Give Us A King!

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” – 1 Samuel 8:1-9 ESV

This chapter opens with what appears to be a significant time gap in the narrative. It simply states that “Samuel became old” (1 Samuel 8:1 ESV). It tells us little about his life or the early days of his ministry as Israel’s judge. The previous chapter ended with an abbreviated summary of Samuel’s life, providing the reader with more questions than answers. 

Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the Lord at Ramah. – 1 Samuel 7:15-17 NLT

The age of Samuel is omitted. Any of his exploits and accomplishments are left out. In seven relatively brief chapters, his life story was fast-forwarded from infancy to adulthood. It’s almost like watching an “On the Previous Episode” summary of your favorite TV show. But through the divine influence of His Holy Spirit, God ordained that the story skip over the primary years of Samuel’s judgeship and pick up again in the latter years of his life. Despite the title of the book, this story is not about Samuel. It is about the faithful God of Israel and His ongoing relationship with His less-than-faithful people.

The opening verses of chapter 8 have a familiar ring to them. It states that Samuel had two sons who also served as judges over Israel but these men were less-than-qualified for their positions.

…his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. – 1 Samuel 8:3 ESV

Many biblical scholars believe that Samuel wrote the vast majority of this book. If that is true, it’s amazing to consider that he would have been the one who penned those words. How painful it must have been for Samuel to summarize the lives of his adult sons in such a stark and condemning manner. But what stands out in this unflattering assessment of his sons is its eerie similarity to the story of Eli’s two boys.

Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  - 1 Samuel 2:22 ESV

This was the household in which Samuel was raised. As a small child, Samuel’s parents had been dropped off at the Tabernacle so that he might serve the Lord all the days of his life. So the formative years of his life were lived under the same roof as the sons of Eli, who are described as “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV). Samuel had an up-close and personal experience with poor parenting as he watched Eli attempt to manage his two “worthless” sons.

These two middle-aged men had spent their lives pursuing their own personal interests and using their positions as priests to feed their perverse pleasures. Their actions were an affront to God because they violated His law and treated His holy Tabernacle as a means to satiate their greed and lust.  

.…the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. – 1 Samuel 2:12, 17 ESV

This earlier story from Samuel’s past is pertinent because it sheds light on the situation taking place in chapter 8. Samuel is old and, in preparation for his pending death, he has chosen to appoint his sons to serve in his place. But there was no precedence for a judge to appoint his successor. According to the Book of Judges, it was God’s job to raise up judges. (Judges 2:16).

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. – Judges 2:18 NLT

Somewhere along the way, Samuel decided that he knew better and appointed Joel and Abijah to serve as co-judges over the people of Israel.

When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. – 1 Samuel 8:2 ESV

There is no indication that this decision was God-ordained or the result of prayerful consideration on Samuel’s part. He decided to take matters into his own hands and the results are readily apparent. His sons proved to be wicked and the people all knew it.

…all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” – 1 Samuel 8:4-5 NLT

His decision to reward his sons with their judgeships produced this outcome. Rather than wait on God and allow Him to determine the next judge of Israel, Samuel had come up with his own plan. But even the people could see that Joel and Abijah were unqualified and incapable of leading them in Samuel’s absence. So they came up with their own plan. They demanded that Samuel appoint them a king.

This unprecedented request displeased Samuel for obvious reasons. First, the people had just demeaned his sons and rejected their leadership. Secondly, they were disclosing their dissatisfaction with God’s long-standing use of judges as His methodology for leadership. Finally, their demand must have offended Samuel because it sounded like they had also been dissatisfied with his leadership. He had spent his entire life presiding as judge over these people and now they were looking for a different leadership model. Offended and angered by their demand, Samuel took the matter to the Lord, and he must have been surprised by the response he received.

“Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.” – 1 Samuel 8:7 NLT

God knew that Samuel had taken the matter personally and was wrestling with feelings of rejection and resentment. Samuel had gotten his feelings hurt. But Samuel needed to know that this was all part of God’s plan. None of this had come as a surprise to God. He had not been caught off guard by their request. In fact, He had long known that this would happen. Centuries before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, God had told Moses that the day would come when they would ask for a king, and He gave His permission along with His guidelines.

“When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.” – Deuteronomy 17:14-17 ESV

In God’s reiteration of the covenant promise to Jacob, He alluded to the day when kings would rule over Israel.

“I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” – Genesis 35:11-12 NLT

God had always intended for Israel to have a king but it was to be a king of His choosing. This individual would have to meet God’s criteria for leadership. However, the people of Israel were very specific when it came to the kind of king they wanted “Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT). They weren’t looking for a godly king; they were demanding a powerful kingdom-building monarch who would lead them to victory over their enemies and build a dynasty that would last for centuries.

From God’s perspective, the demand of the people was a blatant rejection of Him. He flatly informs Samuel, “They don’t want me to be their king any longer” (1 Samuel 8:7 NLT). God knew the motivation of their hearts and could see that this request was a not-so-veiled rejection of His leadership. The people had grown dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Israel and wanted more. They were tired of being bullied by the Philistines and watching other nations rise to power and prominence under the leadership of their kings. They had grown tired of living under judges and never experiencing the success they longed for. It was time for a change.

God was willing to give them their request but with conditions. He would allow them to have a king “like all the other nations” but they needed to know that there would be consequences. Their hopes for a brighter future would be dimmed by the stark reality of the outcome of their request.

None of this was new to God. For centuries, He had witnessed the constant unfaithfulness of His chosen people. He had called them, transformed them into a mighty nation, redeemed them from their captivity in Egypt, led them to the land of Canaan, and provided them with victories over the nations that occupied that land. In other words, God had acted as their King. But nowhere along the way had they actually submitted to His rule and reign.

“Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.” – 1 Samuel 8:8-9 NLT 

It was time for the next phase of God’s plan for Israel. Again, this was not a knee-jerk reaction on God’s part. He was not caught off guard or surprised by their actions. It was all part of a divinely ordained plan that had been in place long before Israel existed as a nation. God was simply paving the way for the future King of Israel who will one day rule and reign for eternity.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Greatness of God’s Glory

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” – 1 Samuel 4:12-22 ESV

There is a not-so-subtle play on words that runs throughout this passage. Eli, the high priest and father of the recently deceased Hophni and Phinehas, is described as “old and heavy” (1 Samuel 4:18 ESV). The Hebrew word for “heavy” is kāḇēḏ and it can also be translated as “great” or “massive.” It would appear that Eli had enjoyed a long life characterized by self-indulgence and a lack of self-control. Perhaps his struggle with obesity had been fueled in part by his sons’ abuse of the sacrificial system. They had “treated the offering of the Lord with contempt” (1 Samuel 2:17 ESV) and God had accused Eli and his sons of growing fat and happy by violating His commands.  

“…you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” – 1 Samuel 2:37 ESV

Eli’s weight (kāḇēḏ) is highlighted because it is meant to stand in stark contrast to God’s “glory” (kāḇôḏ). The similarity between these two words is obvious and is meant to juxtapose God’s “weight” with that of Eli. The Hebrew word kāḇôḏ conveys the idea of weightiness but from the aspect of greatness or glory; it has to do with honor, magnificence, and splendor.

Eli, the high priest of God, had become an overweight, self-indulgent shell of a man. For years, he had allowed his sons to abuse the sacrificial system over which God had given him authority and the responsibility for its protection and preservation. He had stood by and watched as his sons grew fat off the sins of the people, and he had benefited from their gluttony and greed.

Centuries later, the prophet Hosea recorded God’s stinging indictment against the priests of Israel.

