1 Samuel 1 - 3 (8th April) - Vivien Po

1 Samuel 1
If God is bias, He is biased towards the unloved. In this chapter, we can see that Elkanah (Samuel’s father) was biased towards Hannah, so God closed the womb of Hannah and let Peninnah bore many sons and daughters. (Doesn’t this sound familiar… Jacob, Leah and Rachel.) However, Peninnah was very bad, she kept provoking Hannah until she cry, which I think God also cannot tahan her behaviour. So when Hannah prayed and declared to God that if God would look into her misery and not forget to give her a son, she would dedicate her first son to God. When Eli blessed her, and after eating something, she was no longer downcast. It is like a sudden surge of confidence in God has assured her that it would come to pass. And yes, Samuel came to earth.

The prayer of Hannah is a powerful prayer of faith that God is for those who are oppressed. And victories are with them too. This reminded me of the Beatitudes in the New Testament.

1 Samuel 2
The Bible describes Eli’s 2 wicked sons. Hmm… It is so sad to see that so there are quite a number of cases that priests and righteous men had sons who were not even half as righteous as them. It is really a joy to see FCBC Senior Pastor, Apostle Lawrence Khong, and Youthnet Pastor, Pastor Eugene, serving as a family. Thanks to Pastor Cesar Castellanos for being such a good role model. And of course God for giving us the G12 vision.

There is a prophecy of Eli’s household too. Here is a lesson of the sin of omission. As a father, Eli did not discipline his sons for sinning, and so he would not escape from punishment too.

1 Samuel 3
In this chapter, the Lord calls for Samuel. While Eli’s sons were sinning, God is preparing Samuel for the future, knowing that Israel cannot be entrusted into the hands of the 2 wicked sons.

As Samuel grew up with the Lord with him, he gradually gained recognition that as a prophet of God. Be patient and focus on God. Recognitions come gradually with Emmanuel.