Through Hannah’s fertility, we see that there can be futility where there should be fruit.

In both Elkanah and Hannah’s marriage and in Penninah and Hannah’s relationship, we see strife where there should be unity.

While Hannah is suffering, Elkanah and Eli are judgmental of her grief, showing there can be judgment where there should be support.

In the midst of Hannah’s suffering, she chooses to display confidence where there could have been bitterness and courageous obedience where there could have been self-protective selfishness.

If you have experienced the desire to be bitter instead of displaying confident trust in God’s sovereignty, you may have been looking to people to comfort you rather than the true Comforter. Choosing to believe that God is in control frees Hannah from being embittered to those who fail her.

There is a huge benefit to believing God is sovereign in the midst of overwhelming pain and suffering—it means there is hope in what feels like the most desolate place.

When people turn to self-pity and are not anchored in a hope outside of themselves, they can destroy even the good things God has given them.

We have to choose to believe that all things that come to us are not beyond the scope of what God is doing—he is in charge of all of it.

Every good gift that God gives us we should willingly give back to him. At some point, everything goes back to him.

Do not put your hope in your ability to execute on the plans you have for your life; but trust God’s Word when it says that all the earth is the Lord’s.

We can know that God will do what he says he’s going to do because every promise is fulfilled in Jesus.

Eli’s sons are in a position of power and authority where no one can really see what they are doing except for Eli. However, Eli chooses to not do anything about this knowledge of evil, and by choosing secrecy he honors his sons over God.

Eli has awareness of evil under his leadership, but he does not take action; therefore he is ultimately responsible and accountable unto God for the wicked ways of his sons.

We have to recognize that we are creatures not Creator, and we are just receiving not determining.

Oftentimes, we choose to honor others or ourselves over God because we are more afraid of the rejection of people than the judgment of the Lord of Hosts.

When you are in a difficult conversation where someone might not like what you are saying, remember:

1. Your job is to love God.
2. Your job is to love the person.
3. You are not supposed to worship yourself.

Salvation is always coupled with judgment.

Eli and his sons stand in the way of God speaking to his people, so God comes to Samuel for Samuel to take their place as the priest.

Even though Samuel waits for God for years, he endures and stays in the right place doing the right thing during a difficult time. Because of Samuel’s patient endurance in God’s perfect timing, God reveals himself to Samuel.

Sometimes God wants to work in the middle of our difficult circumstances (anywhere from boredom to adversity), but we run from the hard things before he can do something great. Sometimes, we need to endure.

In a “wooden” (word-for-word) translation of 1 Samuel 3:7, “Samuel did not know YHWH. The Word of YHWH had not yet been revealed to him”, “know” and “revealed” are key words to understanding the personal aspect of God. They connote relationship not content, intimacy not distance, and vulnerability not hiding.

In Job 42:1-6, Job lives with ideas and theology, but at the end of the day he just needs the Lord to reveal himself to him.

In the midst of wanting to hold God accountable for injustice, trust him not because you understand him but because you could never imagine in your wildest dreams a God who could love you as much as he does.

If you have a relationship with God, all other relationships will shift because there is only ONE to whom you owe loyalty.

The Word of the Lord brings unity and prepares the way for God’s people to be powerful.

Align yourself with God’s purposes as much as you understand them, seek God not answers, and realize that if you do these things it will disrupt your comfort and your relationships.

Instead of seeking God, repenting, and doing the hard soul work of turning towards him after their great loss, Israel takes things into their own hands and continues to fail.

The ark of the covenant symbolized God ruling (footstool of God), forgiving (mercy seat), and speaking (10 Commandments).

Instead of trusting God, Israel trusts in the thing that God has provided.

Trust in God himself not what he provides for you.

Symbols of God should stir our affections for God and draw our imagination back to him.

God gives us good gifts because he is GENEROUS. God keeps his promises because he is FAITHFUL.

One of God’s promises is to make us holy. He is faithful to that promise even when it is painful to us.

If you’re not a Christian, heed this caution: if God is this fearless in disciplining his children who are in a covenant relationship with him, then what do you think it will be like for you to disregard him and try to hold onto your sin?

God is often doing things in our lives for his glory that in the moment feel like defeat and despair.

We are fools to choose to worship something that needs us rather than worship the One who needs nothing.

When our false gods are exposed, it should be a reminder to worship the true God alone and not the idols.

Set up memorials in your heart to the failures of your idols.

Whether you are out of or in alignment with God, he will still be glorified in your life—it will be either through your judgment or your salvation.

