1 Samuel 1-2

1 Samuel 1-2

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 1: Hannah Bares Samuel

                There was a man who lived in Ramathaim-zophim of the mount Ephraim, his name was Elkanah and he was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu who was the son of Zuph, who was an Ephrathite.

                Elanah has two wives; Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Elkanah still loved Hannah even though she could not have children, but Hannah was very upset about this. So Hannah starts to starve herself and gets very sad, her husband asks her why she won't eat, and tells her "...am I not better to thee than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8). Hannah decides to go up to the priest in the temple and starts praying to God, except she made no noise, from what I can see is that she was saying a prayer in her heart. The priest tells her to go and to be no more sad, because the Lord would grant her petition.

                Hannah conceives a child and names him Samuel. Hannah waits until Samuel is weaned and is more of a child than a baby and takes him to the temple and their they make a sacrifice to God; with three bullocks, one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine (remember back to the previous books that talked about sacrifices).  Samuel shall be from here on out an instrument in the hands of God.

Chapter 2: Hannah has more Children

                Hannah rejoices in the Lord and his great Salvation. She is completely filled with joy!

In verse 3, I came across a very interesting verse;

                "Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed" (1 Samuel 2:3)

                This verse hit me hard. For several reasons that are very specific to LDS (Mormon) doctrine. Joseph Smith once taught that men could not be saved by ignorance. By your ACTIONS God will essentially weigh your salvation. So when I hear people saying things like "accept Jesus into your heart and you are saved", it makes me very sad. Because is it really that simple? Absolutely not. Was it simple for Jesus to suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane? Bleed from every pore of his body? OR Die on the Cross for the sins of everyone? No, Absolutely not! So to say that you are saved for just accepting Jesus into your life is not enough. You have to live by his teachings and follow his commandments. That is why this verse struck me, because someone who is ignorant has an overbearing sense of pride with a superior manner towards people who are "less than themselves" or inferiors. So essentially those people who say "accept Jesus and be saved" and then openly make fun of people and other religions that teach and practice "good works" to be seems a bit ignorant to the actual truth of the matter, that you cannot be saved in ignorance, but your good works. It is kind of like the WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets that are usually worn by people who think that accepting Jesus is all we have to do. I wish it were so, but it is not.

                So let us remember that it is not by FAITH ALONE that we are saved. (See James 2:26)

                The chapter continues to say that the Lord by his power, is all powerful. He has the power to make someone rich or poor, he has the power to kill and make alive and to put those who were good upon thrones in the last day.

                Eli the priest blesses Elkhanah and Hannah, with this blessing Hannah bares 3 sons and 2 daughters, and Samuel grew up before the Lord. Samuel waxes strong with the Lord, while the other sons of Eli do evil in the sight of the Lord.