09. BIBLICAL EPIC: 1 Samuel Notes rown 1 Samuel 1: Hannah had no children. She cried out to the LORD, "Remember your servant." She bore a son, Samuel, and took him to Eli the priest. The central theme of the books of Samuel (originally one book) is how God will fulfill His promises to Abraham by inaugurating a Davidic dynasty (“house”) in Israel (2 Sam 7; Psa 89), and by electing the holy city Zion (Jerusalem; 2 Sam 6; Psa 132) as the place where David’s son will establish the temple (“house”) for the worship of the divine King Yahweh. In so doing, they tell the story of four leaders (Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David), each of whom ultimately failed to secure the people from their enemies and establish a kingdom of justice and righteousness. But they anticipate the coming of Jesus by laying the foundation of the hope for a “son of David” who will finally fulfill the promise and establish God’s Kingdom on earth. We see this particularly in David, who was the man God chose to set His heart on. He serves as an imperfect anticipation of God’s kingdom in various ways. We could summarize the book this way: “Even the best human leaders fail us, but God is faithful to His people and promised a King who would be powerful, wise, righteous and faithful.” • 1:1-18. Hannah’s Vow. Like the book of Ruth, 1-2 Samuel begins with the story of an ordinary Israelite family during the period of the judges. We are introduced to Elkanah (a Levite living in Ephraim) and his two wives. Probably Hannah (“grace”) was Elkanah’s first wife, since she is named first. Presumably he married Peninnah because Hannah was barren. The lack of an heir was a major problem in the ancient Near East, and taking a second wife was one way to try to solve the problem. The “barren woman” motif is also quite common in Scripture (Gen 11:27-30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg 13:2; Isa 54:1; Luke 1:7; Gal 4:27). The rivalry between Hannah and Peninnah finds parallels in the accounts of Sarah and Hagar (Gen 16:4-5) and Leah and Rachel (Gen 30:14-16). Hannah’s despair is heightened by Peninnah’s mockery, and as she “wept bitterly,” she prayed desperately to the LORD, vowing that if He would grant her a son she would consecrate him to the LORD as a Nazirite. After the priest Eli mistakes her desperation for drunkenness, he blesses Hannah – a blessing that will prove to be effective. Through one woman’s grief and faith (like that of Ruth), a child will be born (as with Ruth) who will be instrumental in transitioning Israel from the time of the judges to the next phase of its history, the establishment of the Davidic monarchy. Marvel at God’s providence! • 1:19-28. Samuel’s Birth and Dedication. The tender words “the LORD remembered her” (v. 19) remind the reader that ultimately it is God who brings new life within the womb. In the OT, to “remember” means not simply to think about someone but to act on their behalf. God gives Hannah a son. The name Samuel may be a wordplay meaning “requested from God,” or possibly “heard by God.” In v. 27, Hannah repeats almost verbatim Eli’s blessing in v. 17. Joyously, Hannah points to this child as the answer to her prayer and now grants him to the LORD for His service. 1 Samuel 2: Hannah prayed, "The LORD humbles and lifts up." Eli's sons did evil but Samuel served the LORD. A prophet condemned the house of Eli. • 2:1-10. Hannah’s Prayer. In response to God’s marvelous work, Hannah gives this benedictory prayer. Her prayer in poetic form anticipates the coming of a king anointed by God to reign over Israel, a significant theme developed in the books of 1-2 Samuel. Throughout church history it has been called the Magnificat because it primarily magnifies the name of the LORD. Mary’s prayer in Luke 1:46-55 is also called the Magnificat, and it echoes Hannah’s prayer. The basic content and settings of both stories are similar: God intervenes by giving a son to each woman, and the son grows up to deliver God’s people. The themes of the two prayers are the same, and Mary quotes Hannah’s prayer in her own (e.g., v. 1 in Luke 1:46). Hannah alternates between the themes of the LORD’s holy sovereignty (vv. 1b-3, 6-7, 8b-10a) and the reversal of human fortunes (vv. 4-5, 8a) and ends with the theme