Faithfulness in the Ruins Text: 1 Samuel 2:18-21
Introduction: A Tale of Two Houses
The book of 1 Samuel is a book of contrasts, a book of transitions. It chronicles the end of the chaotic and corrupt era of the judges and the beginning of the monarchy in Israel. But more fundamentally, it is a tale of two houses, two priesthoods, and two futures for the people of God. On the one hand, we have the house of Eli, the high priest. His house is established, it has the pedigree, it has the position. But it is rotten from the inside out. His sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are scoundrels who despise the Lord's offering and treat the worship of God as a racket for their own gratification. Their story is one of entitlement, corruption, and impending judgment.
Set against this backdrop of decay, like a single candle lit in a vast, dark, and crumbling cathedral, is the house of Elkanah and Hannah, and specifically, their son Samuel. Their story is one of barrenness turned to blessing, of heartfelt prayer, of promises made and kept. While the official house of God in Shiloh is collapsing under the weight of its own sin, God is quietly building a new house, a new order, through a faithful family and a dedicated child. This is how God always works. He does not need our impressive structures or our established institutions. When the official channels become clogged with sin, He reroutes His grace through unexpected, humble means. He is never without a witness.
The passage before us this morning is a quiet interlude, a brief domestic scene set in the midst of a national crisis. But do not be deceived by its simplicity. In these few verses, we see the foundational principles of a godly succession. We see covenant faithfulness in action, the nature of true ministry, and the overflowing blessing of God that attends those who honor Him. While Eli's house is squandering its inheritance, Samuel is quietly growing into his. While Hophni and Phinehas are clothing themselves in infamy, Samuel is being clothed in righteousness, both literally and spiritually.
This is a profound encouragement for us. We live in a time of widespread institutional decay, both in the broader culture and, tragically, in many quarters of the church. It is easy to become discouraged, to look at the state of things and despair. But God is always raising up Samuels in the midst of the ruins. The future is not determined by the headlines, but by the quiet, faithful obedience of ordinary believers in their homes and before the Lord.
The Text
Now Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a young boy girded with a linen ephod. And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own home. Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.
(1 Samuel 2:18-21 LSB)
The Young Minister (v. 18)
We begin with the simple, yet profound, description of Samuel's service.
"Now Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a young boy girded with a linen ephod." (1 Samuel 2:18)
The first thing to notice is the contrast. The previous verses detailed the vile ministry of Hophni and Phinehas. They served themselves. But Samuel "was ministering before Yahweh." All true ministry is just this; it is done coram Deo, before the face of God. It is not for the applause of men, or for personal gain, or out of mere duty. It is service rendered to the living God, conscious of His presence. And here is a boy, a mere child, who understands this better than the ordained priests.
He is described as a "young boy," a lad. This is not just a biographical detail; it is a theological statement. God does not despise the day of small beginnings. He does not require a resume filled with accomplishments. He requires a willing heart. This should be a profound encouragement to all parents. Your children are not junior varsity Christians waiting to be called up to the big leagues. They can minister before the Lord now. Bringing them to worship, teaching them to sing the psalms, praying with them, this is not pre-ministry. This is ministry. God receives the worship of little ones, and in this case, He was using it to shame the corrupt professionals.
He is "girded with a linen ephod." The ephod was a priestly garment. While Samuel was not a priest by lineage (he was a Levite, but not of Aaron's line), he was consecrated to the Lord for service in the tabernacle. This linen ephod marked him out for this special service. It was a uniform. It signified that his identity was found in his calling. He was set apart. This is a picture of what every believer is in Christ. We are a royal priesthood, and we are to be clothed in the fine linen, clean and bright, which is the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8). We are to put on Christ. Samuel's little garment was an outward sign of an inward reality: he belonged to God.
Covenant Faithfulness in Stitches (v. 19)
Next, we see the quiet, steady faithfulness of Samuel's mother, Hannah.
"And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice." (1 Samuel 2:19)
Hannah had made a vow. She had asked God for a son, and she promised to give him back to the Lord all the days of his life (1 Sam. 1:11). And she kept her word. She brought the weaned boy to Shiloh and left him there. But this verse shows us that her dedication was not a one-time event. It was an ongoing commitment. Her love and support for her son, and for the Lord's work, did not end when she walked away from the tabernacle that first day. Faithfulness is not measured in grand, dramatic gestures, but in the steady, year-by-year rhythm of obedience.
Every year, she makes him a "little robe." This is an act of practical love. The boy is growing, and he needs new clothes. But it is more than that. This robe, brought "from year to year," is a tangible expression of her continued investment in him. It is a reminder to Samuel of his mother's love and, more importantly, of the vow that set him on this path. It is theology in textile form. Every stitch was a prayer. Every fitting was an act of consecration.
