009 1 Samuel
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THE FIRST SECTION THE PROPHET SAMUEL (1 SAMUEL 1 TO 7) 1- The birth of Samuel 1. 2- The growth of Samuel 2. 3- The Lord’ call to Samuel 3. 4- The ministry of Samuel 4–7. 1 A TRANSITIONAL STAGE The life of Samuel, the prophet and the judge, represents a transitional stage, through which Israel passed over from the Judge system to that of Monarchy. Samuel was born by pious parents, as a fruit of prayers and faith of his mother; then was raised by ‘Ali,’ the priest and judge, who has been characterized by piety and a weak personality, especially before his own sons. Samuel was raised in the house of the Lord in ‘Shiloh,’ where the tabernacle of meeting settled down for 300 years; then was destroyed by the Philistines in one of their attacks; probably during the battle of ‘Aphek’ (1 Samuel 4) after which the ark never returned there. His role as a judge (1 Samuel 7: 6; 15 - 17), like that of ‘Ali’ the priest, had a special feature - a spiritual role, praying and counsel giving, but not leading armies for wars. It was characterized by spiritual guidance as much as possible; as the people still had a prevailing tendency to deviate from the Lord, and to be ignorant, that prevailed from the time of the judges; That is why God allowed for their humiliation on the hands of the Philistines. When the people demanded a king like the other nations around them, Samuel considered that to be a rejection of the reign of God, and of him. Yet, through a divine ordinance, Samuel anointed ‘Saul’ as their king whom God eventually rejected when he rebelled against Him. David was secretly anointed as a king to have his life persistently pursued by Saul. 2 CHAPTER 1 THE BIRTH OF SAMUEL Samuel was granted by God to ‘Hannah,’ a pious and barren mother, as a fruit of her prayers and faith; and was raised in the temple of God, to become a blessing to many people. 1- Hannah, the pious and barren 1-8. 2- The son of prayer 9-18. 3- The birth of Samuel 19-23. 4- Samuel lent to the Lord 24-28. 1- HANNAH, THE PIOUS AND BARREN ‘Elkanah’ had two wives: the name of one was ’Peninnah,’ meaning (a coral) or (a pearl); and the name of the other was ‘Hannah,’ meaning (compassion) or (grace). a- Elkanah was said to be an Ephramite (1 Samuel 1: 3), because he dwelt in the mountains of Ephraim; yet, he was of the tribe of Levi, of the family of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6: 22 - 28), although he did not practice as a Levite. He has been the head of the family of ‘Zuphim,’ that gave its name to the village of ‘Ramathaim Zophim’; namely, (the two heights of Suf’ or wool) 1. It was so called to designate it from other places that carried the same name ‘Ramathaim’; and probably is ‘Ram Allah’ nowadays. b- every year, ‘Elkanah’ used to take his family to ‘Shiloh’ to worship and sacrifice to the Lord; namely, to present the sacrifice of peace offerings (Leviticus 7: 11 - 21). Some believe that this pilgrimage was personal for his own family; beside his commitment to appear before the Lord in the three feasts: of ‘unleavened bread’ or the ‘Passover’; of ‘Harvest’; and that of ‘Ingathering’ (Exodus 23: 14). some scholars believe that the Jews used to appear before the Lord only once every year to celebrate the feast of the harvest with great joy; and that what made ‘Ali’ the priest think that Hannah was drunk2. Shiloh or Shiloh - most probably (silon) nowadays, about 17 miles north of Jerusalem, had been the center of worship chosen by Joshua to be the place for the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant and where he divided the promised land among the tribes of Israel (Joshua 18: 1; 8). In it Ali the priest, Samuel and Ahija the prophets dwelt; (1 Kings 14: 2). c- Elkanah loved Hannah his barren wife, and used to give her a double portion, something that probably inflamed the jealousy of his other wife Peninnah’ and proved to be a wrong policy on his part. Anyway, the two women symbolized the Churches of the Old and the New Testaments. If ‘Peninnah,’ means a (pearl) or a (coral), and brought forth many children, the Church of the Old Testament enjoyed the treasures of God: having received the law, got the promises, and brought forth men of God, the fathers, the prophets, etc. Yet, that fertile mother, turned barren, when she rejected faith in the Lord Christ; as expressed by the song of Hannah, saying: “Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble” (1 Samuel 2: 5). Hannah, on the other hand, whose name means (compassion) or (grace) resembled the Church of the New Testament that has enjoyed the exalted compassion of God, proclaimed through the sacrifice of the cross and the grace of the 1 The Westminster Dict. Of the Bible, p. 792, 791. 2 Nelson: New Catholic Commentary…, p. 308. 3 Holy Spirit, the Grantor of son hood to God and communion with Him. It is His beloved Church that has gathered together, from the Gentiles, all those who have been barren, to bring forth sons to God. God allowed it, for the soul of the pious Hannah, to get so saturated with bitterness, to cry out from the depths of her heart, to grant her the son He had prepared beforehand for her, and for all His people; whose life and ministry became an integral part of the Holy Bible. So also, God allows it for His pious Church to enter unto Passion, to partake of the affliction of the cross, and to experience His death in her in order to bring forth an inner joy, and an incomprehensible peace. “If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8: 17). So God let her “year by year” suffer bitterness (1 Samuel 1: 7); and when the fullness of time came, He expounded to her what surpassed all what she asked for, or even imagined; she got ‘Samuel,’ the great among the prophets. d- Listen to how her man who loved her admonished her; who expounded to her his soul, before any double portion, saying to her: “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? “ (1 Samuel 1: 8). Jesus the Lord of glory, the Groom of our souls, likewise admonishes us; saying [Why is your heart grieved for worldly worries? or for temporary afflictions? Can’t I fulfill and comfort you? Is it not enough for you that I am the eternal Groom of your soul?] I wish we can say with the apostle Paul: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?!... For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 32 - 39). Let us love God for His own sake; and let us accept Him to dwell in us; to proclaim His divine Kingdom inside us, and not to deny us even worldly blessings, if they are for our edification... In such a way, God was glorified in Hannah, and granted her Samuel, a fruit of her prayers and faith. 2- THE SON OF PRAYERS a- Hannah was in bitterness of soul (1 Samuel 1: 10); yet her anguish did not keep her from sharing with other believers, eating of the sacrifice, so that all would be reconciled together in God. Her bitterness of soul did not cause her to hate or envy her husband’s other wife, but made her entreat for divine help to take away her disgrace. She yearned for bringing forth a son, not only for the sake of fulfilling her natural motherhood, but also for what is more: every Jewish woman was anticipating that the Messiah would come from her descent; as is clear from Hannah’s song, in which she vowed to lend her son to the Lord as long as he lives (1 Samuel 2: 1 - 10). So Hannah arose, after they have finished eating and drinking, to offer a secret personal prayer before the temple of the Lord [The tabernacle was called the temple of the Lord, having settled for about 300 years in Shiloh; and all around it buildings were established; and a seat by the doorpost for Eli the high priest to sit for judgment]. It happened as Hannah continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth but he could not apprehend the secret of power of her prayer, and thought that she was drunk (1 Samuel 1: 14). Yet God listened to her. 4 Hannah became a living example - along the generations - of the power of a silent prayer, springing out of an inner deep faith; her prayer has been mixed with her faith, as well with her meekness. The following are comments of the saintly fathers on Hannah’s silent prayer, by her heart as well as her tears: As to Hannah, once she harbored the thought, her wish was granted, and got Samuel.