“Since you priests refuse to know me,
    I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
    I will forget to bless your children.” – Hosea 4:6 NLT

These priests were guilty of the same sin as Eli and his sons.

“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.
    So the priests are glad when the people sin!
‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’
    So now I will punish both priests and people
    for their wicked deeds.” – Hosea 4:7-8 NLT

The prophet Malachi would also pen a similarly worded accusation from God against the disobedient priests of Israel.

“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Malachi 2:7-8 NLT

The all-glorious God refused to tolerate the weighty impact of priestly impropriety. These men were doing serious damage to the spiritual well-being of God’s chosen people. In the case of Hophni and Phinehas, God had already weighed in and fulfilled His promise to remove them from office – permanently. Now, He was going to deal with their overweight and under-performing father, the high priest of Israel.

When news of the defeat at Aphek reached the town of Shiloh, Eli was seated by the road “watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God” (1 Samuel 4:13 ESV). It seems that Eli knew his sons would not be returning so he focused his attention on the status of the ark. Nearly blind, Eli couldn’t see the arrival of the messenger who had run all the way from Aphek to Shiloh but he could hear all the commotion taking place around him.

Anxious to know what had happened, Eli demanded a status report from the exhausted messenger, who declared, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured” (1 Samuel 4:17 ESV). In recording the details surrounding this event, Samuel specifically states that it was news of the ark’s capture that caused Eli to faint.

As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. – 1 Samuel 4:18 ESV 

It is impossible to know what went through Eli’s mind and heart when he received this devastating news. If the ark was captured, he knew his sons were likely gone as well. But the loss of his sons paled in comparison with the prospect of the ark being gone forever. The “weight” of this news was more than Eli could bear; he fainted in disbelief and broke his neck as he fell.

Years later, when Samuel recalled this fateful day and recorded it for posterity, he provided an explanation for Eli’s deadly reaction. When the pregnant wife of Phinehas received the report that her husband was dead, she went into early labor and gave birth to a son. What should have been a happy occasion was marred by the death of the boy’s father. Even the healthy birth of her son could not prevent her from grieving the loss of her husband, and her choice of a name for her newborn baby reflects her understanding that was far worse than anyone could imagine.

…she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. – 1 Samuel 4:21 ESV

In one day, she had lost her husband and her father-in-law, but her primary concern centered around the loss of the ark. For the Israelites, the ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s presence. It was above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim, that the glory of God was said to have dwelled. This was in keeping with the promise
God had given to Moses when He gave the instructions for the making of the ark.

“…you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:21-22 ESV

Eli and his daughter-in-law both believed that, with the ark gone, so was the presence and power of God. The glory (kāḇôḏ) of God had departed and Israel was left all alone – or so they thought. But this conclusion was false and their sense of hopelessness was ill-founded. God was not restricted to a single place and could not be stolen or kidnapped by enemy forces. He was the all-powerful, omnipresent God of the universe who had orchestrated Israel’s defeat so that they might repent and give Him the glory He deserved.

This woman’s pessimistic outlook reflected the thoughts of all the people of Israel, including Eli. With the ark in enemy hands, Eli believed that God had abandoned His people. They were on their own. For 40 years this man had judged the nation of Israel and served as their high priest. Nearly half of his life had been dedicated to the service of God and now, their God was gone.

But little Ichabod would grow up to learn that his poor choice of a name had been unnecessary. The glory of God had not departed. The “weight” and worth of God had not diminished in the least. He was still there and He was working out His plan to bring about a much-needed revival among His disobedient and demoralized people. The Philistines may have captured the ark of God but they would prove no match for the God of the ark. As chapter five unfolds, the real battle will begin and the God of Israel will display His glory and greatness for all to see.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Divinely Ordained Defeat

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. – 1 Samuel 4:1-11 ESV

This chapter opens with the rather cryptic statement: “And the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Samuel 4:1 ESV). What “word” did Israel receive and how was it communicated? At this point in the story, Samuel is still a young boy serving in the household of Eli, the high priest. Yet, as chapter 3 records, he was given the privilege of hearing the voice of God delivering a divine message that warned of pending judgment on the house of Eli and the nation of Israel.

“Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” – 1 Samuel 3:11-13 ESV

That same chapter ends with a pronouncement declaring that “all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:20 ESV). That nocturnal visit from the Almighty changed Samuel’s life forever, transforming the young servant boy into God's official spokesman. Chapter 3 opened with the dire pronouncement, “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (1 Samuel 3:1 ESV). For 40 years, Eli had served as the God-appointed judge of Israel (1 Samuel 4:18), but in his old age, he had grown complacent and spiritually weak. For years, he had permitted his sons to violate God’s laws and desecrate the Tabernacle with their ungodly behavior, and God had seen enough.

“Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” – 1 Samuel 2:29 ESV

As part of His punishment of Eli, God had gone silent; no longer speaking to Eli or revealing Himself in visions. Yet, with His commissioning of Samuel, God opened up the lines of communication again. 

Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground…the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 3:19, 21 ESV

Evidently, one of the first messages God had Samuel deliver to the nation of Israel was for them to enter into battle against the Philistines. At this point in history, no superpower threatened to conquer the land of Canaan. The various people groups that occupied the land regularly vied for territorial primacy through raids and small-scale battles. The Philistines had originally migrated from Caphtor, the Hebrew name for the island of Crete (Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4), and had grown to be one of the most powerful nations in the land of Canaan. Their use of iron weapons and Greek military tactics made them a formidable enemy and a constant source of worry for the nation of Israel.

Samuel apparently communicated God’s word to the people of Israel, ordering them to take on an enemy that was more experienced at war and possessed superior weaponry, and the people obeyed. But things didn’t go as expected.

The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. – 1 Samuel 4:2 ESV

This devastating loss left the Israelites confused and dejected. They couldn’t believe that God would have ordered them into battle only to allow them to lose. Something was wrong. Something was missing. In their post-battle assessment meeting, they determined that their loss was due to the absence of the Ark of the Covenant. There is no precedent for this conclusion, but that didn’t stop the Israelites from assuming that the Ark could be used as a kind of weapon of mass destruction.

“Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies.” – 1 Samuel 4:3 NLT

They didn't really know or understand God. At no point do the leaders of Israel consider that their loss might be due to their own unfaithfulness. In an attempt to explain their loss, they rightly blame the lack of God’s presence and power, but they incorrectly tie it to the Ark of the Covenant. The passage makes it clear that their motivation for sending for the Ark was because they understood it to be God’s throne.

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. – 1 Samuel 4:4 ESV

The Book of Exodus records the instructions God gave to Moses for the fabrication of the Ark of the Covenant.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:17-22 ESV

The Israelites wrongly assumed that God was somehow relegated to the Holy of Holies and literally dwelled over the mercy seat. So, if they brought the Ark into battle with them, God would come with it. In a sense, they turned the Ark into a totem or talisman for good luck. They were treating it like an idol or a good luck charm and, in so doing, they revealed unawareness of God’s nature, power, and presence. He was not a genie in a bottle they could cart into battle and use as a tool to ensure their success. He was God Almighty and He demanded obedience and faithfulness from His people.

What’s interesting to note is that they sent for “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 4:4 ESV). Contained within the ark were the original stone tablets on which were inscribed God’s law. When God had redeemed the nation of Israel from their captivity in Egypt and led them to Mount Sinai, He had declared His plans for them.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 25:5-6 ESV

And the people had confidently responded, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8 ESV). However, upon their arrival in Canaan, the Israelites repeatedly violated their covenant commitment to God. The whole period of the judges was a monotonous cycle of sin, judgment, repentance, and deliverance. The inability of the people of Israel to remain faithful to God brought His judgment in the form of enemies and defeat. When the people would call out to God in repentance, He would send a judge to deliver them. But their change of heart would prove to be shortlived and they would repeat the cycle all over again.

