Text -- 1 Samuel 2:34 (NET)

2:34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die!

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Clarke: 1Sa 2:34

They shall die both of them - Hophni and Phinehas were both killed very shortly after in the great battle with the Philistines in which the Israelites were completely routed, and the ark taken. See 1Sa 4:1-11.

TSK: 1Sa 2:34

a sign : 1Sa 3:12; 1Ki 13:3, 1Ki 14:12

in one day : 1Sa 4:11, 1Sa 4:17

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Poole: 1Sa 2:34

This shall be a sign unto thee to wit, of the certain truth of those sad predictions; and it was fulfilled, 1Sa 4:11 .

Gill: 1Sa 2:34

This shall be a sign unto thee,.... A confirming one, that all which had been now said would be fulfilled:

that shall come upon thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; which Eli would live to see fulfilled on them; and when it was, he might be assured the rest would be most certainly accomplished, and it was this:

in one day they shall die both of them; as they did in battle with the Philistines, 1Sa 4:11.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Sa 2:34

¹ tn Heb “and this to you [is] the sign which will come to both of your sons.”

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Sa 2:1-36

1 Hannah's song in thankfulness.

12 The sin of Eli's sons.

18 Samuel's ministry.

20 By Eli's blessing Hannah is more fruitful.

22 Eli reproves his sons.

27 A prophecy against Eli's house.

MHCC: 1Sa 2:27-36

Those who allow their children in any evil way, and do not use their authority to restrain and punish them, in effect honour them more than God. Let Eli's example excite parents earnestly to strive against the beginnings of wickedness, and to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the midst of the sentence against the house of Eli, mercy is promised to Israel. God's work shall never fall to the ground for want of hands to carry it on. Christ is that merciful and faithful High Priest, whom God raised up when the Levitical priesthood was thrown off, who in all things did his Father's mind, and for whom God will build a sure house, build it on a rock, so that hell cannot prevail against it.

Matthew Henry: 1Sa 2:27-36

Eli reproved his sons too gently, and did not threaten them as he should, and therefore God sent a prophet to him to reprove him sharply, and to threaten him, because, by his indulgence of them, he had strengthened their hands in their wickedness. If good men be wanting in their duty, and by their carelessness and remissness contribute any thing to the sin of sinners, they must expect both to hear of it and to smart for it. Eli's family was now nearer to God than all the families of the earth, and therefore he will punish them, Amo 3:2. The message is sent to Eli himself, because God would bring him to repentance and save him; not to his sons, whom he had determined to destroy. And it might have been a means of awakening him to do his duty at last, and so to have prevented the judgment, but we do not find it had any great effect upon him. The message this prophet delivers from God is very close.

I. He reminds him of the great things God had done for the house of his fathers and for his family. He appeared to Aaron in Egypt (Exo 4:27), in the house of bondage, as a token of further favour which he designed for him, 1Sa 2:27. He advanced him to the priesthood, entailed it upon his family, and thereby dignified it above any of the families of Israel. He entrusted him with honourable work, to offer on God's altar, to burn incense, and to wear that ephod in which was the breast-plate of judgment. He settled upon him an honourable maintenance, a share out of all the offerings made by fire, 1Sa 2:28. What could he have done more for them, to engage them to be faithful to him? Note, The distinguishing favours we have received from God, especially those of the spiritual priesthood, are great aggravations of sin, and will be remembered against us in the day of account, if we profane our crown and betray our trusts, Deu 32:6; 2Sa 12:7, 2Sa 12:8.

II. He exhibits a high charge against him and his family. His children did wickedly, and he connived at it, and thereby involved himself in the guilt; the indictment therefore runs against them all, 1Sa 2:29. 1. His sons had impiously profaned the holy things of God: " You kick at my sacrifice which I have commanded; not only trample upon the institution as a mean thing, but spurn at it as a thing you hate to be tied up to."They did the utmost despite imaginable to the offerings of the Lord when they committed all that outrage and rapine about them that we read of, and violently plundered the pots on which, in effect, Holiness to the Lord was written (Zec 14:20), and took that fat to themselves which God had appointed to be burnt on his altar. 2. Eli had bolstered them up in it, by not punishing their insolence and impiety: "Thou for thy part honourest thy sons above me, "that is, "thou hadst rather see my offerings disgraced by their profanation of them than see thy sons disgraced by a legal censure upon them for so doing, which ought to have been inflicted, even to suspension and deprivation ab officio et beneficio - of their office and its emoluments. "Those that allow and countenance their children in any evil way, and do not use their authority to restrain and punish them, do in effect honour them more than God, being more tender of their reputation than of his glory and more desirous to humour them than to honour him. 3. They had all shared in the gains of the sacrilege. It is to be feared that Eli himself, though he disliked and reproved the abuses they committed, yet did not forbear to eat of the roast meat they sacrilegiously got, 1Sa 2:15. He was a fat heavy man (1Sa 4:18), and therefore it is charged upon the whole family (though Hophni and Phinehas were principally guilty), You make yourselves fat with the chief of all the offerings. God gave them sufficient to feed them, but that would not suffice; they made themselves fat, and served their lusts with that which God was to be served with. See Hos 4:8.

III. He declares the cutting off of the entail of the high priesthood from his family (1Sa 2:30): " The Lord God of Israel, who is jealous for his own honour and Israel's, says, and lets thee know it, that thy commission is revoked and superseded." I said, indeed, that thy house, and the house of thy father Ithamar (for from that younger son of Aaron Eli descended), should walk before me for ever. Upon what occasion the dignity of the high priesthood was transferred from the family of Eleazar to that of Ithamar does not appear; but it seems this had been done, and Eli stood fair to have that honour perpetuated to his posterity. But observe, the promise carried its own condition along with it: They shall walk before me forever, that is, "they shall have the honour, provided they faithfully do the service." Walking before God is the great condition of the covenant, Gen 17:1. Let them set me before their face, and I will set them before my face continually (Psa 41:12), otherwise not. But now the Lord says, Be it far from me. "Now that you cast me off you can expect no other than that I should cast you off; you will not walk before me as you should, and therefore you shall not."Such wicked and abusive servants God will discard, and turn out of his service. Some think there is a further reach in this recall of the grant, and that it was not only to be fulfilled shortly in the deposing of the posterity of Eli, when Zadok, who descended from Eleazar, was put in Abiathar's room, but it was to have its complete accomplishment at length in the total abolition of the Levitical priesthood by the priesthood of Christ.

IV. He gives a good reason for this revocation, taken from a settled and standing rule of God's government, according to which all must expect to be dealt with (like that by which Cain was tried, Gen 4:7): Those that honour me I will honour, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

1. Observe in general, (1.) That God is the fountain of honour and dishonour; he can exalt the meanest and put contempt upon the greatest. (2.) As we deal with God we must expect to be dealt with by him, and yet more favourably than we deserve. See Psa 18:25, Psa 18:26.

2. Particularly, (1.) Be it spoken, to the everlasting reputation of religion or of serious godliness, that it gives honour to God and puts honour upon men. By it we seek and serve the glory of God, and he will be behind-hand with none that do so, but here and hereafter will secure their glory. The way to be truly great is to be truly good. If we humble and deny ourselves in any thing to honour God, and have a single eye to him in it, we may depend upon this promise, he will put the best honour upon us. See Joh 12:26. (2.) Be it spoken, to the everlasting reproach of impiety or profaneness, that this does dishonour to God (despises the greatest and best of beings, whom angels adore) and will bring dishonour upon men, for those that do so shall be lightly esteemed; not only God will lightly esteem them (that perhaps they will not regard, as those that honour him value his honour, of whom therefore it is said, I will honour them ), but they shall be lightly esteemed by all the world; the very honour they are proud of shall be laid in the dust; they shall see themselves despised by all mankind, their names a reproach; when they are gone, their memory shall rot, and, when they rise again, it shall be to everlasting shame and contempt. The dishonour which their impotent malice puts upon God and his omnipotent justice will return upon their own heads, Psa 79:12.

V. He foretels the particular judgments which should come upon his family, to its perpetual ignominy. A curse should be entailed upon his posterity, and a terrible curse it is, and shows how jealous God is in the matters of his worship and how ill he takes it when those who are bound by their character and profession to preserve and advance the interests of his glory are false to their trust, and betray them. If God's ministers be vicious and profane, of how much sorer punishment will they be thought worthy, here and for ever, than other sinners! Let such read the doom here passed on Eli's house, and tremble. It is threatened,

1. That their power should be broken (1Sa 2:31): I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of thy father's house. They should be stripped of all their authority, should be deposed, and have no influence upon the people as they had had. God would make them contemptible and base. See Mal 2:8, Mal 2:9. The sons had abused their power to oppress the people and encroach upon their rights, and the father had not used his power, as he ought to have done, to restrain and punish them, and therefore it was justly threatened that the arm should be cut off which was not stretched out as it should have been.

2. That their lives should be shortened. He was himself an old man; but instead of using the wisdom, gravity, experience, and authority of his age, for the service of God and the support of religion, he had suffered the infirmities of age to make him more cool and remiss in his duty, and therefore it is here threatened that none of his posterity should live to be old, 1Sa 2:31, 1Sa 2:32. It is twice spoken: " There shall not be an old man in thy house for ever; "and again (1Sa 2:33), " All the increase of thy house, from generation to generation, shall die in the flower of their age, when they are in the midst of the years of their service,"so that though the family should not be extinct, yet it should never be considerable, nor should any member of it come to be eminent in his day. Bishop Patrick relates, out of some of the Jewish writers, that long after this, there being a family in Jerusalem none of which commonly lived above eighteen years, upon search it was found that they descended from the house of Eli, on which this sentence was passed.

3. That all their comforts should be embittered. (1.) The comfort they had in the sanctuary, in its wealth and prosperity: Thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation. This was fulfilled in the Philistines' invasions and the mischiefs they did to Israel, by which the country was impoverished (1Sa 13:19), and no doubt the priests' incomes were thereby very much impaired. The captivity of the ark was such an act of hostility committed upon God's habitation as broke Eli's heart. As it is a blessing to a family to see peace upon Israel (Psa 128:5, Psa 128:6), so the contrary is a sore judgment upon a family, especially a family of priests. (2.) The comfort of their children: " The man of thine whom I shall not cut off by an untimely death shall live to be a blot and burden to the family, a scandal and vexation to his relations; he shall be to consume thy eyes and grieve thy heart, for his foolishness or his sickliness, his wickedness or his poverty."Grief for a dead child is great, but for a bad child often greater.

4. That their substance should be wasted and they should be reduced to extreme poverty (1Sa 2:36): " He that is left alive in thy house shall have little joy of his life, for want of a livelihood; he shall come and crouch to the succeeding family for a subsistence."(1.) He shall beg for the smallest alms - a piece of silver (and the word signifies the least piece) and a morsel of bread. See how this answered the sin. Eli's sons must have the best pieces of flesh, but their sons will be glad of a morsel of bread. Note, Want is the just punishment of wantonness. Those who could not be content without dainties and varieties are brought, they or theirs, to want necessaries, and the Lord is righteous in thus visiting them. (2.) He shall beg for the meanest office: Put me into somewhat belonging to the priesthood (as it is in the original); make me as one of the hired servants, the fittest place for a prodigal. Plenty and power are forfeited when they are abused. They should not be able to pretend to any good preferment, not to any place at the altar, but should petition for some poor employment, be the work ever so hard and the wages ever so small, so they might but get bread. This, it is probable, was fully accomplished when Abiathar, who was of Eli's race, was deposed by Solomon for treason, and he and his turned out of office in the temple (1Ki 2:26, 1Ki 2:27), by which it is easy to think his posterity were reduced to the extremities here described.

