1st Samuel 1 A FIRST LOOK At the beginning of the book of Judges, the children of Israel had gradually become more complacent regarding the idol-worshipping people around them, and soon found the nation in a downward cycle of departure from God. For over two hundred years the Lord had raised up judges from Othniel to Samson who led them into infrequent periods of partial recovery. By the time of the leadership of Eli, spiritual darkness had settled upon Israel to the extent that his own sons who were priests, "Knew not the Lord." Those two men also took for themselves that which belonged to God, and immorally slept with the women who had duties at the tabernacle. We would naturally think the people of Israel had gone well past the point of no return. However, in approximately 120 years God brought Israel from the lowest point of its national identity to the highest period of Israel's glory. And it began with one heartbroken woman praying for a son to deliver God's people.
The book of first Samuel has a number of good beginnings and bad endings that teach us the importance of not getting smugly complacent and self-centered. In every part of our lives: personal, marriage, family, business, social and religious life we need to be conscious of God's interest in everything. One of the features of first Samuel is the practice of prayer. It began with Hannah praying for a son and the answer was Samuel. Samuel in his days as a judge in Israel was also a man who prayed for the people of God, both as an intercessor and a supplicant. He recognized that for him not to pray was a sin against the Lord.
The title, "Lord of hosts," is first mentioned in this book and gives the God of Israel, His supreme title as Lord over all the hosts of heaven and earth. This title impresses us with the fact that our Gracious Heavenly Father who were we are able to address as "Abba Father" is not some Person to be casually spoken of, or in any way taken for granted. "All power in heaven and earth" is His. The title "Messiah" ("His anointed") is first spoken of in the Bible in the words of one of Hannah's prayers [2:10]. The first of five "precious" things in the Old Testament is in this book where we are told "The Word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days [1Sam.3:1]." Other "precious" things are redemption [Ps.49:8; the death of the saints [Ps.72:14; 116:15; lips of knowledge [Pro.20:15; and the thoughts of God [Ps.134:17]. Names and phrases, we know today, were first mentioned in first Samuel - "God save the king," "Ichabod," and "Ebednezer." Also, we learn that prophets were first called "seerers" which indicates they had special perception, discernment and vision that came from God.
In this book teaching about the Holy Spirit is important for our learning. He gives a new heart that would speak to us of the regenerating power of the Spirit in the new birth we have experienced ourselves when God saved us. The Holy Spirit producing and controlling righteous anger against sin as is taught in first Samuel. He gives to us the courage and wisdom to speak appropriately or "prudently," and also preserves us from evil as it is taught in this book. In those days the Holy Spirit actively came upon God's people to accomplish a work that needed to be done at the time. By God's grace and gifting, the Holy Spirit now resides in us today, enabling us to be ready for any and all activities of life.
First Samuel gives warnings to us in a number of areas of life in which we live. We have a warning in regards to marriage that isn't according to the original mind and will of God. To have more than one wife increases the problems in families and interpersonal relationships. Eli, the priest-judge was an indulgent father who was sitting down on the job when he should have been standing as a priest doing his work. Beside this he overlooked the sins of his sons. Those sons who did not know the Lord were involved in a work that should have been holy and inspiring, but instead was ritualistic and formal. The dangers of impatience and partial obedience along with formalism and ritualism shows the end of a thing may be seriously wrong even though the beginning was the way it should have been.
The impact of prayer, even in the dark days of departure, is felt in this book and should never be underestimated by us. At the beginning of this book we are introduced to a dysfunctional family who lived in an obscure place and was far from being a happy family, yet still maintained a degree of devotion to God. Elkanah had not followed a basic principle of home life of one man and one woman for life, and was suffering the consequences and the difficulties he could do nothing about. It is not easy to keep family life the way it should be even in the best of circumstances. Yet this man did take his family to the place God intended and observed what God wanted from him. We are not hopelessly abandoned because we do not do a good job in our families. But when we apply ourselves to what God intends to the extent we can, then we have to trust God to do what we cannot do. Elkanah had a spiritual wife even though she seemed so sad and forlorn. No doubt she prayed in that home from a grieved spirit.
The marital problems of Elkanah's forbearers like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob should have made him consider the consequences before he acted in taking two wives. And yet we cannot be assured we will not have difficulties even though our marriages are as God intended. Any marriage needs more than natural affection to be fulfilling. Husbands and wives need to share their full lives - body, soul and together. We know Hannah prayed about and we know Elkanah took his family to the place God intended. A blended spiritual life of husband and wife is fundamental to joy and contentment for both.
When a husband shares with his wife his commitment to truth and his goals in service for the Lord, she can sense she is a part of the most important things in his life. This leads to perhaps the highest dimension of joy in a marriage relationship. When a woman shares with her husband her desire and devotion to God and they both can pray together over the concerns of family life and all other aspects of life, then theirs is a special spiritual unity that is far more meaningful that anything else they do together.
This obscure family, living in an obscure village in the mountains of Israel when spiritual darkness and declension had come over the whole nation, would probably be the last place we would look for deliverance. But a man who didn't always do what was right, but did not honor God, and an unhappy woman who didn't seem to have anything going for her, were the ones God chose to begin a revival that reached the whole nation.
There are times when we are almost sure nothing more can ever be done Defeat is in the minds and hearts of God's people, we are sure the enemy's won But in some isolated place a broken-hearted woman kneels to pray And angels watch as God bends His head low to hear what she has to say.
Way in the corner of a simple house in a far and distant place A voice is lifted, and tear-dimmed eyes look earnestly to the throne of grace To make an appeal on behalf of a nation that has turned from God to its own way And a very few saints who have a real concern take time to intercede and pray.
We are not many to all of those around who have no interest in spiritual things But who can tell what the Almighty God will do with the requests those few of us bring; By His grace we will continue in prayer even though in our smallness, we may sometimes doubt On the other hand, because of God's power and authority He can quickly turn the bad things out.
Then in a short time He raises up a man or a woman who in faith believes fully in God And they trust Him implicitly to do what man can't because He is the Master and Lord In one plain answer God changes things around so that from men all glory will be given to Him The desired solution starts to take form which from earnest intercession and prayer did begin.
"Father, I will keep on praying that Thy sovereign purposes will be continuously recognized among us as an assembly here. May we be able to carry on doing Thy will whether we know it clearly or not. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."