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1 Samuel verses 1:1-8
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 1There 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?”
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Elkanah was a man of some wealth and standing in the community. The text reveals this because it includes genealogy and you would have to have wealth to afford two wives. Elkanah’s name means “God created” and his wife’s name, Hannah, means, “favor with God”. Though Elkanah and Hannah’s names suggest favor and procreation that has not been the case so far in their marriage. Peninnah on the other hand, Hannah’s rival, has children.!
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This family would make a yearly trip to Shiloh in order to worship and make sacrifices to the Lord. The yearly pilgrimage was a source of great unhappiness and competition between the two wives. The deepest pain for each woman would manifest at this most holy time. Verse 5 explains the root of the unhappiness and competition, “But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.” The day of sacrifice would mean that Peninnah would receive a portion for herself and for each of her children. These many portions testified to her fertility and standing before Elkanah and the community as a mother. Being a mother was the most important service a wife provided in ancient times. However, Hannah, who is barren, received a double portion. Her double portion testified to the favor and the affection that she received from her husband. Barrenness in ancient times was a reproach to a woman. What man saw as a reproach was the starting point of God working a miracle in biblical history. “Barren women seem to be God’s instruments in raising up key figures in the history of redemption, whether the promised seed (Isaac), the father of Israel (Jacob), saviors or preservers of Israel (Joseph, Samson, Samuel, or the forerunner of the great King (John the Baptist).” (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel)!
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“Hannah, therefore, shares in a fellowship of barrenness. And it is frequently in this fellowship that new chapters in Yahweh’s history with his people begin- begin with nothing. God’s tendency is to make our total inability his starting point. Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to his work. Indeed our utter incapacity is often the prop he delights to use for his next act. This matter goes beyond the particular situations of biblical barren women. We are facing one of the principles of Yahweh’s modus operandi. When his people are without strength, without resources, without hope, without human gimmicks-then he loves to stretch forth his hand from heaven. Once we see where God often begins we will understand how we may be encouraged.”(Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel)!
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Barrenness was the source of great grief for Hannah. It was because of her barrenness that, “her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her.” Hannah’s pain was deep and constant. Yearly, her grief would reach its pinnacle during the holy days, when the family would visit Shiloh. Peninnah would provoke and torment Hannah when they went to the house of the Lord. Hannah got to the point that she could stand it no longer. She wept and refused to eat. Elkanah comes to comfort her and asking her questions. “Why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad?” Elkanah has the misinformed idea that his presence is worth more than ten sons. Hannah, though deeply loved by her husband, could not find the healing that she longed for in her husband’s presence. We will see in tomorrow’s passage, Hannah turns to the presence of God to find the healing that she desires.
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1 Samuel verses 1:9-25
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 9. After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “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.” 12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 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.! 19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” 21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 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.” 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. 24 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. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.
Weeping and unable to eat, Hannah makes her way to the temple to pray. Hannah’s need for healing makes her seek out the manifest presence of the LORD. As she enters the temple and prays, she encounters the presence of the Lord, also the priest Eli is watching her. Hannah prays with complete abandon. She prays weeping bitterly and releasing her deep distress to the Lord. Her prayer is so intense and with so much emotion that Eli mistakes her troubled spirit for drunkenness. Hannah sees no one and her total focus is on the LORD and the petition that she is bringing before Him. “There was nowhere else to turn. She had to flee Penninah’s cruel mockery; she found no solace in Elkanah’s well-meant but inadequate sympathy (v. 8); not even the clergy understood her. Old Eli, who had learned to indulge his wicked sons (2:22-25, 29-30), could yet get riled over an inebriated woman (v. 12b-14). Hannah would only turn to “Yahweh of hosts” v. 11, the God whose universal rule, ‘encompasses every force or army, heavenly, cosmic and earthly.” (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel)! Hannah’s prayer to the Lord of Hosts was both a petition and an oath. She asks God to see her pain and affliction and to remember her. She then vows that if the Lord hears her prayer she will dedicate her son a Nazarite. The razor refers to the Nazarite vow which is laid out in Numbers 6. A Nazarite can be a man or a woman. The vow involves not cutting your hair, drinking nothing from the grape, and not touching a dead body. The Nazarite vow requires a person to give them self wholly to the Lord for a certain period of time. Hannah’s vow is so powerful because she is promising to give her son not for a small period of time but for the entirety of his life.!
