1 Samuel 2

After the prayer of Hannah as supplication in the previous chapter, we now hear a prayer of her as worship and prophecy. It is not so much about the little Samuel, but about Christ (verse 10). This is how the prayer must be for each of our children. It is not about their social prosperity, but whether Christ will be seen in them.

As mentioned earlier, Hannah’s prayer resembles the hymn of praise of Mary (Lk 1:46-55). Both Hannah and Mary are examples of a faithful remnant in their time. Both feel deeply the decayed condition of God’s people. Both understand that no man, but only God, can change this. Both are prophetic songs and a great encouragement at the beginning of a history characterized by dark clouds. It is like the bow of hope in the clouds of the impending judgment.

The prayer can be subdivided into four parts:
1. Verses 1-3. Hannah sings of the God of salvation as the faithful, omnipotent, omniscient God. She speaks of “our” God (verse 2).
2. Verses 4-5. Hannah speaks of the salvation she experienced and the degradation of the opponent.
3. Verses 6-8a. The way in which salvation is experienced is that of death and resurrection.
4. Verses 8b-10. God leads everything according to His purpose, the battle between good and evil is ended forever. Christ rules over the recreated earth.

The prayer of Hannah, in which she pours out the feelings of her heart after she has dedicated her son to the LORD, is a hymn of praise with a prophetic and Messianic character. It is a psalm as the ripe fruit of the Spirit of God. Hannah knows the destination of Israel to be a kingdom. She knows about the promises God has made to the fathers. She is filled with the desire for the fulfillment of the promises. In the spirit she sees the King Whom the LORD will give to His people and by Whom He will give His people the dominion over the earth.

The great prophetic perspective of this prayer begins with personal expressions of a woman’s soul exercises. She speaks of “my heart”, “my horn”, “my mouth”. From this personal experience she goes during her hymn to the ends of the earth (verse 10).

She prayed her first prayer in silence – only her lips were moving (1Sam 1:13) – to God Who also listens to what is said in secret. Now she opens her mouth wide to tell the wonderful things the LORD has done. She speaks from the abundance of her heart. Her heart rejoices not so much in the gift, Samuel, but in the LORD as the Giver. “My horn” indicates the power on which it rests as the precursor of the horn of the Anointed (verse 10).

The first part of the verse (“hart”) and the third part (“mouth”) belong together. The mouth expresses what lives in the heart (Rom 10:10). Also, the second part (“horn”) and the fourth part (“salvation”) belong together. The horn is a picture of strength. Her salvation lies in the strength of the LORD.

After having expressed her own joy at what she has found in the LORD, she continues to speak only of Him. She rises above her own victories and is, as it were, completely seized by Who He is.

The first feature she sings of is His holiness. Holiness is a special feature of the God of Israel. No idol claims it.

Apart from Him there is no God. Only He is the uncreated, eternal God. Everything that is outside of Him comes from Him. He is the origin of it. Nothing outside of Him has an existence apart from Him. “For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:16).

Apart from Him there is no support, no source of salvation. Every sure and steady help is only present in Him. He is the only rock.

The second feature is His omniscience (Psa 139:1-4). He sees not only the deeds, but also the thoughts and motives: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb 4:13). He tests all words and deeds.

This is a consolation for Hannah and a warning for Peninnah to moderate her tone and pay attention to what she says. Over the head of Peninnah, Hannah speaks to the enemies of Israel and of God. She leaves the judgment to the LORD, Who will do perfect justice where there is still injustice.

All actions are controlled by God. The tables are turned. He is behind the development of things. Only through His advice we can begin successfully, continue, and accomplish a work. Everything He proposes and performs or allows to be performed, every action, every thought, everything is considered and weighed, perfectly harmonious and effective. Nothing is in vain or useless. Any result will confirm this.

Hannah sees in faith the result of the LORD’s actions. Through His intervention, the hero becomes powerless and the powerless is girded with power. This is also the case with those who are satisfied and those who are hungry; with those who are barren, and with those who are rich in children (Psa 113:9; Isa 54:1-6).

