Giving to the Lord

I Samuel 1:1-28

Welcome! Today we begin a new series on the first sixteen chapters of I Samuel entitled Prophet and King. The prophet in this series is Samuel, and the king is Saul. Today we will look at the first chapter of I Samuel and explore the events surrounding Samuel’s birth, but first I want to spend some time giving you some background about this book, focusing in where it fits in to the history of Israel.

We’ll start with the Israelites, freed from bondage in Egypt. Recall that they rebelled against God again and again, and finally God sentenced them to 40 years in the desert. It was only after the older generation passed away that the younger generation could at last enter the Promised Land.

Now as I go through this history, I want to do it from an unusual perspective: that of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark, also called the Ark of the Testimony, was a gold-covered wooden chest containing the two stone tablets made by God that had written on them the Ten Commandments. Aaron’s rod was also inside the Ark (Heb. 9:4). (In Korah’s rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16, each of the twelve tribes were to present a rod. Aaron’s rod was used to represent his priestly tribe of Levi. God told them that only the rod that contained those chosen by God to be priests would miraculously sprout overnight. Well, Aaron’s rod budded and produced almonds, and so the people knew that God really wanted the Levites to be the tribe to serve as priests.) The Ark also contained a pot of manna, the miraculously provided food God gave the Israelites in the desert. The manna in this pot, unlike the rest, did not decay (stink and become wormy), but supernaturally remained preserved. If you recall, the other manna the Israelites couldn’t be stored for any length of time at all (except for one day for each week’s Sabbath).

During their 40 years of wandering the desert, the Israelites carried the Ark with them. The ark was carried on long poles, with a veil covering it. Whenever the Israelites camped, they placed the ark in a special tent called the Tabernacle.

The book of Joshua chronicles how the Israelites, led by Joshua, crossed the Jordan River (which God parted supernaturally). The priests carried the Ark. The account points out that the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan while the people crossed; that is, the parting of the Jordan seems to have been tied directly to the Ark.

The Lord then supernaturally helped them to take the land that had been promised to them, starting with Jericho. You probably remember how the people went around the walled city, once per day, for seven days. The Ark went with them each time they went around the city.  

A little later Joshua reaffirmed the covenant of God with his people. They did this standing between Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal, following the long-ago given instructions by Moses. Half of the people stood on one side of the Ark, on the Mount Gerazim side, and half stood on the other side, the Mount Ebal side. The readings included the blessings and curses of what would happen if they did or did not follow the commands God had given them.

The Ark almost certainly traveled with the people as they continued to expand their territory, the territory God had given them. Winning these lands took time, and Joshua became old. God told Joshua to divide the land captured and to allocate not yet captured land to the tribes as well. In Joshua chapter 18, the tribes all gathered together at a town called Shiloh. As was the practice, the tent of meeting was set up there. Although not mentioned explicitly, it must have been true that the Ark was there. Here Joshua told the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance to go forth and take it (except for the Levites, who had no land as an inheritance; their role was to maintain the Tabernacle. They would be provided for with the offerings that the people brought to Tabernacle. They were also given towns in the lands of the other tribes where they could live when “off duty” and also raise livestock and take care of their families. After this important meeting, Joshua sent home the tribes that had long already had their land (on the other side of the Jordan). These tribes, on their way home, built a large altar. The other tribes were fearful that they had turned away from God, and so they gathered at Shiloh for a war council. They sent a priestly envoy to these tribes to learn the meaning of all this, and they learned it was erected to remind the people to follow God. It would not be sacrificed to as an idol. The priests were pleased and all this was reported back to the people at Shiloh (Joshua 22). Joshua gathered the tribes one last time and then passed away.

This brings us to the book of Judges. The Israelites continued to capture territory, but again and again they didn’t entirely remove the people living there, as they had been told to do. Instead, they would subdue the people, make them servants, or just leave them alone. Just one generation later, the people started serving the false gods of the people around them, forgetting so quickly their unique history and relationship with the one true God. God then allowed the people to become oppressed by the people around them, and they would finally cry out to God. God, in response, raised up someone (called a “judge”) who would lead the Israelites to victory against their enemies. This happened again and again, generation after generation, for hundreds of years.

Where was the Ark all this time? It is hardly mentioned. This is not surprising, as it was largely neglected, and as a result the Levites were not properly provided for. You see direct evidence of this in one of the accounts towards the end of Judges. But at one point (Judges 20), the Ark is in Bethel, a place about 10 miles from Shiloh. It is likely that over the years the ark moved from city to city but only over a short distance, generally close to Shiloh.