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“The encounter between Eli and Hannah contains an ironic twist. Eli represents the corrupt and apostate leadership of the priesthood and Hannah the simple faith that issues from suffering and pain.Yet Eli mistakes her earnestness for drunkenness. The spiritual leader of the nation is unable to discern the spiritual significance of this woman’s struggle. In the end, he recognizes in her the faith what he was supposed to represent.”(v. 17) (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel.) Eli, when he realizes he is mistaken about Hannah, sends her home with his prophetic blessing as high priest. “Go in peace, and the God of Israel will grant your petition that you have made to him.” Hannah, believing the priest, leaves happy and able to eat.! The text then concludes this section about Shiloh and speaks of Elkanah knowing his wife. Elkanah knows Hannah, and God remembers her. In the Old Testament context God remembering refers to God remembering his promises for them and taking action on those promises. God’s remembering resulted in a son that Hannah named Samuel, Samuel ( s’mu’el) in Hebrew sounds like the word “I asked for him” (s’iltiw) in Hebrew. Hannah honors God and plays on the similarity of the sound of the two words. ! Hannah does not return the next year to Shiloh. She prefers to wait until her young son is weaned. The seriousness of the vow is recognized by Elkanah who declares, “May the Lord establish his word,” and by Hannah’s declaration, “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.”
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1 Samuel verses 1:24-2:11
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel (leading passage)! 24 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. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”! And he worshiped the Lord there. 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.! 1 Samuel 2:1-11! 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, or 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.
Hannah fulfills her vow. After the boy is weaned Hannah and Elkanah bring Samuel to Shiloh along with their offering of a bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine. The offering is an expression of gratitude to Yahweh who has remembered his promise to Hannah. “Hannah’s husband Elkanah, was presumably a well to do person who was capable of a substantial offering on the special occasion of the life-long dedication of the first son of his beloved first wife.” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel)!
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In verses 27-28 Hannah uses the word four times “to ask” in Hebrew. Though it is difficult to translate into English, we get a glimpse of what Hannah says to Eli. It could be translated, “I asked of God for a boy and I am giving back to God all the days that he lives the boy that I asked for.” Remember, Samuel ’s name sounds like the word in Hebrew for, “I asked of Him”. As Hannah is speaking to Eli, it is as if Samuel’s name and the impact of his name is being spoken over and over again. Surely this child, born in a miraculous way, with a prophetic blessing of the high priest will change the course of history. “The birth of Samuel is cast against this shocking backdrop. Israel is barren like Hannah; each has a desperate need that only God can satisfy. The chapter opens with the account of God’s intervening on behalf of both Hannah and Israel. He delivers Hannah from her barrenness and intervenes in the history of Israel. The deliverance is the same for Hannah and Israel, that is, the birth of a weak and innocent child. The birth of Samuel signals the end of Hannah’s painful sterility and Israel’s anchorless apostasy.”! (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel)!
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As Hannah presents Samuel to Eli, she says, “I have lent him (Samuel) to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord”. She then breaks out in a song of praise. She begins by saying “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.” The multiple use of the word “my” here shows how personal Hannah’s experience is with God. God has personally worked salvation in her life. Her song seems to mirror Mary’s song in the book of Luke. She exults in God who has lifted up her horn. Her horn is lifted up over the rival wife, Peninnah. And like Mary’s son was lifted up so is Hannah’s son lifted and known over the course of history.!
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Hannah speaks of God as her rock. He is the One who is holy and His holiness silences all arrogance. She contrasts in her prayer the feeble and the mighty, those who are full with those who are hungry. Her God works out salvation and great reversals for those who call upon Him. Those reversals are so powerful that barren women will have seven sons and those with many sons will be left forlorn. The Lord takes the poor and makes them rich; he brings those who are low and he exalts them. Reversals are powerful things in the hand of God. The poor and needy are lifted up so that they are seated with princes. Today as you read through Hannah’s song of praise it is a good time to bring the areas of your life that need a reversal before God. The manifest presence of God brings miraculous reversals for the people of God.!