This complete reversal of the roles will take place through the judgments preceding the realm of peace and in the kingdom of peace that immediately follows: “For after all it is [only] just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and [to give] relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire” (2Thes 1:6-7). Examples of this we see in the book of Esther, where the LORD humiliates Haman and raises Mordecai. We also see it in this book in His humbling of Saul and His exaltation of David.

In these verses all is about the LORD, about what He does. Hannah looks beyond the death and the grave and points to the life and the resurrection. This is special in the Old Testament (Deu 32:39a). All blessings of the LORD are based on the death and the resurrection of Christ. All who know that they are dead of themselves are given life in Him. They may know that they died and rose with Him. In the resurrection all the promises of God are fulfilled. Abraham also learned this and believed: “He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the dead” (Heb 11:19a).

The LORD has made rich and poor, that men may be dependent on one another (Pro 22:2). This also applies spiritually. Those who are rich, that is, those who know their spiritual riches, owe it to God. Those who are poor look up to God. To accept this distinction from the hand of God makes us grateful and content (cf. Jam 1:9-10a). This keeps the rich for pride and the poor for discouragement. Rich and poor need each other. The distinction in the position we take is also made by God.

In the realm of peace God will show the great end results of His actions. Those who are now small and poor will then have a place of honor. Examples of this we see in Joseph who from a slave and a prisoner becomes a ruler (Gen 41:14,38-44) and in Lazarus who is a beggar on earth, but in heaven gets a place in Abraham’s bosom (Lk 16:20-22).

Hannah sings of Him as the Almighty. We see this in the way the LORD has founded the earth. The foundation or pillars upon which He has set the earth is His Word, for He upholds the universe “by the word of His power” (Heb 1:3). The earth rests on foundations which bear the earth by the power which He gives to it. If the foundations of the earth are His, the righteous has nothing to fear.

With the omnipotence which becomes manifest in the keeping of His creation, the LORD also keeps the feet of His godly ones. How could man’s power ever stand up to the omnipotence of that great God? He keeps the feet of His godly ones on the way to the inheritance He promised them, that they may not stumble or slip (Psa 116:8; 121:3). He keeps the inheritance for His godly ones and keeps His godly ones for the inheritance (1Pet 1:4-5a). But from the wicked who oppress and persecute the righteous, God will take away the light of His grace, so that they shall perish in darkness. The power of the wicked can do nothing against the omnipotence of God.

All rebellion against the LORD will be broken. He will let His thunder be heard in heaven over all His opponents. Thunder is the announcement that the LORD is coming to judge. When it thunders, man feels in an alarming way the presence of the almighty God. Thus, the LORD clears the way by judgment to ground the realm of peace.

This realm covers the whole earth, to its ends. Then the LORD gives the government of this kingdom to “His king”. Hannah concludes her prayer with “His anointed”. This says, as it were, that the Anointed of God is God’s last word to man. “His king” and “His anointed” are none other than the Lord Jesus. About Him it is in this book (verse 35). Just as the name “LORD of hosts” is used for the first time by Hannah (1Sam 1:11), there as a barren and sad woman, so it is also the case with the name “anointed”, but now by a fertile and happy woman.

Samuel is always called “boy”. This indicates the contrast with the adults around him. It also indicates that God begins something new with what is not deemed in the world. He hides His plans “from [the] wise and intelligent” and reveals “them to infants” (Mt 11:25).

The Spirit shows the development of the child Samuel into an adult man and servant in a religious and at the same time wicked environment. That can only be God’s work. Samuel is formed in the hidden. He does not serve Eli before the LORD’s face, but he serves the LORD under Eli’s supervision. He may even be dependent in his very young years on the care of the women with whom Eli’s sons sleep.

Eli’s sons are “worthless men” or “men of Belial”, that is, they have nothing in common with Christ (2Cor 6:15a). In these two priests we see how external presence with God, without knowing Him, results in the worst deviation from Him. A holiness that is only external is the worst unholiness. Eli’s sons act as if there is no God. Their behavior caused men to despise the offering of the LORD and to no longer take heed of God’s precepts.

