1,2 Samuel

The People’s Bible

1, 2 Samuel

John R. Mittelstaedt

NORTHWESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSE

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

To Molly

loved by her family

loved more by God

Cover art by Frank Ordaz.

Interior illustrations by Glenn Myers.

Covers of first edition volumes and certain second edition volumes feature illustrations by James Tissot (1836–1902).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations in reviews, without prior permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Card 93–84456

Northwestern Publishing House

1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226–3284

© 1993 by Northwestern Publishing House.

ISBN 0–8100–1167–0

CONTENTS

Editor’s Preface

Introduction to Samuel

1 Samuel

Life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–8:22)

Life of Saul (1 Samuel 9:1–15:35)

Life of David (1 Samuel 16:1–31:13)

2 Samuel

Life of David (2 Samuel 1:1–24:25)

ILLUSTRATIONS

The voice of the Lord calls Samuel

Saul and his oxen return from the fields

Saul hurls his spear at Jonathan

Saul consults the witch of Endor

David dances before the ark

Nathan said to David, You are the man!

Amnon and Tamar

Absalom gets caught in the tree

The wise woman calls out to Joab

MAP

The wanderings of David

EDITOR’S PREFACE

The People’s Bible is just what the name implies—a Bible for the people. It includes the complete text of the Holy Scriptures in the popular New International Version. The commentary following the Scripture sections contains personal applications as well as historical background and explanations of the text.

The authors of The People’s Bible are men of scholarship and practical insight, gained from years of experience in the teaching and preaching ministries. They have tried to avoid the technical jargon that limits so many commentary series to professional Bible scholars.

The most important feature of these books is that they are Christ-centered. Speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus himself declared, These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). Each volume of The People’s Bible directs our attention to Jesus Christ. He is the center of the entire Bible. He is our only Savior.

The commentaries also have maps, illustrations, and archaeological information when appropriate. All the books include running heads to direct the reader to the passage he is looking for.

This commentary series was initiated by the Commission on Christian Literature of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

It is our prayer that this endeavor may continue as it began. We dedicate these volumes to the glory of God and to the good of his people.

INTRODUCTION

The historical account you are about to read will take you back some three thousand years to one of the most significant periods in Israel’s history. In particular, you will learn how God went about establishing a kingdom in Israel, a line of kings that would, in greater and lesser degrees, point the way to the coming reign of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

The word kingdom is an important term for every Bible student to understand. This should be obvious from its frequent use in Scripture. The words kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven occur no less than 119 times in the New Testament. When John the Baptist proclaimed Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near, he was understood by his contemporaries to say, and he certainly intended to say, that the Messiah was coming and that his kingdom was soon to be ushered in. John’s listeners understood correctly that God establishes his kingdom through the Messiah.

To this day the kingdom of God is expanded through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As people are brought to faith in Christ, they are welcomed into his kingdom and brought under his gracious rule. Thus the reign of Christ refers to the entire number of believers on earth as well as those above. It is both a kingdom of grace and a kingdom of glory.

It was always God’s intention to reign as king in the hearts and lives of the Israelites. A government ordered by God in which its citizens look to God for their laws, for guidance, and for protection against those who threaten the state is called a theocracy (rule of God). In time God intended to give his people an earthly representative of his rule—a king who would work to preserve the unity of God’s chosen people. The rule of one king is called a monarchy (rule of one). God’s desire, however, was to combine the two, so that the Israelites, his people, would be governed by a theocratic monarchy. In other words, God wanted the kingdom of Israel to be both an outward kingdom and an inward rule of faith in the people’s hearts.

The years of the judges had been years of spiritual decline for Israel. The book of Judges closes with these telling words: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (21:25). In other words, there was little regard for God and even less appreciation for his Word. The nation was on a long, slow drift from God. Complicating this was the growing infiltration of Canaanite Baal worship into the homes of the nation.

Without strong leadership the nation was especially vulnerable to the attacks of the Philistines. The Philistines were among those who were usually referred to as the Sea Peoples. Their power was centered in five cities in southwestern Palestine, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. With the sea to the west of them, they really had only one direction to turn: east into the territory of Israel. One of the keys to the military strength of the Philistines was their use of iron weapons. We are told in 1 Samuel 13:19–22 that they held a virtual monopoly on the iron smelting process.

