Chapter 10: Standing Tall, Falling Hard
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Key Question
What attributes helped Hannah and Samuel stand tall?
Hannah Pages 129–131
This week we look at two people who stood tall before the Lord, and at two who were in positions to stand tall, but instead fell hard. We begin with Hannah, a woman of downcast circumstances whose faith stood strong. In Hannah’s day, barrenness was a great disgrace; some even considered it a sign of God’s disfavor. When God answered Hannah’s prayer, she gave him credit by naming the child Samuel, which sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God. She also wrote a lengthy poetic prayer praising God.
Eli Pages 131–132
The child Samuel served under Eli, who was both priest and judge in Israel. Eli had two adult sons who were priests, like he. Unfortunately, they had no regard for God. They took for themselves and Eli the portions of peoples’ sacrifices that were supposed to go to the Lord, thus treating the offerings with contempt. They also had sex with the women who served at the tabernacle with them. God sent a prophet to warn Eli and ask him why he honored his sons over God. But nothing changed. One night God called to the boy Samuel while he was lying down in the temple near the ark.
Samuel Pages 133–136
Like other children we’ve seen born to barren women after a long wait, Samuel had a special calling. God miraculously brought back the ark, proving he was God. Samuel became judge over Israel. He gathered the people together, calling them to repent and turn back to God. Unexpectedly, the Philistines attacked them. Samuel cried out to God, who responded with loud thunder crashes against the Philistines. The Philistines panicked and the Israelites routed them. It was a perfect example of God going before them as King to lead their battles. But the people weren’t satisfied with that and eventually asked for a change.
Saul Starts Well Pages 136–141
God brought Saul to Samuel and told him to anoint Saul king. Samuel anointed Saul king. Shortly after, the Ammonites threatened one of the Israelite cities. When Saul heard about it, “the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him” and he successfully delivered the city, solidifying his position as king in the eyes of the people.
Saul Finishes Poorly Pages 141–143
Saul summoned troops to meet him at Gilgal for another battle against the Philistines. The kings of other nations performed priestly duties; in fact, they often claimed deity themselves. But that was strictly forbidden in Israel. The Israelite kings were to be submissive to God, and that included both following direction from godly prophets speaking in His name and obeying God’s laws regarding kingship. Saul failed both.
Nonetheless, the Lord rescued Israel again, this time through the hand of Saul’s courageous son Jonathan and an earthquake. Later, Samuel came to Saul with a prophetic message from God.
During the time of the judges, the Amalekites often oppressed the Israelites, joining forces with other peoples raiding them. Samuel told Saul the time had now come to bring God’s judgment against the Amalekites. They were to take no spoils or prisoners.
When Samuel confronted Saul, he claimed the people kept the animals in order to sacrifice them to God. But that’s not what God told Saul to do. Saul’s refusal to obey God yet again brought consequences: his kingdom would not endure.
We’ve seen how Hannah cried out to God in her misery and praised him in her joy. We saw Samuel talk to God when he was displeased, and we saw his commitment to intercede for those who had rejected his advice.
Timeless Truth: Obedience Matters
Are You Sitting on the Fence?
In asking for a king, God's people rejected His authority over their lives, but they found that their king would not last because he would not follow God's ways
.
Roadrunner cartoon: I always loved Roadrunner cartoons as a kid, mostly because of Coyote. That guy just never learned. In
the book of Proverbs you’ll recall Solomon was forever contrasting two
different kinds of people: the Wise and
the Fool. You might also remember that the Hebrew sense of the word “fool”
had nothing to do with IQ, but could be translated “thick-headed”—people who
just never got it, people on whom experience was wasted time and time again - in
other words, Coyote.
The Book of Judges comes four generations before Solomon. As we come to the close
of the period of the Judges, four generations before Solomon, the description
already applies. It was a time when “everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges
21:25). Six times God would bring
punishment to Israel through lawless enemies, and then raise up a judge to
deliver His people. They just never got it.
.
A bunch of people were
sitting on a fence minding their own business. The fence divided two vast
pieces of property. Along came Jesus on
one side and Satan on the other. They
both beckoned people to follow.
Little by little everyone dropped off the fence and began to follow
their leader. Many chose to follow
Christ; others chose to follow Satan, until only one man remained on the fence.
Jesus had left with His followers. Satan
had left with his followers. But Satan
came back. "Come on," he said
to the guy on the fence. "Let's go."
The man on the fence shook his head.
"No," he said.
"I'm sitting on the fence. I
am not going to choose one or the other.
Perhaps I can have both."
Satan looked back and grinned. "You have to come with me," he
said. "I own the fence."
So where are you today? Have you chosen to follow God's ways or the world's ways? Or are you sitting on the fence when it comes to following God's ways?