of kingship (v. 10b). It is a song of praise to the sovereign God who reverses human fortunes by His mighty power. These images are not surprising from God’s perspective, where poor become rich and rich become poor (2 Cor 8:9; James 2:5), the first become last and the last first (Matt 19:30; 20:16), and those who seek to save their lives lose them while others who willingly lose their lives gain life (Luke 9:24-25). The reference to “His king” in v. 10 looks forward to the rest of the book, for in Hannah’s day, “there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). In parallel with “His king” is “His anointed” (“His messiah”), a royal designation that first appears here in the Bible. Here it seems, Hannah speaks prophetically of God’s everlasting kingdom under the Messiah. She concludes her song by pleading that God would “give strength” to His future king and lift up his “horn” (a symbol of strength). • 2:11-36. Eli’s Family Judged. While the boy Samuel is ministering to the LORD at Shiloh (vv. 11, 18; 3:1), Eli’s own two sons are hindering the worship there. They are condemned for their abuses of the sacrificial practices, including extortion of quality meat and their appropriation of the fat portion for themselves, which belonged to the LORD. Eli is held culpable for their behavior because he honored his sons more than God by neglecting to discipline them. Thus, God will judge the house of Eli and bring it to an end. According to 1 Kings 2:27, this happened when David’s priest, Abiathar (a descendant of Eli through Aaron and his son Ithamar), was banished by Solomon and replaced by Zadok (a descendant of Aaron through his son Eleazar). Verse 35, however, seems to look beyond the priesthood of Zadok to an ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who is both Priest and King forever (cf. Psa 110; Heb 5:6). The “sure house” of His priesthood (v. 35) may be compared to the “house” of David established forever according to 2 Sam 7:13, 16. 1 Samuel 3: The LORD called Samuel. Eli told Samuel to answer, "Speak, LORD." The LORD told Samuel that he was about to judge the house of Eli. • 3:1-21. The LORD Calls Samuel. The spiritual setting is set as a time when the word of the LORD is rarely heard (3:1), likely due to Israel’s sins. This will now change as the LORD calls Samuel three times, with each call increasing in intensity; but Samuel thinks it is only his foster father Eli who is calling. Finally the elderly Eli perceives who is calling, and in the fourth calling of “Samuel! Samuel!” (v. 10) the boy receives his first communication from the LORD. The LORD called other people twice by name at a crucial point in their lives; e.g., Abraham (Gen 22:11), Jacob (Gen 46:2), Moses (Exod 3:4), and Paul (Acts 9:4). The LORD’s message is a repeat of the judgment to come on the house of Eli (v. 15-18). Though normal or inadvertent sins of priests could be atoned for by an offering (Lev 4:3-12), Eli’s sons sinned defiantly, and their guilt could not be removed (Num 15:30), as Eli himself recognizes (2:25). Eli acknowledges that the LORD has spoken and that as the sovereign God He will do “what seems good to Him” (v. 18). In this episode, all that Samuel spoke was fulfilled, establishing him as a true prophet of the LORD (Deut 18:21-22), and he speaks God’s word to all Israel (vv. 19-21). Chapter 3 comes full circle with contrasting bookends: in v. 1, the word of God was rare in Israel and there were few visions; in v. 21, the LORD reveals Himself to Samuel in Shiloh “through His word.” 1 Samuel 4: The Israelites were defeated by the Philistines and Eli's sons were killed. When Eli heard that the ark had been captured, he died. • 4:1-11. The Philistines Capture the Ark. Samuel disappears from the story, but will return as an older, mature prophet of the LORD in chapter 7. The focus now shifts to the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the visible sign of the holy presence of the LORD, whose real throne is on high, above the heavens. But it was more than just a sign, for the Ark was also the focal point of God’s actual presence among His people The conception of the ark as a visible sign of the LORD’s presence gave a military importance to the Ark (as can be seen in Num 10:33-36 and Joshua 3-4; 6).