5. That God would shortly begin to execute these judgments in the death of Hophni and Phinehas, the sad tidings of which Eli himself should live to hear: This shall be a sign to thee, 1Sa 2:34. When thou hearest it, say, "Now the word of God begins to operate; here is one threatening fulfilled, from which I infer that all the rest will be fulfilled in their order."Hophni and Phinehas had many a time sinned together, and it is here foretold that they should die together both in one day. Bind these tares in a bundle for the fire. This was fulfilled, 1Sa 4:11.

VI. In the midst of all these threatenings against the house of Eli, here is mercy promised to Israel (v. 35): I will raise me up a faithful priest. 1. This was fulfilled in Zadoc, of the family of Eleazar, who came into Abiathar's place in the beginning of Solomon's reign, and was faithful to his trust; and the high priests were of his posterity as long as the Levitical priesthood continued. Note, The wickedness of ministers, though it destroy themselves, yet it shall not destroy the ministry. How bad soever the officers are, the office shall continue always to the end of the world. If some betray their trust, yet others shall be raised up that will be true to it. God's work shall never fall to the ground for want of hands to carry it on. The high priest is here said to walk before God's anointed (that is, David and his seed) because he wore the breast-plate of judgment, which he was to consult, not in common cases, but for the king, in the affairs of state. Note, Notwithstanding the degeneracy we see and lament in many families, God will secure to himself a succession. If some grow worse than their ancestors, others, to balance that, shall grow better. 2. It has its full accomplishment in the priesthood of Christ, that merciful and faithful high priest whom God raised up when the Levitical priesthood was thrown off, who in all things did his father's mind, and for whom God will build a sure house, build it on a rock, so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Sa 2:27-36

Announcement of the judgment upon Eli and his house . - 1Sa 2:27. Before theLord interposed in judgment, He sent a prophet (a "man of God," as inJdg 13:6) to the aged Eli, to announce as a warning for all ages thejudgment which was about to fall upon the worthless priests of his house. In order to arouse Eli's own conscience, he had pointed out to him, on theone hand, the grace manifested in the choice of his father's house, i.e., thehouse of Aaron, to keep His sanctuary ( 1Sa 2:27 and 1Sa 2:28), and, on the otherhand, the desecration of the sanctuary by the wickedness of his sons (1Sa 2:29). Then follows the sentence: The choice of the family of Aaron stillstood fast, but the deepest disgrace would come upon the despisers of theLord (1Sa 2:30): the strength of his house would be broken; all the members ofhis house were to die early deaths. They were not, however, to beremoved entirely from service at the altar, but to their sorrow were tosurvive the fall of the sanctuary (1Sa 2:31-34). But the Lord would raise up a faithful priest, and cause him to walk beforeHis anointed, and from him all that were left of the house of Eli would beobliged to beg their bread (1Sa 2:35, 1Sa 2:36). To arrive at the true interpretationof this announcement of punishment, we must picture to ourselves thehistorical circumstances that come into consideration here. Eli the highpriest was a descendant of Ithamar, the younger son of Aaron, as we maysee from the fact that his great-grandson Ahimelech was "of the sons ofIthamar"(1Ch 24:3). In perfect agreement with this, Josephus ( Ant . v. 11, 5) relates, that after the high priest Ozi of the family of Eleazar, Eli ofthe family of Ithamar received the high-priesthood. The circumstanceswhich led to the transfer of this honour from the line of Eleazar to that ofIthamar are unknown. We cannot imagine it to have been occasioned by anextinction of the line of Eleazar, for the simple reason that, in the time ofDavid, Zadok the descendant of Eleazar is spoken of as high priest alongwith Abiathar and Ahimelech, the descendants of Eli (2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 20:25). After the deposition of Abiathar he was reinstated by Solomon as solehigh priest (1Ki 2:27), and the dignity was transmitted to hisdescendants. This fact also overthrows the conjecture of Clericus, that thetransfer of the high-priesthood to Eli took place by the command of Godon account of the grievous sins of the high priests of the line of Eleazar;for in that case Zadok would not have received this office again inconnection with Abiathar. We have, no doubt, to search for the true reasonin the circumstances of the times of the later judges, namely in the fact thatat the death of the last high priest of the family of Eleazar before the timeof Eli, the remaining son was not equal to the occasion, either because hewas still an infant, or at any rate because he was too young andinexperienced, so that he could not enter upon the office, and Eli, who wasprobably related by marriage to the high priest's family, and was no doubta vigorous man, was compelled to take the oversight of the congregation;and, together with the supreme administration of the affairs of the nationas judge, received the post of high priest as well, and filled it till the timeof his death, simply because in those troublous times there was not one ofthe descendants of Eleazar who was able to fill the supreme office ofjudge, which was combined with that of high priest. For we cannot possibly think of an unjust usurpation of the office of highpriest on the part of Eli, since the very judgment denounced against himand his house presupposes that he had entered upon the office in a justand upright way, and that the wickedness of his sons was all that wasbrought against him. For a considerable time after the death of Eli the high-priesthood lost almost all its significance. All Israel turned to Samuel,whom the Lord established as His prophet by means of revelations, andwhom He also chose as the deliverer of His people. The tabernacle atShiloh, which ceased to be the scene of the gracious presence of God afterthe loss of the ark, was probably presided over first of all after Eli's deathby his grandson Ahitub, the son of Phinehas, as his successor in the high-priesthood. He was followed in the time of Saul by his son Ahijah orAhimelech, who gave David the shew-bread to eat at Nob, to which thetabernacle had been removed in the meantime, and was put to death bySaul in consequence, along with all the priests who were found there. Hisson Abiathar, however, escaped the massacre, and fled to David (1Sa 22:9-20; 1Sa 23:6). In the reign of David he is mentioned as high priest alongwith Zadok; but he was afterwards deposed by Solomon (2Sa 15:24;2Sa 17:15; 2Sa 19:12; 2Sa 20:25; 1Ki 2:27).

Different interpretations have been given of these verses. The majority ofcommentators understand them as signifying that the loss of the high-priesthood is here foretold to Eli, and also the institution of Zadok in theoffice. But such a view is too contracted, and does not exhaust the meaningof the words. The very introduction to the prophet's words points tosomething greater than this: "Thus saith the Lord, Did I reveal myself tothy father's house, when they were in Egypt at the house of Pharaoh?" The ה interrogative is not used for הלא ( nonne ), but is emphatic,as in Jer 31:20. The question is an appeal to Eli's conscience, which hecannot deny, but is obliged to confirm. By Eli's father's house we are notto understand Ithamar and his family, but Aaron, from whom Eli wasdescended through Ithamar. God revealed himself to the tribe-father of Eliby appointing Aaron to be the spokesman of Moses before Pharaoh (Exo 4:14. and Exo 4:27), and still more by calling Aaron to the priesthood, forwhich the way was prepared by the fact that, from the very beginning,God made use of Aaron, in company with Moses, to carry out Hispurpose of delivering Israel out of Egypt, and entrusted Moses and Aaronwith the arrangements for the celebration of the passover (Exo 12:1, Exo 12:43). This occurred when they, the fathers of Eli, Aaron and his sons, were stillin Egypt at the house of Pharaoh, i.e., still under Pharaoh's rule.

1Sa 2:28

"And did I choose him out of all the tribes for a priest tomyself." The interrogative particle is not to be repeated before וּבחור , but the construction becomes affirmative with the inf. abs. instead of the perfect. " Him "refers back to " thy father "in 1Sa 2:27, andsignifies Aaron. The expression " for a priest "is still further defined by theclauses which follow: על מ לעלות , "to ascend upon minealtar," i.e., to approach my altar of burnt-offering and perform thesacrificial worship; "to kindle incense," i.e., to perform the service in theholy place, the principal feature in which was the daily kindling of theincense, which is mentioned instar omnium ; "to wear the ephod beforeme," i.e., to perform the service in the holy of holies, which the high priestcould only enter when wearing the ephod to represent Israel before theLord (Exo 28:12). " And have given to thy father's house all the firings of thechildren of Israel "(see at Lev 1:9). These words are to be understood,according to Deu 18:1, as signifying that the Lord had given to the houseof Aaron, i.e., to the priesthood, the sacrifices of Jehovah to eat in theplace of any inheritance in the land, according to the portions appointed inthe sacrificial law in Lev 6-7, and Num 18.

1Sa 2:29

With such distinction conferred upon the priesthood, and suchcareful provision made for it, the conduct of the priests under Eli was aninexcusable crime. "Why do ye tread with your feet my slain-offerings andmeat-offerings, which I have commanded in the dwelling-place?" Slain-offering and meat-offering are general expressions embracing all the altar-sacrifices. מעון is an accusative (" in the dwelling "), like בּית , in the house. " The dwelling "is the tabernacle. This reproof appliedto the priests generally, including Eli, who had not vigorously resistedthese abuses. The words which follow, "and thou honourest thy sonsmore than me," relate to Eli himself, and any other high priest who like Elishould tolerate the abuses of the priests. "To fatten yourselves with thefirst of every sacrificial gift of Israel, of my people." לעמּי servesas a periphrasis for the genitive, and is chosen for the purpose of givinggreater prominence to the idea of עמּי (my people). רשׁית , the first of every sacrificial gift ( minchah , as in 1Sa 2:17), which Israeloffered as the nation of Jehovah, ought to have been given up to its God inthe altar-fire because it was the best; whereas, according to 1Sa 2:15, 1Sa 2:16, thesons of Eli took away the best for themselves.

1Sa 2:30

For this reason, the saying of the Lord, " Thy house (i.e., thefamily of Eli) and thy father's house (Eli's relations in the other lines, i.e.,the whole priesthood) shall walk before me for ever "(Num 25:13), shouldhenceforth run thus: "This be far from me; but them that honour me I willhonour, and they that despise me shall be despised." The first declarationof the Lord is not to be referred to Eli particularly, as it is by C. a Lapideand others, and understood as signifying that the high-priesthood wasthereby transferred from the family of Eleazar to that of Ithamar, andpromised to Eli for his descendants for all time. This is decidedly atvariance with the fact, that although "walking before the Lord"is not ageneral expression denoting a pious walk with God, as in Gen 17:1, butrefers to the service of the priests at the sanctuary as walking before theface of God, yet it cannot possibly be specially and exclusively restrictedto the right of entering the most holy place, which was the prerogative ofthe high priest alone. These words of the Lord, therefore, applied to the whole priesthood, orthe whole house of Aaron, to which the priesthood had been promised," for a perpetual statute "(Exo 29:9). This promise was afterwards renewedto Phinehas especially, on account of the zeal which he displayed for thehonour of Jehovah in connection with the idolatry of the people at Shittim(Num 25:13). But even this renewed promise only secured to him aneternal priesthood as a covenant of peace with the Lord, and not speciallythe high-priesthood, although that was included as the culminating point ofthe priesthood. Consequently it was not abrogated by the temporarytransfer of the high-priesthood from the descendants of Phinehas to thepriestly line of Ithamar, because even then they still retained thepriesthood. By the expression "be it far from me," sc., to permit this totake place, God does not revoke His previous promise, but simplydenounces a false trust therein as irreconcilable with His holiness. Thatpromise would only be fulfilled so far as the priests themselves honouredthe Lord in their office, whilst despisers of God who dishonoured Him bysin and presumptuous wickedness, would be themselves despised.

