Samuel, Saul & David #001 Introduction

EDITORS NOTE (9/20/24): At the moment, this ‘time’ is still here, but the actual ‘time’ that I have available the Lord has called me to use elsewhere, so for now this is going to be on the back burner.

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  1st Corinthians 10:11

 

We are seemingly getting ‘closer and closer’ to that moment, the ‘end of the age’ (Matt. 28:18-19), but what should the Lord find us doing (Matt. 24:46)?  Well each Believer has a responsibility towards Christ.  We can learn from Israel, from the past and these things, when we understand them and know them (Ps. 119:11), so if there is still ‘time’ then why not take a ‘walk-thru’, looking at 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings & Chronicles.  These books of the Bible are full of ‘goodies’ and I have spent many countless hours in these books. 

 

Such a study as this has been on my mind for quite some time now, time has not availed, but nonetheless, God will prevail and allow this study to get moving along.  So let’s begin… 😀 

 

In order to have a good understanding of David, which will become our main focus, we need to also have a firm understanding of who Samuel was, as well as Saul, who would become David’s rival latter on. 

 

There was a man whose name was Elkanah (1 Sam. 1:1) and he had two wives (vs. 2), Hannah and Peninnah.

 

Now why two wives, does not the Bible teach one (Matt. 19:5; Gen. 2:24)?   Well God did not ordain it, one man, one woman, one marriage, this is what was intended.  Yet we will clearly see throughout this study that when it came to kings, they certainly had multiple wives, as well as concubines.  In fact, God actually gave a law about a man with two wives (Duet. 21:15), would this not be in the same regard of divorce, where a law was given, but it was not to be (Matt. 19:7-8)?

 

Elkanah would go up year after year to Shiloh where Eli’s sons were priests unto Jehovah there, making offerings (please read the passage for yourself).   Hannah had no children and her rival, the other wife, Peninnah, used that to provoke her.  Think here about Rachel and Leah here, Jacob’s (Israel’s) wives (Gen. 30:14-17), certainly not the first time that the wife with the children would take predominance against the wife who was childless, note that God does take notice of such a type of rivalry!

 

This particular time, after being provoked year by year, Hannah, in view of Eli the priest, who was in bitterness of soul (vs. 10) and weeping, vowed (vs. 11).

 

“And she vowed a vow and said, O Jehovah of Hosts, if You will look to see the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give Your handmaid a male child, then I shall give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”  1st Samuel 1:11

 

Now interesting that ‘no razor shall come upon his head’, for that was God’s edict for Samson (Jud. 13:5), given to his parents. 

 

So here is Eli, the high priest who is watching this woman with ‘bitterness of soul’ and one who is ‘wept with weeping’ (vs. 10), thinking she is drunk, for her mouth is moving.  (So just a ‘tidbit’ here about biblical prayer for someone who might think that actual audible ‘words’ must be heard.)  So he scold’s her (vs. 14).  I think of a pastor who I know that allowed those who were under the influence of both drugs and alcohol to attend church, for in his mind it was better than not attending at all, yet even Eli, whose sons did not know Jehovah (1 Sam. 2:12), rebuked her supposed wrongdoing.

 

A good thing happened here, instead of being before Eli’s sons, Hophini and Phinehas, the priests (vs. 3), she happened to be in view of someone who did know God, Eli.  After she explained to Eli what was the cause of her appearing drunk he states the following:

 

“Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”  1st Samuel 1:17

 

She was remembered by Jehovah (vs. 19) and God ‘accepted’ her vow, for she ‘conceived and bore a son’ (vs. 20).  While I would imagine that most people would wag their head at such logic, just that little ‘bit’ right there of the word ‘conceived’ and THEN ‘bore’ should be enough to prove that life begins at conception (Jer. 1:5). 

 

So she ends up naming the child Samuel (vs. 20) because ‘I have asked for him from Jehovah.’  Thus here is this child who has been vowed to belong to Jehovah, the beginning of the prophet Samuel.