lord, Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were ‘worthless men’ who habitually sinned grievously against the Lord through abuse of their priestly office (2:12- 17), including ritual fornication and adultery with the women serving within the tabernacle (2:22). An unnamed ‘man of God’ (a prophet) addressed Eli with a message of divine condemnation (2:27-36). As a result of the priesthood’s corruption under Eli’s administration, the hereditary priesthood would no longer advance from the house, or dynasty, of Eli. His family line would be disastrously cut off, and it would become normative for the family’s men to die young, “in the prime oflife” (verse 33). From this time onward, the continuation of the priesthood would proceed through the lineage of another of Aaron’s direct descendants.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

1 Samuel 2:31 ‘will not be an old man in your house’: “The judgment of untimely death followed the descendants of Eli. Eli’s sons died in the flower of their manhood (4:11). Later, Saul massacred the priests at Nob (22:16–19). Ultimately, Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood (1 Kin. 2:26, 27) and the priestly line of Eleazar prevailed, as God promised (cf. Num. 25:10–13).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Samuel 2:35-36 ‘A New Priesthood to be Established’: “With Eli’s priestly line soon to be deposed, the Lord promises an enduring replacement dynasty whose actions would be more in keeping with the holy office: ‘I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always’ (2:35).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

1 Samuel 2:35 ‘looking to Zadok, but eventually to Jesus’: “No doubt first referring to Zadok, who later succeeded to the priest’s office (1Kg 1:7-8; 2:35; Ezk 40:46; 44:15), but looking still further forward to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the ever-faithful high priest who always does according to what is in the mind and heart of the Father.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

My Thoughts

This book starts with a similar story.  Jacob had two wives.  He got a house full of children from one, the one he never intended to marry, but the one that he loved was barren.  Rev. MacArthur supposes that Elkanah might have married Peninnah due to Hannah’s barrenness.  That could have easily led to Peninnah tormenting Hannah.  The Scripture does not say this was the reason for Elkanah to marry another woman nor does it say that Elkanah loved Hannah more.  Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion to either ease the pain of barrenness, letting her know that he loved her regardless, or he felt she needed the strength in order to get pregnant, fattening her up for what might come.

The story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel is well documented.  The story even mentions how, in her barrenness, Rachel let Leah sleep with Jacob so that she could have mandrakes that Reuben had found.  In the pagan society, mandrakes were a phallic symbol and worshipped.  If prepared properly, they could be a hallucinogenic drug.  We do not know her motivation, but she gave up sleeping with her husband to obtain the pagan idea of fertility.  It was Rachel who stole her father’s household gods.  And she died shortly after Benjamin was born.

So, to say this is the same thing repeated ignores the character of Hannah.  Hannah cried.  Hannah fasted out of grief over her barrenness, but instead of turning to false gods, she vowed to the true God that she would give her son to God’s service, if she could only have this curse lifted from her.

Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk, but when he found her sober and sincere, he sent her home with a blessing that her request had been heard by God.

God had heard her plea, and she gave birth to Samuel.  When he was about three-years old, weaned, she returned to Eli with the price for fulfilling a vow, in fact a greater price.  She had followed God’s Law.  She had not called out in anger, but in grief and torment.  And after fulfilling her vow, she became the mother of more children, sons and daughters.

One last comparison to Rachel, Rachel died delivering her second son.  Other than Rebekah delivering twins, most barren women stories in the Bible only lead to one child, but Hannah was greatly blessed.  Rachel did not live long enough to see either of her sons grow up.  And another difference in the stories is that there is no evidence of Leah tormenting her sister.  Her sister was tormented that Leah had no problem in producing children, especially boys.  Thus, back to the false god remedies.

Hannah then gives a second prayer.  Her first prayer is in torment.  The second prayer is in gratitude and jubilation.  The proud will be made humble and the humble will be exalted.  God is faithful.  God will judge who prospers, and God will prosper His anointed.

Then the corruption of Eli’s son’s is the focus.  They literally eat the fat of the land, when the fat is instructed to be placed on the altar.  They used a three-pronged fork to get as much as possible for their own use.  They performed sexual rites with the women who served at the tabernacle like the pagans did.  Eli was soft on discipline.

A man of God, possibly an angel, but God could have raised up a prophet for this single declaration…  The man of God came to tell Eli that his entire family line was cursed, and none would see old age.  It would take until the time of David to eliminate the last of the line, but God held true to this curse.

It is interesting that Rev. MacArthur says that Phinehas means “Nubian”.  The Nubians, or southerners, were a mix with Egyptians.  Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses due to Moses’ Cushite wife, and if Phinehas was a Nubian, Eli must have married either a Cushite or a mix of Egyptian and Cushite (present day Ethiopia, or south of Egypt).  Had the sons of Eli heard the whisper that dark-skinned people were now the priests?  If so, did Eli’s sons turn corrupt to take revenge for what may have only been ignorant whispers?  Regardless of their motivation, it was Hophni and Phinehas who chose to take advantage of their station as priests in the family line of Aaron.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

1 Samuel 1:1-20 The Birth of Samuel 1. What ‘unchangeable’ situation have you grieved over as Hannah does? Was it really unchangeable?
“2. When has God led you into a time of disappointment before granting your heart’s desire? Are you in the midst of a time of disappointment now? What encouragement can you find in this passage? In your own experiences of God’s faithfulness?
“3. When has the Lord ‘remembered’ you in a time of great need? Has there been a time of need when you suddenly ‘remembered’ the Lord? What helps at such times: recorded prayers? Re-reading your prayers? Reading the Bible?
“4. What prayer will you record at the outset of your group study to help recall how he has been with you?
“5. How are you ‘set apart’? (By an ‘unshaved head’?}
1 Samuel 1:21-28 Hannah Dedicates Samuel 1. Have you or your parents made a vow?
“2. If you were ‘dedicated’ early on, how has that affected you over the course of your life? Similar to Hannah? If so, when? Are you willing to (re)dedicate yourself now?
1 Samuel 2:1-11 Hannah’s Prayer 1. Where in your life now are you inclined to trust in your own strength instead of God’s? What will you do to learn to trust in God’s strength? How could the group help in this?
“2. What has been the greatest role reversal in your life? Were you lifted up, or put down? How did you respond? What was God trying to teach you in that experience?
“3. Are you presently ‘lifted up’ or ‘cast down’? Why?
“4. What would your group’s experience with answered prayer sound like if set to music? Try it!
1 Samuel 2:12-26 Eli’s Wicked Sons 1. Is your example to children like that of Hannah or that of Eli? How so? How can you prepare your children (or those who look up to you) for a life ‘ministering before the Lord’? Are you prepared for the costly obedience of Hannah? What would that mean in your situation?
“2. How important is it to discipline children today? What does it mean to be a ‘Hannah’ parent? An ‘Eli’ parent?
“3. How should the church restore leaders who have ‘fallen from grace’?
1 Samuel 2:27-36 Prophecy Against the House of Eli 1. What does God expect of us who are priests one to another (see 1Pe 2:5)? What can we expect if we are faithful? Unfaithful?
“2. Is your house becoming firmly established? How so?
“3. What inheritance are you passing on to your descendants? What is hindering your ‘ministering before the Lord’? How can the group help you to be more faithful?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There are two sets of questions for 1 Samuel 1 and three sets of questions for 1 Samuel 2 as noted.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.