Day 31 – Samuel Listens to God – 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21
Three main people inhabit the pages of the Book of Samuel: Samuel, Saul, and David. Each will have a one day introduction. Today is Samuel’s turn. Samuel is a priest, judge and prophet. So he is a transitional figure, with one backward looking role (judge) and one forward looking role (prophet).
The events open in the period of chaos as described in the final chapters of the Book of Judges. This plays out in the story of Eli’s sons who are in charge of the temple at Shiloh , yet engage in profiteering and sexual misconduct. God tells both Eli and Samuel that the future of Eli’s sons is death. This reminds us that God’s grace also comes with the precursor of God’s judgment. Why would we need grace if judgment did not exist? The story of Eli’s sons reminds depicts Paul’s words from his letter to the Romans: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) We often avert our eyes from the first part of this statement, but how often does sin lead to death in life. More often than we care to admit.
Of course Samuel’s mother Hannah is a wonderful example of faith in this passage. New life from no life, hope from hopelessness, despair turned into thanksgiving. We see all this play out for Hannah. We also read the great words of her own song (much like Mary’s song) which make the personal promises fulfilled for her take on a wider message of hope to all those on the bottom in society. What do you see as hope for you or for those facing difficulties in society as you read Hannah’s story and her song?
By the end of this passage, Samuel is in place, although many more problems lie ahead. Some we will read, many we will miss in this annotated reading of the Book of Samuel. As a side note, 1 & 2 Samuel are really one book. The split originated in issues related to the large scroll size needed, in case you need to answer this in a trivia game.
In Christ,
Randy
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