The book of Samuel opens with the birth of Samuel. His birth came in answer to his mother’s sincere prayer, and she named him Samuel, which means God has heard. He was born at one of the lowest ebbs in Israel’s history, when the nation had been brought to its knees not in worship of the Lord but in defeat and humiliation by the Philistines. Eli had been the high priest at Shiloh, but now he was old, and he had failed to train and discipline his sons. Their conduct was disgraceful and caused people to despise the services of God’s house. Eli trained and prepared Samuel for service to God. And when the aged priest and his wicked sons suddenly died, Samuel began to lead the nation.

Samuel saw the nation through the turbulent time between the period of the judges and the beginning of the monarchy. He was not only the last of the judges in Israel but the greatest prophet since the days of Moses. We would do Samuel a great disservice were we to think of him only as the one who reluctantly accepted Israel’s demand for a king and anointed both Saul and David. His finest hour came long before that as he called the nation back to God in repentance. As he set up an Ebenezer, literally a stone of help, he called on the people to return to the Lord. Thus far has the LORD helped us, he cried out. Samuel’s prophetic ministry could perhaps best be summed up in the words he would eventually speak to Saul: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).

When Samuel was old, a delegation of elders came to him at Ramah, requesting that he appoint for them a king to rule the nation. Samuel was brokenhearted when he heard their demands, but God told him to give the people what they wanted, a king of their own, even though they would live to regret it.

The first king appointed to rule over Israel was Saul. Tall and handsome, he was every inch a king. He looked so good, so impressive. He began to rule humbly and with distinction, but somewhere along the way he changed. In time Saul became strong-willed, thin-skinned, hot-tempered, and given to moments of violent rage and seasons of deep depression. Again and again he went against the word and will of God, until finally God rejected him as king. How could anyone who had looked so good go so wrong?

God directed Samuel to anoint Israel’s next king. It was to be David. Even this young man’s father was surprised that God would choose someone so young for such distinction. You may already be acquainted with David, the composer of psalms, the teenage king elect, the slayer of giants, the friend of Jonathan, the father of Absalom. But through this study, you’ll also see how much you didn’t know or had forgotten about David and how much you can learn from his life for your own. Do you know that more is written about David than any other biblical character except Jesus and Moses? There are 14 chapters dedicated to the life of Abraham. Fourteen chapters are also reserved for the life of Joseph. But when it comes to David, we have no fewer than 66 chapters in the Old Testament!

We read of David in 1 Samuel that all Israel and Judah loved David. Everyone was fond of him, from Saul and Samuel to Jonathan and Abigail. But more than all these, David was a man loved by God. His name means beloved … loved by God. And on at least two occasions in the Bible, he is called a man after God’s own heart.

Please don’t misunderstand. This is not to suggest that David was without fault and great failing. To be sure, he was uniquely gifted. But he was also human to the core. He was strong in battle but weak at home. His life both warns us of the terribleness of sin and displays the depths of God’s love. What made David a man after God’s own heart was that he was open to correction from God. He was sensitive and alert to God’s leading, and he took delight in the things that delight God.

The two books of Samuel really belong together as one. They appear that way in the original Hebrew Bible, where they were copied onto a single scroll. But when the translators prepared the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, they had to use two scrolls. The two scrolls came to be known as the first and second books of the Kingdom. The two books of Kings were known as the third and fourth books of the Kingdom.

The books of Samuel get their title from the prophet Samuel, the principal character of the opening chapters. In view of the fact that he was the last of Israel’s judges, one of its greatest prophets and the one who anointed both Saul and David, it is not inappropriate that these books should bear his name.

Some have even suggested that Samuel wrote at least the first part of these books. We know that according to Jewish tradition Samuel was said to be the inspired writer of Judges, Ruth, and the first part of Samuel. And from 1 Samuel 10:25 we learn that the prophet was a writer. It has been further suggested that the portion of the books that recounts events following his death was written by Nathan and Gad (see 1 Chronicles 29:29) or by one of the pupils from Samuel’s school of the prophets. But all this is pure speculation.

What is clear is that whoever wrote the book of Samuel had intimate knowledge of details and events that had significance for the entire nation. This inspired writer certainly may have made use of existing records such as the Book of Jashar (2 Samuel 1:18) and the record of the events of King David’s reign (1 Chronicles 29:29). The narratives contained in the book of Samuel are masterpieces of historical writing. The writer makes history come alive. Friends, members of the king’s family, and inner personal struggles all become integral parts of the sacred record. To this day we cannot point to another historical writing that recounts national history with such intimate, personal details from the lives of those chiefly involved.

