1 Samuel 2

v. 1. This thought just occurred to me: Hannah wanted an heir for Elkanah – she rejoiced in God’s blessing her with Samuel – and then she gave the heir away. My most precious gift to others is only good if I give it to God!

vv. 12-16. I wondered what the prescribed portions were for the priests. I look it up:

"Not content with the specified portions of the animals that the sacrificer is to "give" (cf. Deut 18:3) to the priests (cf. also Lev 7:34), the servant of Eli's sons "would take for himself whatever the fork brought up" (v.14). And not only that, "even before the fat was burned" (v.15), as the law mandated (Lev 7:31), Hophni and Phinehas demanded raw meat. In fact, on occasion they even preferred roasted meat to boiled—as if in mockery of the necessarily hasty method of preparing the first Passover feast (Exod 12:8-11). They wanted their unlawful portion before the Lord received what was rightfully his. Their rebellion, impatience, and impudence (v.16) are described as a "very great" sin (v.17). Like their postexilic counterparts (Mal 1:6-14), these premonarchic priests treated the Lord's offerings with contempt. Such conduct, especially when practiced by God's ministers, can only lead to disaster (cf. Num 16:30-32)." (Youngblood, Ronald F. “3. The wicked sons of Eli (2:12-26)” In The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Volume 3. 584. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, © 1992.)

These guys knew what was right and ignored it. We do this all the time when what feels good at the moment blocks out what we know to be right a good.

v. 21. And as we give what is most precious to us to God, He blesses us. What precious thing needs to be given to God?

v. 23. It was the Lord’s to put them to death? Can we assume that Eli raised his boys well, but they rebelled anyway or is Eli partly at fault for the spiritual condition of his sons?

v. 26. No matter what was happening around him Samuel kept his eyes on God. We let our circumstances and environment lead us astray. Wickedness is normal and so we accept it, a little at a time, until we consider the wickedness of our surroundings as a part of our normal lives as well. Samuel did not. No matter how bad normal society got, he served the Lord. Maybe we need to look at what we accept as normal in our lives and reject some of it.

v. 29. Did Eli condone his boys’ actions by not acting against them? The prophet rebuked Eli, not his sons.

v. 30. “Those who honor Me, I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained.” I need to look up the Hebrew for “despise” and “disdain.”

"The Lord honors (kabed lit., "makes heavy") those who honor him, but he disdains (qalah lit., "makes light") those who despise him. Eli had honored his sons (v.29) more than he honored God (v.30). The description of divine judgment in v.31, when translated literally, is vivid indeed: "I will chop off your arm and the arm of your father's house" (zeroa` "arm," is often used as a metaphor for "strength" in the OT)." (Youngblood, Ronald F. “4. The oracle against the house of Eli (2:27-36)” In The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Volume 3. 587. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, © 1992.)