So we have talked about the Ark during the times prior to the book of I Samuel. I also want to talk briefly about prophets and kings – this seems appropriate, given our series title. Let’s first talk about prophets. Interestingly, the word “prophet” is used only once in the books of Joshua and Judges. This occurs as part of the account of Gideon. The people were being oppressed by Midianites, and so finally once again they cried out to the Lord. From Judges 6:

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, He sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to Me.” – Judges 6:7-10

Moses is described as a prophet, and indeed Moses did on many occasions get words from the Lord (usually negative words, like these) and he spoke them to the people. But in the years after this, we don’t see this kind of activity. The judges are really military leaders, not prophets. Although silence on an issue is never the best evidence, I think it is safe to say that during this period there wasn’t really a major person well known to all the tribes who served as God’s prophet, someone like Moses or Elijah or Jeremiah. Moses had promised that in the future there would be “a prophet like me” and he told them to listen to him, and by “listen” he meant to do what he said. So the rise of a true prophet of the Lord was not a part of the history of God’s people as recounted in Joshua and Judges, but as we will see it is a huge part of the story to come.

What about kings? Well, unlike all the nations around Israel (even tiny ones), Israel had no king. Now, Moses did not outright condemn the idea of having a king, but he gave strict warnings about what kind of person it should be.

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. – Deut. 17:14-15

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. – Deut. 17: 16-17

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. – Deut. 17:18-20a

That’s a lot of warnings! God must choose the king, presumably through a prophet, he must be an Israelite, he must not go back to Egypt, he must not accumulate wealth or wives, and he must write in his own hand a complete copy of the Law and read it daily. Then he must do what it says, always, and never consider himself above his fellow Israelites. That’s a tall order!

The judges were not kings. Yes, they served as military commanders, but only in wartime. Although, they served in some kind of roll in peacetime, it was a much weaker position than that of a true king. At the end of Judges is described what can only be called a Civil War. It led to the nearly total destruction of the tribe of Benjamin. During these terrible events, the other Israelite tribes didn’t even have a judge to lead them. They went to the location of the Ark and there pleaded for guidance (whether to attack them) before the Lord. They suffered several days of defeats even after receiving guidance. In what exact form this guidance came we are not told. Most likely they consulted the high priest who used the Urim and Thummim, stones in the breastplate that were possibly shaken or tossed to get answers to yes/no decisions. (We are never told exactly how the Urim and Thummim work.) These are described in Exodus 28:

Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord. – Ex. 28:30

So I Samuel begins after a rather poor history – a history of not following the Lord, of neglecting the Ark and the sacrifices, of no king and no prophet. The description in Judges that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” is apt and succinct. Well, let’s see how the story continues:

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. – I Sam. 1:1-2

The Bible never encourages having more than one wife, but the Old Testament seems to accept it as cultural practice. In the New Testament the conditions for being an elder are to have only one wife, and in all the examples I can think of in the Old Testament of having multiple wives, when details of life are shown, what they show is the terrible heartaches and discord that was present in such families. As we will soon see, Elkanah, with his two wives Peninnah and Hannah, is no exception.

Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. – I Sam. 1:3-5

Now in that culture in those days, children were seen as essential in preserving the family line, and perhaps in part because the Old Testament described children as a blessing of the Lord, people wrongly concluded that anybody who can’t have children must be cursed, most likely because of bad things they have done. It is a natural thing to think, but a terribly wrong thing to think, that bad things happen to people because they are bad. It is certainly true that doing certain bad things have certain bad direct consequences, but the idea that unrelated bad things only happen as a punishment from God is an idea completely contrary to the Bible. Jesus refutes this idea directly, as do many New Testament writers who point out that persecution, for example, can come because you are doing good, serving the Lord.

Now we don’t know why Elkanah had two wives, but one possibility is that he had married Hannah first, and when she didn’t conceive, then married Peninnah so that he could have children. In any case, Elkanah seems otherwise like a reasonably good guy – certainly not perfect, or necessarily sensitive (as we will see), but to his credit he does continue year after year to worship and sacrifice to God. Interestingly the location is again Shiloh, the same place we saw the Ark of the Covenant in multiple instances in the earlier books.

