One of the most common accusations against Christians is that they’re “hypocrites”. While this accusation is often not justified, sometimes it is. Today we will look at 1st Samuel 2, which is a study in contrasts. We’ll see the contrasts between a godly woman, hypocritical leaders, and a godly young man. Join us for another practical study in God’s Word.
DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS:
1. In our study, yesterday, of 1st Samuel 1, what did Hannah pray? What did she do with Samuel when the Lord answered her prayer?
2. Verses 1 to 11 contains one of the longest prayers from a woman in the entire Bible. It’s a beautiful prayer. As you read over this prayer, how does Hannah’s prayer life and the content of her prayers compare to yours?
3. In verse 1, what is Hannah’s view of the Lord? Why does she exalt Him?
4. In verses 2 - 4, what does Hannah exult about the Lord?
5. What are the doctrines of God that Hannah praises God for in verses 6 to 10? Are there places where you can you follow her example and bring rich doctrine into your prayers? Which ones? Are any of these doctrines difficult for you to even pray? If so, why?
6. In a bit of spiritual whiplash, now we look at the example of Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas. How are they described in verse 12? How do their actions in this chapter confirm this description of them?
7. What would they do in verses 13 to 16? How is this a violation of the sacredness that was necessary for the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus?
8. What is the Lord’s view of their actions in verse 17?
9. How did they respond to Eli’s admonishments in verses 22 - 25? How should they have responded to him?
10. In verse 29, what did the Lord say to Eli about his own values when it comes to things of the Lord? How is it possible to put our children before the Lord today? How can we guard against this possibility?
11. How would you describe this hypocrisy of Eli and his sons? What were its roots? How should it have been rooted out?
12. What was the Lord’s judgment upon them in verses 31 to 34?
13. In verse 35, who will God raise up instead? In verses 18 and 26, how was Samuel different from these men?
14. This chapter gives us a powerful example of contrasts. What were the contrasts between Hannah and Eli’s sons and Samuel? As you think about your own life, is there any area of hypocrisy that needs to be rooted out? Are there any steps you can take to be more like Hannah and Samuel?
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