Hannah's song & Eli's dishonor

Samuel 1 Chapter 2

Hannah prayed and her wonderful happy prayer of praise is in verses 1-10 (which I hope you will read), tells how she went on to have several more children. She tells us to not act proud or haughty because the Lord knows our deeds and will judge us for what we have done. She talks of the mighty strength of the Lord and the ultimate control he has over our lives.

Samuel is not in the custody of the Lord at the Tabernacle with Eli’s sons. However, the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord or for their priestly duties. When an sacrifice was made, they sent a servant to procure some of the sacrificed meat to bring to them to cook and eat. Sometimes the person offering the sacrifice would ask that the fat would be burned off, but the servant would demand the meat immediately or he would use force. So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.

Samuel, though only a boy was the Lord’s helper. He wore a linen tunic just like that of a priest. Each year his mother made a small coat for him. Before they returned home, Eli would bless their family and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one, she gave to the Lord.” And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and two daughters.

Eli was very old, but he knew what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew they were seducing the women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He questioned them after hearing reports from the people about the wicked things they were doing. He told them to stop sinning. He said, “If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But his sons would not listen. The Lord was planning to put them to death.

Meanwhile, Samuel grew taller and continued to gain favor with the Lord and the people.

One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him a message from the Lord. The Lord asked why the priests were scorning his sacrifices and why did Eli honor his sons more than the Lord. The Lord, God of Israel says, “The terrible things you are doing cannot continue! I had promised your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests, but I will honor only those who honor me.” The Lord said he would put an end to Eli’s family and would cause both of his sons, Hophni and Phinehas to die on the same day.

Then the Lord said he would raise up a faithful priest who would serve and do what the Lord told him to do and his descendants would be blessed and his family would be priests to the Lord’s anointed kings forever. And all of the Eli’s descendants would bow before his descendants begging for food.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: The needs of the priests were supposed to be met by the people’s tithes, but Eli’s sons were taking advantage of their position to satisfy their lust for power, possessions and control. Eli knew they were evil, but he did little to correct or stop them. As a high priest, he should have executed them. By ignoring their selfish actions, Eli let his sons ruin their own lives and the lives of others.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? Is there a situation in your life, your family or work that you allow to continue even though you know it’s wrong? If so, you may be as guilty as those engaged in the wrong act. Remember, you do have another option- prayer. Through prayer, you can leave your problems with God. Sometimes when we are too close to the situation, that is our only choice. Give God the reins!

Yours in Christ,
Mary


SUCESSFUL HEALING REPORT: Thanks to your prayers, Al’s cancer is gone! His tumor, however remains inoperable and he is home living as normal a life as can be expected. Continue to pray for him. Gene’s biopsy proved his tumor was benign and he has been removed from our prayer list. Barb has been moved to a rehab facility to work on her speech etc., keep praying for her.

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Gabe, Wanda, Janice Long’s parents, Arlene’s nephew David, Lori (who suffered a terrible accident)and her family and my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life. And Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke. Also for Robert Sargent with lung cancer and Marthaline Sargent with serious health issues. Update on Stella: She is 10 weeks old and has her own room at the hospital. The doctors continue to experiment with respirators, but her parents can see progress in her lung activity. They need your prayers so badly. Let’s all raise our voices to God to hear our prayers.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, those who need jobs, those who are about to lose or have lost their homes. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.