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

 A. The Change from Barrenness to Fertility 1:1-2:10

In the first subsection (1:1-2:10) we have the joyful story of Samuel's miraculous birth and his mother's gratitude to God for reversing her barrenness and making her fertile. The significance of this story is not only that it gives us the record of how Samuel was born and that his mother was a godly woman. It also shows how God, in faithfulness to His promise to bless those who put Him first (Deut. 28), did so even for a despised woman in Israel (cf. Rahab and Ruth). He brought blessing to all Israel because of her faith.

 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

 C. God's First Revelation to Samuel ch. 3

This chapter records how God's blessing of and through Samuel continued and grew as a result of his faithful commitment to God. This is a revelation of another call to ministry that God extended to His servants the prophets (cf. Exod. 3; Isa. 6; Jer. 1; et al.).⁴⁰It is also another instance in which God revealed Himself to someone audibly in a dream.⁴¹