God has provided in the law for priests to receive their share of the peace offering (Lev 7:34). However, Eli’s sons are not satisfied with this. They do not care about that. Not only do they take much more than they are entitled to, but they also take it even before God has received His share. It is a display of power and an expression of iniquity and arrogance of the coarsest kind.

Today we see this happening when the church takes away of the people belonging to God’s people what God is entitled to. We see it in church leaders who enrich themselves at the expense of the church people. In such a situation, people are needed who give God His part again as the first Rightsholder. Do we take the best for ourselves and should God settle for the leftovers?

Someone of the people who comes to sacrifice knows the law and speaks to these corrupt priests about it. He points out that the fat must first be sacrificed (Lev 3:3-5,16). The priest’s servant does not care about this. He was given his command by the priest, and he follows it closely. That also gives him the most benefit. He even threatens with violence if the offeror does not give what the priest demands.

This performance gives a picture of the service to God that is considered a very great sin. The representatives of God present Him as a violent, greedy God. The result is that people no longer take the sacrifice seriously. Here we can learn the lesson that a misrepresentation of Who God is will lead to a despising of the Lord Jesus and His work.

After the description of the wickedness of the priestly sons, we see here again the true servant. Although Samuel does not belong to the priestly family, he is the true priest. His purity in the impure surroundings comes to the fore. Samuel’s behavior contrasts sharply with that of Eli’s sons.

The linen ephod is a linen garment worn by priests (1Sam 22:18). David also wears it once when he brings the ark to Zion (2Sam 6:14). David is a king-priest. Purity and priestly mind belong together. Samuel does not belong to Aaron’s family, but he lives in God’s presence and can pass on God’s thoughts as a prophet.

When Elkanah and Hannah are going to make the annual sacrifice, Hannah always brings a little robe to Samuel. This means that his mother is busy with his growth. Every year she takes the right size with her. She knows his growth. Do we know the spiritual growth of our children? Parents must have something for every spiritual age.

Hannah is always busy with Samuel’s clothes. In the same way a mother is always busy forming the character of her children, especially by her example. The children see how she behaves, what she says and how she says something, and what her dealings with the Lord are like. Thus, children will become kind or rough, interested in the things of the Lord or indifferent to them in accordance with the example they have seen in the life of their elders.

In the meantime, Eli has understood that Elkanah and Hannah are special to the LORD, because the LORD is special to them. He pronounces His blessing upon them. He will have done so now with more insight than before (1Sam 1:17). The family of Elkanah is increasing. Hannah gets a total of six children, a rich blessing. She gets more than what she prayed forthat for which she prayed. This is how God often acts.

Meanwhile Samuel grows before the LORD, that is, close to Him in the sanctuary and under His protection and blessing. If the heart is directed toward the Lord, as is the case with Samuel, we will grow spiritually “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet 3:18a), even though the environment is still so wicked.

Eli’s sons are only out to satisfy their lusts. They seek the satisfaction of their stomach (cf. Phil 3:19a). The step from physical satisfaction to the satisfaction of their sexual lusts is easily made. Those who cannot control themselves with food, often cannot control themselves in sexuality. Eli’s sons can no longer escape judgment after they have misbehaved themselves like this.

Eli admonishes his sons about their behavior, but his admonition comes too late. Partly because of his weak performance they have hardened their hearts. Now the time of conversion is over. Eli does not know the thoughts of God and therefore continues to act in his weak way. He is behind the facts.

The LORD had to make the decision to kill them. This decision is irrevocable because they irrevocably hold on to evil and despise every exhortation. It goes with Eli’s sons as it did with Pharaoh, who also first hardened his own heart (Exo 7:13,14,22; 8:15,19,32; 9:7,34; 13:15) and whose heart is hardened by God afterward (Exo 9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:4,8,17).

If the spiritual darkness increases, the light of God shines the clearer. Samuel grows against the oppression. The LORD and men rejoice more and more the more they see of Samuel’s fear of God (cf. Lk 2:52). His life is a blessing for all who encounter him. It is striking how much he is different from Eli’s wicked sons.