The book of Samuel could be divided into three sections of unequal length according to the three chief characters of the sacred record: Samuel, chapters 1 through 8; Saul, chapters 9 through 15; and David, chapters 16 through 2 Samuel chapter 24.

The narratives in Samuel present us with the good news of the gospel in Old Testament garb. Here the patience of God and his faithfulness to his Word are displayed. We see a God who answers prayer and who finds a way to deliver and rescue his own no matter how fearful the circumstances. We are further encouraged to claim the Lord as our rock, our fortress, our strength, and our deliverer. We learn that there is no sin so terrible that it cannot be forgiven. The person who has wandered farthest from the heart of God may yet, by repentance and faith, be restored into God’s family and favor. Finally, here we learn that out of weak, sinful nobodies like ourselves, God still can make people after his own heart, all for the sake of Jesus.

1 SAMUEL—PART ONE

Life of Samuel

(1:1–8:22)

Samuel—An Answer to Prayer

1 Samuel 1:1–20

1  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. ²He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³Year 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. ⁴Whenever 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. ⁵But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. ⁷This 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. ⁸Elkanah her husband 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?

⁹Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s temple. ¹⁰In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. ¹¹And she made a vow, saying, O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon 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.

¹²As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and said to her, How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.

¹⁵Not 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. ¹⁶Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.

¹⁷Eli answered, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.

¹⁸She said, May your servant find favor in your eyes. Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

¹⁹Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, Because I asked the LORD for him.

Out of the political unrest and spiritual ruin of the period of the Judges there arose one of the great servants of God, the prophet Samuel. These were obviously not the best of times. A description of these times appears in the last chapter of the book of Judges: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (21:25). With no leader in the land, there was little regard for God. The self-willed people did as they pleased.

Yet in the midst of disorder, God was working to establish his kingdom of grace on earth. Samuel would be used by God to lead Israel out of some of its darkest days. Samuel would anoint Israel’s first kings. The Lord’s kingdom, however, would not be fully achieved by a Saul or a David but by one far greater, the One who is King of kings and Lord of all. David’s reign could only prefigure his reign. What God did to keep his word and prepare for Christ’s eternal reign is the exciting story of the book of Samuel.

Even in times of moral decay, the worship of the Lord survived. Elkanah is an example of a father who took seriously his spiritual responsibilities. According to Exodus 23:14–17, pilgrimages to the tabernacle located at Shiloh were required at least three times a year. Although the law required that only male members of age attend the festivals at the sanctuary, Elkanah took his entire family with him. No doubt Elkanah’s upbringing had something to do with his dedication to the services of God’s house. He was a descendant of Kohath, the second son of Levi. The Kohathites had been given the responsibility of caring for the sanctuary and all its holy things. They were the ones who set up and took down the tabernacle during the 40 years of wilderness wandering (Numbers 3:27–32). Under Joshua, the Kohathites settled in the wooded hill country of Ephraim. Elkanah’s home was at Ramathaim. Tradition has it that this place was about 4 miles northwest of Jerusalem.

Joshua had set up the tabernacle at Shiloh, approximately 20 miles north of Jerusalem. By this time the tabernacle seems to have become a more permanent structure, for in verse 7 it is called the house of the LORD, and in verse 9 the LORD’s temple.

Every family has its problems, and the family of Elkanah was no exception. The strain in this household was obvious. Here were two wives, Hannah and Peninnah, competing for the love and attention of the same man. Those who argue that in Old Testament times God condoned polygamy or that in this case it was justified because of Hannah’s infertility seem strangely insensitive to the bitter strife within this home. But even more important, they forget that Jesus was quoting the Old Testament when he stated that in marriage two will become one flesh (Matthew 19:5).

The worst times for Hannah were during the holidays, the festival days. As families gathered, wives were sure to discuss family life and compare children. Peninnah used such occasions to lord it over her rival. Not even Elkanah’s profession of undying love could fill the emptiness of Hannah’s life.

Though no one else seemed to understand, Hannah was sure God understood. She took her need to the Lord in prayer. Hannah vowed that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to God for all his life, like Samson before him, or John the Baptist after him. Such a vow was called a Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1–21). Those who accepted it were to abstain from alcoholic drink and remain unshaven.

As Hannah fervently prayed, her lips moved silently. The essence of her prayer is found in two words in verse 11: remember me. Eli, the high priest, saw her lips move but couldn’t hear this prayer of her heart. He rashly concluded that she was intoxicated. It’s a sad commentary on religious life in those times that a lone worshiper in the sanctuary should have been accused of drunkenness by the high priest. For Hannah, it was adding insult to injury. She could have been deeply offended. Instead, she spoke up and defended her honor. Eli felt her reproof and dismissed her with a high priestly blessing.

