Parents and Sons - 2021-10-03

 

“Parents and Sons”

“The Story” Series

1 Samuel 1-3

3 October 2021 

 INTRODUCTION:

There are two kinds of giants: those that are great, and those that are merely large. In English we use the word “giant” in both senses and rely on context to tell which meaning is intended. For example, we might say that Abraham Lincoln was a giant of a man. However, while taller than average, he was not physically large. Yet he was a giant in a more important sense—in character, conviction, and courage.

TRANSITION:

In the Bible we find both kinds of men. For example, Goliath was a giant, literally, and he came from a whole family of giants. They were all huge and extraordinarily strong. And Saul, the first king of Israel, although not technically a giant was “head and shoulders above every other man in Israel.” Evidently, he was very tall, of large stature, and devilishly handsome—every woman’s dreamboat. Unfortunately, however, he was not great in character, integrity, honesty, or good sense.

On the other hand, we learn that David was small in stature. He was the youngest of his family, the runt of the litter. Although he learned about warfare and became mighty in battle, it was not because of his physical size but because of his skill and his dependence upon God. He was not a giant in stature, but he became a great man.

Today we are going to investigate the life of a giant—one of my favourite characters in Scripture—the man Samuel. He was a special man for a special time. His birth was miraculous, a direct answer to prayer. From his earliest years his life was dedicated to God's service. He stood in the gap as the bridge between two great periods of Israel’s history—the time of the Judges, and the reign of the kings. In fact, he was the last of the Judges and the first of the prophets, and he was the prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel.

However, we are at the same time going to look at another man, Eli the High Priest who was Samuel’s mentor for several years. He was not a giant. In fact, in contrast to Samuel’s mother, Hannah, who was a good and godly mother, Eli was one of the worst fathers in all of Scripture, and yet God, in His sovereignty, saw fit to place young Samuel under Eli’s authority and tutelage.

MAIN BODY:

Samuel was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He was good, and wise, and he loved and served God with all his heart. He had the ability to look deeply into a person’s soul and know what was going on in there. He had a heart for God and lived his life in a way to try and please and honour God in all that he did. He was fearless. He was not afraid to confront sin and call it by its real name. He was respected by men, honoured by God, and feared by those who chose to do evil. His life is worth studying, and worth emulating. Today I want us to look at the birth and first few years in the life of this giant of a man. But to understand Samuel, we must also understand his parents, especially his mother, Hannah.

The story of Samuel’s birth is familiar to many of us. It is recorded in the OT book of 1 Samuel, chapter 1. It is interesting to observe that very often the finger of God is seen very clearly in connection with the birth and early training of those who are to become His greatest agents—e.g., Moses, Samson, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Very often the family from which the great man is raised-up is among the obscurest and least distinguished of the country.

Samuel came from an interesting family. His father, Elkanah, was of the priestly line of Levi, meaning that Samuel was a Levite as well. You can read more about his family tree in 1 Chronicles 6:3ff. He grew up in the hill country near Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle sat for many years until the Temple was built in Jerusalem.

His father had two wives—Hannah (meaning “grace”), and Peninnah (“pearl”). Hannah was his first wife, and Elkanah loved her very much, but she was barren and could not give him heirs, so he took a second wife, who was very fertile and bore him many sons and daughters. However, their home situation was hellish. Peninnah grew to despise Hannah, probably out of jealousy because Elkanah continued to show favour to Hannah even though she was barren. The biblical text says that because Hannah was Elkanah’s favourite wife, she received double portions of everything. Because of this, Peninnah tormented Hannah continually and verse 7 of our text says that this went on year after year.

Elkanah was a godly man and he loved Hannah dearly, but verse 6 tells us “…the Lord had closed her womb.” To be barren in Israel was a great shame, both for the woman as well as for the man, because it meant that their family line would be cut off with no one to carry on their family name and heritage. This undoubtedly bothered Elkanah, but for Hannah it was a daily torture as she saw other women with children and received their constant taunts because of her barrenness. She wanted to be a mother. The Bible tells us that in her great distress she constantly prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. Yet her sorrow never turned to anger against God. She loved God, and she knew that He is faithful, and that He answers prayer.

If a single word can describe Hannah, I think it would have to be the characteristic of “HOLINESS.” Her unfailing devotion to God and her desire for a son led her to make a solemn vow to the Lord, recorded for us in 1 Samuel 1:11: “O Lord of Hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy maidservant and remember me, and not forget Thy maidservant, but wilt give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.”

Having made this commitment, God gave her His peace, and so the Bible says, “…she went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Verse 19 says: “And the Lord remembered her, and it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord.’” Indeed, Samuel’s name means, “asked of God.”

