1. Lesson 17 1 Sam 1-3
Eli and Samuel

2. Arimathea
Ramah

3. Moving Forward
We jump forward in the Bible to continue chronologically with the narrative of the period of the judges
We will return to the book of Judges later
We will also cover Ruth
The remainder of the book of Judges and the book of Ruth form “appendices” to the period of the judges

4. Samuel’s Family
Elkanah was from Ramathaim-Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim
Was Elkanah of the tribe of Ephraim?
1 Chron. 6:26 tells us that he was of the tribe of Levi
How do we explain this?
Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah
Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not

5. Samuel’s Family Every year, Elkanah would go to Shiloh to worship
He gave Peninnah and her sons a portion of the sacrifice
He gave Hannah a double portion because she had no sons and he loved her
Peninnah would mock her
Elkanah would say, “Why are you sad? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?”

6. Hannah Prays for Samuel
After the sacrifice meal, Hannah went to the temple to pray
She wept bitterly and prayed earnestly
She made a vow that if Jehovah would give her a son, she would give him back
Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard
Eli saw this and thought she was drunk
Eli rebuked her
She respectfully explains and denies being drunk

7. Samuel Is Born After worshipping, they returned to Ramah
Hannah conceived and bore Samuel, which means “Heard by God”
Every year, when Elkanah would go to worship the Lord, Hannah would stay home with Samuel
She did this until Samuel was weaned because she planned to give him to the service of the Lord in the tabernacle

8. Samuel Serves the Lord
After he was weaned, she took him with 3 bulls, and ephah of flour, and a skin of wine
She offered the sacrifice and gave the child to Eli
She told Eli who she why she was leaving Samuel there

9. Hannah’s Prayer Hannah prays a beautiful prayer
The theme is the power, holiness, and salvation of Jehovah
The proud and mighty are brought low and the humble are exalted
There is even a bit of a retort to Peninnah’s provocation
There is a messianic reference at the end

10. Eli’s Sons Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were very wicked
The custom was for the priest to get boiled meat from a flesh hook
However, Hophni and Phinehas would insist that they be given their meat before the sacrifice was offered
If denied, they would take it by force!
It was so bad, that men avoided offering sacrifices!

11. Samuel Ministers
Meanwhile, Samuel ministers to the Lord at the tabernacle in Shiloh
Hannah would make him a garment and bring it yearly
Eli would bless Elkanah, saying, “Jehovah give you descendants from this woman.”
Hannah had 3 other sons and 2 daughters
Samuel grew before the Lord

12. Eli Rebukes His Sons
Eli told his sons that he did not hear good things about them
They were causing the people to sin
Eli said, “If one sins against a man, God will judge him. Who will intercede if one sins against God?”
His sons did not listen and continued in their wickedness

13. A Man of God Visits Eli
A man of god (a prophet) visits Eli and rebukes him
Eli did not show the position of the priesthood the proper respect by allowing his sons to pervert it
Eli “honored his sons more than God”
Hophni and Phinehas will die in the same day
There will not be an old man in Eli’s house

14. Samuel Receives the Word
The word of the Lord was rare when Samuel was a boy
While Eli was lying down, God called Samuel
Samuel thought it was Eli, so he ran to see him
This happened three times
After this, Eli knew it was God, and told Samuel what to do

15. Samuel Receives the Word
When the Lord spoke this time, Samuel said, “Speak LORD, Your servant hears.”
The Lord told Samuel about the judgment of Eli’s house
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli, but he did
Samuel grew in the Lord and the Lord was with him
All Israel recognized Samuel as a prophet