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1 Samuel verses 2:12-25
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 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.! 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
This passage skillfully contrasts Eli and his wicked sons with Samuel and his family. ! The writer of 1 Samuel tells us with the utmost clarity that Eli’s sons were worthless men because they did not know God. They who served as priests and were born of a priestly family did not know God. Eli had mistaken Hannah for a drunken woman while his own sons were using the priesthood in a most abhorrent manner. “The specific nature of the sins of Hophni and Phinehas has to do with their rights as priests. The Old Testament law provided proper and just ways for priests to share in certain meat portions of animals offered in the tabernacle (Lev. 7:28-36; Deut.18:3) But Eli’s sons at Shiloh have devised their own system using a fork to pilfer the choicest meat, including the fat usually burned entirely for Yahweh. If the worshiper does not yield to the grasping priests, Eli’s sons threatened to take it by force. The narrator summarizes their great sin as ‘treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1&2 Samuel)!
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The backdrop of evil grabbing contrasts with the picture given to us of Samuel. Eli’s sons did not know the Lord and treated the Lord’s offering with contempt. Samuel ministered before the LORD, as a child wearing a linen ephod, a priestly garment. 1 Samuel 2 purposely puts Hophni and Phinehas in juxtaposition with Samuel. This makes the innocence of Samuel speak loudly compared to the evil of Eli’s sons. The contrasts between the two families are many. A happy loving family serving God revealed against a dark family stealing from God. In Hannah you see a loving mother tenderly making a new garment to bring to her son every year. This picture is contrasted with Eli’s sorrow at hearing what his sons were doing all over Israel. They were sleeping with women and stealing from God. Another disturbing difference is the blessing that Eli gives Elkanah, Hannah and Samuel’s family as they bring their offering every year. There is beautiful blessing pronounced upon Elkanah and Hannah contrasted with the unspoken curse that awaits Hophni and Phinehas. We see in the text a promise of life for Elkanah and Hannah as Eli prays that they will have more children. This promise is remembered by God and the story tells us that God indeed visited Hannah with more children. In stark contrast to the life released to Hannah’s family you see the dark expectation of death to sons who would not listen to their father. ! ! Verse 11 in chapter 2 says, “the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.” 1 Samuel 2:21 says, “And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.” Verse, 2:26, “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.” These verses show us the rising progression of Samuel being developed from the earliest of ages into a priest who has a standing before God and man. At the same time we see the downward cycle of Eli’s sons from those who steal from God, are womanizers and then as those who are destined for death. Eli tells his sons, “If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” Eli’s words fall on deaf ears. His sons would not see that by sinning against God as priests, they have put themselves in the most dangerous position. The downward cycle of Eli’s sons has an inevitable end, while the spiritual development of Samuel suggests a mighty new priesthood that will manifest the presence of God in a new way.!
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel Reflection Day The passages that we have st4died this week show us powerf4lly how circling a sit4ation in prayer can take impossible bar=en sit4ations and create miraculous life. Hannah leaned into her bar=en sit4ation calling out to God, and God moved in her bar=en womb and gave her a son. She sought out the presence of God and laid her need before him praying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your serGant and remember me.”
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!In cont=ast to Hannah you see Eli’s sons who dishonor the manifest presence of God by g=eedily g=asping the choicest cuts of meat that rightf4lly belong to God, and God remembered them with death. Coming before God and circling a sit4ation with his promises and prayer brings amazing answers and reversals to impossible sit4ations. IgNoring the manifest presence of God and g=eedily g=asping at things produces death. When we press into God’s presence we exQerience him in miraculous ways. Over this summer I have been reading Mark BaTerson’s book the Circle Maker. In this book BaTerson challenges his readers to draw a prayer circle around themselves. This idea was something that appealed to me because our mentor in prayer, ArVin Gesswein, had given us a similar challenge. ArVin would Wequently tell us to draw a circle around ourselves and ask God to revive everYZhing inside that circle.
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Mark BaTerson tells the storY,“Rodney ‘GyQsy’ Smith was borN on the outskirZs of London in 1860. He never received a forVal education, yet he lect4red at HarGard. Despite his humble origins, he was invited by t`o siTing United States presidents to the White House. GyQsy crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean forZY-‐five times, preaching the gospel to millions of people, and he never preached without someone sur=endering their life to the lordship of Jesus Christ. GyQsy was powerf4lly used of God. EverY`here he went it seemed like revival was right on his heels. But it wasn’t his preaching that brought revival. It never is. Preaching may move the hearZs of men, but praying moves the hearZ of God. And that’s where revival comes Wom. GyQsy revealed his secret to a delegation of revival seekers who sought an audience with him. They wanted to know how they could make a difference with their lives the way he had with his. His answer was simple yet profound-‐as timely and timeless now as it was a hundred years ago. he gave them this advice…. Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray ferGently and brokenly that God would starZ a revival within that chalk circle.” (Mark BaTerson, Draw the Circle)
!This nexZ ten weeks you will be challenged by the stories of Hannah, Samuel, and David. People who knew something about drawing a circle around themselves in prayer and believing God for the miraculous. We will also have negative pict4res of those who knew the manifest presence of God ( Eli’s sons and Saul) and misused and squandered the opporZ4nitY of being in his presence. Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) over the nexZ ten weeks is to draw a circle around yourself and ask God to move powerf4lly to revive you. As revival begins to move in your hearZ allow that revival to begin to touch the impossible and bar=en places in your life.
