Samuel Grows in Favor with the Lord Samuel part 1 The story of Ruth took place during the time of the judges. The Lord appointed leaders among the people of Israel called judges and today, we will look at the story of Israel s last judge named Samuel. Before we do that, I want you to remember how the Lord rewarded Naomi and Ruth as they remained faithful to Him despite living among people who are disobedient to God. Naomi was led by her husband Elimelech before he died in being loyal to the Lord while they lived in Moab because of a famine in the land of Judah. When Naomi s husband and her two sons died, she was understandably heartbroken and even wanted to be called Mara for the bitter life she was then enduring. But she remained a good example to Ruth, one of her daughters in law who stayed with her and served her. Ruth showed much faith to the Lord by leaving her family and their gods and served Naomi. She backed up her words Your people will be my people, your God will be my God with her actions, and she was rewarded by the Lord through Boaz. The story of Samuel begins with a man named Elkanah who was from the tribe of Ephraim. Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children but Hannah did not have any. 1Sa 1:3 (CEV) Once a year Elkanah traveled from his hometown to Shiloh, where he worshiped the LORD All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the LORD's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests. 1Sa 1:4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters. 1Sa 1:5 But he gave Hannah even more, because he loved Hannah very much, even though the LORD had kept her from having children of her own. 1Sa 1:6 Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children, 1Sa 1:7 especially when the family went to the house of the LORD each year. One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat. Obviously, Peninnah is being boastful here. She is forgetting that the Lord is the one who made her able to conceive children and it is also the Lord who kept Hannah from having any. As we have learned from the story of Ruth, we must realize that both the spirit of the bad woman and the good woman are within us. So both the spirit of Hannah and Peninnah are within us. There are times that we feel superior to others as we are given more blessings than them. We need to remember that such an attitude does not please God. But there are times that God humbles us and after that shows us favor to comfort us. Elkanah s love for Hannah reflects God s love for those who are humble.
Jas 4:6 (ESV) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Pro 29:23 One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. Now we can understand why Boaz kept on reminding his servants to not bother Ruth for harvesting with them. Boaz knew his servants looked down on Ruth for not being an Israelite, as Peninnah is looking down on Hannah here for being barren. Boaz, on the other hand, looked at Ruth with favor, for the humility that she has shown, and for the service she is rendering to Naomi. Rth 2:8 (CEV) Boaz went over to Ruth and said, "I think it would be best for you not to pick up grain in anyone else's field. Stay here with the women Rth 2:9 and follow along behind them, as they gather up what the men have cut. I have warned the men not to bother you, and whenever you are thirsty, you can drink from the water jars they have filled." Rth 2:10 Ruth bowed down to the ground and said, "You know I come from another country. Why are you so good to me?" Rth 2:11 Boaz answered, "I've heard how you've helped your mother-in-law ever since your husband died. You even left your own father and mother to come and live in a foreign land among people you don't know. Rth 2:12 (BBE) The Lord give you a reward for what you have done, and may a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take cover. If we remain humble and faithful to God, He will eventually reward us as we will see here with Hannah. 1Sa 1:8 (BBE) Then her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? and why are you taking no food? why is your heart troubled? am I not more to you than ten sons? 1Sa 1:9 So after they had taken food and wine in the guest room, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was seated by the pillars of the doorway of the Temple of the Lord. 1Sa 1:10 And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord. 1Sa 1:11 And she made an oath, and said, O Lord of armies, if you will truly take note of the sorrow of your servant, not turning away from me but keeping
me in mind, and will give me a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut. Hannah was praying silently but her lips were moving, so when Eli the priest saw her, he taught Hannah was drunk! 1Sa 1:14 16 (CEV) "How long are you going to stay drunk?" he asked. "Sober up!" "Sir, please don't think I'm no good!" Hannah answered. "I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the LORD about my problems." We shouldn t judge other so quickly as Eli has done here. When we see people suffering, it is wrong to assume that they have done evil and they are being punished. It could be that the Lord is trying them to strengthen their faith in Him. 1Sa 1:17 (ESV) Then Eli answered, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him. 1Sa 1:18 And she said, Let your servant find favor in your eyes. Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 1Sa 1:19 (CEV) Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the LORD. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the LORD blessed Elkanah and Hannah 1Sa 1:20 with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the LORD for him. Samuel means heard of God. When we need something, we ought to ask God with humility and He will hear us and provide us what we need. 1Sa 1:21 (ESV) The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 1Sa 1:22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever. 1Sa 1:23 Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word. So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 1Sa 1:24 25 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young.