Hannah left the sanctuary that day knowing she could do no better than to hand everything over to God. The change in her was dramatic. As the saying goes, Prayer changes things, or perhaps more correctly, Prayer changes people. Her anxiety and despair were replaced with cheerfulness and a positive outlook.

Hannah’s confidence in the Lord was not misplaced. The LORD remembered her. This figurative expression does not mean that God had forgotten about her, but only that he now made his loving care for her evident. She conceived and bore a son and called him Samuel, meaning God has heard. Samuel continues to be a reminder to all that God hears prayer.

Samuel Dedicated to the Lord

1 Samuel 1:21–28

²¹When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, ²²Hannah 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.

²³Do what seems best to you, Elkanah her husband 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.

²⁴After 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. ²⁵When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶and she said to him, As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. ²⁷I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸So 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.

Hannah was not about to go back on her word, although it appears her husband feared she might have a change of heart. It’s possible to translate Elkanah’s words as "may the Lord make good your word." Hannah was determined to follow through on the vow she had made. She cherished the few years she had with her son and made the most of them. Who says the early years of childhood aren’t important? We dare say that much of what Samuel learned and the character he developed can be attributed to the training he received from his mother during those precious years.

When Samuel was no more than five or six years of age, his parents took him to Shiloh and presented him to the Lord. The sacrifice of a fully matured, and therefore valuable, bull was the offering prescribed for a special vow like Hannah’s. The other items—the ephah (about three-fifths of a bushel) of flour and the skin of wine—were gifts for the priest and his family.

It was a grateful mother who stood before Eli that day. I prayed for this child, she said, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. She was giving Samuel back as a living offering to God. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.

Not all can dedicate their lives to the service of God in such a special way. But all believers can show by their lives that they belong to Jesus. The apostle Paul urged the Christians in Rome: Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).

Hannah’s Song of Praise

1 Samuel 2:1–11

2 Then Hannah prayed and said:

"My heart rejoices in the LORD;

in the LORD my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

for I delight in your deliverance.

²"There is no one holy like the LORD;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

³"Do not keep talking so proudly

or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

for the LORD is a God who knows,

and by him deeds are weighed.

⁴"The bows of the warriors are broken,

but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

but those who were hungry hunger no more.

She who was barren has borne seven children,

but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶"The LORD brings death and makes alive;

he brings down to the grave and raises up.

⁷The LORD sends poverty and wealth;

he humbles and he exalts.

⁸He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

and has them inherit a throne of honor.

"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;

upon them he has set the world.

⁹He will guard the feet of his saints,

but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

"It is not by strength that one prevails;

¹⁰those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.

He will thunder against them from heaven;

the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

"He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed."

¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

Hannah was not like those who turn to God in time of need but then forget to honor him with praise and thanksgiving. The second chapter opens with her song of praise. Note that it is also called her prayer. It is in the style of Hebrew poetry. That means that one sentence parallels another. The theme of her song is the glory of the Lord who humbles the proud and exalts the lowly. She praises God for the strength he employs in our behalf. My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. Horn is symbolic of strength and salvation.

The bitterness and sorrow of her prayer recorded in chapter 1 are all gone. Her thoughts are on the goodness and greatness of the Lord. There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

Many centuries later the refrain of Hannah’s song was picked up and re-echoed in Mary’s song of praise (Luke 1:46–55). And like Mary, Hannah praised God for sending the Messiah. In the last verse of her prayer, we find the Hebrew title Messiah (his anointed) used for the very first time in the Bible.

Train a Child in the Way He Should Go

1 Samuel 2:12–26

¹²Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD. ¹³Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.

¹⁶If the man said to him, Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want, the servant would then answer, No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.

¹⁷This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.

¹⁸But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD. Then they would go home. ²¹And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

²²Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ²³So he said to them, Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. ²⁴No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the LORD’s people. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him? His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the LORD’s will to put them to death.

²⁶And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men.

Samuel’s parents did not seem to have had any misgivings about leaving their son with Eli, although we can well understand why they might have. The conduct of Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas was notorious. Pampered by an indulgent father, they grew up believing they could disregard what God had said and do whatever they pleased. Their practice of taking the fat, or choicest, part of the sacrifice for themselves and of using the sanctuary to commit adultery with women who came to worship brought disgrace on the priestly office and caused people to look with disdain on the services of God’s house.