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1 Samuel verses 2:22-36
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 2:22 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. 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.”
We see in this passage an increased urgency to do something about the sin of Hophni and Phinehas. As we saw in the earlier verses of chapter 2, the writer is showing us the contrast between the boy priest Samuel and the grown sons of Eli. Eli is very old but that does not keep him from hearing the evil that his sons are participating in at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The notorious sin of Hophni and Phinehas is made worse because it did not occur in some obscure back alley but at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The place that should be an entry point into the manifest presence of God has become a place where those who serve God in fact serve their own sexual appetites. Eli in his old age reprimands his sons, but he does not go as far as to remove them however. His words are a chilling foreshadowing of the future, “If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” Eli makes it clear to his sons that if they continue to sin they will have no one to mediate for them, but they still would not listen to their father. !
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While Hophni and Phinehas are dishonoring God’s presence the young Samuel is growing in his understanding and moving in the manifest presence of God. “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.”!
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These verses have set a tragic backdrop as the man of God enters into the scene to deliver the word of God. Eli’s sons would not listen. So now God sends a messenger with a message that cannot be ignored, and the message is accompanied by a sign, “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.”!
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The message of the prophet reveals that scorn and despising of God’s presence and his sacrifices are much more important than Hophni and Phinehas have realized. “Honored is contrasted with despise (scorned) in this verse(29) and also in v. 30, though there a different term for despise appears. Honoring one’s own sons more than Yahweh, is reversing the priority of devotion and despising the divine commandment go side by side in the lives of sinful men. In fact, in the Ten Commandments, worshipping God only is the first commandment; next after it is honoring one’s parents and treating one’s fellow human beings as images of God.” (David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel)!
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God’s manifest presence is something to be honored and revered. The scorning and despising of his presence is what seals the fate of Hophni and Phinehas. God always is at work to insure that His presence will be known and revered. We see even while the tragic end of the unfaithful priest is being announced God is at work providing for his manifest presence to be displayed. “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.”
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1 Samuel verses 3:1-10
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 3:1 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.”
The word of God is rare or seldom heard in the time in which Samuel is called. Not hearing from God is accompanied by not seeing God. Some commentators think that Eli’s vision being dim and the lamp of God nearly going out is a picture of the,“near extinguishing of divine vision in Israel”. (David Tsumura,1 Samuel) Samuel is a transitional figure who ministers in a time when Israel has no King and God’s people neither hear from him nor see him. Under Samuel’s leadership and ministry all of that is about to change. The spiritual swing that is about to take place in Israel is monumental. Israel is moving into a time when the prophet will hear from God and speak for God. The change is so great that the next chapter tells us “the Lord was with him (Samuel) and let none of his words fall to the ground.”!
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The words “The lamp of God has not yet gone out” tells us that it is the hours right before dawn and is perhaps a literary device to show us the waning of Eli’s leadership and that a new day, prophetically, is about to dawn through the calling of Samuel. The word call is used 11 times in these 10 short verses. As the Lord calls Samuel, Samuel immediately responds, “Here I am”. His response is correct though he does not understand that it is God calling him. Incorrectly, the soon to be prophet thinks that it is Eli calling him. Eli sends Samuel back to bed. The call happens a second time with similar results. Verse 7 explains, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” “That is about to change. His willingness to serve, together with his holy parentage and his childlike acceptance of religious instruction, prepares Samuel to experience Yahweh in a new way. His lack of knowledge of Yahweh leads to confusion in this moment of call, but eventually Eli, a man who at some point in his past understood and appreciated the ways of Yahweh, discerns that it is God who is calling the youth. Samuel is about to enter into this new experience with Yahweh, a relationship that Eli’s sons never had.” (Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel) Eli understands what is happening when Samuel comes to him the third time and instructs Samuel how to respond to the Lord’s call. Eli instructs Samuel that if God calls him again to say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’!
