Bible Study April 8

April 8, 2023

Saturday morning we begin in the book of 1 Samuel. Change is in the wind in Israel and to Samuel – the elderly prophet and leader of the nation the winds were bitter cold. His own sons had shown themselves unworthy to lead the nation as judges.

Chapter 1 –

1 Samuel begins when judges ruled in Israel and ends with the coronation of David as king. Samuel was the last judge and good judge who governed according to God’s will. Shiloh was the location of the tabernacle and that made it the religious center of Israel at that time.

Personal tragedy so colored Hannah’s perspective that she would lose sight of the beauty and grace already present in her life. The best place for a person to go when they feel hopeless is before God. She became humble, submissive, and referred to herself as Your maidservant. She conceives and has a son whom she names Samuel which means “Name of God.” Elkanah may have been his biological father but she understood that the Lord provided her son.

Chapter 2 –

The first verses of chapter two are Hannah’s song and prayer. We see here the first mention in scripture of the anointed king or Messiah and is the first time the Promised One is described in royal terms.

Eli was a priest and restrainer of Israel but he failed in his own home. His sons were taking parts of the offering that were offered rather than waiting until the sacrifice had been made as God had instructed. Conversely, Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child and grew in favor with both the Lord and men. Eli and his house would be excluded from serving as priests.

Chapter 3 –

Samuel lived at a time when prophets rarely spoke to Israel because their hearts were hard, they would not listen. Samuel did not yet know the Lord even though he had heard about Him, hearing about Him is not he same as knowing Him. God’s call to Samuel came with greater intensity each time. The Lord’s message to Samuel is the same one Eli received from the man of God. This confirms the authenticity of the message. God let none of his words fall to the ground means that Samuel’s prophecies, delivered to him by God, came true – further confirmation of his prophetic office.