1 Hannah prayed and said, “My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord; My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord, My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2 “There is no one holy like the Lord, There is no one besides You, There is no Rock like our God. 3 “Do not go on boasting so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And by Him actions are weighed (examined). 4 “The bows of the mighty are [a]broken, But those who have stumbled equip themselves with strength. 5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease [to hunger]. Even the barren [woman] gives birth to seven, But she who has many children withers away. 6 “The Lord puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol (the grave) and raises up [from the grave]. 7 “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up. 8 “He raises up the poor from the dust, He lifts up the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor and glory; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the land on them. 9 “He guards the feet of His godly (faithful) ones, But the wicked ones are silenced and perish in darkness; For a man shall not prevail by might. 10 “The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces; He will thunder against them in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His [b]king, And will exalt the horn (strength) of His anointed.”
This is truly how you overcome bullies. Cancel culture is not about you being lifted up but someone else being crushed down. You are not rejoicing in your salvation but rather rejoicing in someone else’s destruction. Cancel culture is all because misery loves company. Those who hunger don’t cease from being hungry. You do not cause the arrogant to cease being proud, on the contrary, arrogance grows. The wicked are not silenced, they are emboldened. When God answers your prayers the bows of the mighty are broken and yet you are not made arrogant. The Lord does put to death but He also makes alive. The Lord exalts the strength of His anointed, His Messiah. But His people also have an anointing, and the Lord is our strength.
11 Elkanah [and his wife Hannah] returned to Ramah to his house. But the child [Samuel] served the Lord [c]under the guidance of Eli the priest.
12 The sons of Eli [Hophni and Phinehas] were [d]worthless (dishonorable, unprincipled) men; they did not know [nor respect] the Lord 13 and the custom of the priests with [the sacrifices of] the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged [meat] fork in his hand; 14 then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did in Shiloh to all [the sacrifices of] the [e]Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they burned (offered) the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat to roast, since he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 If the man said to him, “[f]Certainly they are to burn (offer) the fat first, and then you may take as much as [g]you want,” then the priest’s servant would say, “No! You shall give it to me now or I will take it by force.” 17 So the sin of the [two] young men [Hophni and Phinehas] was very great before the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.
This was the situation. These two priests were treating the Lord disrespectfully, just as Elkanah’s other wife was treating Hannah disrespectfully. The Lord was happy to answer Hannah’s prayer and give her the victory but He also had a request for us. His request was to have a man who was dedicated to Him to stand for righteousness and justice. A man who would respect His word and commands.
18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a child dressed in a linen ephod [a sacred item of priestly clothing]. 19 Moreover, his mother would make him a little robe and would bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she asked for which was dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would return to their own home. 21 And [the time came when] the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.
Samuel is outnumbered, they are older, they are bigger, they are more experienced. Doesn’t matter, Samuel is one with the Lord. Just think of him as a “mini Mike Tyson”. Regardless of how tough your situation is with bullies, the odds are not stacked against you more than they were with this little boy. Jesus is the equalizer. This is the lesson.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all [the people of] Israel, and how they were lying with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 23 Eli said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24 No, my sons; for the report that I keep hearing from the passers-by among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one man does wrong and sins against another, God will intercede (arbitrate) for him; but if a man does wrong to the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, [h]for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
Great lesson here. Why doesn’t Eli do something? Why does God allow this? They are acting this way and ignoring all warnings because God has decided to put them to death. Right now we are seeing outrageous behavior from our leaders in the Federal government. How can they act and speak this way? How can they not listen to others interceding for them to behave reasonably and lawfully? Perhaps it is because God has also already determined what He is going to do with them as well.
This is truly how you overcome bullies. Cancel culture is not about you being lifted up but someone else being crushed down. You are not rejoicing in your salvation but rather rejoicing in someone else’s destruction. Cancel culture is all because misery loves company. Those who hunger don’t cease from being hungry. You do not cause the arrogant to cease being proud, on the contrary, arrogance grows. The wicked are not silenced, they are emboldened. When God answers your prayers the bows of the mighty are broken and yet you are not made arrogant. The Lord does put to death but He also makes alive. The Lord exalts the strength of His anointed, His Messiah. But His people also have an anointing, and the Lord is our strength.
11 Elkanah [and his wife Hannah] returned to Ramah to his house. But the child [Samuel] served the Lord [c]under the guidance of Eli the priest.
12 The sons of Eli [Hophni and Phinehas] were [d]worthless (dishonorable, unprincipled) men; they did not know [nor respect] the Lord 13 and the custom of the priests with [the sacrifices of] the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged [meat] fork in his hand; 14 then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did in Shiloh to all [the sacrifices of] the [e]Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they burned (offered) the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat to roast, since he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 If the man said to him, “[f]Certainly they are to burn (offer) the fat first, and then you may take as much as [g]you want,” then the priest’s servant would say, “No! You shall give it to me now or I will take it by force.” 17 So the sin of the [two] young men [Hophni and Phinehas] was very great before the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.
This was the situation. These two priests were treating the Lord disrespectfully, just as Elkanah’s other wife was treating Hannah disrespectfully. The Lord was happy to answer Hannah’s prayer and give her the victory but He also had a request for us. His request was to have a man who was dedicated to Him to stand for righteousness and justice. A man who would respect His word and commands.
18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a child dressed in a linen ephod [a sacred item of priestly clothing]. 19 Moreover, his mother would make him a little robe and would bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she asked for which was dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would return to their own home. 21 And [the time came when] the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.
Samuel is outnumbered, they are older, they are bigger, they are more experienced. Doesn’t matter, Samuel is one with the Lord. Just think of him as a “mini Mike Tyson”. Regardless of how tough your situation is with bullies, the odds are not stacked against you more than they were with this little boy. Jesus is the equalizer. This is the lesson.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all [the people of] Israel, and how they were lying with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 23 Eli said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24 No, my sons; for the report that I keep hearing from the passers-by among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one man does wrong and sins against another, God will intercede (arbitrate) for him; but if a man does wrong to the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, [h]for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
Great lesson here. Why doesn’t Eli do something? Why does God allow this? They are acting this way and ignoring all warnings because God has decided to put them to death. Right now we are seeing outrageous behavior from our leaders in the Federal government. How can they act and speak this way? How can they not listen to others interceding for them to behave reasonably and lawfully? Perhaps it is because God has also already determined what He is going to do with them as well.