A feeble priest. Failing eyesight. A flickering lamp. But a faithful young servant to carry on! The scene changes. We are now inside the living quarters of the priests at Shiloh. It’s bedtime. A series of markers are given to set the scene. First, we are told that, although young, and unlike Eli’s own sons, […]
Read More… from September 11, 2023 — Speak, For Your Servant Hears
The child Samuel proves that even little flames can show the difference between light and darkness. Immediately following the conclusion of Hannah’s glorious prayer (1 Sam 2:1-10), we catch the interplay between light and darkness with which we are so familiar in this world. Listen to these two sentences: “The child ministered to the Lord […]
People who think “good guys end up last” need to listen to the thrilling words of Hannah’s song. A paean is a song of enthusiastic praise or a celebratory poem of joyful triumph. The second chapter of 1 Samuel includes one of the greatest examples. Anyone studying the first ten verses of 1 Samuel 2 […]
Read More… from September 7, 2023 — Hannah’s Paean Of Praise
Every answered prayer is both a blessing and a burden, God’s supply and a stewardship of it. The time came when Hannah must keep her promise as the Lord had kept His. How those years must have flown! Was this vulnerable child ready for the rigors of Eli’s household? Was it three years that “Hannah […]
A newborn weighs a few pounds and is totally dependent on its mother. But it shouldn’t stay like that! There was no soy alternative or infant formula in Hannah’s day. The newborn for the first three years or so was dependent on the mother for milk supply. Then it was weaned little by little to […]
Read More… from September 5, 2023 — The Importance Of Weaning
The birth of Samuel may have seemed inconsequential, but it was a divine intervention in history. Whatever the deficiencies in Elkanah’s family, no one can deny that the words of 1 Samuel 1:19 are like rays of sunshine breaking through dark clouds. In spite of abounding wickedness, we read the family “rose early in the […]
Read More… from September 4, 2023 — A Living, Breathing Answer To Prayer
Tears are often liquid prayers, but prayers expressed can more surely lay hold of the promises. It’s hard to be impressed with Peninnah, Elkanah’s second wife. Wasn’t it enough that God had blessed her with “all her sons and daughters” (1 Sam 1:4)? No, she “provoked [Hannah] severely, to make her miserable” (v 6). This […]
Read More… from September 1, 2023 — When Weeping Turns To Praying
Two wives in one house is trouble enough, but when one bears children and the other can’t—fireworks! When you turn to the first page of 1 Samuel, you see why a brief overview of the historical setting was necessary. There is no formal introduction here. The book starts off by including us in a private […]