1 Samuel 5:4-6 - The Lord's hand was heavy on the people

5:4,5

The next morning the same thing had happened, but even worse this time. Dagon had again fallen down on his face before the Ark, but this time his head and hands had broken off. We human beings pride ourselves on being rational and intelligent, but if this was genuinely true the Philistines would have worked out by this point that their god Dagon wasn’t up to much. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10) and knowledge (Prov 1:7). When we abandon God our thinking becomes futile (Rom 1:22,23).

5:6

What should the Philistines have done? They should have repented, acknowledged that the Lord was God, given the evidence that they had seen in their temple. However, they did not. So the people were afflicted with “tumours”. These may not necessarily have been cancerous tumours. One suggestion is that they were afflicted with bubonic plague, a symptom of which can be lumps of various sorts.

1 Corinthians 1:5-7 - You have been enriched in every way

1:5,6

Paul is still preparing the ground before he starts to deal with the serious issues which abounded in Corinth. These issues included specific items, such as lawsuits and incest, but there were also serious attitudinal matters. Indeed these wrong attitudes could be said to lie at the root of many of the problems. One of these was a competitive nature, wanting to prove oneself better than others, or boasting about what we have and what we can do. One of these was the matter of spiritual gifts, and taking pride in wisdom or speaking ability. Paul begins by recognising that these are good gifts. Paul then reminds them that these confirm the testimony that Paul and his companions had given them about Jesus Christ. 

1:7

So it is good that they “do not lack any spiritual gift”. This may have been said somewhat tongue in cheek. The Corinthians actually needed a lot more knowledge and wisdom than they thought they had. Moreover, they should have been waiting for “our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed”, i.e. waiting for the return of Christ. Paul is aiming to get them to put their primary focus on Jesus Christ.

1 Samuel 5:1-3 - Dagon fell on his face before the ark of God

5:1

The Philistines had defeated Israel, they had also captured the ark of God and so thought that they had defeated God. They were very much mistaken about this. Remember also that Eli was distraught at the capture of the Ark. They were both very much mistaken and lacked understanding. Today the church often fails badly, and we may be dismayed when this happens. We are right to be dismayed, but it does not mean that “God is defeated”. We should be dismayed at man’s sin, at our failure, but God has not failed. 

5:2,3

In their ignorance the Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod and carried it into the temple of their god, Dagon. Dagon was a fertility god of some description. They probably thought that their god had defeated the God of Israel. They could not have been more wrong. In the morning they found the idol Dagon fallen down on its face before the ark. They completely failed to understand, and thought that putting the idol back upright would solve the problem. They didn’t seem to ask how the idol had fallen down in the first place, nor the symbolism of it having fallen down on its face before the Ark.

1 Corinthians 1:3,4 - Grace given to you in Christ

1:3

This verse is very typical of Paul’s introductions, and is the blessing that occurs in most of them. We need grace and peace, and these are given to us from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the equivalence of the Father and the Son. Notions that the divinity of Christ was a later addition to Christian theology are completely without foundation. Note also that God is our Father, there is a personal relationship here, and it is quite amazing that the creator of the whole universe should be our Father!

1:4

As with most letters, Paul then gives thanks for the church in Corinth. The one exception to this is the church in Galatia. It may seem surprising to us that Paul gives thanks for them, given the mess the church is in. However, Paul still sees that God is at work in the church. We can look at a church (or even ourselves) and see all the things that are wrong. We should not overlook these things, but we should seek to correct them. Things can only be corrected if the grace of God is at work in our lives. We are utterly dependent upon the grace of God, but when the grace of God is at work all things are possible.

1 Samuel 4:14-22 - The Glory has departed from Israel

4:14-18

Eli heard the uproar, but didn’t know what had happened. One could maybe see him as the Joe Biden of his day!  The Benjamite told Eli all that had happened. This included the great losses, the death of his two sons, and the capture of the Ark. On hearing of the loss of the Ark Eli fell backwards, broke his neck and died. It seems that the loss of the Ark was of most concern to him. He had probably written off his two sons, they got what they deserved. We are now told that Eli had “led” or “judged” the nation for forty years.

