The Israelites had turned from God to worshipping heathen idols. As a result they had become weak—almost slaves of their enemies, the Philistines. To some it seemed that God has forgotten His promise to make Israel strong.
At the tabernacle at Shiloh, the high priest watched the faithful come to worship. He noticed a woman and suddenly he became angry. “She acts as if she’s drunk! How dare she insult God!” said Eli. Angrily he accuses her. . . “No! No! I’m not drunk, I am unhappy, and in my sorrow I have poured out my heart to God, asking Him to help me” Hannah exclaimed.
Eli said “Go in peace Hannah, and may God grant your prayer.”
Hannah was so happy that she rushed out of the tabernacle to find her husband. “Oh! Elkanah, I prayed to God for a son and Eli blessed me and asked God to give me what I prayed for.
“A son? I too, pray that God will grant your prayer,” Elkanah replied.
God answered Hannah’s prayer, and when the boy grew up, his mother loved him enough to take good care of him. She then brought him to Eli. “When I asked God for a son, I promised that he would serve the Lord all of his life. So I have brought him to be trained in God’s house. His name is Samuel,” Hannah said to Eli. Eli replied, “God bless you, Hannah.”
Leave the boy with me, and I will teach him to be a servant of the Lord,” said Eli. Samuel stayed with Eli and eagerly learned about God’s expectations from those who serve Him.
Each year when Hannah and her husband came to worship, she brought Samuel a new coat. “It’s just like a priest’s robe. Thank you, mother.”
From 1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2:19