4 Boys Who Had an "In" with God: Samuel

Samuel; the only nazarite in the Bible with a perm

Samuel

This is the second post in the series 4 Boys Who Had an "In" with God

First a little background.

Elkanah, was an Ephraimite who had two wives; Peninnah and Hannah. This is known as polygyny (when a man has 2 or more wives) , and is a common familial arrangement throughout scripture (more on this later).

In this particular instance Peninnah was able to bear children, while Hannah was not (1 Samuel 1:1-2). In spite of this, Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah. As you can easily guess, jealousy became somewhat of an issue in this family. Peninnah would "provoke" Hannah in order to irritate her (1 Samuel 1:6-7), Hannah would "weep bitterly and not eat".

Out of desperation Hannah went to the temple and promised God that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord forever. She prayed so fanatically that the priest, Eli thought she was wasted. (1 Samuel 1:9-12)

Hannah insisted that she had not had anything to drink, but she had been pouring out her soul to God in anguish and grief. Satisfied, Eli blessed her and sent her off.

When Hannah got home God opened her womb and Samuel was born (1 Samuel 1:19-20).

Once little Samuel was weaned (which I'm pretty sure means he no longer needed his mother to clean his face with her spit on a napkin), Hannah kept her promise to God and brought him to the temple. From then on he was raised by Eli the high priest as someone dedicated to the service of the Lord; a nazarite, as described in Numbers 15:8-10.

Now that you have a little context, here's that phrase again...

1 Samuel 2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men


So, the more he grew physically, the more he was liked by people and by God. Kind of the opposite of Justin Bieber.

Sorry Justin.

1 Samuel 3:19 19 Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail.

This passage comes immediately after Samuel predicted the death of Eli and his two sons, all of whom were making a mockery of the priesthood. His words came true; thus confirming that he was a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20-21)

Chair fail

The phrase "the Lord was with him" is similar to God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 28:15. In it He promised Jacob that He would not leave until all that He had promised was fulfilled.

Sounds like a good deal for Samuel.

A couple of interesting notes:

• Like Samson, Samuel's mother, Hannah was infertile (1 Samuel 1:1-2)
• Hannah's audacious request was driven by sorrow at her inability to bear children, not because she wanted to be a spiritual superhero
• Like Samson, Samuel was dedicated to the Lord at birth as a nazarite

Up next: John the Baptist

4 Boys Who Had an "In" with God: Samson

The last thing 1000 Philistines ever saw

There are a few phrases that keep popping up in the Bible. God doesn't repeat Himself often and when He does it's time for us to take our hands out of the Pringles can, sit up, and look a little closer.

One of these phrases keeps coming up and is about certain boys throughout scripture who had unique calling on their lives. For some reason or another God had set them up from birth for a very specific purpose that they were destined to fulfill. The phrase goes something like, "so and so grew in favor with both God and man". This phrase was used in regards to just 4 boys over a span of thousands of years.

Over the 3 next posts We'll take a look at each of these boys, and the context in which this phrase is used. Hopefully we'll have something to glean at the end put it to work for us as parents.

Samson


First a little background.

Israel was in political and spiritual shambles. It was just as God spoke through Moses in Deuteronomy 4:25-31. The Israelites were caught in a cultural cycle. They would live off the land, get fat and lazy, forget God, worship the idols of the surrounding pagan nations, God would send foreign armies to wreak havok, The Israelites would come to their senses, repent, God would send a strong leader to save them. Over and Over again. 


Cue the lights, enter Samson.


Judges 13:24 "Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him."

A couple of interesting notes:

• Samson's parents were, up to this point, infertile (Judges 13:2-3)
• The message of Samson's birth was delivered to Samson's mom by an angel
• God wanted Samson to take a life-long Nazarite vow (Judges 13:4-5)

Samson went on to manhandle a lion, judge Israel, kick Philistine butt, and dabble in demolition

Up next: Samuel