4:19-22

The death in the family of Eli continued. The wife of Phinehas was pregnant and about to give birth. The news of the death of her husband and father-in-law sent her into labour.  She gave birth, but died as a result. She did, however, have time to name the child in a meaningful way. She called him Ichabod, which means “no glory”, and declared that “the Glory has departed from Israel”, because the ark had been captured. Our reaction may well be to think it unfair of God to take her life, but the wife saw the true meaning and importance of the event more clearly. It is also interesting that both the wife here, and Eli, saw the capture of the Ark as the more significant event, more significant than the death of their loved ones.

1 Corinthians 1:2 - To the church of God

1:2

This is a little different from the normal introduction, though not massively so. Paul refers to the Corinthians as “the church of God '', as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus”, and those “called to be His holy people”. Given the state of the church in Corinth, and the issues that the letter goes on to address, this introduction seems somewhat out of place. One might reasonably think that the church was anything but holy and sanctified! However, Paul was reminding them of who they were in Christ, and therefore how they should be living. First, they are God’s church, not their own. The church is Christ’s body, not our body. We are part of the body, but the body belongs to Christ. We live for His sake. We have been sanctified in Christ and called to be holy. We have not been called to be like the world, but to be like Jesus. We are called for His purposes, not for the world’s purposes. Therefore we should live Christlike lives, not worldly lives. The church today badly needs to remind itself of this.

Paul then reminds them that they are part of the global church, i.e. “together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. We belong to and serve the same Lord.

1 Samuel 4:10-13 - The Israelites were defeated

4:10,11

So the Philistines continued to fight, and they defeated Israel again. This time the losses were even greater, thirty thousand. Why did the Ark have no effect on the battle? It was because it was not a “lucky charm”. Israel’s problem was her sin, her abandonment of the ways of God. Israel needed to repent.

As well as losing the battle, the Ark of the Covenant was also captured, and Eli’s two sons both died. The prophecies against Eli’s family were being fulfilled, and more was to come.

4:12,13

Eli “feared for the ark of God”. He probably didn’t think that taking it out into battle was such a good idea, and thought that it might well be captured. Eli was “watching”, though since he was blind he wouldn’t see much. A Benjamite came from the battle, with all his clothes torn in rags, and with dust on his head. The man informed the town of Shiloh of how badly things had gone, so the whole town was in fear.

1 Corinthians 1:1 - By the will of God

1:1

The introduction to Paul’s letter is fairly typical of the introductions to most of his letters. He starts off by introducing himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. Sometimes today the term apostle is bandied about far too freely, and seen as a status symbol. This is not the way that Paul used it. First, we must understand that with respect to people like Peter, John , Paul etc it had a particular relevance, including being a direct witness of Jesus Christ, His resurrection and what He did (Acts 1:21,22). With regard to this, Paul was somewhat unusual, as he acknowledges in this very letter (1 Cor 15:8). Paul is an apostle “of Christ Jesus”. No one was an apostle for their own sake, but for the sake of Jesus Christ. Then he was an apostle “by the will of God”. This is abundantly clear from the Damascus road account in Acts 9. Paul did not apply for the job! He was told by Christ that he was going to do it. Sosthenes is also mentioned. Sosthenes had been the synagogue leader in Corinth (Acts 18:17), this may or may not be the same person. I incline to think he was, it seems he was known by the church in Corinth.

1 Samuel 4:5-9 - Be strong, Philistines!

4:5,6a

Initially it seems that their reasoning was correct. On the appearance of the Ark, all Israel raised an enormous shout. It was so loud that the Philistine camp  heard it as well. However, Israel was treating the Ark more as a luck charm than the actual presence of God. If they had treated it as the actual presence of God then the nation would have gone into deep repentance.  We all need to be very wary of treating religious practices of any sort as “lucky charms”.

