Hey Bible Readers! I'm Tara-Leigh Cobble and
I'm your host for The Bible Recap. [Music] Today we start our 10th book of the Bible and this book contains some of the
most beloved stories in the whole Old Testament. To backtrack a bit on how we got here:
Israel started out as just Abraham. God promised him and his offspring 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 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 at Ephraim, the tribe who loved 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 their sacrifices - which you may recall they are 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 interacting with each other. Hannah's crushed by
Peninnah's taunting and Elkanah notices, and he makes a statement
that goes against everything their cultural values - this would have been better
than a dozen roses and a diamond ring. He says, "Am I not more to you than ten sons?" 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 all that - that's pretty remarkable. Elkanah wins the best award
for ancient pickup lines - 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 maybe sort of 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 - Phinehas 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 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 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 Eli was the one talking to him. But he keeps responding to Eli,
and Eli eventually figures out that it's God talking 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 this bad news, but Eli threatens him, so he spills the beans. Then Eli surrenders to God's plan - seems to
be an acknowledgment that God's decision is right and just. He says, "It is the Lord.
Let Him do what seems good to Him." Wow. That is 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
that scripture ever records as going to the temple. 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 shall 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 He's where the joy is! For today's weekly
check-in, I want to ask you a question: What do you know about God and His character that you
didn't know when we started on Day 1? Or what have you at least become more aware of? I hope He has surprised you somehow. Think about that today and thank Him for it.
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