02 - Chapter 1 and 2

Chapter 1

Samuel is Born and Dedicated

06:45

¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

²¹ Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.”

²³ So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

• The Lord remembered her
  • The Lord was delaying until this day - until after she made her petition. God doesn't forget anyone, but it means that the time came
• Samuel means "The Lord hears" (Same3 - El)
  • So every time she says his name she will remember that the Lord heard her prayer
• Hannah did not go the next year to offer the sacrifice
  • We might ask - wouldn't you go to thank the Lord?
  • But in her heart was something higher - the day I take him to the tabernacle, I won't be back. So first let me wean him so that he doesn't need me anymore
  • Elkanah is a virtuous man and recognizes that this is between Hannah and God
• The biggest influence in the life of an infant child is the mother - mothers raise saints
• Samuel only stayed with his mom for a few years in his infancy, but these had a profound effect on him and he loved God from his childhood.
  • Even the experts today say that the first five years are the most important in raising a child. Children see and hear everything and keep it - whatever happens in their parents' household.
  • Hannah and Elkanah had a house of prayer. So Samuel became a man of prayer.
• Hannah left Samuel at the altar
  • Any mother would feel this - after several years with him, and he's the joy of her heart, and her baby... and she leaves him. She knows she will only see him once a year. She knows that she will miss him. But the Lord comes before all, and her promise to the Lord comes before all.
  • Sometimes we make a promise to God - "if You are with me on this exam, I will fast an extra week" - and we don't do it!

Chapter 2

Hannah's Prayer

23:00

¹ And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

² “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

³ “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴ “The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.

⁶ “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.
⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory.

“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them.
⁹ He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail.
¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

• St Mary must have loved the the story of Hannah and Samuel
  • Her mom's name was Anna
  • Her mom had a similar experience that she was barren and the Lord gave her St Mary and she dedicated St Mary to serve in the Temple
  • St Mary's prayer in Luke 1, when the angel announced to her about the Lord Jesus Christ, is very similar to Hannah's prayer here
• Lessons from Hannah's Prayer
  • My heart rejoices in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation 
    • Many times we know how to complain, we know how to make requests, etc.
    • But where is the thanksgiving? Where is the glorifying God? Where is just telling the Lord that you are happy to be in His presence?
    • In the presence of people, she was reproached for being barren
    • But in the Lord, she is lifted up and exalted
  •  “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.
    • There is no greater word for the Lord than to call Him holy
  • The Lord is God of Knowledge and He knows what He is doing! And by Him actions are weighed.
    • The True Scale for weighing our actions and decisions - is God
  • Those who are humble and rely on God will be exalted, but those that rely on themselves (their strength, their bows, their money, their crowns, their power) will be brought low
  • The barren has borne seven
    • She sees Samuel as worth seven boys - and seven is a number of completion
  • The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up
    • We read this on Apocalypse night because of this line
  • He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed
    • She is prophesying first about the kingdom that is coming, and also about the Lord Jesus Christ
  • Hannah's prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving. Let us take the lesson to increase in our Thanksgiving.
  • Hannah's prayer reveals to us how valuable humility is in the eyes of the Lord

The Wicked Sons of Eli

42:30

¹² Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord. ¹³ And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. ¹⁴ Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷ Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.