This contempt would speedily come upon the house of Eli.

1Sa 2:31

"Behold, days come," - a formula with which prophets wereaccustomed to announce future events (see 2Ki 20:17; Isa 39:6; Amo 4:2; Amo 8:11; Amo 9:13; Jer 7:32, etc.), - "then will I cut off thine arm, and the arm ofthy father's house, that there shall be no old man in thine house." To cutoff the arm means to destroy the strength either of a man or of a family(see Job. 1Sa 22:9; Psa 37:17). The strength of a family, however,consists in the vital energy of its members, and shows itself in the fact thatthey reach a good old age, and do not pine away early and die. Thisstrength was to vanish in Eli's house; no one would ever again preserve hislife to old age.

1Sa 2:32

"And thou wilt see oppression of the dwelling in all that He hasshown of good to Israel." The meaning of these words, which have beenexplained in very different ways, appears to be the following: In all thebenefits which the lord would confer upon His people, Eli would see onlydistress for the dwelling of God, inasmuch as the tabernacle would fallmore and more into decay. In the person of Eli, the high priest at that time,the high priest generally is addressed as the custodian of the sanctuary; sothat what is said is not to be limited to him personally, but applies to allthe high priests of his house. מעון is not Eli's dwelling-place,but the dwelling-place of God, i.e., the tabernacle, as in 1Sa 2:29, and is agenitive dependent upon צר . היטיב , in the sense ofbenefiting a person, doing him good, is construed with the accusative ofthe person, as in Deu 28:63; Deu 8:16; Deu 30:5. The subject to the verb ייטיב is Jehovah , and is not expresslymentioned, simply because it is so clearly implied in the wordsthemselves. This threat began to be fulfilled even in Eli's own days. Thedistress or tribulation for the tabernacle began with the capture of the arkby the Philistines (1Sa 4:11), and continued during the time that theLord was sending help and deliverance to His people through the mediumof Samuel, in their spiritual and physical oppression. The ark of thecovenant - the heart of the sanctuary - was not restored to the tabernacle inthe time of Samuel; and the tabernacle itself was removed from Shiloh toNob, probably in the time of war; and when Saul had had all the priestsput to death (1Sa 21:2; 1Sa 22:11.), it was removed to Gibeon, whichnecessarily caused it to fall more and more into neglect. Among thedifferent explanations, the rendering given by Aquila ( καὶ ἐπιβλέψει [? ἐπιβλέψης ] ἀντίζηλον κατοικητηρίου ) has met with thegreatest approval, and has been followed by Jerome ( et videbis aemulum tuum ), Luther, and many others, including De Wette. According to thisrendering, the words are either supposed to refer to the attitude of Samueltowards Eli, or to the deposition of Abiathar, and the institution of Zadokby Solomon in his place (1Ki 2:27). But צר does not mean theantagonist or rival, but simply the oppressor or enemy; and Samuel wasnot an enemy of Eli any more than Zadok was of Abiathar. Moreover, ifthis be adopted as the rendering of צר , it is impossible to find anysuitable meaning for the following clause. In the second half of the versethe threat of 1Sa 2:31 is repeated with still greater emphasis. כּל־היּמים ,all the time, i.e., so long as thine house shall exist.

1Sa 2:33

"And I will not cut off every one to thee from mine altar, thatthine eyes may languish, and thy soul consume away; and all the increaseof thine house shall die as men."The two leading clauses of this versecorrespond to the two principal thoughts of the previous verse, which arehereby more precisely defined and explained. Eli was to see the distress ofthe sanctuary; for to him, i.e., of his family, there would always be someone serving at the altar of God, that he might look upon the decay with hiseyes, and pine away with grief in consequence. אישׁ signifies everyone, or any one, and is not to be restricted, as Thenius supposes, toAhitub, the son of Phinehas, the brother of Ichabod; for it cannot beshown from 1Sa 14:3 and 1Sa 22:20, that he was the only one that was leftof the house of Eli. And secondly, there was to be no old man, no oneadvanced in life, in his house; but all the increase of the house was to die inthe full bloom of manhood. אנשׁים , in contrast with זקן , is used to denote men in the prime of life.

1Sa 2:34

" And let this be the sign to thee, what shall happen to (comeupon) thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall bothdie ."For the fulfilment of this, see 1Sa 4:11. This occurrence, which Elilived to see, but did not long survive (1Sa 4:17.), was to be the sign tohim that the predicted punishment would be carried out in its fullestextent.

1Sa 2:35

But the priesthood itself was not to fall with the fall of Eli'shouse and priesthood; on the contrary the Lord would raise up for himselfa tried priest, who would act according to His heart. "And I will build forhim a lasting house, and he will walk before mine anointed for ever."

1Sa 2:36

Whoever, on the other hand, should still remain of Eli's house,would come "bowing before him (to get) a silver penny and a slice of bread," and would say, "Put me, I pray, in one of the priests' offices, that Imay get a piece of bread to eat." אגורה , that which is collected ,signifies some small coin, of which a collection was made by begging singlecoins. Commentators are divided in their opinions as to the historicalallusions contained in this prophecy. By the "tried priest,"Ephraem Syrusunderstood both the prophet Samuel and the priest Zadok. "As for thefacts themselves,"he says, "it is evident that, when Eli died, Samuelsucceeded him in the government, and that Zadok received the high-priesthood when it was taken from his family."Since his time, most of thecommentators, including Theodoret and the Rabbins, have decided infavour of Zadok. Augustine, however, and in modern times Thenius and O. v. Gerlach , give the preference to Samuel. The fathers and earliertheologians also regarded Samuel and Zadok as the type of Christ, andsupposed the passage to contain a prediction of the abrogation of theAaronic priesthood by Jesus Christ.

(Note: Theodoret , qu . vii. in 1 Reg. Οὐκοῦν ἡ πρόῤῥησις κυρίως μὲν ἁρμόττει τῷ σωτὴρι Χριστῷ. Κατὰ δὲ ἱστορίαν τῷ Σαδούκ , ὅς ἐκ τοῦ Ἐλεάζαρ κατάγων τὸ γένος τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην διὰ τοῦ Σολομῶνος ἐδέξατ͡¿ . Augustine says ( Decivit. Dei xvii. 5, 2): "Although Samuel was not of a different tribefrom the one which had been appointed by the Lord to serve at thealtar, he was not of the sons of Aaron, whose descendants had beenset apart as priests; and thus the change is shadowed forth, which wasafterwards to be introduced through Jesus Christ."And again, §3:"What follows (1Sa 2:35) refers to that priest, whose figure was borne bySamuel when succeeding to Eli."So again in the Berleburger Bible, tothe words, "I will raise me up a faithful priest,"this note is added:"Zadok, of the family of Phinehas and Eleazar, whom king Solomon,as the anointed of God, appointed high priest by his ordinance, settingaside the house of Eli (1Ki 2:35; 1Ch 29:22). At the sametime, just as in the person of Solomon the Spirit of prophecy pointedto the true Solomon and Anointed One, so in this priest did He alsopoint to Jesus Christ the great High Priest.")

This higher reference of the words is in any case to be retained; for therabbinical interpretation, by which Grotius , Clericus, and others abide, - namely, that the transfer of the high-priesthood from the descendants ofEli to Zadok, the descendant of Eleazar, is all that is predicted, and thatthe prophecy was entirely fulfilled when Abiathar was deposed bySolomon (1Ki 2:27), - is not in accordance with the words of the text. On the other hand, Theodoret and Augustine both clearly saw that thewords of Jehovah, "I revealed myself to thy father's house in Egypt,"and,"Thy house shall walk before me for ever,"do not apply to Ithamar, butto Aaron. "Which of his fathers,"says Augustine, "was in that Egyptianbondage, form which they were liberated when he was chosen to thepriesthood, excepting Aaron? It is with reference to his posterity,therefore, that it is here affirmed that they would not be priests for ever;and this we see already fulfilled."The only thing that appears untenable isthe manner in which the fathers combine this historical reference to Eli andSamuel, or Zadok, with the Messianic interpretation, viz., either byreferring 1Sa 2:31-34 to Eli and his house, and then regarding the sentencepronounced upon Eli as simply a type of the Messianic fulfilment, or byadmitting the Messianic allusion simply as an allegory.

The true interpretation may be obtained from a correct insight into therelation in which the prophecy itself stands to its fulfilment. Just as, in theperson of Eli and his sons, the threat announces deep degradation and evendestruction to all the priests of the house of Aaron who should walk in thefootsteps of the sons of Eli, and the death of the two sons of Eli in oneday was to be merely a sign that the threatened punishment would becompletely fulfilled upon the ungodly priests; so, on the other hand, thepromise of the raising up of the tried priest, for whom God would build alasting house, also refers to all the priests whom the Lord would raise upas faithful servants of His altar, and only receives its complete and finalfulfilment in Christ, the true and eternal High Priest. But if we endeavourto determine more precisely from the history itself, which of the OldTestament priests are included, we must not exclude either Samuel orZadok, but must certainly affirm that the prophecy was partially fulfilledin both. Samuel, as the prophet of the Lord, was placed at the head of the nationafter the death of Eli; so that he not only stepped into Eli's place as judge,but stood forth as priest before the Lord and the nation, and "had theimportant and sacred duty to perform of going before the anointed, theking, whom Israel was to receive through him; whereas for a long time theAaronic priesthood fell into such contempt, that, during the general declineof the worship of God, it was obliged to go begging for honour andsupport, and became dependent upon the new order of things that wasintroduced by Samuel"( O. v. Gerlach ). Moreover, Samuel acquired astrong house in the numerous posterity that was given to him by God. The grandson of Samuel was Heman, "the king's seer in the words ofGod,"who was placed by David over the choir at the house of God, andhad fourteen sons and three daughters (1Ch 6:33; 1Ch 25:4-5). But the very fact that these descendants of Samuel did not follow theirfather in the priesthood, shows very clearly that a lasting house was notbuilt to Samuel as a tried priest through them, and therefore that we haveto seek for the further historical fulfilment of this promise in thepriesthood of Zadok. As the word of the Lord concerning the house of Eli,even if it did not find its only fulfilment in the deposition of Abiathar (1Ki 2:27), was at any rate partially fulfilled in that deposition; so thepromise concerning the tried priest to be raised up received a newfulfilment in the fact that Zadok thereby became the sole high priest, andtransmitted the office to his descendants, though this was neither its lastnor its highest fulfilment. This final fulfilment is hinted at in the vision ofthe new temple, as seen by the prophet Ezekiel, in connection with whichthe sons of Zadok are named as the priests, who, because they had notfallen away with the children of Israel, were to draw near to the Lord, andperform His service in the new organization of the kingdom of God as setforth in that vision (Eze 40:46; Eze 43:19; Eze 44:15; Eze 48:11). This fulfilment iseffected in connection with Christ and His kingdom. Consequently, theanointed of the Lord, before whom the tried priest would walk for ever, isnot Solomon, but rather David, and the Son of David, whose kingdom is aneverlasting kingdom.

