Memory Text: 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”

Sunday, August 19 Elkanah
1 Samuel 1 “1 ¶ There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham and grandson of Elihu, from the family of Tohu and the clan of Zuph. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, while Hannah did not. 3 Each year Elkanah and his family would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the day Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the sacrifice to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 But he gave Hannah a special portion because he loved her very much, even though the LORD had given her no children. 6 But Peninnah made fun of Hannah because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Hannah would finally be reduced to tears and would not even eat. 8 "What’s the matter, Hannah?" Elkanah would ask. "Why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?" 9 ¶ Once when they were at Shiloh, Hannah went over to the Tabernacle after supper to pray to the LORD. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made this vow: "O LORD Almighty, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut." 12 As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 "Must you come here drunk?" he demanded. "Throw away your wine!" 15 "Oh no, sir!" she replied, "I’m not drunk! But I am very sad, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. 16 Please don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow." 17 "In that case," Eli said, "cheer up! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him." 18 "Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. 19 ¶ The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her request, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the LORD for him." 21 The next year Elkanah, Peninnah, and their children went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. 22 But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "Wait until the baby is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the LORD permanently." 23 "Whatever you think is best," Elkanah agreed. "Stay here for now, and may the LORD help you keep your promise." So she stayed home and nursed the baby. 24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and half a bushel of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they took the child to Eli. 26 "Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked. "I am the woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. 27 I asked the LORD to give me this child, and he has given me my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there.”
1 Samuel 1:4 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN The offerer received back the greater part of the peace offerings, which he and his family or friends were accustomed to eat at a social feast before the Lord. It was out of these consecrated viands Elkanah gave portions to all the members of his family; but "unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion"; that is, a larger choice, according to the Eastern fashion of showing regard to beloved or distinguished guests.
1 Samuel 1:6 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN The conduct of Peninnah was most unbecoming. But domestic broils in the houses of polygamists are of frequent occurrence, and the most fruitful cause of them has always been jealousy of the husband's superior affection, as in this case of Hannah.
1 Samuel 1:11 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Samuel, as a descendant of the house of Levi, was the Lord's property from twenty-five years of age till fifty; but the vow here implies that he should be consecrated to the Lord from his infancy to his death, and that he should not only act as a Levite, but as a Nazarite, on whose head no razor should pass.
1 Samuel 1:28 COMMENTARY ADAM CLARKE The word Samuel, as we have already seen, is a contraction of the words lam lwav Shaul meEl, that is, asked or lent of God?[/color[color:#660000]]Did Elkanah have a right to void Hannah’s vow?
Numbers 30:1-15 NRSV “1 ¶ Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 When a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 ¶ When a woman makes a vow to the LORD, or binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house, in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow or her pledge by which she has bound herself, and says nothing to her; then all her vows shall stand, and any pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father expresses disapproval to her at the time that he hears of it, no vow of hers, and no pledge by which she has bound herself, shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her, because her father had expressed to her his disapproval. 6 If she marries, while obligated by her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her at the time that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, at the time that her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he shall nullify the vow by which she was obligated, or the thoughtless utterance of her lips, by which she bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall be binding upon her.) 10 And if she made a vow in her husband’s house, or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it and said nothing to her, and did not express disapproval to her, then all her vows shall stand, and any pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them at the time that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning her pledge of herself, shall not stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow or any binding oath to deny herself, her husband may allow to stand, or her husband may nullify. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he validates all her vows, or all her pledges, by which she is obligated; he has validated them, because he said nothing to her at the time that he heard of them. 15 But if he nullifies them some time after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
Numbers 30:3 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY It is here taken for granted that all such persons as are…at their own disposal, and are likewise of sound understanding and memory, are bound to perform whatever they vow that is lawful and possible; but, if the person vowing be under the dominion and at the disposal of another, the case is different.

Monday, August 20 The Marriage
1 Samuel 1:2 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY At this period in the world’s history polygamy was considered ethical, and God permitted it….But instead of peace the practice of polygamy often brought intrigue, jealousy, and failure to both royal harem and private home. In NT times polygamy rendered a man unfit for any religious office (1 Tim. 3:2, 12).
Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 338 – “Polygamy was practiced at an early date. It was one of the sins that brought the wrath of God upon the antediluvian world. Yet after the Flood it again became widespread. It was Satan’s studied effort to pervert the marriage institution, to weaken its obligations and lessen its sacredness; for in no surer way could he deface the image of God in man and open the door to misery and vice.”
Ellen White, Youth’s Instructor, August 10, 1899 – “Wherever polygamy is practised, it is against our Heavenly Father’s wise arrangement. Under this practise the race degenerates, and all that makes married life elevated and ennobling is blasted.

Tuesday, August 21 Hannah’s Vow
Two problems Hannah faced: 1 Samuel 1:2,6 MKJV “2 And he had two wives, the name of the one [was] Hannah, and the name of the second, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 6 And her foe also provoked her grievously, in order to make her tremble, because the LORD had shut up her womb.”
Festivals all Israelite males were required to attend: Exodus 23:14-17 KJ21 “14 "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. 15 Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty), 16 and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors which thou hast sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering, which is at the end of the year when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Hannah’s Prayer – 1 Samuel 2:1-10 KJ21 “1 ¶ And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoiceth in the LORD; mine horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in Thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as the LORD, for there is none besides Thee; neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. 4 "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry ceased hungering, so that the barren hath borne seven, and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 "The LORD killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. 7 The LORD maketh poor and maketh rich; He bringeth low and lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and He hath set the world upon them. 9 "He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall He thunder upon them. The LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and He shall give strength unto His king and exalt the horn of His anointed."

Thursday, August 23 The Family Legacy
1 Samuel 1:23 Holman “Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best, and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the LORD confirm your word.” So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.”
Moral environment Samuel was entering – 1 Samuel 2:12-26 God’s Word to the Nations “12 Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good–for–nothing priests; they had no faith in the LORD. 13 Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three–pronged fork in his hand. 14 Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. 15 But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw." 16 If the man said to the servant, "First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want," the servant would say to him, "Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force."”
1 Samuel 2:17 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE As the people saw that the priests had no piety, and that they acted as if there was no God; they despised God's service, and became infidels.