Let me briefly mention that archaeologists have found Shiloh. A tell, or large mound, has been found there, and many interesting items have been dug up that date from the Caananite and Israelite eras. The location is on a major roadway, and as a result, artifacts have been found from Roman and Muslim eras as well. A large walled storage complex was there, built prior to the Israelites time but used by them. Adjacent to this location is likely where the Tabernacle was set up, although no evidence remains of it (which is not surprising since it was a tent).

But back to our story: It is also to Elkanah’s credit that he kept going to worship at Shiloh despite the presence of Eli’s sons, who we will see in later weeks were really bad news. But most of all it is to Elkanah’s credit that he loved Hannah, and clearly cared for her and felt much concern for her. The meat this passage is talking about is meat they brought for sacrifice. As per the regulations in the Law, some of it would go to the priests and other Levites, and the rest the family itself could eat. The “double portion” may very well be an idiom for the best portion – it’s not necessarily the case that everyone else had a 12 ounce steak but she had a 24 ounce one.  

Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” – I Sam. 1:6-8

So I have to ask, speaking of Peninnah, what was wrong with this woman? This is bullying – there is no better way to describe it. Why is she bullying Hannah? One of the classic reasons people bully is because something is out of control in their own life, and bullying vents frustration. What was wrong in Peninnah’s life? Well, the obvious thing is that her husband loves another woman more than her. Here she is getting run ragged by all these kids running around wild, her husband’s progeny, but he loves her. Now the passage doesn’t say all this, but doesn’t it seem to be a reasonable explanation? She could also just be a really nasty person.

I’m not sure what to think about Elkanah’s final question, “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” I looked at the Hebrew and at other translations, and I think this is an accurate translation. I would put this in the category of questions you should never ask your spouse when they really, really want something but cannot have it. I don’t know if it came across as boastful back then like it does now – “Hey, babe – you’ve got me!” Also, why say, “Why are you downhearted” when you know exactly why she is downhearted? Regardless of what idioms are or are not getting lost in translation, this is far from “Mourn with those who mourn,” the wise advise Paul gives, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in Romans 12:15. I think we can safely say that Elkanah does not really understand his wife.

Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if You will only look on Your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget Your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” – I Sam. 1:9-11

Hannah here is making a vow, and the condition of no razor is one of the elements of a Nazirite vow. The conditions of a Nazirite vow are explained in Numbers 6. One of the requirements is that the person takes the vow of himself, not of another. This situation is quite different because Hannah is making the vow for her yet-to-be son. This situation has some parallels to Samson’s birth story. Samson was the last major judge in the book of Judges. Samson’s mother also was unable to conceive. However, in Samson’s case, an angel came to tell the soon-to-be parents to keep the conditions on their son; in other words, Samson’s case came from divine command, whereas here the condition came from Hannah’s will, from her anguished prayer. From what is to come, it is clear that Hannah meant by “give him to the Lord” that she would give up the joy of raising him. This is a huge sacrifice for a mother to make.

As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” – I Sam. 1:12-14

Eli is a classic clueless guy. He is terrible at “reading” women. I realize it may have been quite unusual for a woman to pray to the Lord in this way, but even if he thought she had been drinking, there were far more tactful ways to explore whether it was true than to just presume the case and speak so rudely. Notice that Hannah is now completely misunderstood by a second man.

“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. – I Sam. 1:15-18

Hannah responded very diplomatically and peacefully to Eli. She didn’t say, “Well, I never!” and storm out. She patiently explained herself to Eli. Eli doesn’t apologize, which would be appropriate in our culture today but I am uncertain about back then. But he does speak a blessing upon her. I was actually struck by his wording. Do you ever speak blessings on people, saying “May God grant you…”? Even though it is not spoken to God in the manner we are used to praying, I believe it is a real prayer to God. You are agreeing in your heart with what the person desires God would do for them. God, who watches all, sees this, and I don’t think He is a stickler about what wording does and does not constitute a prayer. Another option of course is to pray in a “traditional” way right then – “May I pray for you right now? God, would You grant what Hannah has asked of You? I pray that You would. Amen” I guess what I’m really saying is that both of these are far better than saying “I’ll pray for you.” and then you never actually do it.

Hannah feels much better after she prays, even though nothing has outwardly changed. How many of you can identify with that? Absolutely! And the more you understand how God feels about you, how He loves you and wants what is best for you, the more this is the case. It is only when our understanding of who God is and His relationship with us are terribly distorted do we not receive any comfort from prayer. We should find comfort in prayer, because we know He who loves us has heard us, and although He may not answer in the exact way we ask, He will give us what is best for us.

