The Birth of the Prophet Samuel

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were one book. The translators separated them, and we have kept that separation ever since. 1 Samuel 100 years. 2 Samuel 40 years.
We don’t know who penned the books; certainly, Samuel was a major contributor, but many of the events take place after his death in 1 Samuel 25. So, it’s called 1 and 2 Samuel, not because Samuel wrote them, but because they detail Samuel’s life and his ministry in Israel and the legacy he left behind.

Israel has not heard from God in decades. Priesthood is corrupt. Eli, the high priest and judge of Israel, is not faithfully serving God or the people. The nearby nations threaten Israels safety. Israel needs more than a judge. Israel needs to hear from God again. Israel needs a prophet. So, God gives them Samuel. First Samuel records the history of Israel in the land of Canaan as they move from the rule of judges to being a unified nation under kings. Samuel will anoint the first two kings, Saul and David.

The book starts with the birth of Samuel in answer to his mother’s prayer.

1 Samuel 1:1-2 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.  God begins His plan as He always does — with a person He can use. God can do His work by Himself, or by angels, or by any number of other ways; but His normal method is to find a certain man or woman and work through them. Job, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Ruth, Debra, Paul. (Elkanah was a Levite according to 1 Chron 6)

1 Samuel 1:3-7 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. ⁴ Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. ⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

To be a woman/wife in this culture and be barren was seen as a curse from God. For a man it was a blessing to have sons to carry on the name. Hannah was his first wife, but because she was barren, Elkanah took a second wife to bear him children.

Elkanah offers his sacrifice and following the law gives portions to his wives and their children. And because he loved Hannah so much, he gave her a double portion. Which was a great honor. But because of the conflict between the two wives, Hannah could not enjoy this display of love and favor from Elkanah.

So, Hannah is in the house of the LORD with a blessed double portion in front of her, and she can’t enjoy it. It is possible for problems at home to make your time in the house of God miserable and unfruitful.

It seems unfair that Peninnah (who seems to be of bad character, provoking Hannah to the point of irritating her) was blessed with children, and Hannah (who seems to be of a good character) was cursed with barrenness. It’s so important to walk by faith and not by sight, because we don’t always understand what God is doing until He completes a particular portion of His plan in our life.

1 Samuel 1:8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Elkanah’s response to Hannah’s sorrow, we see that he did love her; yet, like many men, he was insensitive.

1 Samuel 1:9-11 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”                                                                                            

Hannah, in her sorrow and anguish, did the right thing. She prayed and wept bitterly before the lord Almighty, placing her burden before Him.

Hannah promised her son would work for the LORD, vowing he would be a Nazirite from birth (I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head). The vow of a Nazirite according to numbers 6 included:

Drinking no wine or other fermented drink, and that you do not eat, touch anything unclean, never cutting the hair, because it was a public, visible sign to others of the vow. (Judges 13 Manoah) Judges 13:5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. Samuel and Samson were unique because they were Nazirites from birth.   

1 Samuel 1:12-18 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” ¹⁵ “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” ¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”¹⁸ She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

This is exactly what Hannah needed to do. Instead of keeping the anguish in her heart, she poured it out of her soul before the LORD. Hannah shows how we can regain the joy of fellowship in the house of the LORD again: by pouring out our heart before the LORD and by putting our faith and trust in Him.

I wonder does God answer Hannah’s prayer?

1 Samuel 1:19-20 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

There’s no doubt Hannah had been praying year after year. “Oh God, give me a son. Lord, I want a son. God, why haven’t You given me a son?” Yet her prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears. And there are many times when we pray and we wonder why our prayers are not answered immediately.

I want you to know if God delays in answering your prayer there’s always a reason for His delay. (Let’s look at the reason for Hannah’s delay-OBVIOUS)

For Hannah God was waiting, working (YAY Peninnah) to bring Hannah to a place where her heart was completely toward God, the things of God, and what God wanted.

Hannah, finally out of the desperation of her soul said, “Lord, if You will give me a son, I will give him back to You all the days of his life.” This is what God desired from Hannah, this is what God was looking for. That beautiful spot where Hannah’s desire for a son lined up with God’s desire/will and the plans He had for her son.

???1 John 5:14-15—–James 4:3???

1 Samuel 1:21-28 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, ²² Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” ²³ “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. ²⁴ After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵ When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

The story of Hannah and Elkanah is a testament to the fact that God’s plans and purposes unfold in His time, not ours.

As believers, we are called to trust in God’s plan for our lives, even when it doesn’t make sense to us. We may not understand why certain things happen or why our prayers seem to go unanswered, but we can trust that God is working out all things together for our good and for His glory.

And if we can get to that place where we surrender our will, our desires, our expectations of God, then we’ll be able to experience the peace and joy that comes from trusting in God’s always perfect timing.

God’s timing requires patience on our part. But as we learn to wait on the Lord, we will develop a deeper reliance on Him and a greater appreciation for His wisdom and sovereignty.

This child Samuel would become one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history. What’s very clear here is that God’s timing in answering Hannah’s prayer was not only perfect for her but also for the entire nation of Israel.

God’s perfect timing is not just about our individual lives but also about His larger plan for the world.

He is sovereign over all things and works in ways that we cannot always see or understand. When we trust in His timing, we are not only aligning ourselves with His will for our lives but also participating in the unfolding of His grand plan for creation.