1 Samuel 2 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer

2:1 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.
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,
    for 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 boy¹ was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli’s Worthless Sons

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.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

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.

The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household

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 scorn² 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 his³ eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants⁴ of your house shall die by the sword of men.⁵ 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.”’”

Footnotes

[1] 2:11 Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context
[2] 2:29 Hebrew kick at
[3] 2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew your; twice in this verse
[4] 2:33 Hebrew increase
[5] 2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew die as men

Commentary

v1-10: Hannah's prayer when she left Samuel at the tabernacle.

The themes are similar to those in Mary's song, Luke 1.46-53: in praise to God (v1; Luke 1.46); declaring God as Saviour (v1; Luke 1.47); seeing human strength broken (v4; Luke 1.51); and seeing the hungry filled (v5,7; Luke 1.53).

v1: Hannah had joy and confidence in God, for He had answered her prayers.

v2: There is satisfaction in God alone, and He is unique. Hannah's prayer brings the theme that God's ways are not man's ways.

We accept that God is holy, and there are many scriptures to that effect; but the wording here is much stronger; His holiness is beyond the grasp and comprehension of the holiest of His creatures; and His holiness far exceeds that of any other. And His holiness is unchangeable, while we ebb and flow at best.

v3: Pride and arrogance are wrong; we must be submissive to God, and we are answerable to Him. The Lord is “a God of knowledge,” or, in the Hebrew, “knowledges.” His knowledge is not restricted to facts, but to attitudes and desires; His weighing of actions reflects this deeper knowledge.

v4-5: Human circumstances are turned upside down by God's power and intervention. The way things appear is not always the reality. Circumstances must not be allowed to drag us down; rather faith looks up to God who is omnipotent.

v6-8: God has power to order men's lives. He brings death and makes alive; He sends both poverty and wealth; He humbles and exalts. We are wise to see that all things are from His hand, and submit to His power. He challenges the human attitude that ‘might is right,’ by raising up the poor into positions of honour and authority.

Just a few pages earlier in our Bibles, and doubtless known to Hannah; God had raised up Naomi and Ruth. Hannah had confidence that God could and would raise up.

v9: God is not capricious nor random; He will always guard those who belong to Him, for He knows those who are His. We do not prevail through human strength, but through faith in God. Hannah testified of personal weakness, but found her strength in God.

God is utterly sovereign; and God is totally good. We hold both together.

v10: Those who oppose and defy God will be judged.

v11: Samuel remained before the Lord in a difficult situation. Although Eli was the priest of the Lord, his sons Hophni and Phinehas were wicked, and Eli had failed to restrain them (3.13).

v12-17: Eli's sons were corrupt. They abused their privileges as priests (see below). Like Nadab and Abihu, they abused the holy things of God; they sought personal gain, and treated the offerings with contempt. They were sinning against God (v25), and there was no remedy (3.14).

The priests were provided for by the offerings of the people; although a burnt offering was totally consumed, other offerings included a portion for the priests; see Lev 2.10; 6.16-18, 26; 7.6,28-34. In Lev 7.36 the principle was laid down that the priests receive from the offerings of the people.

The attitude of Eli's sons contrasted with Hannah's devotion, and with Samuel's growth (v26).

v18-19: Samuel began to minister before the Lord, and each year his mother visited him.

v20-21: Eli blessed Elkanah, clearly grateful for the service of Samuel. God blessed Hannah with more children. She had given her first born, and had received more in return. We are confident that God honours those who honour Him.

v22-25: Eli had heard about his sons' behaviour, and he rebuked them. But this seemed too late; they had served as priests, and he had not removed them. Their sins were well-known, as the bad report spread amongst "the Lord's people"; we can only guess at the bad influence that this had upon the people.

God gave them up to sinful desires, see Rom 1.24,26. Hophni and Phinehas were defiant against God, had rejected their father's rebuke; soon they would be judged directly by God.

v26: Samuel grew, like the Lord Jesus, Luke 2.40, 52. Like Christ, he was bringing in a new era for the people of God.

He had to endure weak Eli, and the wicked sons.

v27-29: God was not silent. The message was to Eli, the priest and father. The words for Eli are clear; he was not without blame, see 3.13. He honoured his sons more than God, and he was implicated in their wrong-doing.

v30-33: The gift of the priesthood had been by family line, see also v27; but that privilege was lost where there was such serious sin. Eli had failed to honour the Lord, and would therefore miss out on God's blessing.

There is a danger of formalism, where men hold religious authority or position with maintaining a personal trust in God. See 3 John 9-10, where Diotrephes held on to authority in a church, and could not easily be removed. There is a clear responsibility upon leaders to maintain godliness in life.

The family of Eli would not be wiped out, but would be cursed, and therefore would remain as a testimony to their disobedience; in particular there would not be the blessing of older men.

v34-36: Eli would not stand down as priest, but God would deal with him and with his sons. Later there were two lines of priests; Zadok, son of Ahitub; and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, 2 Sam 8.17. These words were fulfilled, as first Samuel, then Zadok, became faithful priests, 1 Kings 2.26-27. Abiathar was in the line of Eli.