Hi James and Ellen,
1 Samuel begins Samuel’s story. Samuel’s story was scribed by a guy who was familiar with David’s life as well as the lives of Samuel and Saul. The guy possibly was Zabud. Zabud was Solomon’s personal advisor. Zabud was also Nathan’s kid. Nathan was a prophet during the time when David was king over the Israelite people group guys and gals and Solomon’s initial years as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals. Saul, David and Solomon were the first three anointed kings to reign over the Israelite people group guys and gals. Samuel became an Israelite people group seer. Samuel anointed Saul and David to rule as kings over the Israelite people group guys and gals. Samuel kept records. Whoever scribed the Samuel Book – which was originally a single book but which Septuagint translators divided into two books – with 1 Samuel having 31 chapters, knew about Samuel and used his records in what he wrote. Samuel’s story begins with a married gal – whose name was Hannah, wanting desperately to be a ma. Hannah’s husband – whose name was Elkanah, had a second wife – whose name was Peninnah, who had kids. Elkanah went each year with his two wives from where they were living in the hill country of Ephriam – in the town of Ramah, to the town Shiloh – which was where the ark of God was being kept, so that they could worship God through offering up sacrifices to Him. Because of his love for Hannah, Elkanah would give Hannah a double portion of meat from the sacrifices. Because Elkanah always showed more love to Hannah than to her, Peninnah did whatever she could to pull Hannah’s chain. Hannah would end up crying bitterly and not eating. During one of these annual visits to the town of Shiloh, Hannah made a vow to God that if He would bless her with a kid that she would give the kid back to Him. As Hannah was bitterly praying to God for a kid, Eli – who was at this time the appointed priest overseeing the sacrifices in the Tent of Meetings and before the ark of God, saw her. When Hannah told Eli how awful that she felt that God had never blessed her with a kid, Eli gave Hannah a promise that God would grant her what she had asked Him for. Not long after this visit that Hannah made with her husband to the town of Shiloh, Hannah – in 1105 B.C., had God answer her prayer for a kid. Hannah named her kid Samuel. The name Samuel means ‘because I asked the Lord for him’. After raising Samuel for a couple of years, Hannah took Samuel to the town of Shiloh where she entrusted Samuel for him to Eli to raise Samuel to be a servant of God.
Samuel’s growing up conditioning environs were absolutely appalling. Eli was a fat, aging priest with failing eyesight. Eli’s two kids – whose names were Hophni and Phinehas, were atrociously evil as priests and disdainfully disobedient to their dad. Hophni and Phinehas desecrated animal sacrifices – as they were sacrificing an animal to God in the Tent of Meetings for an Israelite people group clan member, by taking and eating choice pieces of meat from the animals that they were sacrificing. Hophni and Phinehas also had inappropriate relationships with gals who served at the Tent of Meetings entrance. When Eli found out what Hophni and Phinehas were doing with animal sacrifices that they were sacrificing for an Israelite people group clan member to God and about their atrocious lifestyles, Eli confronted and rebuked his kids. When Hophni and Phinehas ignored their dad, they brought God’s contempt on their dad. Even though Hophni and Phinehas became wicked, self-serving guys, your grandpaa thinks that their dad probably had a good relationship with God – that Eli tutored Samuel in the Torah and mentored Samuel in the ministries that he was responsible for in the Tent of Meetings. When God audibly spoke to Samuel one night – telling Samuel that He was never going to atone the guilt that was in Eli’s family but that he – Samuel, would become His voice to His specially chosen guys and gals, Eli – clearly understanding that God had spoken to Samuel, insisted that Samuel tell him what God had told him. Even though Samuel’s growing up environs were undeniably abysmal, Samuel would become known throughout the land that God gave to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people guys and gals, to always have to live in as their very own land if . . . and respected by them as someone who God put in place to be His representative and His spokesman to them.
Samuel’s life story is filled with pain and disappointments. When his ma left him with Eli, Samuel could not have grasped at his age why he could not go with his ma back home. When Eli’s two kids made worshipping God a sham and living a corrupt lifestyle a norm, Samuel had to know what they were doing and that it was wrong what they were doing. When Philistine people group guys overran the town of Shiloh and took the ark of God, Samuel had to have agonized over what happened to where God’s presence was worshipped. When Saul went from being a good leader as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals to a maniacal lunatic who stopped going to him for spiritual guidance, Samuel had to have felt stomach wrenching angst. When Samuel was told by God to annoint David to rule as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals, Samuel was by this time an old man. Samuel’s story really cannot be told without inserting a ma who prayed persistently to God for a kid and then for her kid after he was born. Your grandpaa can identify with Samuel as your grandpaa had a ma who devotedly prayed for him.
1 Samuel