1 Samuel · chapter 2 of 31
Updated on
1 Samuel 2 contrasts two households. Hannah praises God, who brings down the proud and lifts up the humble, and young Samuel serves faithfully at Shiloh. The sons of the priest Eli, by contrast, treat the Lord's offerings with contempt, and a man of God announces that Eli's house will fall and that God will raise up a faithful priest.
After giving Samuel to the Lord, Hannah responds with a prayer of praise that goes far beyond her own case: it speaks of how God reverses the fortunes of the weak and the powerful. The chapter sets that praise beside the corruption of the priests of Shiloh and prepares the change of spiritual direction Israel is about to experience.
Hannah prays with joy: her strength has been lifted up in the Lord, and there is no one holy like him and no rock like our God. She warns the proud, because the Lord is a God of knowledge who weighs actions. She says the mighty are broken and the weak are girded with strength, that the barren woman bears seven children, and that the Lord brings death and life, makes poor and rich, brings low and exalts. She ends by announcing that the Lord will judge the ends of the earth and give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.
Elkanah goes home to Ramah, and the boy Samuel serves the Lord under the priest Eli. Eli's sons, however, were worthless men who did not know the Lord. They took meat from the sacrifices by force and demanded raw meat before the fat was burned. The text says their sin was very great before the Lord because they treated the offering with contempt.
Samuel continues to minister, wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother brings him a little robe, and Eli blesses Elkanah and Hannah; the Lord gives them three more sons and two daughters. Eli, very old, hears what his sons are doing and rebukes them, but they do not listen. Meanwhile Samuel grows in favor with God and with people.
A man of God then comes to Eli with a message: God chose Eli's house for the priesthood, but Eli honored his sons more than the Lord. God will honor those who honor him, and those who despise him will be lightly esteemed. As a sign, Hophni and Phinehas will die on the same day, and the Lord will raise up a faithful priest who will act according to his heart.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Hannah declares that no one is holy like the Lord and that there is no rock like our God. It is a confession of who God is, which is why her praise is not limited to celebrating the gift of a son.
Hannah says the Lord raises the poor from the dust and seats them with princes. This theme, that God exalts the humble, will return in the Psalms and sound again in Mary's song in Luke 1.
The text says the sin of Eli's sons was very great because they treated the Lord's offering with contempt. The problem was not only an abuse of meat but a lack of respect for God by those who led worship.
The Lord declares that he will honor those who honor him and that those who despise him will be lightly esteemed. This is the principle that explains the fate of Eli and his sons in contrast to Samuel.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: She says no one is holy like the Lord and there is no rock like our God. — 1 Samuel 2:2
Answer: That she bears seven children, while the one with many children languishes. — 1 Samuel 2:5
Answer: They took meat by force and demanded raw meat before the fat was burned. — 1 Samuel 2:12-17
Answer: A little robe that she made for him. — 1 Samuel 2:19
Answer: That his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, would die on the same day. — 1 Samuel 2:34
Answer: A faithful priest who will act according to his heart and mind. — 1 Samuel 2:35
The chapter puts two ways of living side by side. Hannah praises God with humility, recognizing that every good thing comes from his hand, while Eli's sons use their place in worship for their own benefit. In a class or small group, it is worth asking whether we serve God or use what belongs to God for our own comfort or reputation.
It also speaks to those who hold authority in the church or the family. Eli rebuked his sons but did not act with the firmness his office demanded, and God reminded him that he had honored his sons more than the Lord. And for those who feel small, Samuel grows in quiet faithfulness: God notices steady service even when no one applauds.
1 Samuel 2 ends with a promise: God will raise up a faithful priest while Eli's house falls. In the next chapter, young Samuel, already growing in God's favor, will hear the Lord's voice for the first time and receive his first message, which confirms the judgment announced on Eli's house.
Both songs celebrate that God brings down the powerful and lifts up the humble. Luke 1:46-55 echoes several themes of Hannah's prayer, though each song has its own words. For many readers the echo shows that the God who changed Hannah's fortunes is the same one who acts in Christ.
The text does not give his name. He is called a man of God, a title used for a prophet, and his message is a warning to Eli before God speaks to Samuel in chapter 3.
In the immediate context he points to a priest who will replace Eli's house. Many connect him with Zadok, who served in the days of David and Solomon; others see in him a foreshadowing of Christ's perfect priesthood. This chapter does not name him.