In sending for “the ark of the covenant,” the Israelites were actually indicting themselves. With the ark came the covenant, and it bore witness to the violation of their covenant commitment to God. If they wanted to experience God’s presence and power, they would need to repent and obey, not retrieve the ark and treat it like a secret weapon.

At no point do the leaders of Israel seek the counsel of Samuel or the will of God. They send for the ark and it enters into camp accompanied by Hophni and Phinehas, the two condemned sons of Eli. But the ark’s arrival produces a much-needed boost to the Israelites’ morale. They shout in triumph as the ark enters the camp, believing their victory over the enemy is now assured. Even the Philistines are impacted by the news of the ark’s arrival, superstitiously concluding that the gods of the Israelites have entered the camp and come to their rescue.

“The gods have come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.” – 1 Samuel 4:7-8 NLT

However, the Philistines’ fears proved unfounded because things didn’t turn out as Israel had planned. The ark wasn’t the secret weapon they hoped it would be. In fact, the Philistines ended up winning a lopsided victory and taking the ark as plunder. Things would not have gone worse for the Israelites. To make matters even worse, Hophni and Phinehas were killed in battle.

The Israelites had not just been defeated, they had been demoralized. The ark had been captured, their priests had been killed, and 30,000 of their men had died in battle. It was an unmitigated disaster and things were going to get worse before they got better. God had sent them into battle and He had preordained the outcome. Every part of this devastating defeat had been the will of God, including the deaths of Eli’s two sons. God had warned Eli in advance that their fate was sealed.

“…to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!” – 1 Samuel 2:34 NLT

God was purging the evil from the camp and He was far from done. He was divinely orchestrating the next phase of Israel’s existence and preparing the way for a much-needed revival among His chosen people.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Less-Than-Orderly Transfer of Power

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 3:1-21 ESV

This chapter forms an important transition between chapters 2 and 4 by chronicling God’s calling of the young boy Samuel. These 21 verses are sandwiched between two events in Israel’s history that showcase the nation’s less-than-stellar relationship with the Lord. 

Chapter 2 introduced the two sons of Eli the high priest. According to the author, these two middle-aged men were worthless and did not know the Lord, yet they served as priests in the Tabernacle. Their penchant for breaking God’s laws and using the sacrificial system as a means for personal gain was well-known. Even news of their immoral sexual encounters with the women who served at the gate of the Tabernacle had reached the ears of their father, but he had done nothing to put a stop to it.

As priests, Hophni and Phinehas should have served as models of righteousness and faithfulness for the people of Israel but, instead, they set a precedence for unbridled decadence and the pursuit of personal pleasure. The apostle Paul provides an apt description of such individuals in his letter to the church in Philippi.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. – Philippians 3:19 NLT

Based on the X-rated exploits of these two pseudo-priests, it’s no surprise that chapter 2 opens up with the rather dire news that “messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon” (1 Samuel 3:1 NLT). The spiritual state of Israel was at an all-time low and God’s interactions with His people were scarce. The Book of 1 Samuel began when the nation of Israel was coming off a prolonged period marked by disobedience and God’s discipline. After arriving in the land of Canaan, they spent hundreds of years living a roller-coaster existence as God’s chosen people. He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and led them to the promised land, but they had failed to live up to their covenant commitments. The opening chapters of the Book of Judges record the sad state of affairs in those dark days of Israel’s history.

The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. This made the LORD burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. Every time Israel went out to battle, the LORD fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.

Then the LORD raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commands. – Judges 2:11-17 NLT

As the Book of 1 Samuel opens, the nation of Israel is still under the judgeship of Samson, another far-from-perfect individual who, like Samuel, had been placed under the Nazirite vow by his mother. This highly flawed man was serving as a judge over Israel during a time when God was using the Philistines as His chosen instrument of judgment against His disobedient people.

Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.

In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” – Judges 13:1-5 NLT

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? His story is much like that of Samuel but there are significant differences in the lives of these two individuals. Samson was an impetuous young man of prodigious strength but questionable moral character. He had an eye for the opposite sex and struggled with self-control. He would serve as Israel’s judge for 20 years and his tenure likely began about the time Eli died. According to chapter 4, Eli’s death took place during the battle of Aphek. Upon receiving news that his two sons had been killed during the battle, Eli “fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years” (1 Samuel 4:18 NLT). 

Samson would step into Eli’s vacated role as judge and serve as God’s appointed agent of deliverance from the Philistine onslaught. But his life and leadership would prove to be far from ideal. The story of his untimely and unflattering demise is recorded in Judges 16. He died a humiliating death but brought one final victory against the enemies of Israel.

But before God chose Samson to serve as a judge, the young boy Samuel had his personal encounter with God Almighty. One night, while sleeping in the Tabernacle, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. Mistaking this voice for that of Eli, Samuel ran to his elderly mentor, only to find out that Eli had not called him. This pattern repeated itself three different times with the same result. On the third occasion, Eli deduced that Samuel must be hearing the voice of the Lord, so instructed his young protege to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9 NLT).

Samuel returned to bed, only to be awakened by the voice a fourth time. Following Eli’s instructions, Samuel spoke to the voice and heard the following reply:

“I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” – 1 Samuel 3:11-14 NLT

This news came as a shock to the young acolyte, and when he awoke the next morning, “he was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him” (1 Samuel 3:15 NLT). Yet, when pressed by his mentor, Samuel divulged the content of the Lord’s message, prompting Eli to respond, “It is the Lord’s will…Let him do what he thinks best” (1 Samuel 3:18 NLT).

Eli knew that God was going to fulfill His vow to deal with the sins of Hophni and Phinehas. It was all just a matter of time. This elderly priest had resigned himself to the fact that judgment was coming against him and his household, but that God had raised up Samuel to serve a vital role in the future of the nation of Israel. For Eli and his sons, the days ahead would be bleak but God had a plan for His chosen people that would ensure a much brighter tomorrow. He would use Samuel to usher in a new era of spiritual revitalization and nationalistic aspirations. The chapter ends on a promising note.

Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 3:19-21 ESV

But this feint glimmer of light is followed by a dark tale of divine judgment. God was going to fulfill the vow He had made to Eli. The message He delivered to Samuel in the Tabernacle was about to come to fruition. Lacking adequate spiritual leadership and faced with the threat of ongoing Philistine aggression, the people of God will take matters into their own hands and try to solve a spiritual problem through earthly means. Samuel has been called but his ministry has yet to begin. First, God must deal with Eli and his sons, setting the stage for Samuel’s rise to prominence and power.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Indestructible and Unstoppable Plan

27 And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. 34 And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. 35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. 36 And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’” – 1 Samuel 2:27-36 ESV

Eli had heard the reports concerning the behavior of his sons and he had confronted and warned them but his words had fallen on deaf ears. His adult sons displayed no fear of God and a stubborn unwillingness to repent from their blasphemous actions. As their father and priestly superior, Eli was ultimately responsible for their behavior. He was the high priest of Israel and was tasked with maintaining the holiness of God’s dwelling place, the Tabernacle. Yet, by their actions, his own sons were desecrating God’s house and treating their priestly role with contempt.

God had set apart the tribe of Levi to be the caretakers of the Tabernacle and the custodians of the Mosaic Law, and He had warned them: “You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy” (Leviticus 22:31-32 NLT).

But Hophni and Phinehas had defamed God’s name and their father failed to deal with them appropriately. So, God stepped in and declared His intention to mete out justice. But first, He confronted Eli about his negligence in handling the problem.

