And the sons of Eli were sons of wickedness, they did not know Adonai.
1 Samuel 2:12
1 And Channah prayed and said, "My heart exults in Adonai, my horn is exalted in Adonai, my mouth is open wide against my enemies, for I rejoice in your salvation.
The second chapter of Samuel begins with Channah praying a prayer of thanksgiving, which is recorded in the Bible as a poetic song. She opens with joy, a far cry from her previous prayer, speaking about how she has been exalted by the Lord.
She uses the phrase “my horn (Hebrew: keren) is exalted in Adonai,” which to English readers sounds strange. However, the word horn, keren, can be figuratively used to describe strength or might. It is a poetic way of saying “Adonai strengthened me.”
Finally, she rejoices in God’s salvation. The hebrew word for salvation is yeshua‘, which is identical to the hebrew name for Jesus. As we shall see, this prayer/poem continuously points ahead to Jesus.
2 There is no one holy like Adonai, for there is beside you, and there is no rock like our God. 3 Do not speak your prideful words proudly, or let arrogance come out from your lips, for Adonai is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
There is variation between some of the older Hebrew manuscripts with this third verse, which can either say “and by him all actions are weighed,” or “and he does not weigh actions.” This is due to the similarity in sound of the phrases “and by him,” and “and does not” in hebrew: ve-lo’ or ve-low. Most Rabbai’s and scholars accept the reading “and by him actions are weighed,” given the context of the rest of the verse, and they ascribe the variation to a scribal error.
It is also interesting to see that here Channah calls Adonai a “God of knowledge,” whereas up to this point in the book the Lord has only been called “Adonai of hosts,” a term which implies a role as a God of war. Channah is recognizing God for being more than just a God of battle and protection, but as a God who knows, and sees the needs of his people.
4 The bows of the warriors are broken, and those who stumble gird their strength. 5 The full hire themselves out for bread and the hungry become fat, as the barren woman bears seven children, the woman with many children withers away.
This last statement may be referencing Channah’s troubles with Peninnah, her husband’s other wife. The text had implied that Peninnah was only important to their husband because she was able to have children. Now that Channah has had a child, and is no longer barren, she retakes the role of first wife. Channah’s importance has grown to fullness, poetically represented by “seven children,” as the hebrew word for seven, sheva’ is spelled the same as the word satisfaction, sh’eva’. Now that Channah has had children, Peninnah no longer has the same status in their household.
6 Adonai kills and restores to life, he brings down to Sheol, and he raises up.
Sheol, mentioned here, is the realm of the dead. Some have equated it to Hell, but it is unclear if the Bible describes it as such. Souls descend to Sheol, as such it is juxtaposed to the Heavens, the realm of God, which things ascend to, but it does not seem to be the place of eternal torment described in the New Testament. The idea of the Lord raising people up from Sheol seems to foreshadow Jesus’s own descent and accension described in Ephesians 4:8-9 and Psalm 68:18.
7 Adonai makes poor and makes rich; he humbles the proud. 8 The powerless are raised from the dust, the poor are lifted from the garbage heap to sit with people of nobility, and they inherit a seat of honor, for the pillars of the earth are Adonai's, and he has set the World upon them.
A huge part of this prayer/poem is dedicated to the Lord reversing the fortunes of mankind, just as Channah saw her own fortunes reversed. Many of these ideas are echoed in the teachings of Jesus, with the first becoming last, and the last becoming first.
9 He will guard the feet of his loyal ones, and the wicked will perish in darkness, for it is not by strength that man will overcome. 10 Adonai will shatter his adversaries before him, Adonai makes thunder in the heavens, he will judge the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, and he will exalt the horn of his anointed one.
The poem ends with a prophetic statement from Channah, describing God as giving “strength to his king,” and exalting “the horn (strength – see above) of his anointed one.” At this point in time, Israel has not yet had a king, and the only “anointed one,” Hebrew meshiach (messiah), was Moses (although it is unclear if Moses was ever actually anointed, he acts as a messiah figure), and he has long since been dead. So Channah must be referring to a future king and future anointed one/messiah. King Saul and King David will both fill these roles, and eventually Jesus will take up the role of Messiah and King of the Jews. Channah gets a glimpse of ultimate salvation during this prayer.
This prayer contains many similarities to the prayer of Mary in Luke 1:46-55 (also known as the Magnificat). Both prayers come from women who have had miraculous births, and praise God for bringing salvation.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramatah, to his house, and the boy was serving Adonai before Eli the Priest.
After the dedication of Samuel to the service of the Lord, Channah and Eli return home, while Samuel now acts as Eli’s ward, and grows up serving in the Tabernacle.
12 And the sons of Eli were sons of wickedness, they did not know Adonai.
The narrative takes a turn here to show just what kind of people the current priests are. We saw earlier in chapter 1 that Eli’s sons were the acting priests, and now we learn that they are wicked and do not even know or worship, the God that they serve.
