1 SAMUEL SERIES 2 SAMUELS BEGINNINGS I The

1 SAMUEL SERIES 2: SAMUEL’S BEGINNINGS I. The Forming of the Prophetic Office – Samuel as a Person (1: 1 – 3: 21) II. The Failure of the Priestly Office – Eli (2: 12 -17, 22 -36) III. The Forming of the Prophetic Office – Samuel as a Prophet (4: 1 – 7: 17) IV. The Founding of the Princely Office – Saul, David (8: 1 – 31: 13)

I. THE FORMING OF THE PROPHETIC OFFICE – SAMUEL AS A PERSON a. The circumstances of his birth (1: 1 -28; 2: 1 -10) Ø Samuel’s importance can be seen in the lengthy account of his birth (1: 1– 2: 11). ~ The story of Samuel’s birth is a testimony to the faith of his mother, Hannah, and to the sovereignty of God.

1) Hannah’s Family (1 Sam 1: 1 -2) Ø Read 1 Sam 1: 1 -2. Ø The first member of the family we are introduced to is “Elkanah”. ~ In v. 1 a, we are told where he lived. ~ So by residence Elkanah was an Ephraimite. ~ Then we are given his partial genealogy in v. 1 b.

~ At first glance, this might be problematic. ~ in 1 Chron 6: 33 -38 – a more complete genealogy of Elkanah, tracing his roots directly to Levi. ~ So by lineage Elkanah was a Levite! Ø We are then told that Elkanah “had two wives: . . ” ~ The issue of bigamy/polygamy is now brought upfront.

Ø Having more than one wife seems to have been permitted in the OT (Ex 21: 10). ~ But the law presented here and in other laws in the Torah is not meant to condone polygamy. ~ In fact, it was never sanctioned by God. ~ Rather, it represents a concession that departs from the divine ideal (like divorce; cf. Matt 19: 8).

~ God’s original plan for the family – still His ideal – is to have one man married to one woman. ~ Biblical evidence: God created one woman, Eve, as a uniquely suitable helper for one man, Adam (Gen 2: 1824; Matt 19: 4 -6). ~ He did this before sin had entered the world and corrupted the divine plan, and this ideal has never changed.

Ø With Adam and Eve’s sin, however, came the curse of sin. ~ Sometimes women were barren. ~ In such cases, ancient western Asian custom permitted men to take a second wife for the purpose of producing an heir (Gen 16: 1 -3; 30: 14).

Ø There were also several other factors that encouraged the practice. Ø Nevertheless, polygamy often caused serious family problems – a consequence of this falling far short of God’s ideal. Ø When we are not willing to wait upon the Lord but instead go ahead of Him and choose to do things our way, troublesome consequences await us later on.