You do not want to make God choose between his glory and your life because he will choose his glory every time.

The Philistines look for relief Instead of repentance and try to manage the consequences of their sin instead of getting in alignment with God.

It’s a gracious act when God brings his heavy hand on our life because it drives us to repentance and realignment with him.

Oftentimes God makes himself undeniably present to us, but we are distracted or unwilling to come to him.

"Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." —C.S. Lewis

We see despair and defeat in these chapters, but it's the very thing through which God brings glory to himself and victory to his people.

The question is not am I a Christian or not, it is am I repenting or not.

When we encounter adversity, we have an opportunity to figure out what we ultimately trust in. In 1 Samuel 8, we see the elders seek comfort in clarity and a solution, while Samuel immediately seeks God for guidance.

Our reflexive reaction to problems reveals the truth about who we are.

Samuel’s reflexive reaction to adversity is to go straight to God because his spiritual muscle memory has formed over years of choosing God first. He knows that when he is up against something, he does not want to be in charge. He wants God to be in charge.

Your spiritual muscle memory formed through the hardships of life enables you to be able to respond like Christ in the moment.

You will reap the consequences of trying to have both the benefits of following Jesus and the comforts of those who do not follow him.

The hungriest people are not the ones who have nothing to eat but the ones who have glutted themselves on what they thought would satisfy them, but they get to the other side and realize they are still hungry.

Although Saul is externally what everyone would expect for a king, his actions reveal that he is internally fragile and pridefully self-protective.

In God’s wisdom, he can discipline and judge and at the same time show mercy.

God gives the people the king they want, but the King they need is all-powerful, righteous, and benevolent—King Jesus.

Although we often find ourselves in the destructive cycle of crying out, God rescuing, us forgetting God, God disciplining us, and then repeating the cycle, we continue to forget him because we get fearful.

Fear causes us to be overly controlling, make hasty decisions, and be arrogant as we forget what it means to live a quiet, faithful life.

The Lord gave the Israelites something that he did not want to give; although he is sovereign, he is simultaneously in a real, personal relationship with his people.

If you have made a decision that you realize was for the wrong motivation, what do you do now? You can’t roll back time. But you can move forward and live a faithful life.

The problem with idols is that they give us the illusion and allure of control and comfort that we can see and touch.

We are entirely dependent on God’s kindness and faithfulness which are not in doubt.

God is at the same time severe and merciful.

Fear of God is not just a respect for God but an understanding that God is both kind and severe.

The tragedy of Saul’s life is that he did not have a right relationship with God.

Saul undermines the structure of Israel’s leadership instituted by God.

When we take action without seeking God or obeying his word, we create a mess—controlling people, manipulating circumstances, and arrogantly fighting to get our way.

We don’t get to subject God our Creator to our desires.

Our autonomy and worship of self is revealed when we allow the crisis of the situation to direct our actions rather than going to God.

Because we have assurance of what God is doing in our lives and what he has done for us already, we can walk into desperate circumstances knowing and being secure that Christ is with us.

We can live a humble life recognizing that the world does not depend on us. We can rest from work and hurry and depend on God.

Your thought life will determine the decisions you make.

Practically, we can see that Saul’s disobedience begins with both hanging out with the wrong people and letting someone else do his job.

American Christianity has bred the lie that everything we do has to succeed, when instead we know that failure is important and actually humbles and redirects us.

Jonathan is an easy leader to follow because when you are around him, you know it is not about him.

God doesn’t want us to know on the front end what happens after our step of faith. He wants us to deal with our pride and fear first, make ourselves available, and then trust him with the outcome.

In verse 24, we are reminded that although Jonathan took the step in faith, the Lord saved Israel that day. Jonathan could have never predicted the circumstances or forced God’s hand to move.

When we give expressions of faith, God honors it.

We all have fear, but our response should be to have courage and just make simple decisions.

Courage and fear grow together; just because we have courage doesn’t mean we won’t have fear.

If you are not a Christian, you don’t have access to this power and courage yet which comes from a relationship with Christ.

Saul is not free to do what God asks of him because he so badly needs control and the approval of men rather than God. Therefore, he becomes an obstacle to the full deliverance God could bring.

Saul’s leadership is oppressive because he is preoccupied with himself.

Saul wrongly uses religion to leverage control over the people through manipulation.

When you allow your self-regard, pride, control, and fear put you at the center of your world, you put yourself in opposition to what God is doing. God put nourishment in the path of the Israelites to provide strength, but Saul’s controlling oath cut them off from God’s provision.