13 And the priests had judged with the people that when any man sacrifices a sacrifice, the serving boy of the priest would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three pronged meat fork in his hand. 14 And he would thrust it into the basin, or the kettle, or the pot, or the pan, all that the meat fork brough up the priest would take for his own. This is what they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
The ancient Israelites provided food for the priests any time there was a sacrifice, this helped the priestly families thrive while doing work in and around the tabernacle in the service to God. This is especially true with the peace offering/fellowship offering, which provided a meal not just for the priests but for the offeror’s family and friends as well. However here we see that Eli’s sons, the current priests, have shifted away from the commands in Exodus and Leviticus, taking only the portions allotted to them by law, and were instead going around and pulling out the choice bits of meat from the pots of those cooking meat to share with their families. This is effectively theft and was not what God had prescribed.
15 Also before the fat was burned up, the serving boy of the priest came and said to the man sacrificing, “give meat for the priest to roast, and he will not take meat from you that is boiled, but only living.”
In addition to taking portions not allotted for them, the priests had begun to request living meat, that is, raw meat, to be given to them to roast. This goes against prescribed instructions for the offerings as described in Exodus and Leviticus in a few ways. First, as already mentioned, the priest had their appointed portions prescribed in the law. Secondly, all the fat portions were to be burned (literally translated: “go up in smoke”) on the altar as an offering to God. Finally, the meat to be eaten was supposed to be boiled. Instead, the priests were taking the meat before it was offered to God, taking the fat portions for themselves, and roasting the meat. Honestly, this would make for a better tasting meal for the priests, but it goes against the instructions of the law of God.
16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn up the fat for burning during the day, and then take whatever you desire for yourself.” And he said to him, “but you should give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 And so the sin of the serving boys was very great before Adonai, for the men disrespected the offering of Adonai.
To add to the outrageous behavior of the priests, they would threaten anyone who would not give them the fat portions, which were reserved for God. They are acting like princes rather than priests, notice that they use servants (Hebrew: na’ar), to go between them and the people, rather than acting as intercessors on the people’s behalf, and they do not show any honor for God.
These are the people Samuel is growing up around.
18 And Samuel was serving before Adonai, a serving boy girded in a linen ephod. 19 And his mother would make for him a small robe, and she would take it to him day by day when she would go up with her husband to sacrifice the daily sacrifice.
Samuel is growing up around the priests and is doing his best to serve the Lord. Channah continues to see Samuel on a regular basis. The wording again is odd saying literally, “the days of days,” but probably means on an annual or semi-annual basis. When she comes up to see him, she brings him new clothes to wear with his linen ephod, a chest piece worn by those serving in the Tabernacle and Temple.
Samuel is repeatedly called a boy, or “serving boy,” or in Hebrew, na’ar. This is the exact same word used to describe the “serving boy of the priests” who are breaking the commands of God with regard to the sacrifices. However unlike the serving boys of the priests, Samuel served the Lord.
20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and said, “May Adonai establish offspring for you from this woman in place of the request that she requested of Adonai.” And he would return to his place.
Samuel appears to have been a great help for Eli, as every time his parents come up to worship God, Eli gives them a blessing. The blessing he gives seeks for God to give Channah more children, as she has fulfilled her promise.
21 For Adonai visited Channah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the serving boy Samuel grew up with Adonai.
God does indeed continue to bless Channah above and beyond her original request, giving her several more children, and firmly establishing her as Elkanah’s first wife. Her act of faith and obedience led to even greater blessings in her life.
Meanwhile Samuel grows up “with Adonai,” as opposed to Eli’s sons, the acting priests, who “do not know Adonai.” Samuel is not growing up with the best role models, but God is keeping Samuel safe from the influence of Eli’s sons.
22 And Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons would do to all Israel, and that they would sleep with the woman who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
This is a bombshell of a verse. We already knew that Eli’s sons disregard the laws of God when it comes to the sacrifices, but now we also learn that they are engaging in cultic prostitution in the Tabernacle, outside of the Holy Place. This is a common Canaanite pagan practice, tied to the worship of the Canaanite fertility deities, Ba’al and Asherah. Eli’s sons are not just disregarding God’s laws, they are worshiping other deities in God’s Tabernacle through cultic prostitution, and therefore defiling the Tabernacle. Eli was unaware that this was happening, and now he has heard about it, and he is rightfully angry.
Taking into account that one of Eli’s sons, Phinechas, is named after Aaron’s (the first priest) grandson, who once saved Israel from a plague by killing a man committing adultery with a temple prostitute (Numbers 25). Now Eli’s son is committing the same sin his namesake despised.
