I. INTRODUCTION
A. Overview of the Samuels
1. Chart
- This book is the presentation of King David upon whose throne Christ will reign on earth. ( found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. )
- “David is one of the primary Old Testament portrayals of the person of Christ.”
2. Theme
“The Lord will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1 Sam 2.10b)
3. Divisions Originally one book
- 1 & 2 Samuel are divided where David actually replaces Saul as king, the two books are divisions of one book and should be considered as one literary unit.
- We look for literary characteristics that the author uses to mark transitions in the their account.
Text Block Primary Focus Summary Section
1 Samuel 1-7 Samuel 1 Samuel 7:15-17
1 Samuel 8-14 Saul 1 Samuel 14:47-52
1 Sam. 15 - 2 Sam. 8 David 1 Samuel 8:15-18
2 Samuel 9-20 David 2 Samuel 20:23-26
2 Samuel 21-24 Kingdom (1 Kings 2:10-12)
Davis, Dale Ralph. 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart. Focus on the Bible Series. Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2000.
B. Immediate context
BEFORE: In chapters 1-2
- we see the birth and presentation of Samuel to Eli.
- We also see the wickedness 2.25) and destiny of Eli’s priestly dynasty (2.30b-31) and sons (2:34)
AFTER: In chapter 4 we see the “ear tingling” judgment on Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas (4.14-18).
1 Samuel 3.1-4.1 (NKJV)
1 Then the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" 5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."
7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
AndSamuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel:
"Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. 14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!"
And he answered, "Here I am."
17 And he said, "What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you."
18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him.
And he said, "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 4.1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
II. THREE CONTRASTS
We see three contrasts that highlight the transition that was taking place in this chapter.
“A. Absence of divine oracles (3:1)
B. Eli’s fading powers (3:2)
C. Three divine calls to Samuel (3:3-9)
D. A divine oracle to Samuel (3:10-15)
C’. Eli’s request for Samuel’s report (3:16-18)
B’. Samuel’s growing stature (3:19a)
A’. Return of divine oracles (3:19b—4:1a)”[48]
--Thomas Constable's Expository Notes on 1 Samuel
An author of the account will sometimes emphasize certain physical aspects of a story to reinforce a theme or point he wants to make.
A. The word of the Lord (3:1, 19b-4:1)
• “The word of the Lord” is a frequently used OT expression to refer to a specific command from God or a direct revelation by God usually (but not always) to a prophet.
• It can be thought of as the OT version of quotation marks around something God has said.
3.1. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
3. 21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
B. Eli’s fading and Samuel’s Rise (3:2, 3:19a)
1. Eli’s effectiveness as a priest was in serious decline.
3:2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was,
• “when his eyes had begun to grow dim” Not something that happened in that immediate context, but a natural, gradual occurrence of old age that was representative of Eli’s spiritual condition.
• “before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle” The connotation of the lamp being about to go out, was a physical aspect of the story that is used to point to the spiritual darkness that seemed about to come.
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The lamp was to be tended by Aaron and his sons so that its light never went out. The lampstand was to give forth light day and night (Exodus 27:20–21). The lampstand’s being the only source of light points directly to Christ as being the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5). Jesus is the “true light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9) and the only way anyone can come to the Father (John 14:6). GotQuestions.org Question: "What is the significance of the lampstand in the Bible?" http://www.gotquestions.org/lampstand-Bible.html
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"lamp of God. The menorah in the tabernacle was to remain lit all night (Ex 27:21; Lev 24:1–4), but it was never supposed to be extinguished so the comment that it had not yet gone out would be pointless. On the other hand, we have seen that the practices at Shiloh did not necessarily follow what was stipulated in the Law. The phrase “lamp of God” is also used to refer to hope (2 Sam 21:17; 1 Kings 11:36; 2 Kings 8:19), and that would also make sense in this context. "
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H.
Walton, The IVP Bible
Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 3:3.
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2. This revelation to Samuel was the beginning of his rise spiritual strength and as a leader in Israel.
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.
• The Lord was with Samuel. This was evident because the LORD caused his word to hit their target, accomplish their purpose.
• Samuel’s reputation as a prophet was universally acknowledged in Israel.
“It seems plausible . . . to attribute to Samuel the development of the prophetic movement in a formal sense. Certainly, it was always God who raised up the true prophet, but the structure itself had its inception with Samuel and was developed further by Elijah.”[ Heater, pp. 129-30. Cf. Acts 3:24]. Thomas Constable’s Expository Notes on 1 Samuel (2017 edition p. 28) http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/1samuel.pdf
C. Samuel Unaware with Eli Unable to receive the revelation
1. The remarkable repetition of three calls to Samuel reinforces…
• How unexpected and rare a word from God was.