4:6b-9

Initially the Philistines were wracked with fear. What had happened in Egypt many years ago was apparently well known in the region, and the Philistines feared that a similar thing would happen to them. Notice that they say “they are the gods ...” While they were aware of the historical events they thought the Israelite God was just the same as other “gods”. Now if they were afraid at this point, why weren't they afraid to attack in the first place? Maybe they thought the “gods” were no longer with Israel (which in a sense was true!), but when the Ark was brought out and they heard the great shout this caused them to reassess the situation. Whatever the case, instead of giving in to fear, they rallied themselves together, not wanting to be enslaved by the Hebrews.

1 Corinthians - Introduction (Part 2)

The letter was written in AD 54 or 55 from Ephesus. It is believed that there were four Corinthian letters in all, though, of course, we only have two of them. There was a letter written previous to 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians itself, a “severe letter” written after 1 Corinthians, and then 2 Corinthian. It is also believed that Paul made three visits there. There is the initial visit when the church was founded and reported in Acts 18, a painful visit, and a visit sometime after 2 Corinthians.

There are a number of sections which are introduced by “Now about ....”, so it seems that the church had asked Paul about various matters. Paul also received visits from people from Corinth who reported to him various concerns about life in the church. The fundamental problem in the church was worldliness, a habit of going along with the world, or at least significant compromise. When this happens the church loses its sharpness, but worse than that it ends up being even worse than the world! The most blatant example of this in the church was the overlooking of incest. In today’s church compromise is a serious issue, and the church has become ineffective. Moreover, the church that compromises ends up just looking stupid.

The letter is one of the longer epistles and covers many subjects. Underlying it all is, of course, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. The doctrine of the Trinity is pervasive throughout. The other doctrinal feature that receives more detailed attention than elsewhere is the resurrection. Obviously, the resurrection is pervasive to all the New Testament preaching and teaching, but in 1 Corinthians 15 it receives focused attention and explanation. The letter is well known for chapters 12 and 14 dealing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but that is far from being the only mention of the Holy Spirit. In addition, the letter deals with a number of specific questions, including marriage, sexual immorality, the Lord’s Supper, divisions, and proprietary in worship.

1 Samuel 4:1-4 - Why did the Lord bring defeat upon us?

4:1

This is another case of a chapter division being put in a rather odd place. The start of 4:1, “And Samuel’s word came to all Israel” would seem to be better placed at the end of the previous chapter. Chapters 4-6 will actually contain nothing directly about Samuel, rather describing the situation into which he would prophecy. It starts out with the Israelites going out to fight against the Philistines.

4:2,3

Initially the Philistine forces are deployed in an orderly manner, but as soon as battle commences the order tends to disappear. This is typical of most warfare. It has been said that precise battle plans rarely last beyond the first shot being fired. However, the Philistines did rather well in this battle, and Israel was defeated and lost four thousand men.

4:4

On returning to the camp the elders of Israel asked “why did the Lord bring defeat to us today?” They seem to have assumed that they almost had a right to win, that the Lord’s backing was almost automatic. The history of the Judges should have taught them otherwise, but they are about to learn the lesson again. Their response is to bring out the Ark of the Covenant. They reasoned that this would mean that the Lord would be with them and so they would win!

1 Corinthians - Introduction (Part 1)

Introduction

While writing these notes I am working through the following commentary:

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary (TNTC), 2015, Thomas R Schreiner

And a lot of the introductory information, in particular, comes from there.

The city of Corinth was near two important ports, Cenchreae and Lechaeum. It was a wealthy city because of its commerce. These two harbours provided access to Italy and to Asia, making it an important trading centre. The city was Roman in nature at the time of Paul, and this is significant in understanding the passages on head coverings and the Lord’s supper. The city had been destroyed in 146 BC because of its rebelliousness. Julius Caesar reestablished the city in 44 BC, but now with a distinctively Roman flavour.

It had a diverse population, including Jews. Acts 18:1-11 tells us that it had at least one synagogue. The population was somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000. They worshipped many gods, athletics played a significant role in city life. There were temples to Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Asclepius, Demeter and Kore, and a host of other gods played a role in city life. It was normal to worship several gods. So Judaism and Christianity were unusual in their devotion to the one God. Christianity stood out from Judaism in its lack of cultural practices such as circumcision, Sabbaths etc. Later on the Christians would be branded as atheists because of their refusal to worship a whole panoply of gods. Because of the nature of the city the temptation to compromise was significant. Corinth was also known for its sexual immorality.

