Chapter 7: A Boy in Linen Among Wolves

Elkanah and his household went home to Ramah. The small boy stayed behind, ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

But Samuel was not growing up in a holy place. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were also priests at the Tabernacle, but they were worthless men who did not know the Lord. When worshipers brought their sacrifices, the two sons would send their servant with a three-pronged fork to stab into the pots of boiling meat, taking whatever the fork brought up for themselves.

There was worse.

SERVANT OF THE PRIEST“Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw. You must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”— 1 Samuel 2:15-16

The sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for they treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. And the people of Israel began to despise the very act of bringing their offerings to the Lord.

In the middle of this corrupt house, Samuel walked the courts in a linen ephod, the same garment the priests wore. And every year, when the family came up for the festival, Hannah brought him a new little robe she had sewn with her own hands, slightly larger than the year before.

And every year, Eli would bless her and Elkanah for what they had done.

ELI“May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.”— 1 Samuel 2:20

The Lord answered Eli's blessing. Hannah went on to bear three more sons and two daughters. And Samuel grew.