1 SAMUEL 1-5: DAY 73 JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
March 14, 2023
1 SAMUEL 1-5
DAY 73 JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
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Focus Verses for Today: 1 Samuel 3:12-14
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!
1 Samuel 1-5: Our journey begins with Elkanah, who had two wives. Penninah gave Elkanah many children and Hannah, who 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 to Israel. (I Samuel 51:1-1:12)
Our focus verses for today:
12At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. 14Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
(1 Samuel 3:12-14, NIV)
Our focus verse reveals God’s anger at Eli for failing to honor his obligations as Priest of Shiloh. Eli knew that his sons, Hophni and Phineas, were defiling the offering to God and chose to do nothing about it. He had a duty as their father to correct them. He had a duty as the Priest of Shiloh to remove them from their positions, or resign his position, for inability to execute his duties properly. Eli’s decision not to handle his duties to God, resulted in the death of his two sons, diminishing the line of Levi in the priesthood, and shortening the lifespan of his descendants. The Bible places duties on us all. Can you name one of them? Are you living them?
Godspeace!
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