That child that Hannah dedicated to the Lord grew to become a godly prophet and one of the greatest men in all of Scripture. Chapter 2, verse 21 tells us that after the birth of Samuel God gave Hannah and Elkanah three more sons and two daughters, making 6 children in all. But Samuel, her firstborn, her miracle baby, was always special to Hannah. 

To this day, mainly because of the example of Hannah, parents bring their children to dedicate them to the Lord. My mother dedicated me to the Lord. I dedicated my three children to the Lord. Many of you have done the same thing. We know that children are a gift from God, loaned to us for a few short years to love and train and nurture, but they do not belong to us.

Hannah, in an act of holiness and devotion to God, gave Samuel back to the Lord, and just look what God did with him! What will God be pleased to do today if Christian parents give their children over to the Lord and raise them to know, love, honour, and serve Him, living out before their little watching eyes a life of consistent personal holiness?

Now this is where we need to switch gears and jump forward in time a bit. To pick up the context look at 1 Samuel 1:28. It says that Hannah left Samuel with Eli in Shiloh, “And he worshipped the Lord there.” Now look down at 2:11 – “But the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.” Even though Samuel was just a little boy he was serving the Lord and helping in the ministry.

The very next verse tells us about the nasty can of worms into which young Samuel was dropped. 1 Samuel 2:12 says, “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.” In Hebrew it is even worse. It says literally that they were “sons of Belial,” which is one of the names for Satan. God calls them “demon spawn, sons of the devil.” That’s bad!

How many times have you swept a problem under the carpet, only to have it become much worse? Maybe you thought the problem would go away by itself, or maybe you were too uncomfortable to confront it head on. Most of us try everything in our power to avoid confrontation. And nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news. In the workplace, delivering bad news (e.g., reprimanding, firing, demoting, or transferring someone) is one of the toughest jobs that managers face. So, often, they stall to avoid the issue rather than facing it.

One of the hardest things chaplains and police officers must do is notify family members of a person’s death or injury. It is a painful, unpleasant task. It is said the ancient Roman emperors sometimes executed the bearers of bad news they did not want to hear. We do not do that anymore, but the fear of sharing bad news still lingers with most of us.

Why are we so afraid of delivering bad news?

ü  We do not want to appear as the bad guy. On the job we do not want to be unpopular or thought of as a dictator.

ü  We tend to “awfulize,” that is, we think the confrontation will be worse than it really is.

ü  We avoid because we do not know how to handle conflict effectively.

It is bad enough for an adult to be called on to deliver bad news. But when a child must do it, it is especially painful. Samuel began his ministry in the house of the Lord in Shiloh as a little boy of 4-5 years of age. From that time on, Samuel lived in the courts of the tabernacle in Eli’s shadow, helping the old priest and learning from him.

Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, the high priest at Shiloh, were first mentioned back in 1:3 although nothing is said there about their character or reputation. However, here in 2:12-13 we start to get the lowdown on them. It says they were “worthless and did not know the Lord.” Neither did they follow the accepted protocols for priests. They were rude and ruthless and greedy. According to verses 15-16 when people would come to Shiloh to offer up their sacrifices Eli’s sons would use threats, extortion, and intimidation to get meat for their barbeque. Verse 2:17 sums up the situation: “Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord.” This word “despise” does not mean to hate, but rather to underestimate, to look down on, or to think little of. They we guilty not only of the sins of greed and gluttony but also of treating the holy things of God with total disrespect. They just didn’t care.

Verse 18 tells us that one day young Samuel was “ministering before the Lord” wearing his little Junior Priest outfit. His mother, Hannah, kept him outfitted with clothes that she made herself. She would bring them to Shiloh each year when she and Elkanah would come to make their yearly sacrifice to the Lord and receive a blessing from Eli, the priest.

In verse 22 we learn that Eli was aware of the sins of his sons. He knew the awful things they were doing, how they were treating the people and how they were molesting the women who came to worship. He finally said something to them about it, but he did nothing to stop their sinful behaviours. Because of this fact, before God he was complicit in their sinning. As the High Priest he had the authority but because they were his own sons, flesh of his flesh, he failed to act. In so doing he chose them over God. He neglected his sacred duty perhaps out of fear of what they might do, or hoping to avoid a scandal, or hoping upon hope that they would listen to his warning and stop on their own. But he had the obligation to remove them immediately and punish them, but he chose to do nothing.

In verse 25 we see that Eli knew that his sons were sinning against the Lord, so he too was without excuse. It says that “the Lord desired to put them to death.” Maybe if Eli had acted earlier, years earlier, things would never have gotten to this point. We will never know.

God has His people in places where we would never look for them. Several times in Scripture God would send a nameless, unknown prophet to deliver a message. That is what happened here. In verses 27-36 we learn that God sent “a man of God” to deliver a message to Eli. It was a horrible message, frightening and sad, and it left no doubt what God had planned for the House of Eli.

