I Samuel Chapters 1-3

1:2 - Hannah was name first, so she was the first wife, but when she couldn't have children, Elkanah most likely married Peninnah to carry on his family line. We can see from verse one that his heritage was very important and he doesn't want to bring it to an end. Talk about an awkward family dynamic though! We see that problems arise much like in the Hagar/Sarah story earlier, because Peninnah never lets Hannah forget that she is barren. Jealousy is a destroyer of relationships and families. Peninnah is jealous of Hannah because Elkanah loves Hannah more, and so she reacts by hurting Hannah who is bitter that she cannot have children.

1:9ff - I love this portion of the story. Hannah is pouring herself out before God...she could care less about what anyone thinks of her...she just wants God to hear her cries. Eli confronts her about public intoxication, and she sets him straight (The confrontation is ironic, because it is clear that Eli has rarely ever confronted his sons who steal offerings from God and have sex with women who serve in God's tent). I would hope that all of us have such an meaningful relationship with God that others could see it. Some will react like Eli and think you are nuts, but when people see the difference God's makes in our life - it speaks volumes.

2:12ff - The "worthless" sons of Eli paint a really brutal picture of the priesthood at this point. They are trying to steal the best potions of meat from God for themselves, and even ordinary worshippers can see how wrong it is (v. 16). These guys are supposed to be the religious leaders, keeping the country on track towards God. They are also sleeping with women who have given themselves to God's service, so they are also defiling God's people. They have spent their whole life "serving" God and they have no idea who God is. There are people in churches all over the world, who have spent their lives in churches...yet they can walk away and profane the name of God through their actions and attitudes - they probably don't know God either.

3:19 - I like the phrase "none of his words fell on the ground." What it means in this passage is that everything Samuel said came true. He was the first true prophet in Israel in a long time and the people took notice. After choosing to constantly destroy the covenant with God throughout the years of the judges - the nation of Israel finally has a religious leader at the helm who is actually a man of God. YAY! I also think this applies to us...we should never let our words fall to the ground. Don't waste your words. Don't waste words on things that are vile and degrading - the mouth that we have is the mouth we worship God with...we should honor God through our speech at all times and not let some words fall to the ground.