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The Lord patiently calls Samuel a fourth time, but this time the Lord comes and stands near Samuel and calls him. In a time when the word of the Lord was rare, God has already called and spoken to Samuel four times. The fourth time God who had not given many visions of himself in recent years appears standing before Samuel. The newly called prophet Samuel has received both a word from the Lord and a vision of the Lord. God who had called from a distance now comes near and stands before Samuel calling his name twice.! As God calls Samuel this fourth and last time he calls, ‘Samuel, Samuel’. Often when God repeats himself it has special significance. When God called Abraham in Genesis 22:11, “the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” Similarly the call of Moses has Moses’ name being called twice by God. Exodus 3:4, “When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”!
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God’s call to Samuel is an invitation into a deeper relationship with him. He invites him into a role as a prophet where his deepening relationship with God of hearing and seeing him will change a nation. The call is an invitation into an elite group of individuals who have heard God call their name and have known his manifest presence.
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1 Samuel verses 3:11-21
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 3:11 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.
Samuel has been called by the LORD. His first message is hard to hear but even harder to deliver. God prepares him for this difficulty by telling Samuel that the word he is receiving is so hard that every ear that hears this word will tingle. Tingling ears speak of coming judgement. 2 Kings 21:12, says “Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle”. The word of judgement that Samuel must deliver is to the man who has raised him, mentored him and who has just helped him understand God’s call upon his life.!
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God has called and invited Samuel into a new relationship with him as his prophet. Now God begins to inform and instruct Samuel how he will speak messages for him. The first message Samuel hears from God is a word of judgement against a man who been a father figure to him. Judgement is about to visit Eli and his house because of the blasphemy that Eli’s sons have practiced. Eli had verbally corrected his sons, but had not stepped in and removed them from their positions. God is about to remove Hophni and Phinehas for Eli because of the enormity of their sin.!
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Samuel is having many firsts, his first time hearing God, his first time seeing God, his first message from God, and now his first test from God. Samuel did not go immediately and tell Eli what he heard rather he laid down and waited until morning. Samuel is afraid to tell Eli about his vision and about what God has told him. But Eli who has mentored Samuel in all things he has learned about God continues as Samuel’s mentor and commands Samuel, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me”. Samuel passes his first test as prophet because Eli threatens his protege with a curse if Samuel hides anything from him that God has said. Eli failed his sons, but he does not fail Samuel in this moment.!
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“Samuel’s call, however, highlights the burden, pressure, conflict and pain of the word of God. No sooner is Samuel called to the prophetic task than he finds how difficult and heart-rending it can be. He is caught in the dilemma only a true prophet knows. The true prophet must speak Yahweh’s word (why else is he entrusted with it?); yet the true prophet recoils from speaking judgement (v. 15). He will speak judgement because truth is at stake; he cringes to speak it because compassion moves him.”(Dale Ralph Davis 1 Samuel)!
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There is always this tension in the word of God. Any authentic messenger of the word knows and lives in this tension. If a preacher, for example, never places you under the criticism of God’s word, never tells you your sin but only smothers you with comfort, you must wonder if he is a phony. If his preaching contains only the judgment note and seldom offers comfort and encouragement, one must ask if he actually cares for God’s people. If one has a high regard both of the truth of God (even if it’s judgement) and for the troubles of the church he will retain the proper tension in the biblical word; he will both afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel)!
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In verses 19-21 we see that God called Samuel as prophet and confirmed him as prophet before the people of Israel. God continues giving Samuel his presence as he grows. God established Samuel’s words and allowed none of them to fall to the ground. God confirms throughout the land that Samuel is a prophet. Lastly, God makes his manifest presence known in Shiloh. When God calls a man he also confirms him.
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1 Samuel verses 4:1-11
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel 4:1And 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.
