God has embedded the young lad Samuel into the worship centre. But he has to protect him by putting him under the care of Eli. That’s because the main priests – Eli’s sons – are utterly villainous. They run their
A revolutionary poem
Hannah has had her prayers heard by the Lord. Now she responds with thanksgiving and sacrifice. Her response becomes a memorable Psalm of Israel, but also a subversive one because it speaks of how God reverses situations to overturn the
Lending to the Lord
Hannah is spiritually concerned woman driven to prayer by her infertility but able, too, to see the wider need around her. Yet the leaders who should help her in this time – the priests – are failing: they give no
Let them be
Work tension makes Jesus’ team irritable and frustrated. When parents of healthy children turn up to see him, they push them away. The work of the kingdom is too important for such distractions. Jesus, however, takes the very opposite view.