1Samuel chapter 2 comments

 

1Samuel 2:1 ¶  And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3  Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4  The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5  They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them. 9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

 

Note Hannah’s prayer. Here are just a couple of comparisons to verse one for us.

 

 Psalm 13:5  But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 

Psalm 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

 

Verse two brings to mind these among others;

 

Exodus 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

 

Deuteronomy 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

 

Isaiah 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

 

Verse 3 is a warning and a declaration of God’s sovereignty and that He is the ultimate judge, not man. See some cross-references;

 

Proverbs 8:13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

 

Psalm 94:7  Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 8  Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? 9  He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? 10  He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?

 

Psalm 147:5  Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

 

Jeremiah 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

 

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

In verse 4 Hannah emphasizes that the powerful fall before God as part of a prayer of praise that goes beyond just being grateful for a child. We can think of evil empires in our recent history that seemed unstoppable for a time; the British Empire, the German, the Japanese, and the Soviet Russian all strong and mighty and well-prepared but unable to stem the tide of God’s overwhelming power and were laid low.

 

Verse 5 shows the weak are made strong. Verse 6 gives expresses God’s ultimate power over everything, even death itself.

 

Deuteronomy 32:39 ¶  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

 

Psalm 68:20  He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

 

Verses 7 and 8 deal with social status and prosperity showing what we know from experience that God can raise people up from poverty and obscurity to be powerful and famous because all things and events and outcomes belong to God. I am reminded of these verses in James.

 

James 1:9  Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10  But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

 

And the repetition of this statement by King David in Psalms.  Perhaps Hannahs prayer was known to David or perhaps this was a common expression among the Israelites.

 

Psalm 113:7  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8  That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

 

Verse 9 is an acknowledgment that those who obeyed God would prosper as it was clear they were promised under the Old Testament Law given to Moses. Here are some contrasting verses on the positive side;

 

Psalm 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

 

Psalm 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

 

1Peter 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

And on the negative side;

 

Proverbs 4:19  The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

 

Psalms 31:17  Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

 

Verse 10 has some clearly end-times applications. First from Psalm 2 and context;

 

Psalm 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

And then Revelation;

 

Revelation 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

 

Revelation 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

 

Clearly before there was a king in Israel this foretells of Christ in His return to earth in Revelation to judge and rule the nations. This should be included in any discussion on the last book of the Bible.

 

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever…18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

 

And so this wonderful and very prophetic prayer of Hannah’s comes to an end.

 

1Samuel 2:11 ¶  And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. 12  Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 13  And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14  And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 15  Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16  And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17  Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. 18  But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 19  Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20  And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. 21  And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. 22  Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23  And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24  Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress. 25  If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. 26  And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

 

While Samuel ministered faithfully to the Lord in this wonderful passage Eli’s sons were wicked men, truly unbelievers even in God. They knew not the Lord. I’ve heard of faithful Catholics and a Hindu priest that followed the dictates of their religion without even believing in God or gods at all as a cultural expression. One Catholic I heard was asked if he believed in God and he said no. The questioner asked him why he was having his child baptized. He said he was doing that because he was a Catholic and that’s what Catholics do. I argued with one atheist whose father, a Hindu priest, officiated at weddings and funerals but was also an atheist. It’s just a cultural thing to them. But Eli’s sons were nasty pieces of work as we saw here while Samuel grows in favor with God and men.

 

1Samuel 2:27 ¶  And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28  And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 29  Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30  Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31  Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32  And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33  And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34  And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35  And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

 

Verses 27 through 29 declaration and a question have been used similarly by God previous to this in His indictment of the behavior of the people He created.

 

Judges 2:1 ¶  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

 

Judges 6:8  That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; 9  And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;

10  And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

 

From verse 30 onward we see a difference in promises God makes. Some promises are absolute decrees while some are conditional. Here is an example of an absolute decree that did not depend on the actions of the beneficiary of the decree.

 

Genesis 9:11  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 ¶  And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15  And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17  And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

There is nothing mentioned in this promise that conditions it to certain behavior. It is all God. Here is a promise to us that is only conditioned on our belief.

 

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

God makes a conditional promise to Moses and the children of Israel.

 

Deuteronomy 11:26 ¶  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27  A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28  And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

 

Deuteronomy 12:1 ¶  These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.

 

God then goes on the lay out the conditions of this promise and the consequences of disobedience.

 

Here in 1Samuel we can look back at Exodus 28:1 and context;

 

Exodus 28:1 ¶  And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons…43  And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

 

Verse 35 and onward foretells of faithful Samuel’s rise to the priesthood as we transition from the time of the Judges to the eventual kingdom of Saul and David, with the high point of Israel’s glory, the reign of Solomon, coming up.

 

Eli’s family will beg Samuel for a priest’s office which underscores how important he will become after the judgment spelled out in verse 34 is fulfilled.