The Birth of Samuel
- Samuel’s father was polygamous (verse 2). Those who say that such relationships do not provide fertile soil for jealousy should read this chapter, along with the accounts of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and the history of Jacob and his four wives.
- While childless, Samuel’s mother Hannah was the object of ridicule by Elkanah’s other wife (verse 6). Let us always remember that children are from the Lord, and that He alone determines whether or not we shall be parents.
- Elkanah was a devoted Jew who took his family yearly for an extended season of worship (verse 3). On one such occasion Hannah’s fervent, but silent, prayer was mistaken by Eli the priest for drunkenness (12-14). Being filled with the Spirit may be confused with drunkenness (Acts 2:13, 15); but the believer should never be drunk with wine (Ephesians 5:18-20).
- Hannah denied the sin and confessed to praying (15-16). Did she confide in Eli the content of her prayer, or was hers, at least to Eli, an “unspoken request”?
- The priest blesses her with the assurance that her prayer will be answered (17), and accordingly Samuel was born and appropriately named (19-20).
- Like Jephthah, Hannah vows to dedicate her child to the Lord and she keeps that promise (I Samuel 1:11, 24-28).
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