Samuel remained uncorrupted by all this wickedness. Hannah had trained her son well. And God honored her faith by giving her additional children. What a happy time it was for Hannah when each year she visited her son and presented him with a new linen ephod, that is, an outer garment. Like most boys his age, Samuel outgrew his clothing every year. Yet even when he was an old man, he was still being blessed by the influence of his godly mother.

No such blessing awaited Eli’s sons. We’re told that it was the LORD’s will to put them to death. It was not that the Lord took delight in doing this. But these sons had become so hardened in their lives of sin that they refused all counsel from their father. And when individuals so harden themselves against God, he often lets them go in their sin and blinds them to his ways (John 12:37–43). As Eli noted, If a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?

Those who ask how a gracious God could do such a thing might better ask how a holy God could be as patient as he was. Hophni and Phinehas should have been warned by what had happened to Nadab and Abihu years earlier. These sons of Aaron, both priests, were struck dead when they experimented a little with an incense offering at the altar of the Lord (Leviticus 10:1–3). It doesn’t sound that serious to us. Just a little incense tossed into the fire by these young men and a small explosion, that’s all. Yet God is so holy that any impropriety in Israel’s worship, no matter how slight it seems to us, deserved death. The conduct of Eli’s sons was so disgraceful that it enrages even our sense of propriety.

Eli did speak up to warn his sons. At this time he was probably in his 90s. His words of admonition are a classic example of too little too late. Parents who spare the rod not only spoil the child but, it can be said, contribute to their child’s eternal destruction.

Samuel, on the other hand, is a beautiful example of the blessings of training children to know God when they are young. We’re told the young Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men. In this respect Samuel reminds us of Christ. The evangelist Luke applied this description of Samuel to the 12-year-old Jesus (Luke 2:52). We are once again reminded that the account that follows of the establishment of a kingdom in Israel is really his story.

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

1 Samuel 2:27–36

²⁷Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? ²⁸I chose your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your father’s house all the offerings made with fire by the Israelites. ²⁹Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

³⁰"Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. ³¹The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line ³²and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. ³³Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

³⁴ ‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. ³⁵I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always. ³⁶Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a crust of bread and plead, Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.’ "

We have no reason to question Eli’s desire to serve God and no cause to doubt he was a true believer. But the fact is, he was an indulgent father. In giving in to his sons, he took the mercy and patience of God for granted. If only he had realized his love for his sons was actually contributing to their destruction!

An unnamed prophet was sent to tell Eli that God held him personally responsible for his sons’ shameful conduct. Eli had honored his wayward sons more than he had honored a holy God. As a result, his descendants, those born of Aaron’s youngest son, Ithamar, would eventually be cut off from the priesthood and forced to beg for bread. Eli was told that none of his descendants would live to an old age. All would die in the prime of life. The original promise of God that Eli’s family would always minister before God was abrogated. We are reminded that no one can turn the promises of God around and use them against him. God’s promise had been conditional, as he said: Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.

A later chapter reveals how Saul, in a terrible outburst of anger, ordered his men to kill 85 priests living in the city of Nob (22:18). Only Abiathar escaped to live on in exile. Under David he had to share the priesthood with Zadok, a descendant of Aaron’s son Eleazar. And when Solomon became king, he ordered Abiathar removed from the priesthood in fulfillment of what the Lord had said at Shiloh (1 Kings 2:27).

But our God is a God of promise. So even though he was forced to abrogate one promise, he immediately made a far greater promise. He promised to raise up a faithful priest whose ministration would be forever (verse 35). Obviously this cannot be a reference to Samuel or Zadok. It can only be Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest, of whom it is written, You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6). Here was a promise that would not be abrogated. No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Speak, Lord, Your Servant is Listening

1 Samuel 3:1–10

3 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

²One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³The 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. ⁴Then the LORD called Samuel.

Samuel answered, Here I am. ⁵And he ran to Eli and said, Here I am; you called me.

But Eli said, I did not call; go back and lie down. So he went and lay down.

⁶Again the LORD called, Samuel! And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, Here I am; you called me.

My son, Eli said, I did not call; go back and lie down.

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, Here I am; you called me.

Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹So Eli told Samuel, Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel!

Then Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is listening.

When Martin Luther was a student at the University of Erfurt, he found a copy of the Bible in the school library. As he paged through Scripture, he happened upon the words in verse 10 and read them with great interest. How he wished he could be like Samuel and hear God’s voice! The great discovery of Luther’s life was that on the pages of the Bible, God does speak to us as he once spoke to Samuel.

