“The problem wasn’t that Israel wanted a king. The problem was the reasons why they wanted a human king…They wanted a king to bring them influence and status, order and prosperity, safety and security, without having to rely on the unseen work of God and his provision of daily bread…And so when God consents to this idolatrous request, it is our natural human reasoning to assume that God will show them the errors of ways by providing them a terrible king, with disastrous results, so that they will see just how much better off they were under God’s own direct rule. But that is not what we see here in these four chapters at all! In fact, I’ve somewhat controversially titled this message: God Gives Israel a Good King…No, Saul did not end well…But that should not color our reading of these chapters. God did set Saul up for failure, nor did he spitefully shackle Israel with a loser king. In a shocking act of mercy and grace, God set Israel up for success!”

“God, for his part, graciously condescends to the people’s desire. But tells Samuel to warn them of what a human king will do. ‘The way of kings’ is characterized by the key words take and best. ‘The way of kings’, by nature, is parasitic rather than giving. And kings are never satisfied with the worst. Various aspects of ‘the way of kings’ would soon be implemented by Saul, Israel’s first king. But it would be David's son Solomon who would literally put tens of thousands of his own people to forced labor. ‘The way of kings’, to take the best is contrasted with the heavenly King, who takes nothing from his people…”

“Do I have trust in some talisman, trapping of religion, but not a person?” Tune in to hear Pastor Josh preach through a long, but necessarily connected, narrative concluding Eli’s story, and further our understanding of God’s desire for relationship, not just a religious rigour.

“The Sunday School version of this, which always has to have a moral of the story and an application, will tell us that we should be like Samuel: Listen for God’s voice and answer. Speak, Lord, I’m listening. But that is not at all the message of this passage. We are meant to see God’s faithfulness to his covenant people despite the rampant sin and rebellion taking place at that spiritually benighted worship center. No priest was ministering before the Lord. They had left a small child to fulfill their duties. One who did not even fulfill the requirements to be a priest on many specific points of OT law, who had been dressed by his mom, and placed there by the will of God and according to Hannah’s oath. A child, of whom it says he ‘did not yet know the Lord(v.7)…We should not see Samuel as doing (or being) anything special here. We should see only that “...God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)”

“It is impossible to fear man and fear God. But fear of man doesn’t always mean fear that they will hurt or harm us, but it is also fear of losing their regard. John 12:43 speaks of those who denied Christ because ‘they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.’ In an era of passive parenting, where people seek to become their children’s friend rather than an authority figure, the sin of Eli is prevalent today. And it is not only with our children. When we fear losing relationships with others more than fearing God, we will refuse to obey his clear commandments. Our minds will invent all sorts of excuses and human wisdom that excuse us of strict obedience to the commands of God…God will be first in our lives, or ultimately he will take them from us. ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”

“Although passive and dim-sighted, Eli blesses Hannah, although probably just to get her to leave. She, however, takes the word of the high priest as a promise from God. Where in her distress she had begun a fast, upon receiving the blessing she eats and her sadness left her.  Such is her trust that the Lord of Hosts can and will accomplish his will, she is at peace even before her situation changes…The object of Hannah’s delight is neither herself—that she has overcome the disgrace of barrenness—nor her son. Instead it is the Lord, who is the source of both her son and her happy circumstance…”