Samuel Series

October 29, 2022

Samuel was the last Judge of Israel, and he serves as a link between the time of the Judges and the Monarchy, so our story begins with him {1 Samuel 1-3}.

Samuel’s father was Elkanah. Elkanah was of the tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:23) but lived in the territory of Ephraim in the city of Ramah.

Samuel’s mother was Hannah, one of Elkanah’s two wives.

Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, had several children, but Hannah was barren.

A rivalry developed between the 2 women and Peninnah went out of her way to remind Hannah of her barrenness – gloating and lording it over her.

Year after year the family would go to sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was located.

Hophni and Phinehas, sons of Eli, the priest, were attending the Tabernacle at that time – more about them shortly.

During one of those trips Hannah went and wept bitterly before Yahweh because of her barrenness. That day she made a promise. If she was blessed with a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service for his entire life - He would be a Nazarite. (1 Samuel 1:18-28)

In time Samuel was born. At about the age of 3 Samuel was brought to the Tabernacle and Hannah dedicated him to the service of God as she had promised to do.

Samuel 2:12, 17 - Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD…. 17 This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.

Eli was not successful in his half-hearted attempts to reign-in his sons, so a man of God came to Eli with a message {1 Samuel 2:29-35}:

• Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering while you honor your sons above me? Though I solemnly said that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever. Now I say to you that those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be rejected. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line…. 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 house, and he will minister before my anointed one always.

Sometime later, a young Samuel was called by God to special service in a quiet, yet poignant, nighttime visitation. Accompanying that visitation was a pronouncement of judgment against the house of Eli for his failure to control his sons.

• 1 Samuel 3:11-14 - And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family -- from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'"

Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, but Eli encouraged him to not withhold anything God had revealed, so Samuel told Eli everything and Eli responded, “He is Yahweh; let him do what is good in his eyes."

Yahweh was with Samuel as he grew and all Israel, from north to south, recognized that he was a prophet of God.

Here are some of the events leading up to the establishment of the Monarchy:

Chapter 4 - the Philistine’s capture of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Philistines occupied the southwest of the land of Canaan along the coast of the Mediterranean ---- known as Philistia.

They were a unified group of 5 city-states: Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza.

They were known for their development of tools and weapons made of iron.

They were also the sworn enemy of Israel.

Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and Israel lost - 4,000 dead.

Before the next battle Israel decided to take the Ark of the Covenant with them as a “good-luck charm” because they thought it would guarantee them victory.

Hophni and Phinehas went with them.

When the soldiers saw the Ark being brought into camp, they let out a great shout. How can we lose? We have the Ark…….

When the Philistines learned that the Ark had come into the Israelite camp, they were afraid,