There was a man named Elkanah from the highlands of Ephraim, and he had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Elkanah loved Hannah more, but Yahweh had made her infertile.Each year Elkanah would go to sacrifice to Yahweh Sabaoth at Shiloh. Each time they went to the Temple of Yahweh, Peninnah would provoke and taunt Hannah because Yahweh had made her infertile.
1 Samuel 1:8Then Hannah would weep and refuse to eat, so her husband Elkanah said, 'Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Am I not more to you than ten sons?'
1 Samuel 1:9On one occasion, Hannah got up and stood before Yahweh while Eli the priest was sitting in his chair by the doorpost of the Temple of Yahweh.With a bitterness in her soul, and with much weeping, she made a vow, saying, 'Yahweh Sabaoth, if you will regard the suffering of your servant and give her a son, I will dedicate him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.'
1 Samuel 1:12-14As Hannah prayed, her lips were moving, but her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk, and said to her, 'How long will you stay drunk? Get rid of your wine!‘Hannah replied, 'I have not been drinking wine or beer! I was pouring out my soul to Yahweh. Do not take your servant to be a worthless woman.‘Eli said, 'Go in peace, and may the god of Israel grant what you have asked him.‘They got up early the next morning and headed home to Ramah.Hannah gave birth to a son whom she named Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked Yahweh for him.'
What all did they take to sacrifice?When? (after weaned!)
1 Samuel 1:25-26Then leading the child to Eli, she said, 'This is the child for which I was praying. Now I dedicate him to Yahweh.'
CH 2 SONG – Illustrate on the boardNow Eli's sons were worthless men.Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, the priest's servant would take a three-pronged fork and jab it into the cauldron, and everything that came up, the priest would claim for himself.Even before they had burnt the fat, the priest's servant would come and say, 'Give the priest some meat to roast, or I will take it by force!‘And they would have sex with the women who served at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.Eli, now very old, heard about everything his sons were doing, and said, 'Why are you behaving this way? If a man sins against Yahweh, who can intercede for him?'
Eli, now very old, heard about everything his sons were doing, and said, 'Why are you behaving this way? If a man sins against Yahweh, who can intercede for him?‘But he didn’t stop them. They didn’t listen. WHY? 1 Samuel 2:25But they did not listen to their father's words because Yahweh desired to kill them.
1 Samuel 2:27A man of God came to Eli and told him, 'Yahweh says: "I promised that your father's family would walk before me forever. But now I say, may it never be so!"‘'"No one in your family will live to old age. Any I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and grief. They will all die in the prime of their lives."‘"As a sign to confirm this to you, your sons Hophni and Phinehas will both die on the same day!"'
Ch 3:1-4Now word from Yahweh was rare in those days and visions were uncommon. But one night when Samuel was lying down in the Temple of Yahweh, Yahweh called out, 'Samuel! Samuel!"
Go back…
1 Samuel 3:13-14'You are to tell him that I will condemn his family forever, for his sons have been cursing God, and he has not corrected them.'
1 Samuel 3:18Samuel then told him everything and hid nothing.Eli replied, 'He is Yahweh. Let him do what he thinks is good.'
1 Samuel 4:1At this time, the Israelites were at war against the Philistines, and the fighting grew fierce.
1 Samuel 4:2Israel was defeated by the Philistines, and about 4,000 men were killed on the battlefield. 1 Samuel 4:3When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, 'Why did Yahweh bring us defeat today by the Philistines? Let's bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, so that while with us, it will save us from the hands of our enemies.'
1 Samuel 4:4So they brought the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, and Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were there with the ark.GET SOMEONE TO WRITE ON THE BOARD THE “ARK TRACKER”
1 Samuel 4:5When the ark of the covenant arrived at the camp, all the Israelites shouted with such force that the ground shook.
1 Samuel 4:6-9The Philistines heard the shout and were afraid, but said, 'Take courage! Be strong, Philistines, or else we will become slaves to the Hebrews! Be men and fight!‘So the Philistines fought.
1 Samuel 4:10And Israel was defeated.
1 Samuel 4:11Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed.
1 Samuel 4:11The ark of God was captured. 1 Samuel 4:10The slaughter was very great. 30,000 foot soldiers fell in battle.
1 Samuel 4:12-15A Benjaminite ran from the battle to Shiloh, his clothes torn, and dust on his head. Eli was 98 years old and blind, sitting in his chair by the side of the road. He asked, 'What happened, my son?‘ 1 Samuel 4:16-17He said to Eli, 'Israel has fled before the Philistines, your two sons are killed, and the ark of God is captured.'
1 Samuel 4:18At the mention of the ark, Eli fell over backward, broke his neck, and died. He had been judge over Israel for 40 years.
1 Samuel 5:1-2When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it to Ashdod and placed it next to Dagon in the Temple of Dagon.
1 Samuel 5:3When the people of Ashdod woke up the next day, Dagon was lying face down before the ark of Yahweh.
1 Samuel 5:3So they picked up Dagon and put him back in his place.
1 Samuel 5:4But the next morning when they awoke, Dagon lay face down before the ark of Yahweh, and his two hands and his head lay severed at the threshold.1 Samuel 5:5This is why people entering Dagon's temple do not step on the threshold to this very day.
1 Samuel 5:5Yahweh dealt severely with Ashdod and the surrounding towns, afflicting the people with tumors.
1 Samuel 5:6-8When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, 'The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us! The ark should be moved to Gath!'
1 Samuel 5:9But when it had been taken there, Yahweh dealt severely with that city as well, afflicting all the people from least to greatest with tumors.
1 Samuel 5:10-11So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it arrived the people of the people of Ekron shouted, 'Send the ark of the god of Israel away! It will kill us and our people!‘ 1 Samuel 5:11-12Indeed, there was a terror of death throughout the city. God was dealing with them severely, and those who did not die were afflicted with tumors.1 Samuel 5:12The cries from the city rose into the skies
1 Samuel 6:1-2The ark of Yahweh had been in the Philistines' land for seven months when they called for their priests and diviners, saying 'What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Tell us how to send it back to its place.'
1 Samuel 6:10-11So the people took two cows and harnessed them to a cart. They put the ark of Yahweh on the cart along with a box and the golden rats and golden tumors.
1 Samuel 6:12The cows headed straight for Beth-Shemesh, mooing as they went, turning neither right nor left.
1 Samuel 6:13The residents of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the plain when they saw the ark and happily came to meet it.
1 Samuel 6:14It came to rest near a large stone. They cut up the wood of the cart and burnt the cows as a sacrifice to Yahweh.
1 Samuel 6:19But some of the people of Beth-Shemesh looked inside the ark. 1 Samuel 6:19Because of this, God put 50,070 of them to death.1 Samuel 6:19-20The people mourned because Yahweh had dealt them such a heavy blow. They asked, 'Who is able to stand in the presence of Yahweh?‘ 1 Samuel 6:21They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-Jearim, saying, 'The Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up to your town.'