“I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!” – 1 Samuel 2:28-29 NLT

God reminded Eli of the distinctive nature of the Levitical priesthood. Aaron, the brother of Moses, had not earned his role as the first high priest, and the tribe of Levi had done nothing to deserve their set-apart status as God’s priestly caste. God had graciously chosen them and designated them as His personal servants.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood.” – Numbers 3:5-10 NLT

But these men had blatantly violated their divine commission and failed to guard their priesthood. And when Eli neglected his duties as the high priest by allowing this egregious behavior to continue unchecked, God was obligated to protect the integrity of His name.

“I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame…” – Ezekiel 36:23 NLT

God warned Eli that judgment was coming.

“I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” – 1 Samuel 2:30 ESV

The role of priest was a privilege but it came with conditions. Only members of the tribe of Levi could serve in this distinctive capacity but their uniqueness as God’s servants required faithfulness and a commitment to honor Him at all costs. While all the tribes of Israel were important to God, He had placed a special emphasis on this one tribe and had promised to protect and provide for them.

“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.” – Numbers 3:12-13 ESV

“You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.” – Numbers 18:20 ESV

The elderly Eli must have been stunned by the divine pronouncement delivered by the prophet of God.

“The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.” – 1 Samuel 2:31 ESV

The consequences were far worse than anything Eli could have imagined. Not only would his sons receive divine judgment for their sins, but his entire line would suffer early and untimely deaths. It would not be enough for them to lose their rights to serve as priests; they must suffer the just and righteous consequences for their actions.

This punishment may seem overly severe to our modern sensibilities, but it reflects the weighty nature of the sin of Hophne and Phinehas. They had dishonored not only their priestly position but also the name of God. And it would appear that their actions had already infected the rest of their clan. Sin never operates in a vacuum; it tends to spread and infect others. So, it is likely that the actions of Hophne and Phinehas, while the prime focus of this passage, were far from isolated or unique. The entire clan of Eli had become corrupt and unworthy of serving as God’s servants.

The intensity of God’s pronouncement must not be overlooked. Eli needed to fully understand the weight of his sons’ actions. God was making a powerful and unforgettable statement about sin and its consequences, and to drive home His message, God informs Eli that both of his sons will suffer death on the very same day. Their lives of decadence and disobedience will come to a quick and ignominious end.

The final paragraph of this chapter contains a glimmer of hope surrounding a dark cloud of sorrow for Eli. With the death of Eli’s sons, God promises to raise up their replacement.

“Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.” – 1 Samuel 2:35 NLT

This would not have come across as good news to Eli. But it was God’s way of promoting His providential and sovereign will. Despite what Hophne and Phinehas had done, God’s plan would prevail. While the clan of Eli would lose their priestly rights and die untimely deaths, God had another line of Levites who could serve in their place.

God was informing Eli that His will would still be done. The sins of Hophne and Phinehas and the negligence of Eli could not alter God’s divine plan. And this prophetic promise from God is meant to highlight the immediate as well as the distant future. As the following chapters of this book will reveal, Samuel will fulfill this promise – in part. But centuries later, during the reign of King Solomon, Zadok became the high priest, replacing Abiathar, a descendant of Eli. From that point forward, no other member of Eli’s clan will serve in that capacity. 

But the final fulfillment of God’s promise will take place with the coming of Jesus, who served as the final high priest even though He was not of the tribe of Levi. The author of the Book of Hebrews spells out how Jesus, a member of the tribe of Judah, became the great high priest and fulfilled the promise of God.

So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?

And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. – Hebrews 7:11-16 NLT

Hophne and Phinehas had blown it, and Eli had refused to deal with it. But God was not done yet. His plan is indestructible and unstoppable. The entire clan of Eli could drop the ball and God would not miss a beat. He already had Samuel in place and, in time, the guilty would suffer the consequences for their sins and the next step in God’s divine plan wouid unfold. And the opening line of the very next chapter sets the tone for all that is to come.

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. – 1 Samuel 3:1 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Wanted: A Divine Deliverer

22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man. – 1 Samuel 2:22-26 ESV

It’s interesting to note that this short section is bookended by two verses that provide a stark contrast to the scene going on in and around the Tabernacle. We’ve already been given an unflattering glimpse into the spiritual state of the priestly caste of Israel. Now Samuel records the dysfunctional relationship between Eli and his two wicked sons. These three men represent the spiritual elite of Israel. They were to be the keepers of the flame of faith, instructing the people in the ways of God and helping them maintain a right relationship with Him through the faithful administration of the sacrificial system.

But Hophni and Phinehas were “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV). Their personal relationships with God were not what He had intended them to be. Rather than faithfully executing their duties as the teachers of God’s statutes and the mediators of His grace-based sacrificial system, these men had become icons for vice rather than virtue.  Yet, despite their flawed faith and penchant for wickedness, “Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord” (Samuel 2:21 ESV). Even while growing up in a less-than-ideal environment with Hophni and Phinehas as his spiritual mentors and advisors, Samuel managed to maintain his faith in God. Verse 26 states that “the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man” (1 Samuel 2:26 ESV).

That rather matter-of-fact statement conveys a powerful message about God’s sovereignty and power. That Samuel could experience even a modicum of spiritual growth in an atmosphere of such wickedness is nothing short of a miracle. God was personally overseeing this young boy’s spiritual journey and protecting him from the evil influence of his two older mentors.

It should not be overlooked that Samuel was spending all his waking moments with these two men. Ever since his mother handed him over to Eli in fulfillment of her vow, Samuel had been immersed in a household of moral corruption and parental dysfunction. That is not to say that Eli himself was guilty of the same wickedness as his two sons or complicit in their immoral activities. The text seems to indicate that he was either clueless about their X-rated exploits or had decided to turn a blind eye to all that was going on in his household.

Eli was an old man who had lived a long life and was ready to turn over the priestly responsibilities to his two sons. Yet, he kept hearing rumors about their activities that should have provided him with ample evidence that his sons were unqualified for their roles.

…he would hear about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel and how they used to go to bed with the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. – 1 Samuel 2:22 NLT

It seems obvious from the text that this news disturbed Eli because he confronted his sons about it. As the high priest, he knew they were in direct violation of God’s commands.

“They [the priests] must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.” – Leviticus 21:6 NLT

“The high priest may marry only a virgin. He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.” – Leviticus 21:13-15 NLT

“Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord. 3 Give them the following instructions.” – Leviticus 22:2 NLT

Hophni and Phinehas had broken every one of these commands, and Eli knew their actions were worthy of death. God had clearly stipulated the punishment for priestly disobedience.

“The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the Lord who makes them holy.” – Leviticus 22:9 NLT

But rather than mete out God’s justice, Eli took a more passive approach, he tried to reason with his sons. Desperate to see his sons change the error of their ways, Eli pleaded, “Why do you do these things, these evil things that I hear about from all these people?  No, my sons! For the report that I hear circulating among the Lord’s people is not good” (1 Samuel 2:23-24 NLT).

Talk about a gross understatement. Eli doesn’t seem to doubt the rumors about his sons’s activities, but he diminishes the weight of their actions by describing them as “not good.” But he knew better. He even warned his sons that, if even half of what the rumors said was true, God would be forced to act.

“…if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” – 1 Samuel 2:25 NLT

To be fair, Eli did warn his sons but he refused to take action. As the high priest, he was obligated to step in and preserve the sanctity of God’s house. His two sons had committed sins against God that were worthy of death but he refused to do the right thing. As a father, he kept hoping they would change their ways. But the text states that they were unwilling to repent.