Constable: 1Sa 1:1--3:21

I. ELI AND SAMUEL chs. 1--3

First Samuel first contrasts Israel's last two judges (Eli, a failure, and Samuel, a success) and then Israel's first two kings (Saul, a failure, and David, a success).¹¹

The first major section of Samuel sharply contrasts obedience and disobedience to the will of God as God expressed that for Israel in the Mosaic Covenant. This contrast is clear in all seven major sections of 1 and 2 Samuel. The events in this section took place during Eli's 40-year judgeship (4:18; 1144-1104 B.C.).¹²

Constable: 1Sa 2:11-36

B. The Contrast between Samuel and Eli's Sons 2:11-36

Samuel's innocence and the godlessness of Eli's sons contrast strongly in this pericope (section). Samuel would succeed and become a channel of God's blessing. Eli's sons would fail, would become a source of frustration to Eli and to the Israelites, and would ultimately perish.

"The section [2:11-4:1] poignantly illustrates the theme of Hannah's Song' as it is epitomized in 2:7b, he brings low, and also exalts'. For it is under the auspices of God who has determined the ruin of Hophni and Phinehas that Samuel makes his mark."³¹

Constable: 1Sa 2:27-36

4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36

The rest of the chapter explains why God would put Eli's sons to death (v. 25). The specific criticism that the man of God (a prophet, cf. 9:9-10) directed against Eli and his sons was two-fold. They had not appreciated God's grace extended to them in the Exodus deliverance nor the opportunity to serve Him as priests (vv. 27-29). "Kick at" (NASB, v. 29; cf. Deut. 32:15) means to "scorn" (NIV, Heb. ba'at). It is a serious matter to undervalue the grace of God. God had initiated blessing, but they had not responded appropriately, namely, with gratitude, trust, and obedience. Eli's guilt (v. 29) lay in his failure to rebuke his sons severely for their sin (3:13) though he did warn them of God's judgment (2:25). He also enjoyed the fruits of their disobedient worship (2:13-16). Had Eli grown fat from eating the best portions that his sons extorted from the people (cf. 4:18)?

Many students of this book have identified verse 30 as its key verse because it articulates the principle that the books of Samuel illustrate. Every section of 1 and 2 Samuel demonstrates the truth of this statement.

God's judgment on Eli and his sons was that He would dishonor them. God had promised that Levi's descendants would serve Him forever as priests, namely, as long as Israel existed as a nation (Exod. 29:9; Num. 25:13). Now God revealed that He would cut off Eli's branch of the Levitical family tree. Eli was a descendant of Levi through Levi's son Ithamar. His descendants ceased to function as priests when Solomon dismissed Abiathar as high priest. Abiathar escaped the slaughter of the priests at Nob (22:17-20), but Solomon defrocked him because he supported Adonijah (1 Kings 2:27, 35).

The faithful priest God promised to raise up (v. 35) was initially Samuel (3:1, 20; 7:9; 9:2-13). Zadok, a descendant of Levi's son Eleazar, replaced Abiathar as high priest in Solomon's day (1 Kings 2:35).³⁶ The Lord's anointed (v. 35) was the king of Israel. One of his descendants would be Messiah. Ezekiel 44:15 and 48:11 refer to the continuing ministry of Zadok's descendants when Messiah reigns in His future millennial kingdom.³⁷ Verse 36 evidently continues to describe the fate of Eli's descendants after God deposed Abiathar.³⁸

Notice the chiastic (crossing) structure of chapter 2 focusing on Eli's blessing of Samuel's parents.

"A. The song of Hannah, concluding with reference to the Lord's anointed (2:1-10)

B. Samuel ministers before the Lord (2:11)

C. The sins of Eli's sons (2:12-17)

D. Samuel ministers before the Lord (2:18-19)

E. Eli blesses Samuel's parents (2:20-21a)

D.' Samuel grows in the Lord's presence (2:21b)

C.' The sins of Eli's sons (2:22-25)

B.' Samuel grows in the Lords' presence (2:26)

A.' The oracles of the man of God, concluding with reference to the Lord's anointed (2:27-36)"³⁹

This section reveals the importance and power of parental influence. Eli had placed more importance on his sons' personal preferences than he had on God's preferences; he had honored them more than Him (v. 29). Consequently they became worthless men (v. 12) whom God finally killed prematurely. Hannah, on the other hand, encouraged her son, Samuel, to value the service of God. Consequently he developed into a godly man whom God and other people honored and respected (v. 26). Eli's sons despised God and abused other people (vv. 17, 22). Samuel feared God and became a great blessing to other people.

This chapter also shows that godly influence can be more powerful than ungodly influence and can overcome many natural obstacles. God enabled Hannah to influence Samuel for good even though she seldom saw him, lived miles from him, and could not prevent the daily wicked influence of Eli's sons over him. Her previous dedication of him to the Lord was undoubtedly a factor in her success. Her continuing encouragement to serve God and her prayers for Samuel were other important factors.

God has not blessed with godly offspring all parents who have had the same desires for their children as Hannah did. Children are responsible for their own decisions as they grow up (Ezek. 18:4, 20). Some choose to turn away from the Lord. Nevertheless this story shows what can happen. Children can grow up in an ungodly environment away from their parents' personal supervision and still become godly. The influence of a wise and godly parent can overcome many other ungodly influences in a child's life.

Guzik: 1Sa 2:1-36

1 Samuel 2 - Hannah's Prayer, Eli's Evil Sons

A. Hannah's prayer.

1. (1-2) Thanksgiving and praise.

And Hannah prayed and said:

"My heart rejoices in the LORD;

My horn is exalted in the LORD.

I smile at my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

No one is holy like the LORD,

For there is none besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God."

a. 1 Samuel 1:28 ended, So they worshipped the LORD there. Here is the worship Hannah offered, and what she offered on the very day she left her little boy - her only child - at the tabernacle, never for him to live in her home again.

b. My heart rejoices in the LORD: Here, Hannah shows a depth of commitment and love for God that humbles us. On the day she makes the biggest sacrifice she will ever make in her life, she rejoices in the LORD!

i. Notice though, that she rejoices in the LORD. She does not, and she can not, rejoice in the leaving of her son. But she can, and she does, rejoice in the LORD. In the most desperate situations, when we have nothing else to rejoice in, we can rejoice in the LORD.

c. My horn is exalted in the LORD: The horn is an often used as a picture of strength in the Bible (Psalm 75:4-5; 92:10). This is because the strength of an ox or a steer could be expressed in its horn. Hannah is speaking of her strength and power being exalted in the LORD.

i. "We have often seen that horn signifies power, might, and dominion. It is this constantly used in the Bible, and was so used among the heathens." (Clarke)

d. I smile at my enemies: Hannah has a strong sense of vindication over her rival, Elkanah's other wife Peninnah. Peninnah had cruelly brought Hannah low (1 Samuel 1:6-7), but now Hannah can rejoice because the LORD has lifted her up.

e. There is none holy like the LORD: In this verse, Hannah shows a classic form of Hebrew poetry - a repetitive parallelism. To say the LORD is holy is to say He is completely set apart; that He is unique, and not like any other. So, when she continues in the same verse and says, "For there is none besides You," she is saying the same thing as "There is none holy like the LORD," only saying it in different words. When she says, "Nor is there any rock like our God," she is again saying the same thing in different words.

i. In this, Hebrew poetry does not rhyme words by sound, as much as it rhymes ideas. The ideas of the three lines of 1 Samuel 2:2 all rhyme together, having different words yet "sounding" the same.

ii. Beyond the literary structure, the idea is emphasized: God is so great, there is no one - not one in all the universe - who compares with Him. It isn't that He has the same power and wisdom and purity we have, just that He has more of it all. No, His power and wisdom and purity is of a different order than ours, beyond ours.

2. (3) A warning to the arrogant and proud.

"Talk no more so very proudly;

Let no arrogance come from your mouth,

For the LORD is the God of knowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed."

a. Talk no more so very proudly: While Hannah certainly has her rival in mind, her "fellow-wife" Peninnah here. But in some way, she sees Peninnah as just a representative of all the proud and arrogant people in the world. Hannah wisely tells the proud to talk no more and to let no arrogance come from your mouth. Pride can be expressed in many ways, but it usually is expressed by our words. The proud would be much better off if they would just not talk so much!

b. For the LORD is the God of knowledge: This, of course, is the best reason to forsake our pride. Next to God, we all know nothing, and since we are all far from God, we are all far from all knowledge. He knows us, and by Him actions are weighed.

3. (4-8a) Hannah gives glory to the God who often humiliates the strong and exalts the weak.

"The bows of the mighty men are broken,

And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

And the hungry have ceased to hunger.

Even the barren has borne seven,

And she who has many children has become feeble.

The LORD kills and makes alive;

He brings down to the grave and brings up.

The LORD makes poor and makes rich;

He brings low and lifts up.

He raises the poor from the dust

And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,

To set them among princes

And make them inherit the throne of glory."

a. In her song, Hannah has warned against pride. Here, she gives more reasons why we should all be humble before the LORD (especially those like Peninnah, her rival!).

b. We should be humble before God because He knows how to humble the strong: the bows of the mighty men are broken . . . those who were full are now begging, and she who has many children has become feeble. If we are strong now, or exalted now, we should be humble, because the LORD can change our place quickly.

c. We should be humble before God because He knows how to exalt the weak. Those who stumbled are girded with strength . . . those who were hungry have ceased to hunger . . . even the barren has borne seven. If we are weak now, or in a low place, we should wait humbly before God and let Him lift us up.

i. In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus said when we have the opportunity to set ourselves high, we should take a low place instead. Then, when someone sets us in a higher place, it will be a pleasant experience. But if we put ourselves in a high place, someone may come and set us in a lower place, and then we will be embarrassed. Jesus concluded by saying, For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

d. Hannah knew all this intimately in her life. She was barren because the LORD had closed her womb (1 Samuel 1:6). She knew The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. God had first set her low, and then brought her high. She could see the hand of the LORD in it all.

4. (8b-10) Hannah's confidence in the future is really confidence in the LORD.

"For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,

And He has set the world upon them.

He will guard the feet of His saints,

But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

For by strength no man shall prevail.

The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces;

From heaven He will thunder against them.

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give strength to His king,

And exalt the horn of His anointed."

a. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's: Hannah is confident in God's ability to humble the strong and exalt the weak because God is in control. If God were not in control, then perhaps the strong could do what they wanted and God couldn't do anything about it. But Hannah knew that the foundation of the earth itself (the pillars of the earth) belonged to the LORD.

b. God uses His power to set things right: For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces. It isn't enough for us to believe God has this power; we must know He will use it for His glory and righteousness.

c. He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed: At this time, Israel did not have a king, and seems to have not even wanted one. So when Hannah speaks of His king, she is looking ahead to the Messiah, who will finally set all wrongs right. He is His anointed.

i. This is the first place in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as the Messiah. "She first applied to him the remarkable epithet MESSIAH in Hebrew, CHRIST in Greek, and ANOINTED in English, which was adopted by David, Nathan, Ethan, Isaiah, Daniel, and the succeeding prophets of the Old Testament; and by the apostles and inspired writers of the New." (Hales, cited in Clarke)

ii. Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist, quotes Hannah in Luke 1:69, when he prophetically calls Jesus a horn of salvation, quoting from 1 Samuel 2:10. Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her beautiful prayer found in Luke 1:46-55, seems to quote Hannah's song often.

5. (11) Samuel ministers unto the LORD.

Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

a. Then Elkanah went: They did it. It was hard to do, to leave this little son behind, but they did it because they promised God that is what they would do.

b. But the child ministered to LORD before Eli the priest: Young as he was, Samuel could have a ministry to the LORD. Our young people can praise God and please God and worship Him, and it is often a breakthrough in their walk with God when they experience God in worship.

i. The Living Bible translates it well: And the child became the Lord's helper. There are ways that even children can serve God and minister to Him.