We  read about Paul’s initial visit to Corinth in Acts 18:1-8, when Paul founded the church there. This probably happened in about AD 50. Priscilla and Aquila worked with Paul in setting up the church (Acts 18:1-3). In fact, these two make a number of appearances in the New Testament. Initially, as was his practice, Paul went to the synagogue, but after being thrown out, he went next door! It is likely that the church was predominantly Gentile, though there would undoubtedly be a number of Jews. With that came a significant amount of sexual immorality, much of which is addressed in the letter. There were a large number of slaves in Corinth, with slavery being an integral part of the economy in most nations. And it seems that a number of these were in the church. While a large part of the church came from the lower classes, there were some rich and higher class people, and issues related to this are also addressed.

1 Samuel 3:15-21 - He revealed Himself to Samuel through His word

3:15-17

Samuel lay down pondering these things, aware of the awesomeness of them. He did not want to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. Few, not even Samuel, enjoy giving bad news to people. This time Eli calls Samuel and inquires as to what the Lord said to him. Eli had received the words of the prophet some time ago, and knew that they would come to pass at some point. He instructs Samuel to tell him the truth, otherwise Samuel would suffer judgement.

3:18-21

Samuel now tells Eli all that the Lord had said. Eli, having received the earlier word, accepted what Samuel said, knowing that it was indeed from the Lord. Eli was resigned to the matter. After this Samuel continued to grow. Traditionally it is believed that Samuel was twelve years old when these things happened, and that would make sense. Moreover, all of Israel recognised that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. None of the judges had been recognised as men of God. The Lord continued to “reveal Himself to Samuel through His word”. It is through His word that God reveals Himself to us.

Acts 28:21-31 - God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles

28:21,22

The Jewish leaders had not heard anything much about Paul and seemed to be unaware of the controversy.  However, they did know that the “sect”, as they referred to Christians, did have a lot of people speaking against it. So they want to hear from Paul, what he has to say for himself.

28:23-27

A time was set, and a large number of people came to hear Paul. Paul spent a whole day “explaining about the kingdom of God”. He tried to persuade them that Jesus was the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. Some believed, some did not. Luke quotes Is 6:9,10 to sum up the situation with regard to the Jews and the Gospel, pointing to the hardness of heart of the Jews. Obviously this did not apply to all Jews, Paul himself was a Jew and there were other Jewish believers, but it was an accurate generalisation.

28:28-31

The book of Acts is brought to a close with the conclusion that while the Jews in general had rejected the gospel, the gospel had been sent to the Gentiles, and they would listen. Again, this is a generalisation, for many Gentiles did not receive the gospel. Paul spent two years explaining and presenting the gospel to all who would listen. And that is where Acts ends. There is no mention of Paul’s final fate, though tradition has it that he was martyred.

1 Samuel 3:10-14 - Samuel! Samuel!

3:10

The Lord does call a fourth time, and this time says “Samuel, Samuel”, rather than just “Samuel”. The repetition indicates urgency. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac the angel of the Lord called out “Abraham, Abraham” (Gen 22:11). This time Samuel replies “Speak, for your servant is listening”. It is imperative that we respond to the Lord when He speaks to us, and we must be ready to listen to Him.

3:11-14

God does not speak an easy word to Samuel, but tells him of forthcoming judgement. The reference to making the ears tingle indicates that terrible things are about to happen. Now, remember that previously a prophet had spoken words of judgement to Eli. God tells Samuel that all these things will now come to pass. He also tells Samuel why these things will happen. It was because his sons blasphemed God, and Eli failed to restrain them. Samuel’s ministry would not be an easy one, and it was vital that from the outset he was prepared for what lay ahead. No amount of sacrifices would atone for the guilt of Eli’s house.