“But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.” – 1 Samuel 2:25 ESV

That last line is somewhat disconcerting because it paints a rather disturbing picture of God. It conveys the idea that God prevented their repentance because He had preordained their deaths. It is reminiscent of an interaction between Moses and Pharaoh. The Book of Exodus states the following: “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the LORD had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen” (Exodus 9:12 NLT).

God had just brought a plague of debilitating boils on the people of Egypt in an attempt to persuade Pharaoh to release the people of Israel from their enslavement. But Pharaoh refused to comply with God’s command because God had hardened his heart. This is one of several occasions when God is said to have stepped in and prevented Pharaoh from changing his mind. But the fact is that Pharaoh already had a hardened heart and he had demonstrated his obstinance repeatedly. Any chance of Pharaoh changing his mind was completely dependent upon the grace and mercy of God. The only hope Pharaoh had of repenting was if God had softened his already-hardened heart. So, when it states that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, it is best to understand it as a statement of inaction. He refused to intervene and empower Pharaoh to do the right thing. Why? Because God had a plan that included ten plagues and the ultimate release of His enslaved people. 

God had a plan for Hophni and Phinehas as well. Their hearts were wicked and the only chance they had of changing the error of their ways was if God intervened and transformed them from the inside out. But their fate was sealed. They had repeatedly violated God’s commands, desecrated His Tabernacle, and defamed His name. Now they would suffer the consequences.

The sinful actions of Hophni and Phinehas were nothing new. Likely, these men were well into their 50s by the time this story unfolds. So, they were not impulsive young men who lacked understanding or maturity. They were seasoned veterans who had developed a lifelong habit of violating God’s commands, and He had seen enough. It was time to clean house and start again.

That’s why this passage ends with the statement: “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man” (1 Samuel 2:26 ESV). God already had a plan in place that included judgment on the house of Eli and the elevation of Samuel to the dual roles of priest and prophet of Israel. All that has happened in the story thus far has been the result of God’s sovereign plan. Despite the unfaithfulness of Hophni and Phinehas and the inaction of Eli, God was faithfully implementing His plan to restore order to the chaos. He was acting, not reacting. He was implementing His plan, not impulsively but strategically.

As the following verses will make clear, God had plans for Eli and his sons. But He also had plans for Samuel and the people of Israel. Long before the need arose, God determined a solution to Israel’s leadership crisis. He miraculously ordained the birth of a baby who would grow to be Israel’s deliverer. Just as He had done with Moses, God would raise up and preserve a man who would serve as His messenger and mediator. In a time when the people of God were desperate for deliverance, God provided a divinely ordained deliverer to do the job.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Light in the Darkness

12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 2:12-21 ESV

The Old Testament is brutally raw in how it depicts the sinfulness of man. It doesn’t attempt to sugarcoat the facts but presents an uncensored and painfully unflattering portrait of mankind’s moral failings. Even the Jews, having been chosen by God and given His law, couldn't manage to live in faithfulness and obedience to His commands. Their incessant failure to remain faithful to God is chronicled throughout the pages of the Old Testament.

Chapter 1 introduced Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, who served as priests of Yahweh at the Tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3). These young men were responsible for administering the sacrificial rites associated with the Mosaic Law, and the Book of Leviticus spells out the requirements God placed on their role.

“You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the Lord has given them through Moses.” – Leviticus 10:10-11 NLT

The priests of God were expected to live exemplary lives, modeling righteous behavior and teaching God’s exacting standards to His chosen people. Yet Hophni and Phinehas are described as “scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their duties as priests” (1 Samuel 2:12-13 NLT). This isn’t exactly a glowing job review and its placement immediately after Hannah’s inspiring prayer of gratitude and reverence for God is intentional. 

While Hannah offered praise to God for His power, grace, sovereignty, and mercy, Hophni and Phinehas were busy desecrating His Tabernacle and disobeying His commands. In her song of praise, Hannah unknowingly describes the behavior and fate of these two men.

“He will protect his faithful ones,
    but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
    Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
    the Lord judges throughout the earth.” – 1 Samuel 2:9-10 NLT

Hophni and Phinehas were wicked; they were using their position as priests of God for personal gain and to satisfy their own perverse desires. Samuel’s recollection of these men is far from flattering.

…the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt. – 1 Samuel 2:17 ESV

But what had they done to deserve such a damning assessment? The text makes their crime painfully clear. They treated God’s sacrificial system with contempt, using it as a means for personal gain rather than purification from sin. They had come up with a plan that allowed them to profit from their role as priests.

Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. – 1 Samuel 2:13-14 NLT

This was in direct violation of God’s commands concerning the sacrifices. According to the Book of Leviticus, God had prescribed which portion of the sacrifice was to be given to the priest.

“…the priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his descendants. Give the right thigh of your peace offering to the priest as a gift. The right thigh must always be given to the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the peace offering. For I have reserved the breast of the special offering and the right thigh of the sacred offering for the priests. It is the permanent right of Aaron and his descendants to share in the peace offerings brought by the people of Israel.” – Leviticus 7:31-34 NLT

But Hophni and Phinehas weren’t satisfied with God’s provision; they wanted more. These two represent everything that is wrong with Israel. As priests of God, they should have lived lives that were set apart to God. Instead, they lived immoral lives marked by greed, corruption, sexual promiscuity, and a total disregard for the laws of God. The text describes them as worthless men who did not know God (1 Samuel 2:12). They were literally "good for nothing." And while they obviously knew who God was, they did not recognize or acknowledge His authority over them. They lived as if they were gods, dictating their own rules and selfishly satisfying their own desires. These men were gluttonous and covetous, unwilling to limit their greed to the consumption of food. They were also guilty of gross immorality, using their status as priests to satisfy their perverse sexual desires, a fact their father knew well.

He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. – 1 Samuel 2:22 NLT

They had no fear of God, as evidenced by their blatant abuse of the sacrificial system. They used their positions as God's priests for personal gain and pleasure, and their father proved incapable of controlling them.

The story of Hophne and Phinehas reveals how bad things had gotten during the days before Israel had a king; even the priesthood had become corrupt. They were immoral and unfaithful, showing more concern for their own personal pleasure than they did for God and His law. This vivid portrayal of man's sinfulness provides a stark backdrop onto which the coming of the Son of God will be displayed in the New Testament. God will clearly show that man's sin was so great and his need for a source of salvation outside of himself was so necessary, that when Jesus appears on the scene, men should have flocked to His presence, begging Him for salvation from their sins.

It’s important to note that this rather dark and depressing depiction of the sins of Hophni and Phinehas is followed by a faint glimmer of hope. The contemptuous and impetuous sons of Eli are contrasted with the young adolescent Samuel, who has grown to be a young boy in the middle of all this immorality and disobedience.

But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. – 1 Samuel 2:18 NLT

The boy served the Lord while the men desecrated His character and defiled His Tabernacle. This young innocent child provides a stark contrast that sets the stage for God’s intervention into the sordid story of Hophni and Phinehas. God’s priests had gone rogue, disobeying His will and defaming the character of His name by their behavior. But God was getting ready to step in and rectify the situation. He had a plan in place and Samuel would be an integral part of it.

It would be easy to demonize Hophne and Phinehas. In our own self-righteousness, we could condemn them for their blatantly sinful behavior and wonder how they could have gone so bad so fast. But as the old saying goes, “But for the grace of God go I.” All of us are capable of the same degree of sins as these two young men. Their story is there to remind us of our own capacity to sin against God.

