DAY 073: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR – 1 SAMUEL 1-5

March 12, 2024

1 SAMUEL 1-5
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DAY 073: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Today, our journey takes us into a new book, the Book of 1 Samuel. Samuel is a priest and a prophet. Samuel was dedicated to the Lord as a baby. Samuel grew to love the Lord. Samuel knew the Lord.

Take a moment to seek God’s understanding of today’s journey. It is the start of a new direction in history for the people of Israel. Read 1 Samuel 1-5. Let’s journey!

The books of First and Second Samuel were originally one book, that was later split in two due to its length. Before the start of this book, Israel had resided in the Promised Land for some time, and we saw their continued moral decline under the rule of judges. The books of Samuel are books of transition. In these books, the 12 Tribes of Israel are united into one nation under one king. First and Second Samuel is a character-driven story, with the three main characters of Samuel, Saul, and David. These men, especially Saul and David, have their own character strengths and weaknesses. We are going to study these as we journey through their lives.

1 Samuel 1-5: Our journey begins with Elkanah, who had two wives. Penninah who gave Elkanah many children and Hannah, whom Elkanah loved dearly, but had no children. Pennianah provoked Hannah because she had no children. The family made an annual trip to Shiloh to worship and make sacrifices to the Lord. During one of those pilgrimages, Hannah begged the Lord to allow her to have a son, pledging to give the boy back to the Lord for all the days of his life. Hannah’s request was granted and she honored her commitment to surrender the child to the Lord. Eli, the priest, is advised that his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were sleeping with women who were temple greeters and taking the Lord’s offering before it was properly presented to the Lord. The Lord promises to shorten the lives of the descendants of Levi and kill Hophni and Phineas because Eli failed to correct his sons. Samuel is called by the Lord to the priesthood. The Philistines capture the Ark of God after defeating the Israelites in battle. Hophni and Phineas are killed. Eli dies. The Lord Himself defeats the Philistine god Dagon, before afflicting the Philistine people with death, tumors, and illness. The Philistines decide they must return the Ark of God to Israel. (I Samuel 1:1-5:12)

After reading chapters 1 through 5, consider the following: What strengths and weaknesses did you observe in the people in today’s reading? Did you see yourself in any of the characters you read about today? How so? What can you learn about your character from today’s reading? Reflect on your own character, is it all pleasing to the Lord?

Godspeace!