Acts 28:14-20 - It is because of the hope of Israel

28:14-16

The gospel had already reached Rome, so while Paul is the main focus of attention in the second half of Acts, he was not the only means by which the gospel was spreading. There were some believers near Puteoli who invited Paul and his companions to stay with them. Hospitality was a vital part of church life, and is emphasised in a number of the letters. The warm welcome was of great encouragement to Paul. Eventually Paul arrived in Rome. He was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. He was not considered to be a great danger.

28:17-20

Paul maintained his custom of giving the Jews “first refusal”. So he met with the local Jewish leaders. They would probably be giving evidence against Paul in the trial before Caesar. However, Paul did not consider the Jews as “the enemy”, so he met with them to try and win them over. Paul recounts the events in Jerusalem. He also seeks to explain how the gospel is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, rather than being opposed to it.

1 Samuel 3:5-9 - Here I am; you called me

3:5,6

Samuel ran to Eli, thinking it was Eli who had called him. Of course, it wasn’t Eli, and he sent Samuel back to bed. The Lord called to Samuel again, and again Samuel thought that it was Eli. Eli’s response seems to hint that he is getting a bit fed up with being woken up in the middle of the night.

3:7

“Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. Samuel would have known various things about the Law and about God, but he did not know the Lord on a personal level. God desires an intimate relationship with us. “The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him”. Again we see the strong implication that the normal state of affairs for a servant of God is to know Him at a deep level, and to have a deep understanding of the word of the Lord.

3:8,9

The Lord is quite persistent! He calls on Samuel a third time, who still thinks it must be Eli calling him. However, by this time Eli has worked out what is happening, he knew that it was the Lord calling Samuel. So Eli tells Samuel to go and lie down and if he hears the voice again he should say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”.

Acts 28:7-13 - Paul placed his hands on him and healed him

28:7-10

The warm welcome they received continued with the chief official of the island, a man called Publius. Maybe it was because it was an island and they appreciated the importance and dangers of the sea that they were so welcoming.  Publius’ kindness was rewarded. His father was sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul prayed for him, and he was healed. News about this spread around the island and many other sick people came to him and were cured. Sometimes the argument is made that the number of reported miracles and healings declines as we progress through Acts, and therefore we should expect fewer healings today. This verse shows that this is a very weak argument. Miracles did still happen. Luke did not write his account so that we had a record of all the healings, and his purpose developed as we work through Acts. The kindness of the islanders continued until they were ready to leave.

28:11-13

It was three months before they put to sea again, going on another ship that had wintered there. Luke gives a few more details, as was his habit. Castor and Pollux were the twin sins of Zeus, in Greek mythology. They were thought to provide protection for sailors. There were a couple of stops on the way, at Syracuse and Rhegium. Syracuse was on Sicily, and Rhegium was at the southern tip of Italy. Finally they arrived at Puteoli, a major port for Rome.

1 Samuel 3:1-4 - The word of the Lord was rare

3:1

The focus now turns to Samuel. Eli’s house has been told that they will be removed, and dealt with very severely, but there would be no vacuum, for God’s man, Samuel, would be made a prophet for Israel. We are told here that “in those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions”. Note the implication that the normal state of affairs is that God speaks to His people, both as individuals and corporately. This is what we see happening throughout the Bible. The foundation for all this is the written word of God, the Bible. The Bible should not be just a book, but the living word of God. There will also be times when there are prophecies or visions from the Lord.

3:2-4

Eli was already very old, and now his sight is starting to go. Meanwhile Samuel was lying “in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was”. The reference to the ark of God perhaps implies the presence of God. God certainly was present, for He called out to Samuel. Samuel answered “Here I am”, but did not realise who was calling him.

Acts 28:1-6 - They said he was a god

28:1-3

After they were all safely ashore, they discovered that the island was the island of Malta. The islanders seem to have been very friendly and treated the shipwrecked crew and prisoners with great kindness. It was a wet and cold time of year, and hence the storm. So they built a fire. Paul joined in with gathering brushwood. In the course of doing this he picked up a snake. The snake is called a viper. Nowadays there are no vipers on Malta, and it may have been some other breed.

