Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we start our 10th book of the Bible, and this book contains some of the most beloved stories in the whole Old Testament—the
To backtrack a bit on how we got here, Israel started out as just Abraham. God promised him offspring and land. God gave him the offspring little by little, but his descendants really multiplied during the 400 years they were enslaved in Egypt. God used Moses to lead them out of slavery and followed that with 40 years of testing in the wilderness to train their hearts to know that he is the one true God. Then God brought them into the land he promised Abraham all those years ago.
They spread out in that land, but it was so nice not to be in slavery or in the wilderness that this new life of luxury and ease made them forget God. They did whatever they wanted. God raised up judges as military leaders to drive out the enemies who were leading them astray, but this didn't deal with the problem of their hearts leading them astray. They did whatever they wanted and things grew continually worse in the promised land. The Israelites were sure their problem would be solved if only they had a king. And that's where we find ourselves today.
It's approximately 1050 BC, and we open with a couple, Elkanah and Hannah. They're Levites, the tribe of priests living in Ephraim, the tribe who love to fight. And Hannah is barren. Elkanah has a second wife who is not barren, but the text seems to indicate that he loves Hannah more. That probably makes Peninnah, the second wife, jealous. Every year when they go to Shiloh and offer sacrifices, which you may recall they're required to do since that's where the tabernacle currently is,
Peninnah would bully Hannah all the more. In ancient times, it was customary for each wife to have a separate tent, so these trips may have been a rare occasion of them having to interact with each other. Hannah's crushed by Peninnah's taunting, and Elkanah notices, and he makes a statement that goes against everything their culture values. This would have been better than a dozen roses and a diamond ring. He says, "'Am I not more to you than ten suns?'
Ten sons would have been super valuable and prestigious, especially for him. So to indicate that what he and Hannah have together is more valuable than that, that's pretty remarkable. Elkanah wins the award for best ancient pickup line. That is, until we get to Solomon. But his sentiments don't comfort Hannah, unfortunately. After dinner, she goes to the tabernacle to cry out to God. She makes a vow to God that if he'll give her a son, she'll set him apart as a lifelong Nazarite, just like Samson.
This was such a passionate prayer that the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. But she explains her situation and Eli leaves her with some words of encouragement that cheer her up. He blesses her and sort of maybe prophesies that God will answer her prayer with a yes. And not long after that, Hannah becomes pregnant. She names him Samuel.
And true to her vow, she takes him back to the house of God, offers an extravagant sacrifice, then seeks out Eli the priest and basically says, Hey, remember me? I'm the one you thought was drunk when I was asking God for a child. Ring any bells? Well, God said yes, and here's the child. I'm passing him off to you because his life is dedicated to the service of God.
Eli commits to raising Samuel in the house of God. Then Hannah worships God with a song. This song has three important themes that we'll see demonstrated as we keep reading. First, God values humility and opposes pride. Second, God is at work among His people even in the midst of all the chaos around them. And third, she prophesies about a king that God will anoint and strengthen.
Cut to Eli and his family. He's raising Samuel, but he also has two of his own sons, Phineas and Hophni. And they're the worst. They're priests, but the text calls it like it is in 2.12 and says, they did not know the Lord. And that phrase where they're called worthless men, the Hebrew actually says men of Belial, which is often scripture's way of referring to someone as a child of the devil.
They help themselves to more than the law allows and even sometimes take it by brute force. And they take for themselves first instead of offering to God first. And they're also sexually promiscuous. This isn't just casual disregard for God and his laws. It's contempt. They actually hate God's laws. Meanwhile, Samuel is serving humbly.
Eli has the authority to remove his sons from power, and God has even given him Samuel as an alternative option. But all he does is rebuke his sons, and nothing changes. Since Eli won't do what's right and remove them, God sets out to remove them himself. He sends a prophet to rebuke Eli and to deliver the bad news that everyone in Eli's family is going to die young, including both of his sons, who will die on the same day. God says only one man will survive from among his family.
It's important to note that God is not breaking His promise to the Levites here. The covenant He established with them has always been contingent upon obedience. They broke the covenant, so He isn't required to fulfill His end of the covenant either. One day, as Samuel is serving in the tabernacle, God shows up and speaks to him audibly. But Samuel has no idea what's going on. This period in Israel's history wasn't like in Moses' day when the leaders walked closely with God.
These people and their leaders are all walking in rebellion, so communication with God is rare. On top of that, Samuel hasn't even met God yet, so this is really confusing to him, and it's easy to see why he thinks it was Eli who was talking to him. But he keeps responding to Eli, and Eli eventually figures out that it's God, and he coaches Samuel on how to respond.
What God says to Samuel echoes what he said to the prophet that spoke to Eli. And it's not good news for Eli and his family. They've sinned with a high hand, as we read about in Numbers 15. As a result, they'll be cut off from God. Naturally, Samuel is nervous to tell Eli the bad news, but Eli threatens him so he spills the beans. Then Eli surrenders to God's plan.
It seems to be an acknowledgment that God's decision is right and just. He says, Wow, that's a tough response to offer when you've just gotten the worst news of your life. Samuel continues to serve God, and all his prophecies are fulfilled, and God continues to speak to him. Where did you see God's character on display today? My God shot was in Hannah's relationship with God.
She's the only female scripture ever records as going to the tabernacle. It's the first time we see that God invited women into that space as well. I love her boldness. Not only that, but it seems evident that she has a real intimacy with God. She took her pain to God. This stands in stark contrast to Rachel when she yelled at Jacob, "'Give me children or I die' in Genesis 30."
Hannah took her problems to the one who could solve them, and she knew that he could be trusted to care for her heart in that moment, regardless of the future outcome. Hannah went to God because she knew that he's where the joy is. ♪
Okay, Bible readers, it's time for our weekly check-in. Whether you're quote-unquote on time or not, I want you to stop and think about what you've learned about God so far, particularly for today's reading. How did you see God's character in the way He responded to Eli and Hannah? He's not one-dimensional. He's a generous God and a just God. He can exercise both wrath and tenderness. Ask Him to grant you an increasing desire to know Him more and to see Him in these pages.
I believe he stands ready to answer that prayer with a yes, because he wants to be known even more than we want to know him. I'm excited to meet you back here tomorrow to keep knowing him more.