When you are controlling or obsessive over something, you have to stop and ask yourself why you need that thing so much. When you do this in leadership over others, the small acts of control lead to a loss of leadership equity over time and potentially leads them towards temptation.

What we want is often not a bad thing, but the way we go about it is driven by our own self-reliance, pride, and control rather than by confidence and trust in God.

When you are guided by a need to control, you reframe reality in such a way that justifies yourself and your position.

As Saul continues down the road of control, he doubles down on his rashness and refuses to humble himself and admit wrong. His need for approval won’t allow him to look weak and be wrong and instead he is unrepentant and unrelenting.

God is delivering the people and the people are being oppressed by the king at the same time.

A bad king should push us to the good King—Jesus.

Jesus is the only King who brings full deliverance without any oppression (Matthew 11:30, Isaiah 42:3).

We are free to be wrong, to stop proving ourselves, and to stop controlling because the real King Jesus has already dealt with this for us.

Self-deception seems to be Saul’s downfall as he loses his rationality and truth ceases to be his primary goal. Instead of truth, he aims for a manipulated self-image and the approval of those around him.

We tend to raise God’s love and mercy above the other elements of God’s character like justice and righteousness, but all of God’s attributes work perfectly and equally together. We can’t dismantle who God is.

Through self-deception, Saul ends up adopting the customs and values of the very nation he was sent by God to destroy.

Saul’s self-deception is rooted in a self-image that is created and rooted in something other than God.

The solution to self-deception is that God chooses us unconditionally and we have access to biblical community that loves us freely through Christ. We don’t have to bring anything to the table (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).

God loves us because he loves us. The basis of our self-image is his love alone.

If you are not in biblical community, please fill out a digital connect card.

Even though God’s direction to Samuel does not give him all the information, Samuel humbly obeys. He has learned to master his intellect, reason, and emotion and subject those to God even when he doesn’t know the outcome.

We have to teach our children to obey without knowing all the reasons why because one day they will have to transfer their response to authority from parents to God, and God doesn’t always explain himself.

We judge and evaluate by appearance, but God looks at the heart.

Appearance is the first thing we see, but it is wise for us to learn to suspend judgment and wait on God to show through a person’s life, behavior, and how they handle themselves who they truly are.

We should be doing the hard work to cultivate the inside of our own souls rather than spending our time, money, and energy trying to impress people with the outside.

Throughout the events in this passage, we see that God is still King. He is the one who orchestrates it all. He is in control, and he is still going to be victorious.

While David responds to the pressure of the Philistines and Goliath in cultivated faith, the Israelites respond in fear.

David’s deep-rooted dependence on God and regard for God’s glory is the result of reflecting on who God is and cultivating a relationship with him over time.

This story pushes us to go do something we are weak at—that will take us beyond our felt ability to get it done—so that we have no choice but to depend on the power of God.

Every time we move toward our weaknesses, God carves out grooves in our soul where his strength is being made perfect in our weakness.

The credit that David gives to God for victory is one of the great indicators that his hope is not in himself—he is not fooled by his own success.

If we were to pull back layers of our fear, we would see a deep-rooted self-reliance.

It is crucial for us to stay close to our weaknesses and continually embrace our vulnerability.

Jesus has taken Satan’s greatest weapon, death, and used it to defeat him. Our greatest problem, our sin, has been dealt with. He has the final word. Because of this, we are free to be vulnerable and weak, knowing the victory has already been secured for us in Jesus.

Jonathan humbly forfeits his right to a kingly inheritance because he knows that God has given it to David.

Saul turns a blind eye to God’s power in David’s life and continues to possessively and obsessively cling to his own power and recognition.

David’s outward circumstances have changed, but there is something that has been so cultivated in his soul when he was alone in the fields that he is unphased.

The first sign of humility is realizing you are not in charge of your future, you are not God, and that he will raise you up when he wants. Just do what is in front of you.

God humbled Saul because he did not humble himself. David and Jonathan humble themselves and align with God.

Whatever God has given you is still not yours; it is his. Be open-handed.

If we are faithful to God and what he is doing in the world, it puts us in a place of opposition to people who are not.

We are entrusted to God and on mission with him not people.

Jonathan would rather be a part of what God is doing and it cost him than hold on to what he has.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is God and his glory.

Humble submission is at the root of what it means to have a relationship with God.

Our desire to own and control rather than to steward and to serve will lead us to a place of destruction.