One of the saddest statements of all of Scripture is the one used to describe them: “They did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV). They were sons of the high priest of Israel and served as priests themselves. Yet, they did not know the Lord. This doesn’t mean they had no idea who God was, but that they didn't understand just how serious He was about His commands. They treated God's law flippantly and with disdain. The NET Bible translates verse 12 this way: “They did not recognize the Lord’s authority.” They viewed God's laws as optional, obeying their own sinful desires and passions instead.

That is a risk we all face. When we disobey God we act as if we don't even know Him. As Paul said, “The Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2 ESV), but they failed to obey those oracles. They regularly refused to do what they knew to be the non-negotiable laws of God. And in doing so, they lived no differently than the Gentiles who didn't know God at all. In fact, their guilt was even greater.

But God has raised up a Samuel. He has ordained an unlikely and unexpected alternative to Hophni and Phinehas. This young boy, the byproduct of a miraculous birth, had been dedicated to God’s service and would prove to be a divine ray of hope in the sin-darkened world of his day.

Hannah had dedicated her son to God and, little did she know that God had big plans for him. But her sacrifice was met with grace and mercy, as God provided her with five additional children. Her obedience to God was rewarded with blessings. But the greatest blessing she would ever receive would be the knowledge that her son would become an instrument in the hands of God Almighty. Even from a distance, she would have the joy of watching Samuel grow in God’s grace and become a beacon of light in a world cloaked in darkness 

…the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 2:21 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Learning to Trust God

1 And Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
    my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
    because I rejoice in your salvation.

2 “There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    against them he will thunder in heaven.
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 home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. – 1 Samuel 2:1-11 ESV

Hannah had suffered from and struggled with barrenness. There must have been times when she wondered where God was as she endured this embarrassing and debilitating condition. She had to have had moments of doubt as she questioned God's care for her. But ultimately, she took her concern to God, because she knew He was the only one who could do anything about it, and, in time, she learned that God was in control. He controls everything from the barren womb to the one who reigns in the throne room. He lifts up and He brings down. He humbles and He exalts. He gives life and He takes it away.

While this view of God may make us uncomfortable and raise all kinds of ethical and theological questions, it is the key to understanding the world in which we live. Some find this view distasteful and unsatisfactory. It paints God as some kind of an evil ogre who sits in heaven wreaking havoc on mankind, indiscriminately taking life and allowing injustice to take place. Their conclusion seems to be that if God is responsible for all those who rule, then He must be held responsible for all the tyrants, dictators, and corrupt despots who bring pain and suffering to so many.

The question is whether God causes evil, and the answer is no. All that God does is just and right. He is holy and righteous. He can do no wrong. He can commit no evil. But evil exists because sin entered into the world He had made. Man rebelled against God and the result has been a steady increase in sin, to the point where all looks lost and the world seems to be spinning out of control. But despite what we see, we must remember that God is still in control; He works behind the scenes to fulfill His divine plan in ways we cannot see or comprehend. What we see with our eyes may not make sense to us. It may seem unfair and unjust but we must always remember that our God is loving, just, merciful, gracious, and sovereignly working His plan – for our good and His own glory.

This chapter begins with a second and much longer prayer of Hannah. This time, she expresses joy rather than despair. Rather than begging God to show mercy and provide her with a son, she declares her gratitude for His miraculous answer to her previous prayer. She had made a request and God responded.

One would think this was a sad day in Hannah's life. After all, she had waited so many years and suffered so much ridicule, and now that she had been blessed with a son, she had to give the most precious thing in her life to God. Because of her vow, she was required to leave her small child in the hands of others and simply walk away. While there is little doubt that Hannah’s heart was full of sadness, what she expressed to God reveals no regret, remorse, or unhappiness. Instead, she states, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1 ESV).

Having just placed her young son in Eli’s care, she rejoiced. She expressed joy in the Lord, thanking Him for what He had done. Not only had He given her a son, but God had “exalted her horn.” That unique expression doesn't mean much to us in our modern cultural context but in an agrarian culture, the horn of an animal was a symbol of strength. An animal lifting up its horn was synonymous with power and virility. Hannah's strength had been renewed by God. She was confident and content with her lot in life because God had blessed her. She had once been childless, but now she could rejoice because God had shown her favor. She was more than willing to keep her vow to God because He had saved her from her humiliation and allowed her to experience the joy of giving birth to a son.

In all of this, Hannah's main takeaway was the uniqueness of her God. He was incomparable. Her God was not distant or disinterested in her problems. He cared for her greatly and took a personal interest in her life. He had taken her barrenness and turned it into a blessing. He had replaced her humiliation with hope. Yes, she had just given her son to God, but she did so because God had given her son to her. It was the least she could do.

Hannah viewed the Giver as greater than the gift, and she could do all this because she recognized the greatness of God. She knew Him to be holy, set apart, and without peer or comparison. Her God was her rock. The Hebrew word she uses is tsuwr and it refers to a rocky cliff where one can find shelter. For Hannah, God was a refuge and protector from her enemies. No more would she have to suffer ridicule and endure the shame of her barrenness. God had done the impossible for her. So, she shouts his praises.

“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.” – 1 Samuel 2:2 ESV

While she had just handed over her son to Eli,the priest, Hannah didn't wallow in regret and sadness; instead, she rejoiced. She praised God and was more than willing to give back to the one who had given to her. God hadn't just given her a son, He had given her hope, joy, strength, and a new capacity to face the future confidently because God was with her. He heard her and answered her when she called. As far as Hannah was concerned, her life and her son were both in good hands.

Hannah declares that “The Lord is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3 ESV). What an interesting statement for Hannah to make, but it came from her own experience with Him. He had seen her distress, heard her cry for help, and had answered. Now Hannah expressed praise for all He had done, but also for who He was. Her God was all-knowing. Nothing escaped His notice. He saw all that was going on. He knew of Hannah's plight. He was fully aware of her barrenness. He also knew of her ill-treatment at the hands of her husband's second wife. The God to whom Hannah prayed was wise, caring, compassionate, and just. He cared for the humble and the hurting. He came alongside the hungry and the hopeless. How did Hannah know this? She had experienced it.

She was the recipient of God's grace, mercy, and love. She had been downcast and He had lifted her up. She had been barren, but God had given her a son. She had cried out and God had answered.

This prayer is not a promise that God will right every wrong in our lifetime. It is not a guarantee that God will eliminate every problem we face. It is certainly not telling us that every barren woman who cries out to God will bear a child. But it is a sobering reminder that our God is sovereign; He knows all. He is fully aware of all that is going on in our lives.

If we are facing injustice or ill-treatment, God knows. If we are suffering from hunger or facing unemployment, God knows. If our spouse treats us with contempt, God knows. If our child is living in open rebellion against us and God, He knows. And while God's answer may not come in the same way as it did for Hannah, He will answer us when we call out to Him. We can cry out and know He hears, sees, and cares for us. He has a plan in mind for us.

Hannah had no idea what role her son, Samuel, would play in the future affairs of the nation of Israel. She was clueless as to what was going to happen as a result of her dedication of Samuel to God. But she knew that God knew. God had told the people of Israel living in exile in Babylon, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). Things looked bleak but God was in full control of their circumstances. In the same way, Hannah had learned to trust God for the less-than-ideal circumstances of her own life. She had discovered that He was a sovereign, just, all-powerful, merciful, and loving God. He can exalt the lowly, humble the prideful, bless the barren, knock the arrogant down to size, protect the weak, defeat the strong, and right wrongs.

The key to faith is believing these truths without necessarily having seen them or experienced them. It is to pray expectantly to God, hopefully waiting on His answer because we trust in His character. It is why Hannah cried out to God in the first place.

“O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – 1 Samuel 1:11 ESV

She was appealing to God based on what she believed about Him. He looks on the affliction of His servants. He remembers and does not forget. He knows. He sees. He answers. He is just, righteous, good, and gracious.

