April 9: 1 Samuel 1:9 – 1 Samuel 4:11

The Birth of Samuel – 1 Samuel 1

• While they are in Shiloh, Hannah suffers great sadness and refuses to eat. Her husband asks her if he is not worth more to her than ten sons. She goes to the temple, and prays and weeps bitterly, and promises the Lord that if he will grant her a son, she will give him to the Lord and a servant son (a Nazirite).
• Eli the priest sees her moving her mouth but not speaking as she prays, and tells her to stop drinking wine. She objects, saying she is only pouring out her soul to the Lord. Eli tells her to go in peace, and may God grant her petition. Hannah goes back to Elkanah, no longer sad.
• The next morning, after worshiping the Lord, Elkanah, Hannah, and Peninnah return home to Ramah. God remembers Hannah, and she bears a son and calls him Samuel.

Samuel Given to the Lord

• Elkanah continues to go to Shiloh to worship, but Hannah stays home with Samuel until he is old enough to be weaned. Then they take him to Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. They slaughter the bull and then bring Samuel to Eli. Hannah tells him that God granted her petition, and she now brings Samuel to serve the Lord.

Hannah's Prayer – 1 Samuel 2

• Hannah prays, exulting the Lord. Elkanah and Hannah return to Ramah, leaving Samuel with Eli to serve God.

Eli's Worthless Sons

• The sons of Eli are worthless men who don't know the Lord. When people would bring sacrifices, they would send over a servant and instruct the servant to offer the sacrifice in a way different from God's command.
• Samuel ministers before the Lord, clothed in a linen ephod. Every year, Hannah brings his a robe. Each year Eli blesses Elkanah and Hannah, and she bears three sons and two daughters. Samuel grows up in the presence of the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

• Eli is very old, and he hears what his sons are doing to Israel and how they lie with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Eli rebukes their behavior, but they don't listen to him. At the same time, Samuel grows in stature and in favor with God and man.

The Lord Rejects Eli's Household

• A man of God comes to Eli and reminds him of His instructions for sacrifice, then asks why he scorns His sacrifices and offerings by the actions of Eli's sons. God tells Eli that the time is coming when He will put an end to Eli's family serving as priests. They will die before their time, and only a few will survive, but those will lose their sight, have their hearts broken, and lose their children to violent deaths. He tells Eli that to prove it, his sons' Hophni and Phinehas will die on the same day. God will then raise up a faithful priest.

The Lord Calls Samuel – 1 Samuel 3:1

• The Lord calls Samuel while he is lying down, and the boy runs to Eli and says, "Here I am." Eli tells him that he didn't call him and that he should go lie down again. Two more times the Lord calls Samuel again, and he runs to Eli again. After the third time, Eli tells him to go lie down again, and if he is called again, to respond, "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears."
• Samuel does as instructed, and God calls to him again. This time Samuel does as Eli instructed, and God tells him that He is about to punish Eli's household. The next morning, Eli asks Samuel what God told him, but Samuel is afraid to tell him. Eli asks again, and Samuel finally tells him. Samuel states that may God do what seems good to him.
• Samuel grows, and all of Israel knows he is a prophet. The Lord appears at Shiloh, revealing himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord.

The Philistines Capture the Ark – 1 Samuel 4:1–11

• Israel goes to battle against the Philistines at Ebenezer, and the Philistine defeat them. The Israelites bring the ark of the covenant to Ebenezer, hoping it will give them power against their enemies. When it comes into camp, the Israelites give a great shout, and when the Philistine hear that the ark is now in their camp, they are afraid. The Philistines again fight the Israelites, and they slaughter 30,000 men and capture the ark of the covenant and Eli's two sons.