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I SAMUEL (4)

 

A Son Named Samuel Given by God

I Samuel 1:19-28

Victor M. Eskew

 

Homework

 

1.      Outline the text:

 

i.                    THE GIFT:  HANNAH’S SON (I Samuel 1:19-20)

 

ii.                  THE GROWTH:  HANNAH’S CARE (I Samuel 1:21-23)

 

iii.                THE GIVING:   HANNAH’S FAITHFULNESS (I Samuel 1:24-28)

 

 

2.      What does the phrase, “and the Lord remembered her,” mean?  (v. 19)

 

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house in Ramah:  and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

 

A.    The words do NOT indicate that God forgot, then at a later date it happened to come into His mind..

 

B.      Hannah had prayed for a child.  God “remembered” in the sense of now granting the petition.

 

3.      T – F    God answered Hannah’s prayer specifically.  (v. 20)

 

Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son…

 

A.    True.  “…when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son…”

 

B.      Have you ever prayed for something as specifically as Hannah did and received a positive answer from God?

 

4.      What is the meaning of the name “Samuel”? (v. 20)

 

…and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

 

A.    His name means:  “heard of God.”

 

B.      “…and the words “because I have asked him of the Lord” are not an etymological explanation of the name, but an exposition founded upon the facts. Because Hannah had asked him of Jehovah, she gave him the name, “the God-heard,” as a memorial of the hearing of her prayer” (Keil & Delitzsch, e-sword).

 

C.     Every time Hannah called the name of her son, she was reminded that God had heard her prayer.  She was also reminded of the power of prayer.

5.      Explain the meaning of the words, “and his vow” (v. 21).

 

And the man Elkanah, and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

A.    The law of vows is found in Leviticus 27.

 

B.      These vows would be paid at the tabernacle (temple) (Deut. 12:5-6).

 

But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come.  And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks.

 

6.      Why didn’t Hannah go up to the yearly sacrifice? (v. 22)

 

But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever.

 

A.    Because Hannah was breastfeeding her child she would not go up.

1.      The trips involved a lot of time.

2.      The trips could be difficult:  primitive mean of travel, rough terrain, and bad weather.

3.      The trips required a lot of involvement by all those who went.

 

B.      NOTE:  The three feasts of the Jews were not required of females, only the males (See Exodus 23:14-17, esp. v. 17).  Thus, Hannah was not in sin for not attending.

 

Three times in a year all they males shall appear before the Lord God.

 

7.      What is the meaning of Elkanah’s words which state:  “only the Lord establish his word”? (v. 23)

 

And Elkanah her husband said unto her, do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the Lord establish his word.  So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

 

A.    By granting Hannah’s petition, the Lord had revealed a lot to this couple.

 

B.      It indicated that the child would grow up and eventually be given to the Lord’s service.

 

C.     Elkanah wanted to see this brought to fruition in the life of child regardless of the exact time of fulfillment.  He understood Hannah’s need to care for the child while he was an infant and toddler.

 

8.      What three things did Hannah take with her when she dedicated Samuel to the Lord? (v. 24)

 

And when she had weaned him, she too him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh:  and the child was young.

 

A.    Three bullocks, one ephah of flour, and a bottle of win

 

 

 

9.      How much is an ephah? (v. 24)

 

A.    Clarke:  7 gallons and a half

 

B.      Wikipedia:  23 liters

 

10.  Three bullocks were brought to Shiloh (v. 24), but we read of only one being slain (v. 25).  What is the explanation?

 

A.    The LXX, Syriac, and Arabic reads:  a bullock of three years (See I Sam. 1:25).  Animals of three years old were often offered unto the Lord (Gen. 15:9).

 

 

And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

 

B.      Some believe that the three bullocks and one ephah of flour were enough for Samuel’s consecration and the offerings required of Elkanah at the feast. 

 

11.  T – F    Hannah hoped Eli would remember her as the woman who prayed for a child (v. 26)

 

And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord.

 

A.    True

 

12.  T – F    The Lord is a God who answers prayer. (v. 27)

 

For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him.

 

A.    True

 

B.      This is one of the most notable answers to prayer found in the Bible.

 

13.  T – F    Hannah kept her vow which she made to God. (v. 28)

 

Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord…

 

A.    True

 

B.      See I Samuel 1:11  “…then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor some upon his head.”

 

14.  In what sense did Hannah “lend” her son to the Lord? (v. 28)

 

A.    Lent:  to grant, to give, to grant, to make over to

 

B.      Samuel did not stop being Hannah’s child.  However, he no longer lived with her.  From this point on in his life, he would serve God in the temple.

 

15.  How did Samuel begin his residency with Eli at Shiloh? (v. 28)

 

…and he worshiped the Lord there.

A.    He began by worshiping God.

 

B.      This was the first time Samuel had been to Shiloh.  His service to God began with worship.

 

16.  Define:  worshiped (v. 28)

 

A.    Strong (7812):  A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.

 

B.      BDB:  to depress, to bow down

 

C.     Those who worship God realize into whose presence they have entered. 

1.      They are the created in the presence of the Creator.

2.      They are the sinful in the presence of the holy.

3.      They are the ignorant in the presence of the All-wise.

4.      They are flesh in the presence of Spirit.

5.      They are the weak in the presence of the omnipotent.

6.      They are the temporal in the presence of the eternal.

7.      Thus, they bow before the God of heaven.