It is interesting to note that this prayer contains NO petition. Hannah doesn’t ask for anything; she simply praises God for who He is. It is a prayer of thanksgiving for what He has done. It is an acknowledgment of His sovereignty and a statement of His character. While Hannah was grateful for the son God had so graciously given her, she would be going home without him. He belonged to God now. And yet, her prayer is one of joy, gratitude, and worship. Because the real gift she had received was the knowledge that God loved her and cared about her.

Rather than make her son the object of her worship, she focused her attention on the one who had made his birth possible. Too often we worship the gift rather than the Giver. We end up focusing on what we hope to get from God rather than on God Himself. Our desire for blessings from God can overshadow our worship of God. When faced with a difficulty or trial, it is enough to know that God knows. We can share our requests. We can make known our desires. But our faith grows as we learn to trust Him for the outcome. He knows what is best. He will do what is right. We can trust Him.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Barren, But Not Forgotten

1  There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ­

3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” – 1 Samuel 1:1-8 ESV

The book of 1 Samuel is part of a two-book set that includes 2 Samuel. At one point, these two books were actually one book that was divided when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. This Greek translation took place in the third and second century B.C. and was known as the Septuagint, which comes from the Latin word for “seventy.” Tradition holds that 70 Hebrew scholars translated the original book into Greek because it had become the dominant language in Israel during those days.

The men who painstakingly translated the original Hebrew text into Greek made the determination to split the original book into two segments, calling them 1 and 2 Kingdoms. It wasn’t until 400 A.D. that Jerome used the designation “Samuel” when he provided a Latin translation of the entire Bible called the Vulgate. Since then, the two-book format has remained as well as the title of “Samuel,” a nod to one of the primary characters in the two books. While the lives of the first two kings of Israel will appear in these books, Samuel the prophet anointed them both, making him a central character in the narrative. For many centuries, it was believed that Samuel was also the author of two books, but that idea has come under fire because much of the content covers the time after Samuel’s death (1 Samuel 25-2 Samuel 24).

Both books chronicle a time that took place at the tail-end of the period of the judges. Eli, a priest of God, who will appear in verse 9, had judged Israel for 40 years (1 Samuel 4:18). As the story unfolds, this overweight and irresponsible man will come to represent all that is wrong with Israel.

The opening chapters of 1 Samuel provide the fascinating story of Ei’s downfall and his replacement by Samuel, the man whom God had divinely ordained to take his place. God steps into the scene of rampant disobedience and moral decay that was so clearly portrayed in the book of Judges and graciously provides a much-needed wake-up call to the people. The first two chapters of this book present a series of contrasts: Eli and Samuel, Hannah and Peninnah, and the sons of Eli and the son of Hannah. God seems to be setting the stage for change. After 350 years of moral decline and spiritual apathy, God is about to do something great.

Despite all the spiritual decadence that seemed to mark the people of God during the period of the judges, we see in these two chapters that not everyone had abandoned God. The first two verses introduce the reader to an unknown and unlikely character whose role in God’s plans for the nation of Israel may be difficult to comprehend or reconcile.

Hannah is the wife of a man named Elkanah, a Levite who still faithfully sacrifices to Yahweh each year at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Elkanah is a direct descendant of Kohath, one of the sons of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:16-30), but he lives in one of the Levitical cities located within the territory allotted to the tribe of Ephraim.

This man, a member of the tribe of Levi and part of the clan of Kohath was responsible for caring for the objects associated with the Tabernacle.

“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.” – Numbers 4:4 ESV

During Israel’s days of wilderness wandering, when the Tabernacle had to be transported from one place to another, the Kohathites were tasked with carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, and other holy items. But once Israel entered the promised land, the Tabernacle was erected in Shiloh and the role of the Kohathites was greatly diminished. But the text tells us that Elkanah continued to travel to Shiloh once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle. This man remained faithful to God and obedient to keep the designated feast days outlined in the Mosaic Law.

But Elkanah was a bigamist. This man of God had taken two wives, a not uncommon practice in that day, but one that was in direct violation of God’s ordained will.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. – Genesis 2:24 ESV

Nowhere in Scripture does God condone the practice of bigamy and in almost all cases where God’s people engaged in it, the outcomes are less than ideal. The lives of the patriarchs give ample testimony to the risky nature of this worldly and purely sin-prone practice.

As this story shows, Hannah is a barren woman with a heavy heart. She cannot provide her husband with any offspring and finds herself in competition with her counterpart, Peninnah. The text makes the conflict abundantly clear: “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children” (1 Samuel 1:2 ESV). Hannah follows in the footsteps of other barren women, like Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and Rebekah, the wife of Isaac.

To make matters worse, Peninnah regularly flouted her fruitfulness in the face of Hannah.

…her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. – 1 Samuel 1:6 ESV

This went on year after year, yet Hannah continued to worship God. She would accompany her husband and Peninnah to Shiloh each year to offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle. According to the Law of Moses, the Israelites were allowed to consume a portion of the meat associated with certain sacrifices. The text states the Elkanah gave “portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters” (1 Samuel 1:4 ESV). But to Hannah, he gave “a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:5 ESV). Yet, this generous expression of love did little to assuage Hannah’s feelings of uselessness due to her infertility. She was frustrated by her inability to return his love by providing him with a son. 

Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. – 1 Samuel 1:7 ESV

She was unconsolable; her grief was unbearable. But Peninnah, despite his deep affection for Hannah, was unable to understand the depth or the source of her sorrow. But God did.

Peninnah and Hannah are provided as contrasts to Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli. Like their father, these two men represent everything that is wrong with Israel. As priests of God, they should have lived lives that were set apart for God but they lived immoral lives marked by greed, corruption, sexual promiscuity, and a total disregard for the laws of God. The text describes them as worthless men who did not know God (1 Samuel 2:12). As will soon become obvious, they were worthless in the eyes of God.  They obviously knew who God was but they did not recognize or acknowledge His authority over them. They operated according to their own will, with no fear of God, as evidenced by their blatant abuse of the sacrificial system. They used their positions as God's priests for personal gain and to satisfy their own desires. And their father Eli did nothing to stop them, probably because he enjoyed some of the benefits of their unethical practices.

But as is always the case, God steps in. He delivers. He takes an obscure woman named Hannah, who just happened to be barren and abused, and uses her to bring about His redemptive plan for the people of Israel. God reveals His strength through her weakness. He takes her moment of need and uses it to show His one-of-a-kind ability to provide for that need and so much more.

Verse 7 reveals Hannah as inconsolable and incapable of enjoying the gracious gift of for provided by her loving husband. But she has a loving God who hears her cries and feels her pain, and He will soon intervene on her behalf. He has a plan for her life that will overshadow the depth of her sorrow. Her life will stand in stark contrast to the two “men of God” who have been set apart for His service but who have chosen to serve themselves. The barren woman will become the fruit-bearer whose seed will begin a new chapter in God’s plans for His chosen people. The era of the judges is coming to a close and the time of the kings is near.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Holy House-Cleaning

26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king replied to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32 The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. – 1 Kings 2:26-35 ESV

After having dealt decisively with his half-brother’s continued deceit by having him put to death, Solomon turned his attention to the accomplices in his failed coup attempt. First, he took care of Abiathar, the priest. But rather than ordering Abiathar’s execution, Solomon decreed that this traitor be removed from his priestly role. The new king was willing to spare Abiathar’s life because he was well aware of his long and faithful service to David. But he was not willing to let the guilty go unpunished, so he humiliated Abiathar by having him defrocked. And Solomon’s decision had far greater ramifications than even he could have known. The author of 1 Kings reveals that Abiathar’s removal from the priesthood fulfilled a prophecy made by God concerning the descendants of Eli, the priest who had served at Shiloh. Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who served alongside their father as priests, but they were “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV).