The first word that God gave to Samuel came about as Israel went to battle against the Philistines. In the first battle, Israel is defeated by the Philistines and four thousand men die in the battle. The elders of Israel ask, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?” The elders were tribal leaders, seventy in number and established by Moses to help make important decisions for Israel. Numbers 11:16, “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you’.” The elders of Israel ask a good question but do not wait on God to hear a good answer. They decide to take the ark of the covenant from Shiloh into the next battle with the Philistines in order to insure their victory. The ark of the covenant was the visible sign of God’s manifest presence with Israel. It was a gold covered box that had moved with God’s people through the wilderness and resided in the most holy place in the tabernacle. It contained the ten commandments and was central to the worship of God’s people. The ark represented God’s presence and authority in Israel. The lid was known as the mercy seat and every year it was sprinkled with the sacrifice of blood. The ark of the covenant represented God’s presence, his rule and the mercy he provided in forgiving his people. Numbers 10:35, “Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, "Rise up, LORD! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” The ark also represented God’s presence as Israel faced their enemies in battle.!
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“Their assumption is if we bring the ark to battle Yahweh will be forced to deliver us to protect his honor. Should something happen to the ark, it would make Yahweh the loser-and, naturally, he would not allow that to happen. He’ll have to save us now-his honor is at stake. They now have God under pressure because they have the sign of his presence; hence he dare not allow them to lose.” (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel) They send the order to Shiloh and Hophni and Phinehas come to battle with the ark of the covenant. !
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Verse 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.” The Philistines hearing the sound were afraid and remembered how God fought for Israel against the Egyptians. They decide to fight courageously in order to not become slaves to Israel. Israel is defeated by the Philistines and then the unthinkable happens, the ark of the covenant is captured by the Philistines and Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas die in the battle.!
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“Israel plans the bringing of the ark as the key to the victory, but Yahweh uses it to carry his purpose to put Hophni and Phinehas to death. The irony goes deeper. There was no doubt about how the press and the media would interpret the event; Even with the very sign of Yahweh’s presence among them Israel’s troops were decimated; in Israel’s defeat Yahweh was defeated; he was unable to give Israel victory. Yahweh-to his shame-was a loser. But if we’ve listened to the story from the first, we know that the strange twist is precisely here. We know that on the day that seemed to dishonor Yahweh, Yahweh was in fact beginning to protect his honor and to restore it. Yahweh may be despised in Philistia (for a while) but he will no more be despised in Shiloh…..Yahweh is clearly but quietly fulfilling a word he had spoken. Indeed though in fulfilling this word he acts in judgement he nevertheless acts in grace, for in his judgement he is removing false shepherds who caused his people to go astray.” (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel) Although, the elders of Israel thought this would be unthinkable, the defeat of Israel actually accomplished the word of God that had been delivered to Samuel. God always defends his word and his own honor.
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A Study of the Manifest Presence of God in 1 Samuel Reflection Day Obedience is of prime imporZance to Yahweh. In chapter 2, Yahweh sends a man of God to Eli to ask him, (2:29)“ Why then do you scorN my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by faTening yourselves on the choicest parZs of everY offering of my people Israel?’ In chapter 3, Yahweh calls Samuel and the first message He gives Samuel is one of judgement against Eli and his sons, “Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the t`o ears of everYone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I
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will f4lfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerNing his house, Wom 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 rest=ain them.”
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God will not tolerate sin or disobedience, especially not Wom His own serGants. As we spend these nexZ few weeks drawing prayer circles around the areas of our lives, we need to stop and ask ourselves, “is there any place where I have been disobedient?” In the passages this week God made it exZ=emely clear that He is serious about sin. Yahweh used the Philistine arVy to car=Y out His judgement against Eli and his sons. “Yahweh is clearly but quietly f4lfilling a word he had spoken. Indeed, though, in f4lfilling this word he acts in judgement, he neverZheless acts in g=ace, for in his judgement he is removing false shepherds who caused his people to go ast=ay.” (Dale Ralph Davis) God takes your sin seriously. He sent His only Son to die on the cross to bear the penaltY for that sin. If we are seriously drawing prayer circles and praying with direction and passion there is a verY good chance that areas of sin are surfacing. Take time now to deal with your sin.
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God’s Call-‐ Re-‐read this porZion of script4re Wom 1 Samuel 3:1-‐10 Wom the Message. The boy Samuel was serGing God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was verY bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanct4arY lamp was still burNing. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of God, where the Chest of God rested. Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did. God called again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Again Eli said, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” (This all happened before Samuel knew God for himself. It was before the revelation of God had been given to him personally.) God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.” That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your serGant, ready to listen.’” Samuel ret4rNed to his bed. Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your serGant, ready to listen.”
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As you are drawing prayer circles around your life there is a good chance God is calling you to something. There is also the possibilitY that you are st=4ggling to understand what He is saying. Have a talk this week with a t=4sted Wiend about what you are hearing.