One Samuel Two

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

1 Samuel 2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

1 Samuel 2:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

1 Samuel 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

1 Samuel 2:6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

maketh alive. This is a striking statement of faith in the resurrection on the part of Hannah. At this time, no record shows a dead person being revived, nor had there been any explicit revelation given as yet concerning a future bodily resurrection. Yet Hannah, like Abraham and Job, believed that God could and would do this (note Genesis 22:5; Hebrews 11:17-19; Job 19:25-27).

1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

1 Samuel 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

pillars of the earth. The “pillars of the earth” is a unique term, used nowhere else in Scripture. The concept seems to be one of “firm summits,” subsurface geologic structures strong enough to maintain the general stability of the earth's surface.

world. This is the first occurrence in the Bible of the word for “world” (Hebrew tebel), referring to the earth's habitable lands, as created and controlled by God.

1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

ends of the earth. This prayer of Hannah's is a remarkable prophecy, looking forward to the final triumph of the Creator over all His adversaries. It is the first such prophecy in the Bible, revealing the future explosive return of the Lord from heaven to judge all nations and to enthrone His anointed king over the whole world. Hannah was surely praying under divine inspiration, and her prayer is similar in spirit to that of the virgin Mary over a thousand years later (Luke 1:46-55). The miraculous birth of Samuel thus becomes a type of the virgin birth of Christ.

his king. Hannah's prayer refers to “His king” long before the people of Israel began requesting a king. The reference must be a prophetic forecast of the divine king that would some day rule all nations under God (e.g., Psalm 2:6-9).

his anointed. “His anointed” is actually “His Messiah.” This is the first explicit reference in Scripture to the coming Messiah (Hebrew equivalent of the Greek “Christ,” both meaning literally “the anointed one”). Hannah's inspired prophecy anticipates in much detail the later Messianic prophecies (Psalm 2, Psalm 72, Psalm 110, Isaiah 11, etc.). Hannah's son, the prophet Samuel, as the last of the judges (1 Samuel 7:15), was also the one chosen by God to anoint King David, the most complete type of the ultimate anointed one.

1 Samuel 2:11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:13 And the priests' custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;

1 Samuel 2:14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

1 Samuel 2:15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

sodden. That is, “boiled.”

1 Samuel 2:16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

give it me now. The priests at the tabernacle were entitled to receive the breast and right thigh of the animal being sacrificed (Leviticus 7:34), but only after the fat had been burned on the altar (Leviticus 3:3, 5). Eli's sons ignored both requirements.

1 Samuel 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

1 Samuel 2:19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

1 Samuel 2:20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.

1 Samuel 2:21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

1 Samuel 2:23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

1 Samuel 2:24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress.

1 Samuel 2:25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.

sin against the Lord. Eli here enunciated a most important principle, applicable in every age. Sinning against God and His Word are more dangerous than sins against other people.

1 Samuel 2:26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

with men. Note the parallel here with the testimony concerning the child Jesus: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

1 Samuel 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

1 Samuel 2:28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

1 Samuel 2:29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

God of Israel saith. See Exodus 29:9; Numbers 25:13.

lightly esteemed. This judgment (1 Samuel 2:30-33) indicates that the priestly line descended from Eli would eventually be terminated. This prophecy was finally carried out when Solomon banished Abiathar and replaced him with Zadok (1 Kings 2:27). See also 1 Samuel 3:12.

1 Samuel 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.

1 Samuel 2:32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

1 Samuel 2:33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

1 Samuel 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

1 Samuel 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

faithful priest. Although the priesthood had been promised to Aaron's descendants in perpetuity (Exodus 29:9), this promise was conditioned on faithfulness, and Eli and his sons had forfeited this claim (1 Samuel 2:30-31; 3:11-14). The promise of a faithful priest, with a sure house, is fulfilled only in Christ, “a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God” (Hebrews 2:17).

1 Samuel 2:36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.