A child being weaned from its mother is a symbol of us maturing in our faith. God is the one who will increase our wisdom and our faith to follow Him with all our heart as those offering of the three-year-old bull, an ephah (full measure) of flour, and a container of wine mean. Like Hannah, we must be patient until the Lord matures us. We all start as those who are weak in the faith, and the best course of action is to learn as much as we can in meekness. We need to trust God that in due time, we will be able to offer a mature service to Him. 1Sa 1:26 (BBE) And she said, O my lord, as your soul is living, my lord, I am that woman who was making a prayer to the Lord here by your side: 1Sa 1:27 My prayer was for this child; and the Lord has given him to me in answer to my request: 1Sa 1:28 So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there. The Lord gave us everything we have and it is but right to use these blessings to serve Him and His people. Hannah then said a prayer that acknowledges the Lord s total control over all things. 1Sa 2:1 (ISV) Then Hannah prayed: "My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is increased by the LORD. I will open my mouth to speak against my enemies, because I rejoice in your deliverance. 1Sa 2:2 There is no one holy like the LORD, indeed there is no one besides you, there is no rock like our God. 1Sa 2:3 Don't continue to talk proudly, and don't speak arrogantly, for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. This is saying nothing is hidden to God and He will reward or punish us based on what we do. 1Sa 2:4 (ISV) The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble are equipped with strength. 1Sa 2:5 Those who had an abundance of bread now hire themselves out, and those who were hungry hunger no more. While the barren woman gives birth to seven children, she who had many children languishes. 1Sa 2:6 The LORD kills and gives life, he brings people down to where the dead are and he raises them up. 1Sa 2:7 The LORD makes people poor and he makes people rich, he brings them low, and he also exalts them.
1Sa 2:8 He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them. 1Sa 2:9 He guards the steps of his faithful ones, while the wicked are made silent in darkness. Indeed it's not by strength that a person prevails. It s not those who boast in their own strengths and abilities who will succeed in the end, it is those who trust in the Lord and are faithful in serving Him. 1Sa 2:10 (ISV) The LORD will shatter those who contend against him, he will thunder against them in the heavens. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, and he will increase the strength of His anointed one." 1Sa 2:11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah, while the boy was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest. As Samuel serves the Lord by assisting Eli the priest, we are now introduced to Eli s sons. 1Sa 2:12 (ESV) Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. 1Sa 2:13 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, 1Sa 2:14 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. 1Sa 2:15 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. 1Sa 2:16 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. 1Sa 2:17 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. Again we must not look at a story and immediately claim we are the good guy and deny we have never been the bad guy. We are all like the sons of Eli in the beginning of our walk. We are all after the rewards of serving God and we do not want to go through the necessary suffering before we receive His blessings. This is the reason we see all these Christian churches teaching their followers that they will receive blessings written in the
Bible while avoiding the curses. 1Sa 2:18 (BBE) But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod. 1Sa 2:19 And his mother made him a little robe and took it to him every year when she came with her husband for the year's offering. The Lord continued to bless Elkanah and Hannah because of their faithfulness to God. This is not saying that we are saved because of our works, but our faith is dead or worthless if it doesn t produce good works. The linen ephod that Samuel wears and the little robe that Hannah brings to Him every year are symbols of the righteousness of the saints. 1Sa 2:20 (BBE) And every year Eli gave Elkanah and his wife a blessing, saying, May the Lord give you offspring by this woman in exchange for the child you have given to the Lord. And they went back to their house. 1Sa 2:21 And the Lord had mercy on Hannah and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young Samuel became older before the Lord. True righteousness is only received through God s cleansing our evil hearts and His correction of our evil deeds. Jas 5:19 (MKJV) Brothers, if anyone among you err from the truth, and if anyone turns him back, Jas 5:20 know that he who turns back the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Eli reprimanded his sons for taking advantage of the Lord s people, but it was too late. 1Sa 2:22 (ESV) 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. 1Sa 2:23 And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 1Sa 2:24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. 1Sa 2:25 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.
1Sa 2:26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man. The Lord is not being cruel to Eli s sons for hardening their hearts and at the same time showing favor to Samuel. What He is showing us here is that God will punish our old man and will reward our new man. No one will escape either situation, we will all be punished for the evil we have done and we will all be rewarded for the good works that God works in us. 1Sa 2:6 (ISV) The LORD kills and gives life, he brings people down to where the dead are and he raises them up.