Read John 15:1-8
What relationship is indicated in these verses?
Read John 15:18-25
How would you describe the relationship with the world for those that choose to follow God?
Now read 1 John 2:15-17
What is God clearly telling us?
We must intentionally choose the way we will go!
Old Testament historical narrative material can be challenging because it seems far removed from the contemporary believer. But Paul was referring to our Old Testament when he wrote to Timothy that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuke, correction and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be sufficiently prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, let us pursue the lessons from chapter ten by keeping both God’s big story and the lower story in view.
It is critical to understand the Mosaic covenant blessings and cursing of Deuteronomy 28 as a basis for understanding the actions of God and the actions and attitudes of the various characters in this chapter. When this chapter opens, Israel is still in the period of the judges. Samuel and Samson were contemporaries. The author of Judges deliberately noted four times that in those days “there was no king in Israel” (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25). Tradition holds that Samuel wrote Judges, so it should not surprise anyone that 1 Samuel helps us see the transition from theocratic judgeship's to monarchical rule.
Though the pattern of the judges was cyclical, they were increasingly corrupt. By the time of Samson, it became obvious that another judge was really not the answer for Israel’s sad state. The two epilogues of Judges 17-22 revealed the pathetic state of even the Levites, the spiritual leaders of Israel. By contrast, the book of Ruth gave us a ray of hope that a faithful remnant could still be found amid the darkness of Israel’s corruption. In 1 Samuel, that glimmer begins to shine a bit brighter as Israel emerges from her covenant disobedience toward faithfulness under the kingship of David. This chapter in The Story and the corresponding chapters of 1 Samuel communicate to us the ongoing conflict between those who are faithful and those who are unfaithful.
Historical narrative Bible books are written for more than just historical purposes. There is always a theological purpose that drives the writer to include certain details about characters and events. No detail is without purpose; therefore every detail serves to point us toward the overall message of the book. Two main messages emerge from this portion of Scripture: how one responds to God’s grace determines his or her destiny; and, correspondingly, His anointed King would rule on His behalf as “a man after God’s own heart.”
Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1-10) serves as far more than beautiful poetry; it’s also prophecy. It captures all the themes and truths that will unfold throughout the whole book. The humble who depend upon God’s mercy are exalted while the arrogant are brought low (and die). The barren and empty are made fertile and full. Fertility was an important covenantal blessing. We see a reversal of fortune, so to speak, as the proud and disobedient descend to personal and national destruction and death. She concludes that “those who contend with the Lord will be shattered” and “He will exalt the horn of His anointed” (1 Samuel 2:10). As the author chose which stories to include in Israel’s history, we see each conflict end with the Lord shattering those who contend with Him and exalting those who are faithful. It also reminded Israel that the Mosaic covenant was still in effect regardless of whether they were led by a judge or a king. Their ultimate leader was (and is) still YHWH.
As the story builds toward Saul, the Israelites want a king like all the other nations who will go and fight their battles for them. God gives them what they ask for even though it is not in their best interest. Notice Saul is a head taller than everyone else. Keep this in mind next week when nobody will fight the giant Goliath! God’s lesson for Israel is clear—the wrong monarch is much worse than no monarch. Martin Luther famously said, “I’d rather be governed by a wise Turk than a stupid Christian.”
So how do we find application for us since we are no longer under the Law? First, we understand that the covenant relationship steers the story, guides the actions of God and the judges the actions of the people. Next, we keep in mind God’s grand story of redemption. We see that there is always a faithful remnant who recognize their dependence upon God and therefore respond by faith to His grace. We also see the ever-present sin nature constantly drawing people away from the One True God. We see that no “earthly” leader—not even God’s chosen and anointed—is righteous enough to keep this chosen nation holy. A “heavenly-earthly” God-man will be required. But God is longsuffering and patient and He continues to draw Israel back toward Himself by showing them that people who trust and obey God succeed while people who disregard Him fail. The timeless truth remains: our response to God’s grace will determine our destiny.
Our Response to Grace Determines Our Destiny
Have you ever used a prism? Perhaps back in your high school science class? Sir Isaac Newton was the first to discover that a prism could be used to separate light into its component parts. The prism is the key to understanding the rainbow of colored light—the individual parts—that emerge from the other side. By breaking down the whole into component parts, we can better understand those parts. By better understanding the parts, we come full circle to understand more fully the whole with which we began. So it is with today’s lesson on chapter ten.