B. The wicked sons of Eli, the high priest.

1. (12) The evil character of the sons of Eli.

Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.

a. The sons of Eli were corrupt: Literally, the Hebrew calls them sons of Belial. Belial was a pagan god, and the phrase sons of Belial refers to worthless, wicked men. This was a significant problem, because the sons of Eli were to succeed him as high priest, and were already functioning in the priesthood.

b. They did not know the LORD: Even though their father Eli knew the LORD, that knowledge was not passed on genetically to the sons of Eli. They had to know the LORD for themselves.

i. It can be a difficult thing for a child to come to a true, genuine knowledge of the LORD when they have grown up in a Christian home. They just kind of assume they know the LORD because mom and dad do. But young people need to have a passionate commitment to knowing the LORD for themselves. And knowing about the LORD isn't enough; we must know Him ourselves, in a personal relationship.

2. (13-17) Their first offense: stealing what was offered to God.

And the priests' custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw." And if the man said to him, "They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires," he would then answer him, "No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force." Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

a. The priests' custom with the people: With many of the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle, a portion was given to God, a portion was given to the priest, and a portion was kept by the one bringing the offering. According to other passages in the Old Testament, the priest was supposed to receive a portion of the breast and the shoulder. But now, some four hundred years after the law of Moses was given, the priestly custom had changed - they would not take the prescribed portion of the breast and shoulder, but take whatever the fork brought up out of the pot.

i. "Not contented with the breast and shoulder which were allotted to them by God, Exodus 29:27-28; Leviticus 7:31, they took also part of the offerer's share." (Poole)

ii. It was bad enough for the priesthood in general to change their practice from what God had said in His word. But the sons of Eli went even beyond this!

b. The portion that was to be given to God was always to be given first, so it was wrong to take the priest's portion before they burned the fat.

i. The fat was thought to be the most luxurious, best part of the animal, so that was given to God. The idea was that God should always get the best, and God should get His portion first. But in their pride, the sons of Eli took their portion before they burned the fat.

c. He will not take boiled meat from you, but raw: Why did the sons of Eli want raw meat? Perhaps it was so they could prepare it anyway they pleased; or more likely, it was because raw meat was easier to sell, and they would sell meat and pocket the money.

i. "Boiled meat would not content them. But it ill becometh a servant of the Lord to be a slave to his palate. Christ biddeth his apostles when they come into a house, 'eat such things as are set before them,' if wholesome, though but homely. . . . Commonly a wanton tooth is the harbinger to luxurious wantonness. Gluttony is the gallery that lechery walketh through." (Trapp)

d. No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force: The greed of Eli's sons was so great, they did not hesitate to use violence and the threat of violence to get what they wanted.

i. The priest's servant: As is the case with many influential people, they have someone else do their "dirty" work. The sons of Eli themselves would not threaten or intimidate those who brought their offerings to the LORD, but they would tell their servants to threaten and intimidate the worshippers. In this, they felt they could be "above" their own corruption. Yet, the text says the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD. Of course, God was not pleased with the priest's servants. But God knew that this sin was the sin of the two young sons of Eli more than it was the sin of the priest's servants.

e. For men abhorred the offering of the LORD: The greatness of the sin of Eli's sons was found in this - that they, through their greed, violence, and intimidation, made others not want to come and bring offerings to the LORD. It was bad enough what they themselves were doing; but the greater sin of Eli's sons was in how they hurt other people.

i. "As the people saw that the priests had no piety, and that they acted as if there was no God; they despised God's service, and became infidels." (Clarke) "A wicked priest is the worst creature upon the earth. Who are devils, but they which were once angels of light?" (Trapp)

ii. Jesus said that whoever offends one of His little ones, it would be better for that one if a millstone (a very heavy stone) were tied around his neck and he were cast into the ocean (Matthew 18:6-7). Our self-destructive sins are bad enough; it is even worse when we destroy someone else.

iii. It is the same today with greedy, corrupt ministers, who make others hate the offering of the LORD. God will judge them by a high standard! (James 3:1)

3. (18-21) The purity and service of Samuel and his family is a contrast to the evil character of Eli's sons.

But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod. Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, "The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD." Then they would go to their own home. And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

a. But Samuel: As bad as Eli's sons were, Samuel was different. Is this not why God raised up Samuel, because of the corruption of Eli's sons? God knew how Eli's sons were, so He guided the whole series of events that resulted in Samuel coming to serve at the tabernacle. If Eli's sons would not be worthy successors, then God would raise up someone else.

i. Ultimately, corrupt ministers do not stop - or even hinder - the work of God. Oh, it may look like it; but every time there are men like Eli's sons, God raises up someone like Samuel. God's work does not stop when God's ministers become corrupt.

ii. Why was Samuel godly and Eli's sons were not? It might be easy to say it was because Samuel grew up in a godly home and Eli's sons did not. But Eli does not seem to have been a particularly bad parent, though he obviously did some things wrong (as stated in the rest of the chapter). No, it would be wrong to give Eli all the blame for his sons, or to give Hannah all the credit for Samuel. There is a significant measure that, after all the parenting, is left up to the free will of the child.

b. Wearing a linen ephod: Samuel, even as a child, distinguished himself in his service to the LORD. His service was exceptional enough that he was given a linen ephod, which was a priestly garment (Exodus 39:27-29).

i. What did Samuel do? "He did small charges, as setting up lights, laying up vestments, learning music, or the like." (Trapp)

c. Even as a child: Though a child, Samuel is serving the LORD better, and in a greater way, than the sons of Eli are. What man looks at in the service of God is often not what the LORD looks at.

d. His mother used to make him a little robe: How beautiful! Only someone who was really there would describe such a small detail. Though Hannah gave her little boy to the LORD, she never stopped loving him.

e. The LORD visited Hannah: He certainly did! Three more sons, and two daughters! God will never be a debtor to anyone. Hannah could never say to the LORD, "I gave you my son, but what did you give me?" because God gave her much.

f. On Samuel grew before the LORD: "Not only before men, who might be deceived, but in the presence of the all-seeing God." (Poole)

4. (22) The second offense of Eli's sons: sexual immorality.

Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

a. Now Eli was very old: This passage is not focused on Eli's sons as much as it is on Eli himself. He was old, and in no condition to take the kind of leadership Israel needed from him as high priest. He heard everything his sons did: Eli heard about the evil acts of his sons; but what will he do about it?

b. They lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting: This means the sons of Eli we committing sexual immorality with the women who came to worship at the tabernacle. It is an ancient version of modern "preacher sex scandal."

i. The two great sins of Eli's sons were that they stole from God's people (1 Samuel 2:12-17) and they committed sexual immorality with women who came to worship at the tabernacle. Both show the heart of a hireling, of an unfaithful shepherd who cares more about what he can get from God's people than about what he can give God's people. In this sense, the sins of greed and sexual immorality are not far apart. They often go together as the evidence of self-will and the abuse of power.

ii. It is possible that the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle were in some way workers at the house of the LORD. Exodus 38:8 refers to the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

5. (23-26) The vain, ineffective rebuke of Eli to his sons.

So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. "No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress. "If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them. And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men.

a. Why do you do such things? It is an understandable question, but a needless one. Who cares why? Could there ever be a justified reason? They cannot excuse their sinful behavior, they had to be responsible for it instead.

i. Eli did about the worst thing a parent can do in trying to correct their children: just talk. All he did was whine about what they were doing wrong, but he never took the necessary actions to correct the problem. Parents would be better off to yell less, lecture less, and to take sensible action more often, letting the children see the consequences for their disobedience.

ii. Writing from the 17 ^th century, John Trapp advises Eli on what he should have said: "Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore . . . ye degenerate brood and sons of Belial, and not of Eli; ye brats of fathomless perdition . . . It is stark stinking naught that I hear, and woe is me that I yet live to hear it; it had been better that I had died long since, or that you had been buried alive, than this to live and stink above the ground." That's a lecture from dad!

b. You make the LORD's people to transgress: Again, this was the great sin of Eli's sons. It was bad enough that they stole and indulged their own lusts; but they also, by their corrupt behavior, made people hate to worship God with their offerings at the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:17), and they led women worshippers into sexual immorality.

c. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him? "All differences between man and man may be settled by the proper judge; but if a man sins against the Supreme Judge, God himself, who shall reconcile him to his Maker?" (Clarke)

i. Fortunately, 1 John 2:1 answer's Eli's question: And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Praise God, there is some to intercede for us when we sin against the LORD!

d. Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them: This striking statement may seem unfair to some. They picture Eli's sons wanting to repent, wanting to heed the voice of their father, but God preventing them. This is not the case at all. Repentance is a gift from God, and if God chooses not to grant the gift, people will never want to repent. God judged Eli's sons this way: God gave them exactly what they wanted. They did not want to repent, and God did not work repentance in their hearts.

i. But what about the words, the LORD desired to kill them? God saw they were corrupt men and wanted to judge them. All God did was right and just. Is it wrong to desire justice? When the LORD desired to kill them, it simply means that God desired justice towards Eli's sons.

e. And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men: What a contrast to the wickedness of Eli's sons! This shows that although Eli was far from a perfect father, he was not a chronically bad father, because he essentially fathered Samuel and Samuel grew up to be a godly man.

i. We can't read 1 Samuel 2:26 without thinking of Luke 2:52, which describes Jesus' boyhood: And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Samuel was in good company!

C. The announcement of God's judgment against Eli's house.

1. (27-33) An unknown man of God pronounces judgment to Eli: his family will be cut off from the office of High Priest.

Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?' Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 'Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 'And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 'But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.'"

a. Then a man of God: We don't know who this was; this man of God is one of the wonderful anonymous characters of the Bible. But it doesn't matter who he is; he is a man of God, and God has raised him up to speak to Eli and Eli's whole family at this important time.

b. Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father: The father referred to is Aaron, who was the first High Priest. Since the High Priesthood was a hereditary office, Eli was a descendant of Aaron, whom God had revealed Himself to.

c. 1 Samuel 2:28 is a wonderful summary of some of the duties of the priesthood in Israel.

i. To be My priest: First and foremost, the job of the High Priest was to minister unto the LORD. Before he served the people, he was a servant of God. He was not first the people's priest (though he was that also, he was first the priest of God.

ii. To offer upon My altar: The priest was to bring forth sacrifices for atonement and worship. The altar was the place where atoning blood was both shed and applied, blood that would cleanse from sin. The altar was also the place where the "sacrifice of praise" was brought.

iii. To burn incense: The burning of incense was always a picture of prayer, because the smoke and the scent of the incense would ascend up to the heavens. The priest was to lead the nation in prayer, and to pray for the nation.

iv. To wear an ephod before Me: The priest was clothed in specific garments, for glory and for beauty (Exodus 28:2). He was to represent the majesty, dignity, glory, and beauty of God to the people.

v. All the offerings: The priest was also charged with the responsibility to receive the offerings of God's people and to make good use of them.

c. Why do you kick at My sacrifice: It would have been easy for Eli to say, "I'm not doing it! My sons are!" But Eli had a double accountability for his sons, both as a father (though this was diminished because the sons were adults), and as the High Priest. His sons "worked" for him as a priests, and Eli was a bad "boss."

d. And honor your sons more than Me: Since Eli would not correct his sons the way he should, either as a father or as a head over them, he was essentially preferring them to the LORD. If He would have been more afraid of offending God, and less afraid of offending his sons, he would have corrected them.

i. Eric Liddell was one of Britain's great athletes, and later he gave his life for Jesus on the mission field. In 1924 he was to run for Britain in the Olympic Games, when it was discovered that the preliminary heats of his best event, the 100 meters, would be run on a Sunday. Quietly but firmly, Liddell refused to run. The day of 400 meters race came, and as Liddell went to the starting blocks, an unknown man slipped a piece of paper in his hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30: Those who honor Me I will honor. That day Eric Liddel set a world's record in the 400 meters.

e. I will cut off your arm: Not literally, but since the arm was a picture of strength and might in Hebrew thinking (Psalm 10:15, 77:15, 89:10), this was saying that the house of Eli would be left powerless and without strength.

f. 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever'; but now the LORD says: God here promises that the priestly line would not stay with Eli and his descendants, but would pass to another line of descendants from Aaron. This was fulfilled many years later, in Solomon's day; Abiathar (from Eli's family) was deposed as High Priest and replaced with Zadok (who was from another family).

i. 1 Kings 2:27 reads, So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

ii. Was God going back on His word when He said, "I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever," but now the LORD says? Not at all. The promise referred to is a promise to Aaron in passages like Exodus 29:9. God did not remove the priesthood from the line of Aaron, but He did remove it from the line of Eli. Eli had assumed the promise was to him also, but God was going back on Eli's assumption, not on a promise made to Eli. The implicit promise made to Eli was conditional, and he failed to fulfill the conditions.

g. There shall not be an old man in your house forever . . . And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age: This idea is repeated three times in these few verses. God wants to emphasize that He will not bless the descendants of Eli with a long life.

i. Shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart: The descendants of Eli who do live a little longer will not live blessed lives. They will be painful to observe.