Through His messenger God said to Eli in verse 29, “Why do you scorn My sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for My dwelling? Why do you honour your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by My people Israel?” You see God knew exactly what was going on. Apparently, Eli was getting some of that stolen meat himself (cf. “yourselves”). 

God said that He would “cut off” the descendants of Eli so that there would be none left. His line would be broken with nothing remaining. To put a fine point on it, in verse 34 God said, “And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.”  

Moving into chapter 3 we find Samuel again “ministering to the Lord before Eli.” Josephus, the Jewish/Roman historian, tells us that Samuel was approximately 12 years old at this point, so several years had passed since the prophecy at the end of chapter 2.

In 3:1 we get an interesting tidbit of information. It says, “And word from the Lord was rare (lit. precious) in those days, visions were infrequent.” Why do you think that was? I think it was because there were so few people in Israel who were walking in faith and obedience during that time that there were very few who were worthy to hear from God. Samuel was the exception, so he became God’s chosen instrument to carry God’s message. 

In the early morning before dawn God spoke to Samuel in an audible voice. Never having heard the Lord speak before Samuel thought that it must have been Eli who had called him, so he ran in and asked the old priest what he wanted. This happened three times and finally Eli realized that God was speaking to young Samuel, so he told him to respond next time saying, “Speak, LORD, for Thy servant is listening.” So, Samuel went back to his cot in the tabernacle near the Ark of the Covenant and he lay down waiting. 

Verse 10 says, “Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, LORD, for Thy servant is listening.’”

At this point the LORD unloaded the message He had for Eli and his sons. The day of reckoning had finally come. Several years have passed since the warning was given by that unknown prophet and yet no changes were made, no sins were repented of and now it is too late. If Eli and his sons had heeded the warning and turned from their wicked ways and thrown themselves on the mercy of God, I believe that judgment could have been averted but now that ship had already sailed.

Verses 11-14: And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ¹² At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. ¹³ For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

The next day Samuel went about his duties hoping to avoid any awkward questions from Eli. But Eli was perceptive and asked Samuel directly what the LORD had said to him. So, Samuel unloaded his burden. Verse 18 says, “So, Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he [Eli] said, ‘It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.” Eli was too late smart. There is no remedy for what is to come. The LORD has spoken.

The divine sentence was carried out in short order as recorded in chapter 4. In a battle against the Philistines the army of Israel lost, the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the enemy, and Hophni and Phinehas were both killed, on the same day just as the LORD had said. A man of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Shiloh to carry the news. As he approached Eli, the old priest asked him how the battle had gone. Verse 17 says, The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

CONCLUSION:

So, as I draw this message to a close, I want to make a few brief observations about Hannah, Eli, and Samuel, in that order.

1. First, let’s look at Hannah, one of the best parents in the Bible.

·         Have you ever felt that God has dealt you a bad hand, that He has acted unfairly toward you?

·         Have you ever been tempted to yell at God and then walk away in bitterness and frustration?

·         Do you sometimes doubt that He hears you when you pray to Him?

·         Do you pray once then give up hope before the answer comes?

Hannah has much to teach us about endurance and about prevailing prayer and about sacrificial love for God. Out of the crucible of her pain and heartbreak eventually came great blessing, which spread outward to many people through her son, Samuel. Hannah, this godly woman with a mother’s heart, will stand out for time and eternity as a model of selfless, sacrificial love.

2. Secondly, I want us to look at Eli, without a doubt one of the worst parents in the Bible. God blessed him with two sons, two little boys to raise in the instruction and admonition of the Lord, but Eli failed miserably. Nothing is mentioned in the text of him having a wife, but he certainly had one. We know nothing about her. But God put the blame for Hophni and Phinehas squarely on Eli’s shoulders and God does not make mistakes. Now we all know of cases of godly people having rebellious children, but this story is much more than that. Because of Eli’s unwillingness to rein in his sons as they were growing up God held him responsible for their wickedness later in life. Does that seem fair to you? The Bible says that a father who loves his son will not spare the rod of correction. Love and discipline go hand in hand and apparently Eli did not love his sons enough to chase them off the road to destruction, so in the end he and they paid a terrible price for their gross wickedness.

3. But what can we say about Samuel? Samuel was indeed a choice servant of God. He was a man like no other in his time. He walked with the Lord. He trusted God, and he served Him with his whole heart, from his childhood through his old age.

Verses 19-21 sum up the evaluation of his character and ministry. “Thus, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” So, the Lord was with Samuel, and He backed Samuel up, standing by him, and He revealed Himself to Samuel. I would draw your attention back to 3:1, which says, “And word from the Lord was rare (lit. precious) in those days, visions were infrequent.” Samuel was the exception because he had his ear attuned to the Lord’s voice, so God could easily speak to him. I think there is a message in that for us as well.