March 27
1 Samuel 1–3
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 1:1–3:21
Series: Read the Bible in a Year
1 Samuel 1:1–3:21
The period of the Judges of Israel is concluded; now come the kings Israel thinks they want so badly, all because the other nations have kings. The Lord their God is their King. He should be king enough for them. Sadly, God is not king enough for the hearts of men. God acquiesces and gives them their kings. It is a mostly tragic and lackluster tale, though with some inspiring episodes, themselves spattered with distressing scenes.
Samuel is introduced to us as the son of a hitherto barren couple. The woman, Hannah, promises that if the Lord gives her a son, she will give him back to the Lord all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:11). God answers her prayer with a son, Samuel. She presents him to a priest at the tabernacle in Shiloh. After presenting her son at the temple, Hannah prays to the Lord. God has blessed faithful Hannah who looked to God for a son as well as her daily bread. As Luther eventually taught in The Small Catechism, daily bread even includes devout children. Samuel is an archetype of a devout child. He begins to assist the priests at Shiloh.
The priest to whom Samuel seems to assist chiefly, Eli, is a foreshadowing of the kings to come; he is both faithful and faithless at the same time, performing his priestly duties but neglecting the oversight of his family who abuse their own priesthoods (1 Samuel 2:12–17, 22). Eli’s supposed rebuke of his sons sounds more like whining (1 Samuel 2:23–25).
The Lord is raising up a faithful priest to replace Eli and his sons. God will rebuff Eli’s household forever, but he has one more small part to play in Samuel’s early life. Samuel has laid down to sleep where the lamp of the Lord had yet to go out, when he hears a voice calling him. He goes to where Eli is sleeping and asks what he wants. Eli’s response is that he had not called. This scene happens twice more. The final time, Eli understands what is happening, and tells Samuel to answer, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.” The Lord tells Samuel how he will judge Eli and his sons, and that no sacrifice will atone for their iniquity—either that of the sons or of Eli’s failure to restrain them. Samuel reveals the word of the Lord to Eli and is then received by Israel as the Lord’s prophet. Prophecy was rare in Eli’s day (1 Samuel 3:1) but the LORD appears again at Shiloh, revealing himself to Samuel at Shiloh (1 Samuel 3:21).
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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