Monday

22 April

1 Sam 1-3; Eccl 9:1-10; Acts 4

Good morning, my Easter people! I am praying for you!

Today we begin the book of 1st Samuel and the history of the Kings of Israel.  You might find it helpful to watch the Bible Project overview of 1st and 2nd Samuel. 

1 Samuel 1 & 2:  What did Hannah ask of the Lord and what promise did she make to the Lord if he were to grant her request?  Who was Eli? What do we learn about Eli’s sons? What did Eli do about their behavior?

1 Samuel 3: What did the Lord reveal to Samue?

Acts 4: Why were John and Peter arrested?  What happened when they were brought before the rulers, the elders and the scribes? Why were the accusers astonished? How is it that Peter and John were released?  After being released, what did the believers pray for?

Journal Prompt:  In Samuel 2, we learn about Eli’s failure to control his sons.  If you have children, what do you think the Lord expects from you as a parent?

Answers:

1 Samuel 1 & 2:   Hannah asked the Lord to allow her to have a child – and if He granted her petition, she promised to dedicate her baby to the Lord and ‘lend’ him to serve the Lord. Eli, and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.the priest who ministered at Shiloh (where the ark of the covenant was).   The sons were selfish, they took food dedicated to the Lord for themselves, they slept with women who worked at the entrance of the tent of meeting.  Eli rebuked them, but it was not enough and the Lord told Eli that his sons would die because of their sinfulness.

1 Samuel 3:  The Lord revealed to Samuel: “I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.”

Acts 4: John and Peter were arrested for preaching about Jesus and the resurrection and also because of the fact they had healed a crippled man. (vs. 2&9).  Peter spoke to them very boldly condemning them for murdering Jesus and preaching that salvation can only come through Him.  They also attributed the healing of the crippled man to the power of Jesus. (v. 10)

The accusers were astonished, because of the boldness and the fact that they could speak so well as they were uneducated men. Peter and John were released because they had no reason to hold them and they had performed a ‘notable’ sign (healing the crippled man).  The auhorities warned them to refrain from speaking any more about Jesus, but Peter and John responded, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (v. 20)

The believers prayed for boldness to continue preaching about Jesus’ death and resurrection and His salvation.