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.

1 Samuel 2:4,5 - The bows of the warrior are broken

2:4

Hannah has been broadening out the lessons learned from her own experience to the wider context. Enemies threaten, but their “bows are broken”. The weapons they had are rendered useless. In contrast, “those who stumbled are armed with strength”. Peninnah had mocked Hannah for she could have children, but Hannah could not. It seemed that Hannah had no hope. Yet now Hannah had a child from the Lord. When we feel overwhelmed we should turn to the Lord.

2:5

This verse continues with the reversal of fortunes theme. Those who were full suddenly have to hire themselves out for food, but the hungry are hungry no more. The one who was barren now has lots of children, but the one who had many is in sorrow. We find a similar sentiment expressed at the beginning of Isaiah 54.

Acts 26:24-32 - You are out of your mind!

26:24-27

As in Athens, it is Paul’s preaching of the resurrection that seems to incite Festus’ outburst that Paul is out of his mind. Paul, of course, refutes this, maintaining that what he says is reasonable and true. He then refers to the king, who being familiar with Jewish teaching could confirm this. Paul then challenges king Agrippa directly, asking him if he believes the prophets, expecting the answer yes.

26:28-32

Agrippa, like most politicians, does not want to give a straight answer. Instead he asks Paul if he thinks he can convert Agrippa in such a short time. Paul simply responds that he prays to God that Agrippa will believe, along with all people. Agrippa and Festus then discuss the matter privately, admitting that there is no real charge against Paul, but because Paul had appealed to Caesar they had to send him to Rome. One does think that surely they could have given Paul the option of withdrawing his appeal, and being set free. However, Paul was heading for Rome.

1 Samuel 2:2,3 - There is no one like the Lord

2:2

“There is no one holy like the Lord”. Holy means set apart. God is completely different from all others. He is different morally, we see this demonstrated most clearly in Jesus. He is different in all respects. So when we consider a situation to be impossible, that is because we base our deduction on what man can or cannot do. The Lord is different, so the possibilities are different. 

“There is no one besides you”. The Lord is unique, no one is like Him, He is the only Rock on which we should stand.

2:3

It is not clear who verse 3 is addressed to, probably Hannah is thinking of Peninnah, but we can apply it to anyone, or the devil, when they mock us, speaking arrogantly over us. People do this with pride, thinking that they are beyond rebuke. But the Lord knows all that people do, and He is the one who makes the final judgement.