28:4-6

The snake had fastened itself to Paul’s hand. I guess this means it had bitten him, though I suppose it could just have coiled itself around his arm. Whatever the case, the islanders immediately decided this meant he was a murderer and the god of justice had finally got him, having failed to do so by wrecking the ship. Paul managed to shake the snake off his hand and into the fire it went. The islanders expected Paul to swell up and die. However, he suffered no ill effects at all. The islanders then changed their mind and decided that he must be a god! The opinions of men are not always a particularly reliable guide!

1 Samuel 2:31-36 - The time is coming

2:31-33

Eli’s family would all die young. Eli himself was already very old, but his sons would die young, and this would persist in the family line. They would be cut off from any blessings that Israel might receive. 2:33 makes this even clearer. We might object that this is “unfair”. However, we would be far better served by considering the seriousness of treating the Lord’s Name nor His altar and people with contempt.

2:34-36

The judgement is now made very specific, showing that the words of this prophet were indeed genuine, a true message from the Lord. Hophni and Phinehas would both die on the same day. Despite the appalling behaviour of these two, God’s plans had not changed. He would raise up for Himself a faithful priest. Note the words “for myself”. The priest is there to serve the Lord, if we serve in the church in any way, we do so for the Lord’s benefit, not for ours. This faithful priest would “do what is in my heart and mind”. This priestly house would serve forever. The house of Eli would be truly humbled, they would bow down before the true priest. And the faithful priest is, of course, the Messiah.

Acts 27:39-44 - Everyone reached land safely

27:39-41

When daylight came they saw a bay with a sandy beach, i.e. it was suitable for running the ship aground on. A rocky bay would have been a disaster. The bay is now called St Paul’s Bay in Malta. Even so, the ship ran aground on a sandbank and they weren’t able to get in as close as they had hoped, and the ship started to break up.

27:42-44

There was one last demonstration of Paul’s influence. The soldiers were planning to kill the prisoners for fear of them escaping. This seems a ridiculous attitude to have, and indeed it was, but there would be a price to pay for the soldiers if they let prisoners escape. The centurion wanted to preserve Paul’s life, so stopped the soldiers from executing their plan. The centurion had respect for Paul, and also knew that his duty was to get Paul to Rome. So one way or another, everyone made it safely to the shore.

1 Samuel 2:27-30 - A man of God came to Eli

2:27-29

We now have an unnamed prophet who comes to give a word of rebuke and a foretelling of judgement to Eli. The word from the prophet begins back in Egypt when God rescued them from slavery. Without God Israel would be nothing. God had also revealed Himself as holy, i.e. completely different from all idols and nations. Israel was chosen to be His nation, to live according to His ways, and within that the priests were to represent the Lord Himself. To scorn God’s sacrifices was an appalling thing to do. Eli’s sons fattened themselves up at the expense of the people.  Anyone who exploits God’s people is putting themselves in grave danger, as well as the act being an offence to God.

2:30

Judgement is now pronounced on the whole of Eli’s family.  The Lord had appointed the Levites to serve as His priests, but all of God’s promises in the Law were contingent upon the Israelites being faithful. This they manifestly failed to do, and Eli’s sons are a particular example of this. We might think it unfair that the whole family suffers. However, there are some things to consider. First is that the whole tenor of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, shows that if someone genuinely repents then they are welcomed by the Lord. Secondly is the importance of family. The family is the essential building block of God’s society, we have a duty towards our whole family. Thirdly, God works generationally. Promises apply generationally, curses (God’s judgement on man’s sin) also apply generationally. Finally, with regard to the latter point, the blessings are more long lasting than the curses (Ex 20:5,6).

Acts 27:33-38 - I urge you to take some food

27:33,34

They hadn’t been eating much (27:21), so Paul urges them to eat as a great effort would be needed in order to survive. Note that Paul is not averse to giving straightforward practical advice, he told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach problems (1 Tim 5:23). Paul also tells them that “not one of you will lose a single hair from his head”. Jesus used a similar phrase (Luke 12:27), this seems to have been a common idiom of the time.