These two brothers used their priestly role to fulfill their own selfish desires, and “the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt” (1 Samuel 2:17 NLT). They were even guilty of committing sexual sins with “the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle” (1 Samuel 2:22 NLT). Their father, fully aware of their indiscretions, tried to reprimand them but his words fell on deaf ears. They refused to listen to his warnings or change their wicked ways, so God stepped in and delivered a sobering statement of judgment against the house of Eli.

“I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.” – 1 Samuel 2:30-31 NLT

In the short-term, God would take the lives of Hophni and Phinehas. But with Solomon’s removal of Abiathar, another descendant of Eli suffered the humiliating loss of his priestly role. He was allowed to live but would have to bear the constant shame that accompanied his fall from grace.

Having dealt with the prodigal priest, Solomon turned his attention to Joab, the former general over the armies of Israel. This man had been a close friend and ally of David, having served alongside him for many years. But Joab had fallen out of favor with the king because of insubordination. Against the wishes of King David, Joab had taken the lives of two men, Amasa and Abner, both of whom he perceived as threats to his power and prestige. Now, years later, Joab had chosen to align himself with the king’s son, Adonijah, choosing to lend his reputation and military expertise to an attempted takeover of David’s throne. And when Joab heard that Adonijah was dead and Abiathar had been stripped of his priesthood, he knew it was just a matter of time before Solomon came looking for him. So, he sought refuge in the tabernacle, just as Adonijah had done.

But Solomon was not about to show this murderer and traitor any mercy. Instead, he commanded that Joab be executed on the spot. In ordering Joab’s death, Solomon was clearing his father’s dynasty of any responsibility for the unwarranted deaths of Amasa and Abner. As long as Joab remained alive and unpunished for his crimes, his guilt would be shared by the house of David. By removing Joab, Solomon hoped to avoid the condemnation of God and restore the hope of His future blessings on Israel.

“May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the Lord grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne.” – 1 Kings 2:23 NLT

Unlike his father, Solomon wasted no time in dealing with the issues that surrounded him. He had just ascended to the throne but had taken decisive action to clean up the mess his father had left behind. Solomon was quick to deal with the guilty, delivering the appropriate punishment and, in doing so, ensuring the spiritual health of his kingdom. He was also faithfully fulfilling his father’s dying wishes, meting out justice, and repaying the guilty for their crimes.

But Solomon didn’t just purge the sin from their midst. He quickly filled the vacancies created by the removals of Joab and Abiathar by promoting “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army” and anointing “Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar” (1 Kings 2:35 ESV). He surrounded himself with faithful men he could trust and began the important task of establishing the identity that would mark his reign as king.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Sinfulness of Man.

1 Samuel 1-2, Romans 3

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. – Romans 3:10-12 ESV

The Old Testament is brutally raw in how it depicts the sinfulness of man. It does not attempt to sugar coat the facts, but presents life exactly as it was, uncensored and painfully unflattering. Even the Jews, having been chosen by God and given His law, could not seem to live in faithfulness and obedience to His commands. Their incessant failure to remain faithful to God is chronicled throughout the pages of the Old Testament. Take Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, the priest of Israel. These two young men also served as priests, but the writer of 1 Samuel describes them as “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV). They were using their position as priests of God for personal gain and to satisfy their own perverse desires. “Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt” (1 Samuel 2:17 ESV). These two men glaringly illustrate the truth found in Psalm 14:1-3 and quoted by Paul in Romans 3:10-12: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” This passage is not saying that man is incapable of doing good, because we see in 1 Samuel 3 the actions of Hannah are obviously good and righteous. She makes a vow to God and keeps it. She dedicated her son to God and followed through on her commitment. But there are no actions that man may perform that will ever earn him salvation. Even on our best day, our attempts at righteousness fall woefully short. The prophet Isaiah put it this way: “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

Paul makes it clear that God gave the law to the people of Israel in order to reveal their sinfulness. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law come knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20 ESV). The law required perfect obedience and adherence. James wrote concerning the law: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10 ESV). In other words, God's law required perfection. And so it regularly revealed to men their shortcomings. No one was capable of measuring up to God's righteous standards. The story of Hophne and Phinehas shows us just how bad things had gotten during the days before Israel had a king. Even the priesthood had become corrupt. They were immoral and unfaithful, showing more concern for their own personal pleasure than they did for God and His law. This vivid portrayal of the sinfulness of man provides a stark backdrop onto which will be displayed the coming of the Son of God in the New Testament. God will clearly show that man's sin was so great and his need for a source of salvation outside of himself was so necessary, that when Jesus appears on the scene, men should have flocked to His presence, begging Him to save them. Because as Paul wrote, “the whole world may be hold accountable to God” (Romans 3:19 ESV). Paul makes it clear that being made right with God is possible, but only through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:23-25 ESV). In the end, God would remain just in His treatment of man's sin. He would be perfectly within His divine rights to punish the sins of mankind. But the good news is that God is also the justifier. By sending His Son to die for the sins of man, He is able to declare “sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:26 NLT). Jesus became the only man to live in perfect obedience to the law of God, keeping each and every one of them and remaining sinless in the process. And His sinlessness made Him an acceptable sacrifice or payment for the sins of mankind.

What does this passage reveal about man?

It would be easy to demonize Hophne and Phinehas. In our own self-righteousness, we could condemn them for their blatantly sinful behavior and wonder how they could have gone so bad so fast. But as the old saying goes, “But for the grace of God go I.” All of us are capable of the same degree of sins as these two young men. Their story is there to remind us of our own capacity to sin against God. One of the saddest statements of all of Scripture is the one used to describe them: “They did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 ESV). Here were two sons of the priest of Israel, who were priests themselves and as such, offered daily sacrifices before the God of Israel. But they did not know the Lord. This does not mean they had no idea who God was, but that they didn't understand just how serious God was about His commands. They treated God's law flippantly and with disdain. The NET Bible translates verse 12 this way: “They did not recognize the Lord’s authority.” They saw God's laws as optional, obeying their own sinful desires and passions instead. And that is a risk we all face. When we disobey God it is as if we don't even know Him. As Paul said, “The Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2 ESV), but they failed to obey those oracles. They regularly refused to do what they knew to be the non-negotiable laws of God. And in doing so, they lived no differently than the Gentiles who didn't know God at all. In fact, their guilt was even greater.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

My sin is real. At one time it separated me from a relationship with God. And there was nothing I could do to earn favor with Him. I was incapable of living my life in a way that would satisfy the righteous expectations of a holy God. And while I may not have committed sins of the same caliber as Hophne and Phinehas, my guilt was just as great. And yet, God justified me “by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24 ESV). And all it required of me was faith in Jesus Christ as my sin substitute. I simply had to recognize my sin and my need for a Savior. I needed something or someone outside of myself to make it possible for me to be made right with God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-25 ESV).

Father, I have no problem recognizing my own sinfulness. I even acknowledge that there are days when I live as if I don't even know you, just as Hophne and Phinehas did. I willingly ignore Your will for my life, disobeying or sometimes just ignoring Your Word. But You provided payment for my sin. You purchased my life out of slavery to sin and made it possible for me to escape the death sentence I was under. Now you see me through the righteousness of Your Son. My sins are forgiven. My future is secure. But continue to help me live in keeping with the change that has taken place in my life. May I never forget my sinfulness, but always lean on the righteousness of Christ, because apart from Him, all of my works are like filthy rags. Amen