In Samuel’s day, as in Luther’s, the word of the LORD was rare. People had little interest in hearing what God had to say. The five books of Moses were kept in the tabernacle, but even the priests neglected them. Not since the death of Moses had there been a great prophet in Israel. And there were not many visions.

No greater judgment can fall upon a nation than when it suffers the loss of God’s Word. When people do not appreciate the gospel, God often takes it from them. Are we aware that by our repeated neglect we can bring about such a famine of God’s Word? (See Amos 8:11, 12.)

Samuel continued his faithful assistance to the aged Eli. Many of his duties could best be described as custodial: opening the doors of the house of the Lord, trimming the wicks on the lamp just outside the Most Holy Place, and filling them with enough oil to last the hours of darkness.

Early one morning, shortly before dawn, the sound of his name awakened Samuel. What else could he think except that Eli had called him? He did not yet know the LORD. He had never before heard the voice of God directly, even though from childhood on his mother, Hannah, had taught him about God and the promised Savior.

Here I am, Samuel announced, as he dutifully came running to Eli’s bedside. But Eli dismissed him, saying he must have been dreaming. Only after the young man had dutifully reported to Eli’s bedside three times did the aged priest realize that it was the Lord who was calling. Eli told Samuel how to answer. So the next time Samuel heard his name being called, he answered with the words that would become the essence of his calling as a prophet: Speak, for your servant is listening.

Isn’t it interesting that when the Lord looks for someone to speak for him, the very first qualification is that the person be willing to listen when God speaks. The secret of Samuel’s success as a prophet was not that he excelled in speaking but in listening!

The voice of the Lord calls Samuel

God’s Servant Must Be Above Reproach

1 Samuel 3:11–14

¹¹And the LORD said to Samuel: See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. ¹³For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ 

The Lord’s first directive to the young prophet was no small assignment. All Israel would be affected by it. The ears of everyone who hears of it [will] tingle. Samuel was to pronounce God’s judgment upon Eli’s family because of his failure to restrain and discipline his sons. The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.

Does this mean there can be no forgiveness for us when our children rebel or when we fail as parents? By God’s standards we are all failures. But we can take comfort, as Eli did, that God does not forsake us in our greatest need.

The point of the Lord’s words was not that Eli could not be forgiven but that the offense and damage his family had brought on God’s house could not be removed by any sacrifice or offering they made. Those who serve as spiritual leaders in the church are to set an example by their family life. In listing the duties and qualifications of a pastor, Paul wrote to Timothy: He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) (1 Timothy 3:4, 5).

There is, of course, the danger that pastors, wanting their children to be models of decorum, will go to the opposite extreme, becoming too strict and expecting too much of their children. The Bible warns against embittering our children (Colossians 3:21). We have to remember that our children have been given to us to teach and to cherish, not to mold and fashion in our likeness.

Samuel Speaks for the Lord

1 Samuel 3:15–18

¹⁵Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶but Eli called him and said, Samuel, my son.

Samuel answered, Here I am.

¹⁷What was it he said to you? Eli asked. Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you. ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.

There would be no more sleep for Samuel that night. He lay awake wondering what he would say. The question was not if he would tell Eli, but how he would say it. Eli made it easy on Samuel by encouraging him to hold back nothing. Did he suspect what was coming? Eli gave evidence that he had not lost his faith. He acknowledged that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord by accepting his message unquestionably. He is the LORD, he said, let him do what is good in his eyes. Father, your will be done.

A Faithful Prophet

1 Samuel 3:19–4:1

¹⁹The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. ²¹The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

4 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

Samuel had passed the first real test of a prophet. He had spoken God’s words faithfully and unashamedly. Samuel’s position as prophet was strengthened by further revelations from the Lord. God upheld his servant and saw to it that his words were fulfilled. The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. All Israel came to have respect and confidence in the young prophet.

The cities of Dan and Beersheba represented the entire land of Israel; Dan marked the northern boundary, and Beersheba the southern boundary of Israel.

With Samuel, God established the prophetic office to function alongside priest and king. The first verse of chapter 4 is a kind of summary of Samuel’s entire ministry: Samuel’s word came to all Israel. Samuel was the first of a long line of illustrious servants of God of whom the apostle Peter later said, All the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days (Acts 3:24).

The Philistines Capture the Ark

1 Samuel 4:1–11

Now the Israelites