27:35-38

Paul openly acknowledged his devotion to the Lord, and that everything he did was done with faith in God, so he gave thanks to God for the food they had. All this encouraged the people on the boat. People can be dismissive of religion and faith, but we all hit times in our lives when it becomes clear that we are not in control of our lives.Having faith in God provides a strong anchor in such times, it gives us a greater stability. Our faith can be an encouragement to others, even leading to them putting faith in Christ. They were all encouraged. Then they threw the remaining grain overboard to lighten the load further. This would allow them to get closer to the shore.

1 Samuel 2:22-26 - Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord

2:22-25

Eli was very old and heard about what his sons were doing. This included financial exploitation and sexual sins. The women they slept with were probably not the equivalent of shrine prostitutes, but rather “me-too” type abuse, i.e. taking advantage of their position of power. Eli rebuked his sons, but did nothing more. What he should have done was to remove them from the position they had. However, it is very difficult to do this when the people involved are part of your family. He does warn them that they are sinning against God, and there can be no answer to that. Of course, we have all sinned against God (Ps 51:4), and Christ’s death on the cross does atone for that, but the point is still well made. All of us will have to answer to God.

2:26

Again, Samuel is set up as the antithesis of the disgusting behaviour of Eli’s sons. Indeed it is interesting how many sons go wrong in the Bible. Samuel, in contrast, grew “in stature and favour with the Lord and with people”. The same phrase was applied to Jesus in Luke 2:52.

Acts 27:22-32 - Not one of you will be lost

27:22-26

Rather than gloating, Paul urges the men to maintain their courage and not give up. He also assures them not one of them will die, although the ship would be destroyed. Why did Paul have such faith and insight? It was because an angel of the Lord had appeared to him. So again we see angels playing a key role.  The angel assured Paul that he would indeed stand trial before Caesar and that God would preserve the lives of all those aboard the ship. Paul declares that the basis for his courage and faith is his faith in God. There was also practical advice, they had to run the ship aground on an island.

27:27-32

It was some time before they spotted land. They took soundings and discovered that they were getting closer to running aground. Some sailors sought to find their own way of escape. Paul warned the centurion that they must not be allowed to flee, and the centurion took the appropriate action. Paul had won the trust of the centurion.

1 Samuel 2:15-21 - The sin of the younge men was very great

2:15,16

2:15 describes a particular deviation from the Law. The fat was supposed to be purely for the Lord. These priests had no regard for the Law, nor for God, nor for the people. Whenever people abandon God’s ways one can be pretty sure that it is ordinary people who will suffer. Eli’s sons exploited the people. They even used force to do this. From time to time today we hear of religious leaders taking appalling advantage of church members, there is nothing new in this.

2:17

We now have a clear statement that their sin was “very great in the Lord’s sight”. They were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt. This showed contempt both for God and for His people who were making offerings in good faith.

2:18-21

We now get another contrast. Samuel, even though only a boy, was ministering to the Lord. The normal age for a priest to start performing his duties was actually about thirty. Hannah visited him once a year, and each year she brought a little robe for him. Hannah had devoted her son to the Lord, but she still loved him. Eli adopted a much better attitude towards Hannah and her family than before. He pronounced a blessing over the family, asking the Lord to give them many children to make up for the one given to the Lord. “The Lord was gracious to Hannah”, and she had three sons and two daughters. “Meanwhile Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord”.

Acts 27:13-21 - The ship was caught by the storm

27:13-20

It seemed that a window of opportunity had arisen with a break in the weather, so they left the harbour and sailed along the shore of Crete. However, the weather soon changed and the wind became hurricane force. Again we get more intricate details of the “journey”, or rather of how they were at the mercy of the wind. Things got so bad that they started to throw cargo overboard in order to lighten the ship. Things went from bad to worse and “we finally gave up all hope of being saved”. It is as certain as can be that Luke was on board this ship.