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” – I Sam. 1:19-20

And so God did answer her prayer in the way she asked. Let me just break from this story for a moment to say that we should be very sensitive about sharing this story or others like it in the Bible with people who are struggling to have children. Although God’s answer was “Yes” here, in many other cases it is “No.” This passage does not tell us why God made it hard for Hannah to conceive, but a reasonable explanation is that this struggle is what caused her to draw closer to God and that God had special plans for Samuel that required her to make that vow. There are other cases in Scripture where we see similar kinds of things, and even in modern life, sometimes God says “No” for a while so that we draw closer to Him before He says “Yes.” But there are other times when “No” is really “No”, and we, who do not have access to the mind of God, have no way of knowing which is the case in a particular situation, so like I said, we should be very careful and sensitive about what we say. In some cases God might say “No” because He has other purposes for the parents. In others it might be so that they become involved in Foster Care or adopt. But there are countless other possible reasons, and we shouldn’t try to guess. It is far better to simply be a good supportive friend, and not try to figure out the reasons or find the supposed causes like Job’s so-called friends.

I love that she named him Samuel. We forget how bold something like this is. When we have children we like to look at lists of names, and we do often look at the meanings of names. But the choice is far less bold because they are well established names, so people don’t know if you chose it because you had a great uncle with that name or for some other reason. Also, not speaking the language where the name comes from, they probably don’t know the meaning of the name. But Samuel is a Hebrew word that means “Because I asked the Lord for Him.” We would never name someone “Because I asked the Lord for Him” because it has so many syllables, but imagine naming someone this name, pretending that it only had a few syllables. It’s a very bold name also because it reminds her of her vow. How often do people bargain with the Lord, saying “If You get me out of this mess, I’ll really become a Christian. I’ll go to church every week!” (Of course, this has nothing to do with being a Christian, but this is how many non-Christians think.) Then they do get out of their mess, and they think about going to church, but then something comes up, or they forget, and after a few more weeks they push down their previous vow so deep that they really do almost forget all about it. Eventually they may forget completely. Hannah, by naming her son Samuel, makes it pretty clear that she intends to keep her vow.

When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good His word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. – I Sam. 1:21-23

Women were not required to go to the three annual feasts at the Tabernacle, although they often did. We do not know why Hannah chose to stay home until the point at which she was to give him up, upon his weaning. I wonder if it was to prevent her from being tempted to renege on her vow, that by going there, and not saying anything about it, and going home, it could become a pattern so that year after year she says in her heart “Next year; I’ll do it next year.” This is just guesswork, but this makes perfect sense to me.  

To his credit, Elkanah is very supportive. But I am not surprised; apart from misunderstanding how to help his wife, he has shown a consistent desire to worship the Lord and to support her. What does he mean by “Only may the Lord make good His word?” I think he means, “May the child survive infancy.” In our modern culture, this is not a prayer we or hope we tend to think about, as we just assume that our children will live. Unfortunately, we have lost sight of the fact that it is the Lord that preserves all of our lives each and every day.  

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. – I Sam. 1:24-28

Notice that Hannah does not say to Eli, “Hi, I’m that woman you mistakenly thought was drunk when I was praying!” No, she treats him with the utmost respect and does not bring the former incident up at all. And to her greatest credit, she carries through with her vow! I cannot imagine how hard this had to be. Now it is true she could visit him each time they went back to Shiloh to worship, but she would miss his growing up. One thing that struck me about this is that in some ways, she did what Abraham never had to do – to give up your only child. Next week we will look at Hannah’s song of praise – this is even more remarkable because she rejoices in the Lord. As far as the East is from the West from her is the idea that God now owes her, or that God somehow tricked her into doing this – no, she has nothing but praise for God.

As an aside, anyone who doubts the Bible is reliable should read this chapter and the next. Written in an era dominated by men, all of the men are flawed – the woman is the only hero. No man would make this up!

As for practical applications, here are three:

1. Parents, remember that all of our children are really the Lord’s, on loan to us.

2. Husbands, remember not to try to “fix” your wife’s pain, but instead enter into it with her. This also goes for friends, siblings, indeed, for anyone who is hurting. This doesn’t mean there is no place for Biblical advice, but the advice should be for the underlying situation, not to fix the pain.

3. Hannah is a wonderful, repeated example of not taking offense even when people around her are offensive. Let us seek to follow her example.