1 Samuel 2: Priests Gone Wild

Synopsis:

Upon giving Samuel to Eli the priest, Hannah sings praises to the Lord – no one is as awesome as God. The sons of Eli were sons of Belial. They would steal offerings from penitents, sleep with the women coming to pray and more. Samuel, being a child, did his job faithfully and he was much liked by everyone. Eli reprimanded his sons, but they kept being evil. A man of God showed up at the Temple and prophesied that Eli’s sons would both be killed on the same day for their evil and in their place will rise a faithful priest.

In other words:

Samuel serves the Lord well, while the sons of Eli, the head priest, are evil to pretty much everyone.

Favorite bit:

1 Samuel 2:19 – that Hannah made a new jacket for Samuel every year and brought it to him at the temple.

Least favorite bit:

1 Samuel 2: 1-10 – Hannah’s prayer/praise to God. The hungry ceased being hungry, the lord killeth and maketh alive. He shall keep the feet of his saints and  the wicked shall be silent. It goes on for 10 verses. Need I say more?

What’s interesting?

That Eli’s sons were so brazen about scamming the penitents. It was bad enough that Eli had to reprimand them, but it didn’t do any good.  They were just being greedy really.

What’s cool:

Hannah goes on to have 3 sons and 2 daughters.

Moral Lesson Learned:

• Just do your job. Don’t try to cheat people. You will get a bad reputation. (1 Samuel 2)
• alternate: You can’t always trust a priest (1 Samuel 2)