Title: The Child Samuel Raised in the Temple
Content Samuel the child who grew up in the temple (1 Samuel 1:26-28)
Samuel is a prophet who accomplished a turning point in Israel's history and is the greatest priest in the Old Testament. When I say that I am the great spiritual leader of Israel, I do not hesitate to say Samuel with Moses. Then, we would like to share the grace of Hannah by looking at how she raised Samuel and raised her into a wonderful child.
Reading 1 Samuel 2, an interesting phrase is found. It is that God continues to compare and contrast the two sons of the priest Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, and Samuel the son of Hannah in this chapter 2 and record them. In verses 12-17, it is recorded that the sons of Eli did not know the Lord because of their conduct. When we describe Samuel the son of Hannah, in verse 11, “the child served the Lord before Eli the priest” and in verse 18, “Samuel He wore an ephod of linen when he was a child, and served before the Lord.” Verse 26 says, “As the child Samuel grew, he found favor with the Lord and men more and more.” By comparing these two families and two children, God is clearly teaching us how important the education of our children is today.
The problems with Eli's family were ① First, the failure of family worship. Eli's children did not know the Lord (v. 12) and despised the sacrifices of the Lord (v. 17). That is, difficulties arose from their failure to teach godly worship before God from an early age. ② Second, the loss of father's authority. In verse 23, Eli rebukes the children for their misbehavior, but Eli's words do not have authority over the children. The spiritual authority of the parents, especially the authority of the head of the household, must be restored in the families of the believers today. Sarah called Abraham Lord. The word lord is a Chinese character that is above the king and prince. ③ The third was the idolization of children. In 1 Samuel 2:29, God rebuked Eli, saying, “You have cherished your sons more than me.” I think there are many parents who are excited about this topic. You have to be careful of people who tremble when you have children.