Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
1 Samuel 1:19-28 NLT
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
21 The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently.”
23 “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise.” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 1:19-28 NLT
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more.
From the previous lesson.
1 Samuel 1:3 NLT
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle.
The entire family would include Elkanah, Hannah, Peninnah and her children, and household servants. Possibly extended family would travel with this group.
- Elkanah’s family worshipping the Lord is a reoccurring theme throughout this story.
Samuel came from a family that valued worshipping the Lord.
- Scripture clearly commands us to worship the Lord.
Psalm 95:6 NLT
6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
1 Chronicles 16:29 NLT
29 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
Psalm 96:8-9 NLT
8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
Luke 4:8 NLT
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
Psalm 92:1-2 NLT
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening,
Then they returned home to Ramah.
When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son.
She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
The name Samuel can mean several different things. Meanings of this name include “his name is God”, “name of God”, “asked or heard of God”, or “offspring of God”
Hannah named her son Samuel since God had heard and answered her prayer for a son.
She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
- The birth of Samuel came about after Hannah had prayed to God asking Him to give her a son.
- Scripture instructs us to pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT
17 Never stop praying.
Prayer is powerful.
Matthew 7:7 NLT
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
John 15:7 NLT
7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
John 14:13-14 NLT
13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Matthew 21:22 NLT
22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Samuel was born in response to Hannah’s earnest prayer. “The Lord remembered her plea…”
21 The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord
1 Samuel 1:3 NLT
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle.
As stated earlier, worshipping the Lord is a reoccurring theme throughout this story.
Review from previous lesson:
The law required:
Exodus 23:14-17 NLT
Three Annual Festivals (also recorded in Deuteronomy 16:1-17)
14 “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. 15 First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.
16 “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. 17 At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.
Why are these festivals so important?
Remember what God has done for us.
Celebrate what God has done for us.
Teach the next generation how God is working in our lives.
What would the mood or atmosphere be like at these festivals?
Psalm 100 NLT
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
- In Exodus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 God commanded the Israelites to celebrate three festival in His honor.
Leviticus 7:16 NLT
16 “If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day.
and to keep his vow.
Numbers 30:1-2 NLT
Laws concerning Vows
30:1 Then Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 2 A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.
Deuteronomy 23:21 NLT
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 NLT
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.
Matthew 5:33 NLT
Teaching about Vows
33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’
- A man (a person) who makes a vow to the Lordor makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.
God always keeps his promises.
Psalm 89:34 NLT
34 No, I (God) will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.
Numbers 23:19 NLT
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
22 But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned.
Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently.”
23 “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now,
- Elkanah supported Hannah’s decisions.
and may the Lord help you keep your promise.”
Elkanah knew that it would be hard for Hannah to give up her son and he knew that she would need the Lords help to keep her promise.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
- So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
At this point in time Samuel was totally dependent on his mother.
Hannah may have nursed Samuel two to four years.
Several years later.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine.
Or three bulls
Apparently Elkanah could afford expensive offerings.
Numbers 15:8-10 NLT
8 “When you present a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord, 9 you must also give a grain offering of six quarts of choice flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil, 10 and give two quarts of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Think of this as a celebration.
A time of remembrance.
- Taking Samuel to the Tabernacle in Shiloh would have been a very memorable occasion for Elkanah and his family.
25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request.
Previous lesson:
1 Samuel 1:17 NLT
17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”
A blessing from God’s high priest was an assurance that Hannah’s prayer would be answered.
28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.”
- Samuel was left with Eli to serve the Lord in the Tabernacle for the rest of his life.
And they worshiped the Lord there.
More Worship.
(As stated earlier, worshipping the Lord is a reoccurring theme throughout this story.)
*********************************************
- Elkanah’s family worshipping the Lord is a reoccurring theme throughout this story.
- Scripture clearly commands us to worship the Lord.
- The birth of Samuel came about after Hannah had prayed to God asking Him to give her a son.
- Scripture instructs us to pray without ceasing.
- In Exodus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 God commanded the Israelites to celebrate three festival in His honor.
- A man (a person) who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.
- Elkanah supported Hannah’s decisions.
- So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
- Taking Samuel to the Tabernacle in Shiloh would have been a very memorable occasion for Elkanah and his family.
- Samuel was left with Eli to serve the Lord in the Tabernacle for the rest of his life.