2. (34-36) The sign and the promise: both sons will die on the same day.

"'Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever. And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, "Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread." ' "

a. Now this shall be a sign to you: Since the fulfillment of the judgment would be many years away (in the days of Solomon), God gave Eli an immediate sign to demonstrate His truthfulness. Both of Eli's sons will die in one day, and Eli will see this, and know the judgment of God has come against his house, and that one day the priesthood will be removed from his family.

i. Just because something hasn't happened yet doesn't make it untrue. God's promise was sure, and He wanted Eli to know this.

b. Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest: Who is the faithful priest predicted here? He was a great priest, because he did according to what is in [God's] heart and in [God's] mind. He was a blessed priest, because God said of him, I will build him a sure house, and he will walk before My anointed forever.

i. This promise was partially fulfilled in Samuel, because he functioned as a godly priest, effectively replacing the ungodly sons of Eli.

ii. The promise was partially fulfilled in Zadok, in the days of Solomon, because he replaced Eli's family line in the priesthood.

iii. The promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, because He is a priest forever according to the order of Melchezedek (Hebrews 7:12-17).

iv. The lesson is emphasized through this chapter. God always has His priests. Whenever there are weak priests (like Eli) or corrupt priests (like Hophni and Phinehas), God will raise up great and godly priests to replace them.

c. Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver: This is a fitting judgment, since much of the sin of Eli's sons was greed and stealing from God's people. Instead of receiving the priestly portions which were rightfully theirs, Eli's family will one day be reduced to begging.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF SAMUEL. The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book of Samuel with more propriety than now, the second being wholly occupied with the relation of transactions that did not take place till after the death of that eminent judge. Accordingly, in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, it is called the First and Second Books of Kings. The early portion of the First Book, down to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, was probably written by Samuel; while the rest of it and the whole of the Second, are commonly ascribed to Nathan and Gad, founding the opinion on 1Ch 29:29. Commentators, however, are divided about this, some supposing that the statements in 1Sa 2:26; 1Sa 3:1, indicate the hand of the judge himself, or a contemporary; while some think, from 1Sa 6:18; 1Sa 12:5; 1Sa 27:6, that its composition must be referred to a later age. It is probable, however, that these supposed marks of an after-period were interpolations of Ezra. This uncertainty, however, as to the authorship does not affect the inspired authority of the book, which is indisputable, being quoted in the New Testament (1Sa 13:14 in Act 13:22, and 2Sa 7:14 in Heb 1:5), as well as in many of the Psalms.

JFB: 1 Samuel (Outline)

• OF ELKANAH AND HIS TWO WIVES. (1Sa 1:1-8)
• HANNAH'S PRAYER. (1Sa 1:9-18)
• SAMUEL BORN. (1Sa 1:20)
• HANNAH'S SONG IN THANKFULNESS TO GOD. (1Sa 2:1-11)
• THE SIN OF ELI'S SONS. (1Sa 2:12-17)
• SAMUEL'S MINISTRY. (1Sa 2:18-26)
• A PROPHECY AGAINST ELI'S HOUSE. (1Sa 2:27-35)
• THE LORD APPEARS TO SAMUEL IN A VISION. (1Sa 3:1-10)
• ISRAEL OVERCOME BY THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 4:1-11)
• ELI HEARING THE TIDINGS. (1Sa 4:12-22)
• THE PHILISTINES BRING THE ARK INTO THE HOUSE OF DAGON. (1Sa 5:1-2)
• DAGON FALLS DOWN. (1Sa 5:3-5)
• THE PHILISTINES ARE SMITTEN WITH EMERODS. (1Sa 5:6-12)
• THE PHILISTINES COUNSEL HOW TO SEND BACK THE ARK. (1Sa 6:1-9)
• THE ARK AT KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Sa 7:1-2)
• THE ISRAELITES, THROUGH SAMUEL'S INFLUENCE, SOLEMNLY REPENT AT MIZPEH. (1Sa 7:3-6)
• WHILE SAMUEL PRAYS, THE PHILISTINES ARE DISCOMFITED. (1Sa 7:7-14)
• OCCASIONED BY THE ILL-GOVERNMENT OF SAMUEL'S SONS, THE ISRAELITES ASK A KING. (1Sa. 8:1-18)
• SAUL, DESPAIRING TO FIND HIS FATHER'S ASSES, COMES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 9:1-14)
• GOD REVEALS TO SAMUEL SAUL'S COMING, AND HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE KINGDOM. (1Sa 9:15-27)
• SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL, AND CONFIRMS HIM BY THE PREDICTION OF THREE SIGNS. (1Sa. 10:1-27)
• NAHASH OFFERS THEM OF JABESH-GILEAD A REPROACHFUL CONDITION. (1Sa 11:1-4)
• THEY SEND TO SAUL, AND ARE DELIVERED. (1Sa 11:5-11)
• SAUL CONFIRMED KING. (1Sa 11:12-15)
• SAMUEL TESTIFIES HIS INTEGRITY. (1Sa 12:1-5)
• HE TERRIFIES THEM WITH THUNDER IN HARVEST-TIME. (1Sa 12:17-25)
• SAUL'S SELECTED BAND. (1Sa 13:1-2)
• HE CALLS THE HEBREWS TO GILGAL AGAINST THE PHILISTINES. (1Sa 13:3-4)
• THE PHILISTINES' GREAT HOST. (1Sa 13:5)
• THE ISRAELITES' DISTRESS. (1Sa 13:6-8)
• SAUL, WEARY OF WAITING FOR SAMUEL, SACRIFICES. (1Sa 13:9-16)
• JONATHAN MIRACULOUSLY SMITES THE PHILISTINES' GARRISON. (1Sa 14:1-14)
• SAUL SENT TO DESTROY AMALEK. (1Sa 15:1-6)
• HE SPARES AGAG AND THE BEST OF THE SPOIL. (1Sa 15:7-9)
• GOD REJECTS HIS FOR DISOBEDIENCE. (1Sa 15:10-11)
• SAMUEL SENT BY GOD TO BETHLEHEM. (1Sa 16:1-10)
• HE ANOINTS DAVID. (1Sa 16:11-14)
• THE ISRAELITES AND PHILISTINES BEING READY TO BATTLE. (1Sa 17:1-3)
• GOLIATH CHALLENGES A COMBAT. (1Sa 17:4-11)
• DAVID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE, AND SLAYS HIM. (1Sa. 17:12-58)
• JONATHAN LOVES DAVID. (1Sa 18:1-4)
• SAUL ENVIES HIS PRAISE. (1Sa 18:5-9)
• SEEKS TO KILL HIM. (1Sa 18:10-12)
• FEARS HIM FOR HIS GOOD SUCCESS. (1Sa 18:13-16)
• HE OFFERS HIM HIS DAUGHTER FOR A SNARE. (1Sa 18:17-21)
• JONATHAN DISCLOSES HIS FATHER'S PURPOSE TO KILL DAVID. (1Sa 19:1-7)
• SAUL'S MALICIOUS RAGE BREAKS OUT AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 19:8-17)
• DAVID FLEES TO SAMUEL. (1Sa 19:18-23)
• SAUL PROPHESIES. (1Sa 19:24)
• DAVID CONSULTS WITH JONATHAN FOR HIS SAFETY. (1Sa 20:1-10)
• THEIR COVENANT RENEWED BY OATH. (1Sa 20:11-23)
• SAUL, MISSING DAVID, SEEKS TO KILL JONAHAN. (1Sa. 20:24-40)
• JONATHAN AND DAVID LOVINGLY PART. (1Sa 20:41-42)
• DAVID, AT NOB, OBTAINS OF AHIMELECH HALLOWED BREAD. (1Sa 21:1-7)
• HE TAKES GOLIATH'S SWORD. (1Sa 21:9)
• AT GATH HE FEIGNS HIMSELF MAD. (1Sa 21:10-15)
• DAVID'S KINDRED AND OTHERS RESORT TO HIM AT ADULLAM. (1Sa 22:1-8)
• DOEG ACCUSES AHIMELECH. (1Sa 22:9-16)
• SAUL COMMANDS TO KILL THE PRIESTS. (1Sa 22:17-19)
• ABIATHAR ESCAPES AND FLEES AFTER DAVID. (1Sa 22:20-23)
• DAVID RESCUES KEILAH. (1Sa 23:1-6)
• SAUL'S COMING, AND TREACHERY OF THE KEILITES. (1Sa 23:7-13)
• DAVID ESCAPES TO ZIPH. (1Sa 23:14-18)
• SAUL PURSUES HIM. (1Sa 23:19-29)
• DAVID IN A CAVE AT ENGEDI CUTS OFF SAUL'S SKIRT, BUT SPARES HIS LIFE. (1Sa 24:1-7)
• HE URGES THEREBY HIS INNOCENCY. (1Sa 24:8-15)
• SAMUEL DIES. (1Sa 25:1-9)
• THE CHURLISH ANSWER PROVOKES HIM. (1Sa 25:10-13)
• ABIGAIL PACIFIES HIM. (1Sa. 25:14-35)
• NABAL'S DEATH. (1Sa 25:36-44)
• SAUL COMES TO THE HILL OF HACHILAH AGAINST DAVID. (1Sa 26:1-4)
• DAVID STAYS ABISHAI FROM KILLING SAUL, BUT TAKES HIS SPEAR AND CRUSE. (1Sa. 26:5-25)
• SAUL HEARING THAT DAVID WAS FLED TO GATH, SEEKS NO MORE FOR HIM. (1Sa 27:1-4)
• DAVID BEGS ZIKLAG OF ACHISH. (1Sa 27:5-12)
• ACHISH'S CONFIDENCE IN DAVID. (1Sa 28:1-6)
• SAUL SEEKS A WITCH, WHO, BEING ENCOURAGED BY HIM, RAISES UP SAMUEL. (1Sa. 28:7-25)
• DAVID MARCHING WITH THE PHILISTINES TO FIGHT WITH ISRAEL. (1Sa 29:1-5)
• THE AMALEKITES SPOIL ZIKLAG. (1Sa 30:1-5)
• BUT DAVID, ENCOURAGED BY GOD, PURSUES THEM. (1Sa 30:6-15)
• AND RECOVERS HIS TWO WIVES AND ALL THE SPOIL. (1Sa. 30:16-31)
• SAUL HAVING LOST HIS ARMY AT GILBOA, AND HIS SONS BEING SLAIN, HE AND HIS ARMOR-BEARER KILL THEMSELVES. (1Sa 31:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER THEIR DEAD BODIES. (1Sa 31:8-10)
• THE MEN OF JABESH-GILEAD RECOVER THE BODIES AND BURY THEM AT JABESH. (1Sa 31:11-13)

TSK: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

The First Book of SAMUEL, otherwise called " The First Book of the KINGS."