27:21

While Luke and the others may have given up hope, Paul had not. After a time Paul stood up and spoke to all of them. He started by pointing out how he had warned them against setting sail. Now he did not do this in order to gloat, but so that they would give him credibility, and so listen to him. Sometimes in life, in churches, people will ignore us even when we are right. In such times we should not go into a sulk. There may come a point when people are prepared to listen.

1 Samuel 2:9b-14 - It is not by strength that one prevails

2:9b-11

The verse number divisions here do seem to be somewhat random, and not always in the best places. “It is not by strength that one prevails”. Human strength or resources are not enough. If someone opposes the Lord, then they will be broken. The Lord will thunder from heaven, and with judgement. Judgement is a fundamental characteristic of the Lord, and we must never forget that.

At the end of all this Elkanah (and his family) went home to Ramah. Samuel, however, remained with Eli, serving the Lord under Eli.

2:12-14

From the faithfulness and praise of Hannah we move to the wickedness of Eli’s sons. The NIV describes them as “scoundrels”, the ESV as “worthless men”, and the KJV as “sons of Belial”. The KJV is a literal translation, and NIV and ESV have given the meaning of the phrase. Under the Law priests were to take some food from the offerings (Lev 7:31,32; Deut 18:3), but Eli’s sons went far beyond this.

Acts 27:6-12 - Much time had been lost

27:6-8

Having landed at Myra in Lycia, the centurion found another ship, this time it was heading for Italy. So if all had gone well that would have been the last stage of the journey. Even at this stage the weather was becoming more of a problem. So they went via the lee of Crete, seeking shelter from the storm. Progress continued to be difficult and they came to a place called Fair Haven.

27:9-12

Things were not going well, and it was autumn, and storms would become more frequent and intense. Paul warned them, advising them of the dangers. However, commercial interests prevailed, and the centurion followed the advice of the pilot and the ship owner. As we know, and will see, this resulted in greater losses. However, it is not clear what else they could have done, for we are told that the present harbour was “unsuitable to winter in”. They aimed to reach Phoenix and to winter there. Phoenix was also in Crete.

1 Samuel 2:6-9a - The Lord brings death and makes alive

2:6-8a

We now come to the truth of the matter. It is the Lord who brings death and gives life. We become proud and arrogant when we start to imagine that we are in control, that we are in charge. But this is always an illusion. So when we see the proud strutting about acting as if they know everything and control everything, we should remember that they are living a lie and one day they will be hit by the truth. It is the Lord who sends poverty and wealth. A nation that rejects the things of God, as is the case with western nations, are very foolish and are heading for trouble. It is the Lord who exalts and humbles. This does not mean that individuals or nations do not bear responsibility for their actions, but we must always remember that ultimately we are completely dependent upon God.“He raises the poor ...” The truth of the matter is bad news for the proud, for they will be brought low, but it is good news for the humble, for they will be raised up (Prov 3:34; James 4:6).

2:8b,9a

“The foundations of the earth are the Lord’s, on them He has set the world”. The earth was created by the Lord, it is founded on Him. The implications of this are that we should trust in Him, we should look to Him, and we should live according to His ways. In the outworkings of history He will “guard the feet of His faithful servants”. Conversely, “the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness”.

Acts 27:1-5 - We boarded a ship

27:1,2

So Paul is finally on his way to Rome. Getting to this point has followed a very tortuous route and taken a long time, numbered in years. Along the way Paul has witnessed to various rulers. The next stage of the journey will be no less eventful. Paul, and a number of other prisoners are put in the charge of a centurion named Julius. The “we” indicates that Luke went along with Paul. Aristarchus was also with Paul, he was previously mentioned in Acts 19:29, coming from Ephesus. The journey would be completed in several stages.

27:3-5

Julius, the centurion, was mentioned by name because he showed kindness to Paul. When they landed at Sidon, Paul was allowed to go and see his friends. The friends would provide food and other things for Paul’s journey. Sidon was about seventy miles north of Caesarea. After setting sail again they passed the lee of Cyprus, this provided protection against the winds. Once again we receive a lot of detailed information about the journey, much of which we might think we could do without. However, all these details add to the authenticity of the account. The gospels and Acts were not made up stories, but things which actually happened.