• How ready and eager Samuel was to fulfill his duty.
• How traumatic the eventual word of the Lord to Samuel was.
2. Eli was unable to directly receive this Word
• He understood (eventually) that the Lord was speaking and could give Samuel good instructions for how to respond to something he did not experience.
• He was dependant on Samuel to tell him what God said.
• There was an irony to the Lord bypassing the chief priest to speak to a young man who served as his assistant.
III. GOD’S MESSAGE TO ELI (AND US)
A. Eli—The Good
We may be to quick to dismiss Eli as a “bad apple.”
It is easy for us to write Eli off a some debauched priest-- wicked, and derelict in carrying out his responsibilities. That makes it easy for us to dodge the warning to Eli as irrelevant to us.
• In chapter one we see Eli (1:13-17)
-- vigilant first, in enforcing proper conduct in the tabernacle and then
-- showing compassion and giving hope with a blessing that God fulfilled.
• In chapter two we see (2:23-25)
-- a priest who is dismayed at the wicked conduct by priests in the worship. -- a priest with theological acuity and keen spiritual insight to the situation.
• In chapter three we see (3.18)
-- a priest who acknowledges God has the right to act and that He will do right.
-- a priest who humbly accepts his pronouncement
B. Eli’s sons—They made themselves vile/contemptable in other translations they were blaspheming/cursing God (Defiling the temple)
• They “abhorred (despised, treated with contempt) the offering of the Lord.”
• They “lay (slept, had sex) with the women who assembled at the door”
• They were immoral and godless like Esau in Hebrews 12:16
C. Eli—The Bad
• Eli’s sin was his misplaced priority. He “honored his sons” more than the Lord. (2.29)
• “The full details of what would happen are not repeated, but the guilt of Eli himself is given new emphasis. Eli had not been a vicious or contemptible priest like his sons, but he was after all the man in charge of the shrine, and he failed to restrain them.”
D. The curse on Eli’s priestly dynasty
• Eli’s
The iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever: What a terrible judgment! This means, “It’s too late. Now the opportunity for repentance is past. The judgment is sealed.”
"Probably, the judgment declared by the man of God in 1 Samuel 2:27-36 was a warning, inviting repentance. Because there was no repentance God confirmed the word of judgment through Samuel. Or, perhaps Eli pleaded that God might withhold His judgment, and this is God’s answer to that pleading.
ii. Do we ever come to a place where our sin cannot be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever? Only if we reject the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin. As Hebrews 10:26 says, if we reject the work of Jesus for us, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." –David Guzik in the Enduring Word Commentary (1 Samuel 3) ©2013 David Guzik https://enduringword.com/commentary/1-samuel-3/
IV. APPLICATIONS Guard our hearts.
1. God has to be our first priority, even over family. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent, when serious sins demand a response.
2. Never underestimate the power of prayer in a home. Hannah and Elkanah were people of prayer, and God answered their prayers. We are blessed today because of the dedication of Hannah, for through her, God gave the world Samuel, the last of the judges and the first of the national prophets.
Never underestimate the power of sin in a family. Eli’s sons needed discipline, but he pampered them instead. This cost him his life, and eventually cost the family the priesthood.
3. God speaks to children and young people, and adults should make it easy for them to hear God’s voice and respond in faith. How wise Eli was to know that God was calling young Samuel. The training of children in spiritual things is a great responsibility that we must not neglect.
Food for Thought:
What made Samuel a more suitable recipient of the word of the Lord?
What had Eli lost that Samuel displayed in abundance?
IV. CHRIST AND THE GOSPEL
We see Christ in the shadows of this passage.
• First in the trajectory of the account moving toward the establishment of a king David, God’s anointed, and a type and foreshadowing of Christ.
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Question: "What is the Davidic covenant?"
Answer: The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience. © Copyright 2002-2017 Got Questions Ministries https://www.gotquestions.org/Davidic-covenant.html
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• Second, we see a similarity between the 400 years of silence before Christ, the Word of God, and the rarity of the word of the Lord before Samuel.
• Third, We see the similarity between
Samuel, who grew, was established far and wide as a prophet, and had the Lord with him (1 Samuel 3:19-20),
and
Christ of Christ who grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).
We see the Gospel.
• In the offerings which anticipated Christ’s one sacrifice for sin forever.
• We see the importance of repentance from sin and faith in Christ’s sacrifice.
Hebrews 10.29
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