I. The Prism of the Law: Deuteronomy 28.
God’s chosen people were given the Law at Mount Sinai, commonly known as the Ten Commandments, after coming out of Egypt. Forty years later, Moses stood on the East side of the Jordan River and summarized all the things he had been teaching them in the wilderness. They were about to enter into the Promised Land without their godly leader. This generation needed to understand God’s expectations of them as His holy people. Ownership of Canaan had been promised to Abraham unconditionally, but occupancy in the Land would require obedience to the covenant. Israel’s many ups and downs during their conquest of the land under Joshua and the Canaanization of their community during the period of the judges all hinged upon the blessings and cursing that Moses warned of in Deuteronomy 28. Our Story this week opens at the end of the period of the judges. In spite of the dreadful disobedience of Israel as a whole, a few sparks of faith shine through. The prism of Deuteronomy 28 helps us to see them more clearly.
A. Blessings—God promised Israel many blessings for obedience. These blessings are earthly blessings that affirm Israel that she is living in spiritually faithful obedience to the Lord. These earthly blessings are promised to them (not the church) and are directly connected to the Promised Land.
1. Blessed in the fertility of your body, ground, livestock (Deuteronomy 28:4-5, 11)
2. Blessed in your battles against your enemies (28:7)
3. Blessed in your harvest and prosperity in your work (28:8, 12)
4. Blessed with rain (28:12)
B. Cursing—God promised Israel many consequences for disobedience. These curses are earthly curses that alert Israel that she is failing spiritually, straying from the Lord and should turn back toward a covenant relationship with Him.
1. Cursed in the fertility of your body, ground and livestock (Deuteronomy 28:17-18)
2. Cursed in your battles with your enemies, defeat (28:25)
3. Cursed with madness and blindness and confusion (28:28)
4. Cursed with loss instead of prosperity (28:30-33, 38)
5. Cursed with drought (28:24)
II. Conflict #1: Hannah and Peninnah
You would think that by now some of the Israelites could look back at their forefathers and figure out that bigamy is not a good idea. Evidently, Elkanah didn’t. Perhaps Hannah’s barrenness led Elkanah to take Peninnah as a wife, but we don’t know which of the two came first. What we do know is that Peninnah’s actions reveal what is in her heart, as did Hannah’s.
A. Faithless, disobedient Peninnah
1. She arrogantly provoked and irritated Hannah because of Hannah’s empty womb. It is possible that, based on Deuteronomy 28:4-5, Peninnah accused Hannah of sin that resulted in her barrenness.
2. Peninnah had a full house, but an empty heart. Elkanah loved Hannah more than her, and he made that known.
3. None of Peninnah’s children were notable.
4. God graciously blessed her with many children. Instead of responding to God with love toward others, she acted hatefully. The Lord humbled her by exalting Hannah and Hannah’s son.
B. Faithful, obedient Hannah
1. Innocent Hannah never retaliated against her rival, though she anguished about her condition and her situation.
2. Hannah poured her heart out in prayer to the Lord, trusting in His mercy alone.
3. Hannah vowed she would give her son to serve the Lord if only He would give her a son.
4. God answered her prayer and gave her five more children after Samuel.
5. Hannah is exalted as the mother of Samuel, rich in children, rich in faith. She praised God for delivering her from her enemy Peninnah.
6. God graciously answered Hannah’s humble prayer. Hannah responded to God with faith and obedience, making good on her vow, and praising Him for His mercy. She enjoyed the blessings of fertility.
III. Conflict #2: Eli’s line and Samuel
Eli was the high priest of Israel, which meant that he should have been serving as God’s spokesman to the nation. He should have been the man who turned Israel away from apostasy (remember, we’re in the dark ages of the judges), and back to the Lord. Eli’s physical blindness was indicative of his spiritual blindness. He would fall from a place of honor to disgrace, while innocent Samuel would rise from humble beginnings to a place of honor.
A. Faithless Eli and his sons
1. We learn that Eli was going blind. Blindness indicates covenant disobedience for Israel. This is not a physical ailment alone. It is a barometer of the condition of Israel who was blind to their own depravity and it was a symptom of Eli’s blindness to his own sons’ terrible abuses.
2. The word of God was rare in those days. This was another indication that Eli and his priestly-but-evil sons were not in the place of obedience.
3. Eli’s arrogant line was judged by God because of the sin that Eli knew about but failed to restrain. The sons were abusing their priestly role by taking the best sacrifices for themselves, and fornicating with women in the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:17, 22)! These two sons were, as the author of Judges wrote, “doing what was right in his own eyes.”
4. Eli’s sons wrongfully thought that the Ark would bring them victory against the Philistines. Rather than look to and inquire of God, they misused the Ark as more of a good-luck charm than the holy presence of God. Consequently, they were killed in the battle and Israel lost the Ark to the Philistines. Their attitude toward the Ark was really their attitude toward God. They failed to honor God as holy.
