Join us as we unravel the complexities of 1 Samuel 2, where Hannah’s devotion to the Lord is rewarded abundantly, while Eli’s sons face divine judgment. This episode challenges us to reflect on our own lives and choices, encouraging us to be like Samuel, growing in stature and favor with God and men. Discover the cyclical nature of obedience, disobedience, and God’s unending mercy as portrayed in this Old Testament passage.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in 1 Samuel chapter 2. In chapter 1, Hannah who had been barren, poured her heart out to the Lord. He granted her petition, and she gave birth to Samuel. As she promised, she lent him to the Lord. In other words, she left her baby boy with Eli the priest to serve the Lord. We pick up the story in 1 Samuel chapter 2, all 36 verses. We’ll listen in to the recording from Faith Comes by Hearing.
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1 Samuel 2.
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And Hannah prayed and said, My heart exalts in the Lord. My strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord. There is none besides you. There is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly. Let not arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has born seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and He exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them He has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.
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Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, and the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.
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And if the man said to him, Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish. He would say, No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.
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Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod, and his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
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Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, May the Lord give you children by this woman, for the petition she asked of the Lord.
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So then they would return to their home. Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord. Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them,
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Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons, it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?
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But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord, and also with man. And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him,
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Thus the Lord has said, Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 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? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel? Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares, I promise that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever. But now the Lord declares, Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.” Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out, to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you. Both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.” And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places that I may eat a morsel of bread.
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In that first Bible reading journal I wrote in 1983, after reading this chapter, I wrote, The Lord makes poor and rich. He brings low. He also exalts. Samuel grows in the Lord and in his service. Eli’s unfaithful sons to be punished by God. In 2007, after reading this chapter, I wrote a sad chapter. Hannah praises God for Samuel, but Eli’s sons were, quote, worthless men. They did not know the Lord. Yet they were priests under their father. They made a mockery of sacrifices to God and took meat for personal pleasure. Eli wouldn’t discipline his own kids, so God intervenes. Hannah, who gave up Samuel to serve God, is abundantly blessed with three sons and two daughters. And Samuel grows before the Lord. Hannah is blessed by honoring and obeying God. Eli’s sons are cursed for dishonoring and disobeying God. Well, we each have those choices, don’t we? We can be a Hannah or we can be one of Eli’s sons. We can choose to honor God, obey God, and receive his blessings. Or… We can choose to be obstinate, disobey God, make a mockery of him, and suffer because of it. And then there’s Samuel, verse 26. Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with men. So how you doing? Are you a Samuel? Are you continuing to grow both in stature and favor with the Lord and also with men? I hope these AdBible podcasts are helping you come closer to the Lord, continue to grow in Him, with Him, and with your fellow man. Well, we’re also going to pick up the story of Mom. As I read Samuel chapter 2, I wrote in my journal, I went home to sleep to be with Terry and Shannon. Mom is the same. I’ll go back to Colorado Springs this afternoon. And as I read, I wrote, Hannah prayed earnestly for a child. God answers and she dedicates the child to full-time service for the Lord. She gave back the very gift she prayed for. Samuel stayed in the temple. Hannah may have only seen him once a year when she and her husband came to the temple for that yearly sacrifice. And then I wrote, Mom, quote, the Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up. And that was verse 8 of that chapter that day. In Hannah’s prayer, she prayed, There is none holy like the Lord. There is none besides you. There is no rock like our God. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and He exalts. Father, we honor you today as our rock. And we thank you that you do make poor, you make rich, you bring low, and you exalt. So our prayer would be, that you would exalt us, that you would raise us up like Hannah and like Samuel to serve you, that we would not be like the sons of Eli, worthless men that did not know the Lord, but that we’d be like Samuel, continuing to grow in you and also in the eyes of men. In your name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Maybe you wonder if Old Testament prophecy is true, came true already, or is coming true in the future. First, most prophets had a recurring theme. God loves us. Because he loves us so much, he gave us commandments, rules, statutes to live by. If we live by them, we can be blessed beyond what we can think or imagine. But when we choose to disregard, ignore, and set aside his rules, we are subject to his curses. We live under curses until things get so bad we cry out to God. He’s always there, waiting for our cry. Most often, but not always, He responds with grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. We get back in line, then the cycle repeats. The Old Testament prophets cover this cycle over and over. Sometimes we wonder how the Israelites could have been so foolish. Yet, in our day, we have the same choice. We know God loves us. We generally know the rules, and we’d know them a lot better if we were more consistent in our time in God’s Word. Yet we decide, like those in the Old Testament, to ignore them and live out our lives. Things don’t often go well, so we finally cry out to God. As we see in the Old Testament, prophecy comes true as God restores rebellious, disobedient people like us back into right relationship with Him. But it is not always the case. Sometimes he has enough and does not deliver them. So yes, Old Testament prophecies are true, they came true, and they will come true in the future as we cycle through the same life choices the Israelites made. Thus, the value of reading all the Old Testament prophets. Maybe we will learn what they tried to teach. God loves us. Keep his rules, love him back, and enjoy his blessings.
