In theses chapters we learn about the faith of Hannah, and her giving son Samuel to the Lord. We also learn about the sins of Eli and his sons, and Israel's desire to do away with judges and have an earthly king. In effect, Israel was rejecting their true king, Jesus Christ. We also learn about the strengths that made Saul a good king, and weaknesses that led to his downfall and death.
Overview:
Year --------------------------- Event
1105 ---------------------------Birth of Samuel- The Prophet
1080----------------------------Birth of Saul
1050----------------------------Saul Anointed King of Israel
1040----------------------------Birth of David
1025----------------------------David Anointed as Saul's Successor
1010----------------------------Death of Saul
Principle If you read the scriptures, you can hear the voice of God every day!
Readiness
There is a story from the National Geographic special about seals. There were thousands of seals on a beach who had just given birth. The mothers went out hunting for fish, but when they came out of the water, they had lost sight of their babies. So the mother seals began barking, and listened to the barks of the baby seals, and then in a amazing display, they waddled right to their own even though there were thousands of pups all barking at once, they recognized the sound of their own.
In 1 Samuel 3:1-10 What sound did Samuel hear that he did not recognize at first? We see in these verses that at first Samuel thought it was the voice of Eli, but after three times, Eli realizes that it is the voice of the Lord and he informs Samuel of this.
Scripture Search
Reference---Person-Action---------------Result----------God's Voice
1 Sam 1:17--Hannah-Prayed at the temple-Had a son-------Leaders
1 Sam 2:27--Eli-Allowed his sons to sin---Sons killed--Angels
1 Sam 3:15--Samuel-Was living worthy---Became a Prophet--Visions
1 Sam 8:19--Israel--Refused to Hearken--Lost their inheritance--Prophets
1 Sam 15:11-Saul-Disobeys Instructions--Rejected by God------Spirit
* The best way to hear the Lord's voices are:
1)Prophets "And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;"-Doctrine and Covenants 1:14
2)Scriptures "These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man; For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them; Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words."-D&C 18:34-36
"I can testify to you that none of you will have any adventure greater than findout out how to interpret the spirit. We have to find out the technique by which the spirit whispers inour hearts. We have to learn to hear it and to understand it, and to know when we have it, and that sometimes it takes a long time"-S. Dilworth Young
"The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather, it whispers, it caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all. It will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression like Samuel of ancient times, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth"-Boyd K Packer
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