As David did, the best thing you can do for a friend who has suffered loss is to acknowledge their loss and identify with them in it.

The most powerful tool and display of who God is is through the strength and light of biblical community.

To follow God and his kingdom requires personal cost and sacrifice.

David’s circumstances are going poorly even though he has done nothing wrong, but God’s hand is still with him at this low point.

David is being humbled and learning that he is not the king and that the true King will raise him up when he is ready.

We should remember that God really is the King, not us. He is the one who actually does the work and frees us to do what he has put in front of us, to persevere, and to be able to rest and trust him.

We should not give people credit for the work that God does.

We have a responsibility to humble ourselves and be merciful, kind, and generous to those around us instead of clinging to our own agenda and control.

On the outside, Saul appears to be in control. However, on the inside, he is tortured by fear and paranoia. Deeply insecure, Saul has created a false narrative that he is living into.

Saul is so focused on self-preservation, he shuts God out. As a result, his mind becomes a breeding ground for lies.

Likewise, we cultivate untrue stories for ourselves. Many of these lies stem from where we place our value and identity.

Saul did not become evil overnight. He made daily choices to protect himself and reject God. He was willing to sacrifice people to maintain control over his own kingdom.

In our lives, people will be hurt if we selfishly promote and protect our own personal kingdoms. The narratives we tell ourselves are powerful, and if they are based on lies instead of God’s truth, there will be dire consequences.

Even in this dark moment, we see evidence of God’s sovereignty. His judgment on the house of Eli is being fulfilled. (1 Samuel 2: 31-33)

In contrast to Saul, David wants to become a place of refuge for others. This foreshadows Jesus, who is able to absorb our sin and provide refuge for us.

In Luke 14:11, Jesus teaches the importance of humility. This truth that pride leads to destruction while humility leads to exaltation by God is played out in the lives of Saul and David.

Opportunity does not equal freedom. When David is faced with the opportunity to defeat his enemy, he humbles himself and aligns with God’s plan, even though it presents him with personal difficulties.

In contrast, we often live as if we’re inviting God into our story instead of living as if God has invited us into his story. We want God to show up for us to make our story better. Instead, we need to align ourselves with God’s story and his purposes.

Although David is in a position to take vengeance on Saul, he understands that vengeance is God’s personal possession (Romans 12:19-20).

While Saul admits to the truth about his failure and David’s future kingship, he still fails to come under God’s authority. His confession is merely acknowledgment, not true repentance.

Saul’s disobedience leads to despair whereas his repentance would lead to delight.

We are a people who hear the truth often, and many of us are quick to acknowledge God’s truth. However, we must examine whether we are truly coming under God’s authority in humble obedience.

Following Samuel’s death, we see David during a time of weakness. In contrast to the restraint he showed with Saul, David now acts rashly in the face of an offense.

Nabal is in a position of power and success, and this has paved the way for him to be selfish, arrogant, and insecure.

In contrast, Abigail is wise, shrewd, and courageous. Although Nabal should be protecting her, she risks her own life to protect him, her entire family, and even David. She aligns herself with God’s purposes at great personal risk.

Even in his anger, David is able to listen to Abigail, respond humbly, and turn back to God. Here we see how David is a man after God’s own heart. He is willing to humble himself and accept correction.

Like David, we must be willing to release the wrongs against us to God. Since God is able to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to cover our sin, then we must do the same for others.

If we do not know the Lord, then it will be difficult for us to distrust ourselves and listen to the wisdom of others. We must learn to slow the pace of our lives and let God’s word soften our hearts.

In Saul’s tragic death, we see the principle of sowing and reaping on full display. His self-reliance and pursuit of control have ended in self-destruction.

In contrast, Jonathan illustrates faithful dependence on God. He is willing to give up his kingship to David, aligning himself with God’s purposes instead of his own.

The destructive nature of sin is evident throughout the book of 1 Samuel, and we must be mindful that we are all like Saul in the sense that our sin will have consequences.

We are called to live in such a way that we reflect God’s kingdom and not our own. In that, we bring honor to God instead of dishonoring him.

Even in this tragic end, God is accomplishing his purposes. We can have hope that God works his will in spite of human failure. The Israelites have hope for a future king in David and ultimately in Christ.

Throughout 1 Samuel, we see that God honors those who submit to him and those who rebel against him are brought low. This reversal is essential to what it means to follow Jesus.

There is no success in ruling our own lives. Jesus can be our only true king.