Notice also the context: she does this when she and Elkanah come up "to offer the yearly sacrifice." Their family life is oriented around the worship of God. Their calendar is the liturgical calendar. Their annual vacation is a pilgrimage to the house of the Lord. This is the soil in which a Samuel is grown. A deep and abiding faithfulness in the home, centered on the public worship of God, is the nursery of godly offspring. They did not outsource their son's spiritual upbringing to Eli; they remained actively, prayerfully, and practically involved.
The Blessing of a Corrupt Priest (v. 20)
In the midst of this beautiful picture of family faithfulness, we have a surprising intervention from the failing high priest, Eli.
"Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, 'May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to Yahweh.' And they went to their own home." (1 Samuel 2:20)
Eli's own house was a disaster. He was a failed father. And yet, here he pronounces a blessing on Elkanah and Hannah. And the blessing takes! This is a crucial lesson for us about the nature of God's ordained offices. The efficacy of the means of grace is not dependent upon the moral character of the man administering them. Eli, as the high priest, still occupied the office. The blessing he pronounced was not his own, but God's. He was the mailman delivering God's mail. It does not matter if the mailman is a scoundrel; so long as he delivers the letter, the message is received.
This is not an excuse for corruption in the ministry. God is about to judge Eli's house severely for that very thing. But it is a guard against a different kind of error, the error of a hyper-subjective piety that makes everything depend on the personal feelings or qualifications of the minister. God honors His office, even when the man in the office is dishonorable. Eli's blessing is a formal, priestly prayer, and God hears it.
The content of the blessing is also significant. He prays that God would give them more children "in place of the one she dedicated to Yahweh." This is the logic of the kingdom. You cannot out-give God. When you give to the Lord what is most precious to you, He does not leave you empty-handed. He opens His own hand and pours out a blessing that you cannot contain. Hannah gave her only son, and God was about to give her a quiver full.
God's Abundant Repayment (v. 21)
And God is not slow to answer the prayer offered in His name.
"Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh." (1 Samuel 2:21)
The text says "Yahweh indeed visited Hannah." The Hebrew word for "visit" here is paqad. It means to attend to, to observe, to take note of. God saw Hannah's faithfulness. He saw her kept vow. He heard Eli's blessing. And He acted. Our God is not a distant, deistic clockmaker. He is the living God who visits His people in their need and in their faithfulness.
And the result of His visit is overflowing fruitfulness. Hannah, the once-barren woman, becomes the mother of six children in total. She gives one to God and receives five in return. This is the principle Jesus taught: "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap" (Luke 6:38). Elkanah and Hannah honored God with their firstfruits, and God opened the windows of heaven. This is a standing promise for all who will honor God with their children, their wealth, and their lives. He is no man's debtor.
The verse ends where it began, with the focus back on the boy who started it all: "And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh." This is the second time this phrase appears. He is ministering before Yahweh, and he is growing before Yahweh. His entire life, from childhood, is lived in the conscious presence of God. This is the essence of a godly upbringing. It is not about behavior modification or moral instruction alone. It is about cultivating an awareness that all of life is lived before the face of God. Samuel's growth was not just physical; it was spiritual, covenantal. He was growing up into his calling, right there in the shadow of a corrupt and dying institution, because his life was oriented vertically, toward God.
Conclusion: Growing Before the Lord
So what do we take from this brief, domestic scene? First, we must see that the hope for the future always lies in covenantal faithfulness, expressed in the home and centered on the worship of God. While the world looks to political solutions and grand programs, God is looking for parents like Elkanah and Hannah who will dedicate their children to Him and faithfully, year by year, stitch robes of righteousness for them.
Second, we must be encouraged that God's work is not dependent on the purity of His officers. He can and does work through flawed vessels. We should seek and demand integrity in our leaders, but our ultimate confidence is not in the man in the pulpit, but in the God who established the pulpit.
Third, we must embrace the glorious mathematics of the kingdom. What we give to God is never lost. It is invested. Hannah gave her most precious treasure and received a return that was beyond all she could ask or think. Our problem is not that we are too generous with God, but that we are far too stingy, and we rob ourselves of the blessings He stands ready to pour out.
Finally, the central lesson is found in that repeated phrase: "before Yahweh." Samuel ministered before Yahweh. Samuel grew before Yahweh. This is the calling for every one of us, and for our children. In an age of distraction, of surveillance, of public opinion, the great task is to cultivate the secret, steady awareness of the audience of One. To live, to work, to parent, to worship, to grow, all before the face of God. It was this that distinguished the boy Samuel from the sons of Eli. And it is this, and this alone, that will distinguish the people of God from a world that is passing away.