An anonymous man of God is sent to Eli. When the man of God speaks of “the house of your father”, he means Aaron’s house. He opposes this to “Pharaoh’s house”, which is the house of slavery, where the people have served Pharaoh and his interests. With this he reminds Eli of his origins.

Then the man of God speaks of the electing grace of God that He called Aaron and his house to the priesthood. He also points to God’s gracious provisions for priests. Everything He has given makes their sin to want more and more a contempt for all those abundant gifts of God (cf. 2Sam 12:8-9).

The LORD holds Eli responsible for despising “My sacrifice and … My offering” because he did not act against his sons. In the accusation that Eli is being made, it is also said that he has made himself fat with the choicest of every offering. That much the actions of his sons are also attributed to him.

Although he has reprimanded his sons, indicating that he has insight into their wrongdoing, he has not stopped their wrongdoing. Eli’s lack of action has contributed to the contempt that the people have gotten for the sacrifice and service to the LORD. He has honored his sons more than the LORD. Every father has the danger of choosing for his son if he must choose between him and God. Let fathers follow the example of Abraham, who did not kindly ask his children, but commanded them “to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice” (Gen 18:19).

To despise the sacrifice (verse 29) is the same as to despise God. The consequences of this are serious. God cannot give what He promised (Jer 18:9-10). Is God now going back to His promise and contradicting Himself? It cannot be and it is not.

God has promised Aaron’s house that it will always serve Him. Aaron had four sons. Two are killed by the LORD (Lev 10:1-2). Of the two remaining, Ithamar and Eleazar, Eleazar succeeds Aaron. Eleazar is followed by Phinehas. That has become the line of the priesthood in Israel. However, something has happened – what it is, cannot be inferred from the Scriptures – by which the line of the priesthood has been transferred to Ithamar. Eli does not originate from the line of Eleazar, but from the line of Ithamar. By his unfaithfulness to the LORD, the promise made to Aaron is taken away from Ithamar.

The promise of a reliable priest will be fulfilled in Zadok (Eze 44:15), who becomes a high priest at the time of David. Zadok comes from the line of Eleazar (1Chr 6:3-8). God always fulfill His promises in a way that shows He did it.

God will break the strength of Eli and his whole family. His offspring will die young. Eli will experience it in his time that the LORD’s dwelling will be in distress. He will experience this when the ark is captured by the Philistines (1Sam 4:10-11; Psa 78:59-61). Later Shiloh is destroyed, and the ark is totally gone, captured by the enemies (Jer 7:12; 26:6). The few years Eli will live will be an affliction because of what is foretold to him here. Always the thought of this judgment will occupy him. His last years of life he will know no joy.

The man of God also tells him the death of both his sons. Here their names are mentioned. Phinehas bears the same name as a former family member. That member of the family, however, has behaved faithful to the LORD when sin has entered the people (Num 25:7-13). That Phinehas was the son of Eleazar.

After the announcements of judgment in the previous verses now follows a promise of the LORD. It is based on nothing but His own sovereign purpose. He Himself will appoint a faithful, reliable priest. “Faithful” contrasts sharply with the unfaithfulness of Eli and his sons.

First , we can apply this to Samuel. Then it is also of application to Zadok, who will become a priest instead of Abiathar. Abiathar is the last descendant of Eli’s house. Solomon deprives him of the priesthood (1Kgs 2:26-27). It is taken from Abiathar because he is in connection with Adonijah who has proclaimed himself king (1Kgs 1:7), while Zadok does not participate in it (1Kgs 1:8). Above all, it applies to the Lord Jesus as the King-Priest.

The “enduring house” is the house of David (1Sam 25:28). The “anointed” often refers to the priest, but here it is the king according to God’s thoughts. The priest will walk before the anointed king. We see this in this book, where the emphasis is on the king after God’s heart. The priesthood is exercised in the presence of the kingship. The Lord Jesus is both. He is both King and Priest. In Him the kingship and priesthood unite completely. In Him it is as God purposed.

What this verse says we see in Abiathar, who will serve David (1Sam 22:20; 23:9; 30:7). He represents all those who escape judgment. They will depend on the grace of the new priest. They will appeal to that grace.