Hannah’s prayer led to a revival in Israel.

The priest Eli was getting old. His sons did as they pleased, they did not keep the priestly rules regarding the various sacrifices for the people, and they exploited the women who helped in the temple. The people were very unhappy with the situation and brought the matter to Eli, who was apparently unable to do anything about it. The lamp that was lit in the evening and was supposed to burn until the next morning in the temple, according to the Lord’s command to Moses, was about to go out.

Exodus 27-20. God had to do something.

Elkanah from the tribe of Ephraim had 2 wives: Peninnah and Hannah. They traveled, as they used to do every year, to Shiloh to worship the Lord of Heaven in the temple.

For the first time in the Bible, God is mentioned as the Lord of Heaven.

Peninnah and her children were given several portions of the sacrificial meat. Hannah had no children, but Elkanah gave her a double portion anyway, because he loved her very much, but it made Peninnah jealus. After the ceremony of eating and drinking Hannah went back into the temple and poured out her heart’s misery to the Lord. She promised to give the child to God, for His service, if she became pregnant.

There are other children in the Bible for whom God also had a special task:

Isaac, Samson, or the most important event on earth, Mary who gave birth to Jesus. God has a specific plan for each person, which only she or he can fulfill. Roman 8 vers 28.

It was never God’s original plan for men to have more than one wife. When he created Adam and Eve, there was one man and one woman. Likewise, they were created to be equal. Only after they sinned in the Garden of Eden did it change.

Genesis Chapter 4:   After the 5th generation of Cain, who killed his brother Abel, comes Lamech. He was the first to have 2 wives. The children of wife number 2 were often not considered very important.

If we do not respect the order that God intended from the beginning, so0ner or later it will be generally accepted, through generations up to today.

Genesis 3-15. Hannah got her wish and had a son whom she named Samuel. After she had weaned him, she brought him to the priest Eli. After that, she visited him every year and brought him a new coat.

Hannah had other children after she had given Samuel to Eli. When we read her song of praise, we do not feel that she has missed him, because she gave him to the Lord with genuine joy and devotion. Samuel grew up and was loved by both God and the people.

1 Samuel Chapter 2 – Hannah’s Song of Praise.

Hannah begins with: I will rejoice in the Lord, for He has greatly blessed me. Now I can answer my enemies, for the Lord has turned my mourning into joy and solved my problem. There is no one as holy as the Lord – there is no one like Him. Hannah continues her long song of praise.

Many things in life we ​​do on our own without realizing it is the Lord who is behind it and makes it possible. When Hannah had a problem, she discovered the power of the Lord and praised Him with all her heart.

1 Samuel Chapter 3. God calls Samuel.

Samuel was now a young man and served Eli in the temple. He was sleeping next to the Ark when the Lord called him, this happened three times. Each time he ran to Eli and answered: Here I am. The third time Eli knew that the Lord was calling Samuel, and explained that if he called again, he should answer: Lord, here I am.

The next time the Lord called on Samuel he said: I am sbout to do all the terrible things I told Eli because he did not correct his sons.

God said: Their sins will never be forgiven. Until that time, Eli had the chance to do something about it. He was not exactly a bad person but he did not obey the Lord for a large part of his life. For 40 years he and his sons sacrificed for sins of the people, but we do not read that he sacrificed for himself and his sons.

This is where the Nazarene vow applies, Samuel did not come from the Levite family. His situation here is unusual. God has removed Eli and his sons forever, but we do not se that he take the leadership himself, on the contrary he waits until God has arranged the situation with Eli and the people, so that he can begin to do what he is called to do.

In Samuel chapter 4: The people take the Ark of the Covenant with them to war against the Philistines, accompanied by Eli’s 2 sons. The earth shook when the Ark arrived, and the people shouted for joy, but the effect was not there, the Philistines were victorious. The Ark was taken by the Philistines, and Eli’s 2 sons were killed. When Eli received the bad news, he fell backwards and broke his neck and died. The pregnant daughter-in-law had severe labor pains and also died after she heard what had happened. She managed to say that the child should be named Ichabo, which means: God’s glory has left Israel.

Here we see the effect of a person’s influence in the family and surroundings. The opposite is also the case. If Eli, who was called to be a priest, had raised his sons to fear God and walk in the right way, this sad situation would have had a different ending, and Ichabo would have had a different name.

The same is true today, if we raise your children in the true Spirit so that they know the Lord, it can save them from many sad situations. They will instead be overcomer in life.

Thus Samuel’s revelation was fulfilled. The Philistines place the Ark twice, next to their god Dagon, but each time their god falls down in front of the Ark. Many Philistines died because of seeckness that broke out among the people. Finally, the Ark is brought back on a cart pulled by 2 cows, which under the Lord’s guidance found their way back to Israel.

A disobedient character leads to laziness and misfortune. Eli is not a good example. The result was depressions and aggressions that he could not control from time to time,

Samuel mourns for Saul, but God says: How long will you mourn for him. Chapter 16: David, who is descended from the family of Boaz and Ruth, is anointed as the next king. It will be a new era for Samuel again.