TSK: 1 Samuel 2 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Sa 2:1, Hannah’s song in thankfulness; 1Sa 2:12, The sin of Eli’s sons; 1Sa 2:18, Samuel’s ministry; 1Sa 2:20, By Eli’s blessing Hannah is more fruitful; 1Sa 2:22, Eli reproves his sons; 1Sa 2:27, A prophecy against Eli’s house.

Poole: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL OTHERWISE CALLED

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.

THE ARGUMENT.

IT is not certainly known who was the penman of this Book, or whether it was written by one or more hands; nor is it or any great importance; for since there are sufficient evidences that God was the chief author of it, it matters not who was the instrument. As when it appears that such a thing was really an act of parliament, or of the council-table, it is not considerable who was the clerk or which was the pen that wrote it. And this is the less material in such historical hooks, wherein there is but little which concerns the foundation of faith and good life, and therefore it was not necessary to name the writer of them. It may abundantly suffice that there were in these times divers prophets and holy men of God; as Samuel, and Nathan, and Gad, and David himself, who might each of them write some part of this and the following book. But if any man will out of perverseness doubt or deny that these wrote it, yet this I suppose no discreet and impartial man will deny, that it is wholly incredible that such books should be written in their times, and recommended to the church as a part of the Holy Scriptures, and so received by the succeeding generation, without their approbation, who had so great a power and authority in the church and commonwealth of Israel.

Poole: 1 Samuel 2 (Chapter Introduction)

SAMUEL CHAPTER 2

Hannah’ s song, 1Sa 2:1-10 . Samuel ministers before the Lord, 1Sa 2:11 . Eli’ s sons are wicked, 1Sa 2:12-17 . Hannah beareth more children, 1Sa 2:20,21 . Eli reproves his sons, but mildly 1Sa 2:22-25 . God by a proverb foretelleth the destruction of Eli’ s house, 1Sa 2:27-36 .

MHCC: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

In this book we have an account of Eli, and the wickedness of his sons; also of Samuel, his character and actions. Then of the advancement of Saul to be the king of Israel, and his ill behaviour, until his death made way for David's succession to the throne, who was an eminent type of Christ. David's patience, modesty, constancy, persecution by open enemies and feigned friends, are a pattern and example to the church, and to every member of it. Many things in this book encourage the faith, hope, and patience of the suffering believer. It contains also many useful cautions and awful warnings.

MHCC: 1 Samuel 2 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Sa 2:1-10) Hannah's song of thanksgiving.

(v. 11-26) The wickedness of Eli's sons, Samuel's ministry.

(1Sa 2:27-36) The prophecy against Eli's family.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Samuel

This book, and that which follows it, bear the name of Samuel in the title, not because he was the penman of them (except of so much of them as fell within his own time, to the twenty-fifth chapter of the first book, in which we have an account of his death), but because the first book begins with a large account of him, his birth and childhood, his life and government; and the rest of these two volumes that are denominated from him contains the history of the reigns of Saul and David, who were both anointed by him. And, because the history of these two kings takes up the greatest part of these books, the Vulgar latin calls them the First and Second Books of the Kings, and the two that follow the Third and Fourth, which the titles in our English Bibles take notice of with an alias: otherwise called the First Book of the Kings, etc. The Septuagint calls them the first and second Book of the Kingdoms. It is needless to contend about it, but there is no occasion to vary from the Hebrew verity. These two books contain the history of the last two of the judges, Eli and Samuel, who were not, as the rest, men of war, but priests (and so much of them is an appendix to the book of Judges), and of the first two of the kings, Saul and David, and so much of them is an entrance upon the history of the kings. They contain a considerable part of the sacred history, are sometimes referred to in the New Testament, and often in the titles of David's Psalms, which, if placed in their order, would fall in these books. It is uncertain who was the penman of them; it is probable that Samuel wrote the history of his own time, and that, after him, some of the prophets that were with David (Nathan as likely as any) continued it. This first book gives us a full account of Eli's fall and Samuel's rise and good government, ch. 1-8. Of Samuel's resignation of the government and Saul's advancement and mal-administration, ch. 9-15. The choice of David, his struggles with Saul, Saul's ruin at last, and the opening of the way for David to the throne, ch. 16-31. And these things are written for our learning.

Matthew Henry: 1 Samuel 2 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have, I. Hannah's song of thanksgiving to God for his favour to her in giving her Samuel (1Sa 2:1-10). II. Their return to their family, with Eli's blessing (1Sa 2:11, 1Sa 2:20). The increase of their family (1Sa 2:21). Samuel's growth and improvement (1Sa 2:11, 1Sa 2:18, 1Sa 2:21, 1Sa 2:26), and the care Hannah took to clothe him (1Sa 2:19). III. The great wickedness of Eli's sons (1Sa 2:12-17, 1Sa 2:22). IV. The over-mild reproof that Eli gave them for it (1Sa 2:23-25). V. The justly dreadful message God sent him by a prophet, threatening the ruin of his family for the wickedness of his sons (1Sa 2:27-36).

Constable: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

First and Second Samuel were originally one book called the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (made ca. 250 B.C.) was the first to divide it into two books. The Septuagint translators titled these books 1 and 2 Kingdoms. That division has persisted ever since and has even been incorporated into subsequent editions of the Hebrew Bible (since A.D. 1517). The title "Samuel" was given by Jerome in his Latin translation, the Vulgate (ca. A.D. 400).

The Jews gave the name "Samuel" to it because Samuel is the first major character in the book. Samuel anointed both Saul and David, so in this respect he was superior to them both.

Date and Writer

Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) and some of it even after the division of the kingdom following Solomon's death (e.g., 1 Sam. 27:6). These features have made it difficult to date the book.

"Our guess is that the author was a high state official in frequent attendance at the court, enjoying the full confidence of David and his household, who served David throughout his reign in Jerusalem and also Solomon during the early years of his reign, and whose duties may have been connected with literary work."¹

Most conservative scholars prefer the view that Samuel may have written or been responsible for noting the record of earlier events in the book (chs. 1-24). Then some unidentifiable writer put it in its final form later, perhaps soon after Solomon's death.

Rationalistic critics of the book tend to believe it was the result of much more piecing together, and some of them date its final form as late as 500 B.C.²

Scope

The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.³ David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11; 5:5). This means he came to power in 1011 B.C. Saul also reigned for 40 years (Acts 13:21) so he became king in 1051 B.C. We can estimate the date of Samuel's birth fairly certainly on the basis of chronological references in the text to have been about 1121 B.C.⁴ Thus the Book of Samuel covers about 1121-971 B.C., or about 150 years of history.

We should note that the first part of 1 Samuel overlaps historically with the end of the judges period that we find in the Book of Judges. Apparently Samson was born just a few years before Samuel. Samson's 20-year judgeship evidently began shortly before the battle of Aphek (1104 B.C.) at which time Eli died (1 Sam. 4:18). It ended not many years before the battle of Mizpah (1084 B.C.) when the Philistine domination of Israel ceased temporarily (1 Sam. 7:13). Samuel's ministry therefore probably ran concurrent with that of Samson until Samson died. Saul began to reign about 35 years after Samson died (i.e., 1051 B.C.). Samuel evidently lived about 30 years after that.⁵

Old Testament History
Events	Biblical References
Creation to Israel's move to Egypt	Genesis 1-50
The Exodus	Exodus 1-18
Israel at Mt. Sinai	Exodus 19--Numbers 10
The Wilderness Wanderings	Numbers 11-21
Israel on the Plains of Moab	Numbers 22--Joshua 2
The Conquest and Division of Canaan	Joshua 3-24
The Amphictyony	-Judges 1-1 Samuel 7
The Reign of Saul	1 Samuel 8-31; 1 Chronicles 10
The Reign of David	2 Samuel 1-24; 1 Chronicles 11-29
The Reign of Solomon	1 Kings 1-11; 2 Chronicles 1-9
The Divided Monarchy	-1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 10-31
The Surviving Kingdom of Judah	2 Kings 18-25; 2 Chronicles 32-36
The Return under Zerubbabel	Ezra 1-6
The Return under Ezra	Ezra 7-10
The Return under Nehemiah	Nehemiah 1-13

Message⁶

First and 2 Samuel are really one story. The translators divided them into two books for convenience, not because of subject matter.

First Samuel records Israel's transition from amphictyony to monarchy.

The key passage that explains this transition is 8:4-7. Two statements from this passage are especially significant.

The human desire that produced the transition expressed itself in verse 5: "Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." God had brought Israel into existence as a nation to be unlike all the nations (Exod. 19:5-6). The essence of its uniqueness was Yahweh's rule over it as King. God wanted Israel to be a demonstration for all the world to see how glorious it can be to live under the authority of God.

The real meaning of the people's request comes out in verse 7: ". . . they have rejected me from being king over them." During the period of the judges, religious apostasy spread and characterized Israel. The people refused to obey their King. It is this attitude that finds expression in verse 5. The people wanted to substitute the false for the true. This is the essence of sin, and it results in idolatry. Every idol is a witness to man's need of God. When people reject the true God they must put something in His place to meet that need. Human beings must have a god.

Israel turned from God as her King in 1 Samuel. She desired a king like the other nations. This book shows the immediate effects of that desire.

One of the great revelations of 1 Samuel is how from the human viewpoint God adapts to continue His reign.

This statement appears to contradict 8:7, but it does not. The people rejected Yahweh, but they did not dethrone Him. The first act is possible, the second is not. This is a major lesson of 1 Samuel. The great revelation of this book is not primarily its three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David. It is Yahweh reigning by adapting to human situations and moving surely and steadily toward the fulfillment of His purposes. In spite of disobedience or obedience, failure or success, rebellious or loyal people, the reign of God moves on. We see this great lesson in the history of 1 Samuel's three central figures: Samuel, Saul, and David.

The writer introduced Samuel's story with his mother Hannah's experience with God. Hannah was a great woman of faith who lived in the judges period. Her faith became God's foothold for advance. Her song reveals a profound appreciation for Yahweh as the God who reigns over all (2:6-8, 10). The similarities between this prayer and Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1 are interesting and noteworthy.

Samuel was a prophet. In one sense he was the first of the prophets (Acts 3:24). Of course, Moses was a prophet and so was Abraham, but Samuel was the first of the order of prophets who mediated between God and the Israelites during the monarchy. The kings of Israel and Judah were never mediators between God and the people in the sense of speaking for God to the people. When the Israelites rejected Yahweh as their king, He withdrew from close communion and intimate fellowship with them. He never recognized their kings as standing between Himself and them to mediate His Word to the people. He chose their kings for them. He allowed their desire for a human king to work itself out in ultimate disaster through the centuries that followed. Yet He never spoke to the people through the king. He always spoke to them through the prophets. Samuel was the first of these. David, of course, was a king and a prophet. The role of the kings was to govern the people. The role of the prophets was to reveal God's will to them.