5. God graciously allowed Eli and his sons to serve as priests. But they failed to respond by faith and obedience to the covenant. Instead, they arrogantly sinned or dismissed the sins of the people. God made low the high priest and his sons. They died.
B. Faithful Samuel
1. Samuel was a child conceived by grace through the faithful prayer of his mother.
2. Hannah made good on her vow to give little Samuel to serve the Lord all the days of his life. She honored the priestly role he would someday have by making him a little ephod (priestly garment) every year.
3. The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up in the presence of the Lord, and He did not let any of Samuel’s words fail. He revealed Himself through His word to Samuel while His word was rare to Eli.
4. Samuel worked to turn the people back to the Lord, and he defeated the Philistines. This was another sign of his covenant obedience.
5. God graciously revealed Himself to little Samuel. He responded by faith and obedience. God exalted him to the spiritual leader of Israel.
IV. The Prism of the New Testament Believer.
We can see from these two conflicts, as well as other conflicts throughout this historical period, that we could predict the destiny of a character or the nation based upon their response to God’s grace. But we are not under the covenant of the Law. Does God still exalt the humble and bring low the arrogant?
A. Matthew 18:4 “Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
B. Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”
C. Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.”
D. James 4:10 “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
E. 1 Peter 5:5-6 “…clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”
F. The promises and exhortations to the New Covenant believer are not earthly like those to Israel. They are spiritual. Ephesians 1 tells the Church that in Christ we are
1. Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (1:3)
2. Chosen before the foundation of the world (1:4)
3. Predestined to adoption as sons (1:5)
4. Redeemed and forgiven (1:7)
5. Rich in grace (1:7)
6. Promised an inheritance that the Holy Spirit is the down payment for our inheritance (1:13-14)
V. Applications and Implications
A. People who trust and obey God succeed but people who disregard God fail. I will learn to define success and failure through the prism of God’s view.
B. I should respond to grace with faith and obedience.
C. God answered Hannah’s humble prayer. I can pour out my anguish to God knowing that He can answer my deepest needs.
D. My actions toward other people reveal my attitude toward God.
E. God is opposed to the proud who disregard Him. I will humbly seek to obey Him by faith.
F. The place of blessing is smack dab in the will of God.
G. God can, has, and will use young people to serve Him. I should not disregard or dismiss the faith and service of a child.
H. A parent’s faith does not guarantee the outcome of a child. But it is an influence. Therefore, I will seek to encourage and grow the faith of my children.
I. I treasure the spiritual blessings that are guaranteed to me because I have the promise of the Holy Spirit.
1. What do we learn from Hannah and Samuel about prayer? When have you poured out your heart before God? Has there been a time when you did more listening than speaking in prayer? Talking and Listening are both important elements of prayer; ask for God’s help and try practicing both this week.
2. How did Eli help Samuel know when he was hearing the voice of God? How can you tell when God is speaking to you? Who has helped you to be more faithful in listening to God? How did they help?
3. Samuel was probably 12 year old when God called him to be a prophet to Eli and all of Israel. He was required to speak the truth in love to his mentor and friend. Have you ever been in this position? What did you do and how was God present?
4. Samuel was hurt that the Israelites wanted a king, instead of remembering God was their king and trusting Him. Why was desiring a king such a temptation for the Israelites? When have you found it hard to trust God as your provider and leader?
5. Why do you think it was hard for Saul to admit to Samuel when he had disobeyed? (p. 142-143) Rate yourself from 1-10 on your ability to own up to your mistakes. What in your life is keeping you from admitting your mistakes and asking for forgiveness? Ask God for guidance.
6. God repeatedly chooses the least and the last to accomplish His will. This week, we see God use Hannah, a woman struggling with fertility, to bear the next wise priest to speak God’s wisdom to the Israelites. What could God be doing through you today?
In asking
for a king, God’s people rejected His authority over their lives, but they
found that their king would not last because he would not follow God’s ways.
Everyday we are
faced with choices about how to live our lives.
We filter options through a grid and come to a final decision. But often, the grid we use is our story. We tend to look at all of life from our own
limited perspective. What we need to do
is consider the fuller picture. We need
to find out where our story fits within the context of The Story.
God, help me to see myself and others not with the belittling eyes of this world, but only as You see me truly, as Your beloved, created just for what You intend. Give me courage like David to step with faith along the path You lead me, no matter how terrifying the challenge. Whether with fear or confidence, may I cry out, O God my fortress. Amen.
PRAYER OF COMMITMENT
God, help me to see myself and others not with the belittling eyes of this world, but only as You see me truly, as Your beloved, created just for what You intend. Give me courage like David to step with faith along the path You lead me, no matter how terrifying the challenge. Whether with fear or confidence, may I cry out, O God my fortress. Amen.
See you this Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
