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    Today begins our study of the Book of 1 Samuel, part of two books on the time defined by the priest and prophethood of Samuel and the anointing of the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. In the story of Samuel and the kings of Israel, we see the story of God’s continued grace toward His people.
    As with all Bible studies, it is always useful to use study aids in an effort to better understand the text being presented. A good place to start with the study of 1 Samuel is the People’s Bible Commentary available from the Northwest Publishing House of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. I have also provided a link to the public domain commentary provided by BibleGateway.com, the site that provides all of this study’s Bible verse links.
    This study is part of an ongoing three-year Bible Study first begun on 1 January 2006 that is also available from the WELS.
    The story of Samuel begins with God’s grace to Samuel’s mother. Samuel’s mother, named Hannah, was the second wife of Elkanah, and Ephriamite, and had no children. This unfortunate fact was made worse by the constant torment of Elkanah’s other wife, who had borne him many children.
    This misfortune troubled Hannah greatly, yet even in her sorrow, rather than turning from God, she turned to Him, supplicating that God’s will be done with her. In this faith, she received the gift of a son, Samuel, who she dedicated to God’s work in thanksgiving for God’s mercy toward her.
    We often forget as Christians that our lives are often backwards from everyone else’s, much as Hannah’s life may seem to us. Indeed, as Christians, we may well suffer all kinds of hardships, wants, and frustrations, even to the point of tears, yet we endure all of those things because we know that our first calling is the Gospel and the Kingdom.
    When we seek first those things, setting aside all earthly wants for the sake of faith, it is then that God can richly reward us with what He knows we need to further His Kingdom and reach our goal of Heaven. Even in those blessings, we return them to God in lives that are lived by faith.
DLH