With Samuel the office of prophet in Israel emerges as that of Yahweh's authoritative representative to His people. Samuel became the king-maker finding and anointing both Saul and David. >From now on when God had a message for the people it normally did not come directly to the king but to the king and the people through the prophet. The prophet's office was always superior to that of Israel's kings. (You have the privilege of speaking for God to your generation. You have a high calling similar to that of Israel's prophets.) When Israel rejected Yahweh as her king, God chose Samuel, the child of a woman's simple faith, trained him in the tabernacle, and called him when he was only a boy. Then He gave him a message to deliver and sent him to anoint Saul as the king after the people's own heart, and David as the king after God's own heart. The prophets became God's mediators, His messengers, and the interpreters of His law. Thus Yahweh reigned though He adapted His methods of ruling by raising up the prophets. He called Samuel as the first of these mediators. During the monarchy God provided guidance through two offices rather than through one as He had done previously. The kings provided political leadership, and the prophets gave the people spiritual leadership. God had previously provided both types of leadership through single individuals namely Moses, Joshua, and the judges.

Saul's story is one of the most tragic in Scripture. It is unusually fascinating and has tremendous power in its appeal to our lives. When God placed Saul on Israel's throne He answered the prayer of His rebellious people in 8:5. God "gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them" (Ps. 106:15; NASB).

Saul was a revelation to the Israelites of what the possession of "a king like the nations" really meant. He had unusual physical strength, but he was fitful and he failed the people. He had mental acumen, but he was moody and eventually turned into a madman. He was sluggish and dull spiritually lacking in spiritual insight and power, and eventually he abandoned Yahweh for a witch.

His reign was also a disaster. At the beginning of his reign, Israel was virtually without a leader. At its end it was under the control of an enemy neighbor. Saul was never able to expand the borders of Israel because he never was strong enough to dominate his enemy neighbors. David on the other hand did both of these things. At the end of Saul's reign, Israel had almost destroyed itself through its wars with the Philistines.

David's story is one of the most glorious in Scripture. After Saul, God gave His people another king, but this time he was a man after God's own heart.

God prepared David for the throne by putting him through training as a shepherd in the fields, a courtier in the palace, and an "outlaw" in exile. (By "outlaw" I do not mean David was lawless but that he lived outside Saul's control.) His shepherd training prepared him to care for and protect the Israelites under his charge. His courtier experience prepared him to deal with high governmental leaders. His "outlaw" years perfected the disciplines that enabled him to become a strong ruler. These disciplines included relying on God in every situation, practicing self-restraint, and leading his people.

In all David's training God was reigning, moving forward to the fulfillment of His plans and purposes. God had previously done this by making the child of faith, Samuel, His prophet. He had also done this by making outwardly promising Saul a revelation to the nation of her sins in turning away from God.

The second great revelation of this book is that people cooperate with God by either being loyal or by being disloyal to Him.

In Samuel's case he had opportunity to glorify God because of his parentage, his call by God, and his appointment as God's prophet. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently God's messages got delivered, and God's work moved ahead. Samuel was an instrument of blessing.

In Saul's case he had opportunity to glorify God too. His opportunity came in his call by God, his anointing by Samuel, his friendship with Samuel, his popularity with the people, and his personal abilities. He responded disobediently, with disloyalty to God as seen in his vacillating and self-will. Consequently he failed as a king, and he died under the judgment of God. His life was a failure.

In David's case his opportunities were his call, his anointing, his waiting, and his suffering. He responded obediently, with loyalty to God. Consequently he became God's instrument of progress and blessing. He was a success.

Each man had his opportunity, made his response, and experienced the consequences of his response. Two obeyed, one disobeyed. All cooperated with God in fulfilling His ultimate purposes either to his own blessing or to his own blasting.

As a result of these two major revelations I would summarize the message of 1 Samuel as follows. God will accomplish His purposes regardless of man's personal response to Him. However man's response to God's revealed will determines a person's own success or failure in life.

First Samuel teaches us the methods of the sovereign God. All territory is within God's jurisdiction, every person is under His control, and all events are in His hands. All of God's plans and purposes are moving toward accomplishment. He makes use of all antagonistic facts and forces as well as all positive facts and forces. He also makes use of all the agents He has chosen to use regardless of their responses. Paul's comments in 2 Tim. 2:20-21 are very much to the point here.

First Samuel also teaches us that God's ultimate victory is independent of the attitudes and actions of individuals and groups of people (e.g., Israel) toward Him. Nevertheless the ultimate destiny of individuals and groups of people depends on their attitudes and actions toward Him.

Samuel was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. Saul was disobedient, was God's instrument, and experienced destruction. David was obedient, was God's instrument, and experienced deliverance. My attitudes and actions do not determine God's ultimate victory, but they do determine my ultimate destiny. Everything depends on my choices and me regarding my earthly destiny. Nothing depends on me regarding God's ultimate victory. God uses all people, loyal and rebellious, to produce His ultimate purposes. However we determine the outcome of our lives by our attitudes and responses to Him. We see these principles working themselves out around us all the time. Dr. Walvoord is an example of a Samuel or a David in our day. The DTS graduates in prison are examples of the Sauls of our day.

Constable: 1 Samuel (Outline)

Outline

I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3

A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:10

1. Hannah's condition 1:1-8

2. Hannah's vow 1:9-18

3. Hannah's obedience 1:19-28

4. Hannah's song 2:1-10

B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2:11-36

1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17

2. Hannah's godly influence on Samuel and its effect 2:18-21

3. Eli's lack of influence on his sons and its effect 2:22-26

4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36

C. God's first revelation to Samuel ch. 3

1. Samuel's call 3:1-18

2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a

II. The history of the ark of the covenant 4:1b-7:1

A. The capture of the ark 4:1b-22

1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11

2. The response of Eli 4:12-18

3. The response of Phinehas' wife 4:19-22

B. Pagan fertility foiled by God ch. 5

C. The ark returned to Israel by God 6:1-7:1

1. The plan to terminate God's judgment 6:1-9

2. The return of the ark to Bethshemesh 6:10-18

3. The removal of the ark to Kiriath-jearim 6:19-7:1

III. Samuel and Saul 7:2-15:35

A. Samuel's ministry as Israel's judge 7:2-17

1. Samuel's spiritual leadership 7:2-4

2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14

3. Samuel's regular ministry 7:15-17

B. Kingship given to Saul chs. 8-12

1. The demand for a king ch. 8

2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16

3. The choice of Saul by lot 10:17-27

4. Saul's effective leadership in battle 11:1-11

5. The confirmation of Saul as king 11:12-12:25

C. Kingship removed from Saul chs. 13-15

1. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal 13:1-15

2. Saul's struggle against the Philistines 13:16-14:23

3. Saul's cursing of Jonathan 14:24-46

4. Saul's limited effectiveness in battle 14:47-52

5. Yahweh's final rejection of Saul ch. 15

IV. Saul and David 1 Sam. 16-31

A. David's rise as the new anointed 16:1-18:5

1. God's selection of David for kingship ch. 16

2. The reason for God's selection of David ch. 17

3. The results of God's selection of David ch. 18:1-19:17

B. David driven out by Saul 19:18-20:42

1. God's deliverance in Ramah 19:18-24

2. Jonathan's advocacy for David ch. 20

C. David in exile chs. 21-31

1. David's initial movements chs. 21-22

2. Saul's pursuit of David ch. 23

3. David's goodness to two fools ch. 24-26

4. The end of Saul's reign 27-31

(Continued in notes on 2 Samuel)

Constable: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel

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_____. "Paul's Use of About 405 Years' in Acts 13:20." Bibliotheca Sacra 138:551 (July-September 1981):246-57.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL;

otherwise called,

THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the Hebrews, the Books of Samuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two kings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by the Fathers, the First and Second Book of Kings. As to the writer of them, it is the common opinion that Samuel composed the first book, as far as the twenty-fifth chapter; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first and wrote the second book. See 1 Paralipomenon, alias 1 Chronicles, xxix. 19. (Challoner) --- The authors of the Third and Fourth Books of Kings were also prophets, but we know not exactly their names. These works have nevertheless been always esteemed authentic (Haydock) and canonical. (Worthington) --- Ven. Bede takes occasion to observe, from the Books of Kings (or as the Septuagint read, "of kingdoms;" Haydock) being placed after that of Judges, that the everlasting kingdom of Christ will succeed the general judgment. The translation of the priesthood and of the regal dignity, recorded in these books, denote also that Christ would united both in his own person; as the two wives of Eleana intimated, that both Jews and Gentiles would acknowledge the same Lord. (St. Jerome; St. Augustine; &c.) --- The transactions of Heli, Samuel and Saul, and the persecutions which David sustained from the latter, form the subject of the first book, (Haydock) during the space of 100 years. All the four books carry down the sacred history near 600 years, from the year of the world 2849 till the transmigration of Juda, in the year 3420. (Calmet) (Usher)

Gill: 1 Samuel (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 SAMUEL

This book, in the Hebrew copies, is commonly called Samuel, or the Book of Samuel; in the Syriac version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Samuel the Prophet, which is the First Book of the Kings; and the Septuagint version, the Book of the Kingdom: it has the name of Samuel, because it contains an history of his life and times; and the Jews say ^a it was written by him; and as it may well enough be thought to be, to the end of the twenty fourth chapter; and the rest might be written by Nathan and Gad, as may he gathered from 1Ch 29:29 as also the following book that bears his name; and both may be called the Books of Kings, because they give an account of the rise of the kings in Israel, and of the two first of them; though some think they were written by Jeremiah, as Abarbinel; and others ascribe them to Ezra: however, there is no doubt to be made of it that this book was written by divine inspiration, when we consider the series of its history, its connection and harmony with other parts of Scripture; the several things borrowed from it, or alluded to in the book of Psalms, particularly what is observed in Psa 113:7, seems to be taken out of 1Sa 2:8, and the sanction which the Lord gives to it, by referring to a fact in it, whereby he stopped the mouths of the Scribes and Pharisees cavilling at his disciples, Mat 12:3, compared with 1Sa 21:3, yea, even, as Huetius ^b observes, some Heathen writers have by their testimonies confirmed some passages in these books, which they seem to have been acquainted with, as Nicolaus of Damascus ^c, and Eupolemus ^d; it contains an history of the government of Eli, and of the birth of Samuel, and his education under him; of the succession of Samuel in it, and the resignation of it to Saul, when he was chosen king; of his administration of his office, and of things done in the time of it, both before and after his rejection, and of the persecution of David by Saul, and is concluded with his death.

Gill: 1 Samuel 2 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 2

In this chapter the song of Hannah is recorded, 1Sa 2:1, and an account is given of the return of Elkanah and Hannah to their own home, and of the care she took yearly to provide a coat for Samuel, and of her being blessed with many other children, and of the growth and ministry of Samuel before the Lord, 1Sa 2:11, and of the wickedness of the sons of Eli, 1Sa 2:12, and of Eli's too gentle treatment of them when he reproved them for it, 1Sa 2:22 and of a sharp message sent him from the Lord on that account, threatening destruction to his house, of which the death of his two sons would be a sign, 1Sa 2:27.