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Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 1:1-28; 2:1-11, 18-21, 26
In this message we will begin to consider the history concerning Samuel, beginning with his origin, birth, and youth.
In 1:1-20 we have a word regarding Samuel's origin. We should not consider that Samuel came out simply from his father, Elkanah. Actually, Samuel came out of God's economy. God had His eternal economy, but the carrying out of God's economy had come into question. God had ordained that Aaron's descendants would be the priests for the carrying out of His economy, but that priesthood became stale and waning. God's heart's desire was to gain someone to replace that priesthood.
In order to gain such a person, God brought together in marriage Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah had two wives. According to God's sovereign arrangement, the second wife, Peninnah, had children, but Hannah had no children. Furthermore, "her rival provoked her bitterly to irritate her, because Jehovah had shut up her womb" (v. 6). This forced Hannah to pray desperately not mainly for herself but for God. She promised God that if He gave her a male child, she would return the child to Him by the vow of a Nazarite. God was pleased with Hannah's prayer and her promise and He opened her womb. Hannah conceived, bore a child, and named him Samuel. From this we see that actually no human being was the origin of Samuel. God was the real origin, who motivated His people sovereignly and secretly.
Humanly speaking, Samuel's origin was his God-worshipping parents (vv. 1-8).
In the midst of the chaos of the degraded Israel, Elkanah and Hannah remained in the line of life ordained by God for His eternal purpose. The line of life is a line to bring forth Christ for the enjoyment of God's people that on earth God may have His kingdom, which is the Body of Christ, the very organism of the Triune God.
Elkanah and Hannah remained in this line of life not merely for God's eternal salvation but for His eternal purpose. God's salvation is mainly for our benefit, whereas God's purpose is related to the fulfilling of God's desire. We need to ask ourselves whether we are here for our profit or for God's purpose. Today on this earth everyone is concerned for his own profit. Even the majority of Christians do not care for God's purpose. I can testify of Brother Watchman Nee that he was a man altogether for God's purpose. I would like to follow his pattern. In the Lord's recovery, we are for God's purpose, remaining in the line of life ordained by God for His eternal purpose, which is to gain the Body, the organism of the Triune God, that He may have a full expression in a corporate way.
This couple was in cooperation with the move of God on earth for the accomplishment of God's economy. Elkanah and Hannah were not the only ones moving; they were moved by the moving One, by the unique, divine Mover, who was moving secretly behind the scene. Under God's sovereign dealing, Hannah was suppressed in her soul with a burden in her spirit to pour out before Jehovah. This was God's move. Because of God's moving in her, Hannah could not have peace until she prayed for a son. God, the sovereign One, kept moving her and motivating her so that she had to pray, even though Eli, the one taking care of the service in God's house, did not understand her. In her prayer Hannah cooperated with the move of God.
God could motivate Hannah as a person who was one with Him in the line of life. As long as He can gain such a person, He has a way on earth. I hope that at least some of us will be today's Hannahs and say, "Lord, if You have anything on Your heart to accomplish for Your purpose, I am here. I am remaining in the line of life for the carrying out of Your economy." If you do this, I have the full assurance that you will be the ones whom God will move. He will come to you and motivate you. God needs many Hannahs, persons who can bring forth some Samuels to turn the age.
The origin of Samuel was especially his God-seeking mother with her prayer (vv. 9-18). Her prayer was an echo of the heart's desire of God. Her prayer was a human cooperation with the divine move for the carrying out of God's eternal economy.
We should no longer pray old prayers in a formal way. Instead, we need to pray something that is an echo of what is on God's heart. This means that what we say in our prayer is exactly what God wants to speak. Such a prayer is the speaking out of God's heart. Hannah's prayer was like this. God wanted a Samuel, yet He needed Hannah's cooperation to pray to Him, saying, "Lord, I need a son." This prayer was very human, yet it was a cooperation with the divine move for God's economy.
In a very particular way, the origin of Samuel was the moving God with His answer to the prayer of Samuel's mother (vv. 19-20). After such a prayer as Hannah prayed, it was easy for God to do something, because man's cooperation had become a base on which He could move. The moving God answered the prayer of Samuel's mother according to His desire and intention for His move among His elect.
God's move in response to Hannah's prayer was in keeping with the principle that God needs man's cooperation with His move in His economy. This is the principle of incarnation.
God's move with His answer to Hannah's prayer was to produce a Nazarite who was absolute for the fulfilling of His desire. A Nazarite is one who is consecrated to God absolutely. A Nazarite could never cut his hair or drink wine. In the Bible, long hair signifies the headship, the authority. A Nazarite's keeping his hair long was a sign that just as a female takes her husband as her head, he takes God as the Head, considering God his Husband. Thus, a Nazarite is one who submits himself to God, taking God as the Head, the authority. This is why Hannah prayed that if the Lord would give her a boy, no razor would come upon his head (v. 11). In the Bible, to drink wine is to enjoy the worldly pleasures. A Nazarite not only submits to God as the authority but also has no interest in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures. Even before he was born, Samuel was consecrated by his mother to be such a person. This is a great thing, for it was Samuel who brought in a new age.
The New Testament age was brought in by another Nazarite — John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus was a Nazarite, as were Peter and Paul. Actually, everyone who remains in the line of life is a Nazarite. If we would be today's Nazarites, we must take God as our Head and Husband, submitting to Him, and have no interest in worldly pleasures.
We need to be impressed with Samuel's origin, with his source. Because he came out of such a strong source, he could not be an ordinary, worldly person. Rather, he was the one who replaced the waning priesthood and brought forth David, who brought forth Christ.
"In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel, For, she said, I asked for him of Jehovah" (v. 20). This verse speaks of Samuel's birth, which came through God's answer to man's prayer. His name means "heard of God" or "asked for of God."
In his youth, perhaps at the age of two or three, Samuel was offered to Jehovah by his mother to fulfill her vow to God (vv. 21-28, 11). It was not easy for Hannah to take her child from her bosom and place him under the custody of another person, especially a very old person who had nearly lost his sight. Nevertheless, Hannah fulfilled her vow by offering Samuel to God.
As we have seen, in his youth Samuel was offered to Jehovah to be a Nazarite (v. 11b).
In 2:1-10 we have the offering mother's prayer. In her prayer she praised God for His salvation through His marvelous deeds. Her prayer was related to God's move in His economy and indicated that she realized something concerning God's economy.
In his youth Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli the priest (vv. 11b, 18-19). To do anything requires some learning. Eli taught Samuel the way to minister to God.
Samuel ministered to the Lord as a priest not by birth but by the Nazarite vow. By birth most of us have no standing. We were Gentiles, but God had ordained the Jews. Yet there is a "back door" — the Nazarite vow. Such a vow was ordained by God in Numbers 6. That opened the door for any person to be a priest. Samuel became a priest in this way, not in the ordained way but in the way of a voluntary vow.
First Samuel 2:19 indicates that Samuel was supported by his mother. In the Lord's recovery today, we also need support, and we thank the Lord for the many mothers in the church life.
Finally, in his youth Samuel grew before Jehovah in favor both with Jehovah and with men (vv. 21b, 26). To be in favor with God means that God is for us, and to be in favor with men is that men are for us. Samuel was in a position that both God and men were for him. We may experience this in the church life today. If we are real Nazarites, we will be in favor with the saints, and the whole church will be for us. We will enjoy Christ to the uttermost and be a blessing to the church.
