A Mother s Desperate Plea 1 Samuel 1:1-28

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1 A Mother s Desperate Plea 1 Samuel 1:1-28 Message by Michael J. Barnard May 13, 2018 Teaching Aim: To examine the circumstances leading to the birth of Samuel. To understand the importance of prayer and to see how God answered the prayers of a broken woman beyond her greatest expectations. To realize God s plan was to use this child to bring about religious revival in Israel and to point the nation towards the coming Messiah! DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD S WORD (BIBLE STUDY) Part I: The family s annual pilgrimage to the religious center of Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:1-7) 1. Who was Samuel s father and in what tribe of Israel did he live in (vs. 1)? What tribe was Samuel s father from? (See 1 Chron. 6:16-27) 2. How many wives did Elkanah have (vs. 2)? How many should he have had? (See Gen. 2:24) What can we learn about these women from verse 2? Why do many people believe Elkanah took Peninnah to be his wife since his real love was for Hannah? 3. What do we learn about Elkanah spirituality from verse 3? Why were people worshiping God in Shiloh and not in Jerusalem? What three biblical characters resided in Shiloh at this time? 4. What led to conflict year after year as Elkanah s family worshiped the LORD in Shiloh (vs. 4)? What did Elkanah do in attempting to help Hannah feel loved and appreciated, even in spite of her barrenness (vs. 5)? According to verses 5 & 6, why was Hannah unable to bear children? How do we see God s sovereignty at work in this story? 5. Why do you think Peninnah was so cruel to Hannah (vs. 6)? How does this Scripture describe the two women? Can you think of any other stories in the Bible with a similar family feud? (See Gen. 16:1-6; 29:15-35) 1

2 6. How did Peninnah s constant harassing year after year affect Hannah emotionally (vs. 7)? Do you find yourself troubled and carrying a heavy load today? (See 1 Pet. 5:6-7) Part II: The desperate prayers of a want to be mother (1 Sam. 1:8-18) 1. How did Hannah s sorrow affect Elkanah (vs. 8)? What did Hannah refuse to do as the family celebrated the religious festival by feasting together? Why? Who apparently did the eating spoken of in verse 9? According to verse 9b, where did Hannah go after the family was finished their eating dinner? 2. What if any significance was there in Eli the priest sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD? What additional names do we find the tabernacle being called in Scripture? (See 1 Sam. 1:7; 3:15; 2:22, 32) 3. What did the High Priest spot as he observed the crowd near the tabernacle (vs. 10)? Note: Hannah poured her heart out to the LORD at Shiloh, what better place to do that than at a house of worship? Do you ever pour out your heart to God when you are at church worshiping Him? 4. What can we learn about the sincerity of Hannah s prayer from verse 10? Have you ever cried as you ve prayed to God? Note: Hannah is a great example of a praying mother. According to 1 Sam. 12:22-23, How did Hannah s prayer life affect her son? 5. What kind of a deal did Hannah offer God in her desperation (vs. 11)? How does Hannah repeatedly refer to herself in this verse? How does this demonstrate Hannah s humility before God? When praying, do you come to God in humility? 6. What is the significance of the Nazarite vow (vs. 11)? (See Num. 6:1-15) How was the vow Hannah made different from the normal Nazarite vow? Who else are lifelong Nazarites in the Bible? (See Judg. 13:7; Luke 1:13-17; Matt. 11:18-19) 2

3 7. According to verses 12 & 13, what caused the High Priest Eli to think Hannah was drunk (vs. 14)? Have you ever been guilty of assuming the worst of people and judging them before finding out the facts? What was Eli s mistake in this case? 8. How did Hannah respond to Eli s false accusations against her (vs. 15)? Have you ever had people make false accusations against you? How did you respond? What did Hannah beg of Eli in verse 16? What is the meaning of daughter of Belial and why was this title not true of Hannah? (See Commentaries.) Note: Hannah was not a worthless person, and neither are we in Jesus Christ! 9. How did Eli respond to Hannah s request once he stopped assuming and realized what was really going on with her (vs. 17)? Do you look for opportunities to minister to hurting people? Why is it important for us to pray with people and not just for them? 10. How did Eli s positive words and encouragement affect Hannah s disposition? (vs. 18)? Is there someone you know in need of prayer and encouragement? Will you make an effort to contact them and encouragement them this week? Part III: The birth of Samuel and his dedication to the LORD (1 Sam. 1:19-28) 1. Where did Elkanah and his family go once the festival had concluded (vs. 19)? What is meant by the words, And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife? (See Gen. 4:1-2) How did the LORD respond to the prayers of Hannah and the blessing of Eli? 2. What is the meaning of the name Samuel (vs. 20)? (See Commentaries) Hannah asked the LORD for a son and the LORD answered her prayer. How should the teaching of Jesus on prayer in Matt. 7:7-8 relate to your life today? How would you rate your prayer life on a scale of 1-10? What are some steps you can take to improve your personal prayer life? 3

4 3. How long did Hannah keep Samuel with her at Ramah before presenting him to Eli in Shiloh (vv )? Why did Hannah withhold Samuel for so long? (See 2 Macc. 7:27) (Hint: Google 2 Maccabees 7:27) 4. How did Elkanah respond to Hannah s request and the costly vow she made to the LORD (vs. 23)? According to God s law, did Elkanah have the legal right to nullify Hannah s vow if he so chose? (See Num. 30:6-8) What can we learn about Elkanah relationship with the LORD from the response in verse 23? 5. Three years had likely gone by from the birth of Samuel until his presentation at the tabernacle. What large gift did Elkanah and Hannah present to the priests at the tabernacle as they fulfilled their vow with Samuel (vv. 24 & 25)? Was their gift larger or smaller than the amount required under the law in Num. 15:8-10? What can we learn about Elkanah s financial status from the amount of this offering? 6. How did Hannah present Samuel to Eli in verses 26 & 27? Do you think the elderly priest even remembered her? Note: We find out that God answered Hannah s prayer in a way above and beyond her greatest expectations. Has God ever answered your prayers above and beyond your greatest expectations? 7. In what way did Hannah lend Samuel to the LORD (vs. 28)? Do you think Hannah is back together with Samuel in heaven today? What should the proper response be for any believer when God has blessed them? 4

5 MINER S CORNER ~ Manna to live by! Although polygamy was acknowledged in the Old Testament, it was not ordained by God and always led to problems in the family! God s plan is for marriage to be between one man and one woman for one lifetime! The bearing of children was critical to the welfare of families living in agrarian societies like Israel; furthermore, the bearing of sons was essential to the passing on of family names and tribal inheritances! Hannah desperately wanted a son and poured her heart out to the LORD in prayer at Shiloh (the center of Israeli worship); today we should feel free to pour our hearts out to God in prayer whenever and wherever we worship Him! Eli jumped to the conclusion that Hannah was drunk, she was not; she was broken! Once Eli realized what was happening, he prayed for Hannah and encouraged her! Rather than judging the motivation of others, we should encourage and pray for them in their walk with God! 5