1 Samuel 1 today...... 1_Samuel 2-3 tomorrow...

Read it.
Sandj


Chapter 1: verse 1...A decendent of Joseph, I think.
verse 2... sounds like trouble... the 2 wife thing does not ever seem to produce anything but strife, competition, and trouble... I don't know how or why the Mormons (?) choose this, but I truly pity all those involved if their home lives are anything like those recorded in the Bible of men with more than one wife.
verse 3-5... that truly is a blessing in and of itself that this man loved his wife who could not bear him any children... that says alot about both of them I think, since it was a big deal to have large families then, and since there seemed to be so much "reckless" love, as we say in Judges.
verse 6-7... poor Hannah...she must have been the most loving, patient woman on the face of the earth... I have to admit I think after a few years of it (at the longest) I would have punched Peninnah in the nose, or at least tripped her a few times... I am truly inspired by Hannah's grace, forgiveness, and love!
verse 8... he's kind of dumb if he doesn't know what is going on... I'm surprised he hasn't put his foot down to stop the whole torturing thing. Also, I know he is trying to comfort her, but it sounds a little arrogant... maybe it is a sweet thing to say, though since sons were a really important thing then, and he is telling her that it doesn't matter to him if she can't bear him sons, he loves her anyway... maybe he loves her because of her patience and love, too.
verse 9-18... ok, I do find it amusing that Eli thought she was drunk... it reminds me of when one of younger girls was singing "Jesus Love the Little Children"... she got the whole thing right up til the end, where she sang out "... Jesus love the little children who are weird!"... as funny as it was then, I think that there is some real truth to that... obviously Eli thought Hannah was a little weird, but God loved her and blessed her and answered her request because of her willingness to have faith in Him despite what others thought.... I think it is awesome that she was so focused on God that she didn't care what else was going on, nor did she care who else was around... she was just so into God and focused on praying and worshipping Him... I think that is a real lesson to us today... sometimes I can be so concerned about who might be listening to me sing, or watching me pray, or whatever, that I forget the true focus of my actions... I forget that I am supposed to be focusing on God, not other people... it reminds me of the verse in Galatians 1:10 ("Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.")... it is so true... we really need to remember who we are serving with our lives... obviously, Hannah had this straight, as she gave up not only her own life, but also the life of the son that she asked for (and believed she would receive).... I also like in verse 18, how, once she did have that solid focus time on God, and practiced her solid faith in Him, she was no longer grief-stricken, but now full of joy... she did not have a son, yet, nor was she promised one... she only had poured out her heart to God and truly focused herself on Him... sometimes we think that we have to have a result to be happy, or we have to have the "answer" to be happy, or we have to have something tangible to be happy... but Hannah had none of those, yet her sadness was turned to joy... why? because happiness and joy are not the same... happiness is circumstantial... joy is greater, it does not rely on circumstances to dictate it existance... instead, joy comes from closeness to God... so, in answer to the question asked by many self-help books "How do you find true happines?"... well, if we take a cue from Hannah, we do so by drawing close to God.
verse 19-20... important to note that God will always remember, so that is not a surprise... however, we, as humans can have fickle and selective memory, so it is very wonderful to read about someone who held to their promise to God.... and not only that, but acknowledged Him in the whole matter (by naming Samuel, she was saying that God had heard and answered her prayer).
veres 21-23... Hannah is probably having a hard time parting with her son, as she had wanted him for so long and now has to give him up... however, her husband is making sure she knows that he is holding up her end of the deal (as we read about in Numbers 30:10-15)... Elkanah had the power to release Hannah from her vow to God, but he was stating to her that he would not... I think, in a way, he was reminding her that God was most important in their lives, and encouraging her to live up to the sacrifice she had promised to give/bear... in a way, I think that he was being very respectful to her... he gave her a lot of choice and responsibility and treated her as an equal... also, not just Hannah should be commended for her faith and resoluteness, but Elkanah, too, because he was giving up their child, as well, and maybe even more so, should be commended, because he was giving up their son based on a promise made by someone else that he did not have initial control over. Samuel truly had great parents... ones that loved God more than anything, and each other very much, too.
verse 24-28... if I remember what I've been told in the past about babies nursing in ancient times (and even in countries other than the US, now), Samuel was probably somewhere between 3-5 years old at this point. Sometimes I wonder how Hannah found the courage to give her son to God's work, but then I am reminded about how really, each of our children should be given to God, first, because they are His anyway, and second, because they are much safer in His hands than ours, no matter how much we, in our humaness, wish that weren't so.
sandJ