1 Samuel

The reading of the first few chapters is very intriguing to me. Some of it has great meaning to me (Hannah's story) but there is so much more to be learned of it. I have spent a lot of time gleaning from this text. Allow me to expand upon a couple of thoughts:

1) Hannah recognizes that no matter what the "blessing" may be, she recognizes God's goodness, giving him the glory, and not placing her happiness in "the blessing" primarily.

2) In chapter 3, it seems that Eli has perhaps been lax in his relationship with the Lord. He does not readily recognize the Lord's calling of Samuel until the 3rd call. Was her perhaps "giving up" after he was informed that the Lord would not honor those who do not honor the Lord? It does not seem that he would have been a very great example for Samuel to study under now does it. All in all, I have gleaned from this that even in these times, those in "ministry" (meaning leadership positions) are REAL people. They struggle with sin like everyone else.

3) It seems that Eli allowed his family to become more important than the Lord. He allowed them to interrupt the sacred rituals of the worship/sacrifice time. Instead of correcting them, he let them go and for this reason his family would suffer in time. This poses a harsh reality for parents - not just spiritual leaders.