23 And he said to them, “Why are you doing these things, that I am hearing of your evil things with all of these people? 24 No my sons, for it is not a good report that I am hearing from the people of Adonai. 25 If a man sins against a man, God will intercede for him, and if a man sins against Adonai who will intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the delight of the Lord to kill them.
Eli rebukes his sons upon hearing of their deeds. His goal is to get them to repent, because they aren’t just sinning against men, but against God. However, they do not listen to their father, and the reason given is odd. It’s as though the Lord does not allow them to repent, similar to how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus, because he wants to destroy them. In fact, it says the Lord is delighted to kill them.
This does not sit well with our understanding of God as a loving and merciful God. It is easy for us to forget that God is also a God of justice, and justice often demands the destruction of evildoers. What Eli’s sons have done was so heinous that God eager to see them destroyed.
26 And the serving boy Samuel was going and grew and was good both with Adonai and also with men.
As opposed to Eli’s sons, Samuel did good as he grew up, both in the eyes of God, and of man. Jesus is described a similar way in the book of Luke. It speaks to Samuel’s character, that he is acting as the priest should, even though he is not a priest by blood.
27 And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Adonai, ‘Revealing was I revealed to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? 28 I chose him from all the tribes of Israel for myself as a priest, to go up on the altar, and to burn incense to wear an ephod before me, and I gave to the house of your father all the burnt offerings of the children of Israel.
After some time has passed, Samuel now having grown, a prophet or messenger of some sort, such as an angel (the text is not clear), shows up and confronts Eli. He brings a message from the Lord, reminding Eli of the special purpose of his family, which is the Tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron.
29 “‘Why do you kick the sacrifices and the offerings that I commanded for the dwelling, and honor your sons before me and make yourselves fat from the first part of all the offerings of Israel, my people?’
God accuses Eli and his sons of not honoring him, because they were taking the first part of the offering, the choice and fat parts reserved for God for themselves. This brings up an interesting point. Eli seemed fine with his sons’ behavior until he heard about their heresy of sleeping with prostitutes outside the holy place in the tabernacle. He probably enjoyed the fact that they brought in the best parts of a sacrificed animal as a meal. So it seems that God is more concerned with the fact that Eli’s sons, and by extension Eli himself, are not following his commands for the sacrifice, than the fact that Eli’s sons have used the tabernacle for pagan cultic practices.
30 “So thus declares Adonai the God of Israel, ‘Saying I said, your house and the house of your father, will go before me until eternity,’ and now Adonai declares, ‘Far be it from me, for those honoring me I will honor, and those despising me will be belittled.
God is angry enough that he is willing to break his promise to the house of Aaron the priest, that his family would serve him forever. Now God says he will honor those who honor him. Considering the juxtaposition between Samuel who honors God, and the sons of Eli, who couldn’t care less about God, helps set up what God is about to do regarding Samuel.
31 “‘Behold the days are coming and I will cut off your arm and the arm of the house of your father, that there will not be an old man in your house.
The word “arm” here is figuratively used to symbolize strength and power. God is planning on taking authority away from the house of Eli.
32 “‘And you will look needly from your dwelling upon all that goodness with Israel, and there will not be an old man in your house all of the days.
The house of Eli will become desolate compared to Israel, reduced to the status of beggars when they use to live like princes.
33 “‘And a single man among you I will not cut off from my altar, to cause your eyes to fail, and to cause your soul to grieve, and all the multitude of your house will die men. 34 And this will be a sign to you, that will come to your two sons, to Hophni and Phinechas, in one day they will both die.
God states that only one man will survive his coming judgment on the house of Eli. The text is difficult to interpret here, but it will be revealed later. God offers this sign, that Eli’s eyes will fail, and his soul grieved, as proof of the truthfulness of this warning. God then states that this judgment will begin with Eli’s two sons, who were the ones actively sinning against God.
35 “‘And I will raise up for myself a trustworthy priest, who will do that which is in my heart and in my soul. And I will build for him a trustworthy house, and he will go before my anointed one all of the days.
In place of Eli’s house God wants to raise up a new priest, at this point we are expecting him to be Samuel. This new priest will serve God’s anointed one, or meshiach, “messiah.”
The word meshiach can be used to describe the King of Israel, but that king does not exist yet. So this statement may point forward to both the future king of Israel and the meshiach, Jesus.
26 “‘And it will be all the leftovers in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and say, “please place me with one of the priesthood, so I may eat a morsel of bread.”‘”
God declares that Eli’s descendants will beg for the barest amounts of sustenance from this new priest. This, like much of the prophecy, is mostly figurative, showing how desperate Eli’s situation will become. In any case God has decided to remove Eli and his family from their roles as priests and give it to someone better.
This chapter has been a long chapter showing both the goodness of God, and the wickedness of men who abuse their authority. The family of Eli has been getting worse and worse, while Samuel has grown closer and closer with God. So now that God has announced his plans to destroy the house of Eli, the question becomes, what will he do with Samuel?