Superbook

Lesson:

“You're never too young to be called into God's service.”

Extras

• Character Profiles

  • Hophni and Phinehas

    Discover More
    

    Hophni and Phinehas

    

    The Book of 1 Samuel describes Hophni as an officiating priest at the sanctuary of Shiloh, along with his brother, Phinehas. In the Biblical narrative, Hophni and Phinehas are criticized for engaging in illicit behavior, such as taking the best portion of sacrifices for themselves. Their misdeeds led to a divine curse being put on them. They both died on the same day, during a battle against the Philistines at Ebenezer.

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 2:34
      • 1 Samuel 2:34
      • 1 Samuel 2:12

  • Young Samuel

    Discover More
    

    Young Samuel

    

    The boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. The Lord called out to Samuel, starting him on a journey to redeem Israel.

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 3:10
      • 1 Samuel 3:10

  • Eli

    Discover More
    

    Eli

    

    Eli was very old when Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, offers her son, Samuel, to the service of the Lord. Eli takes the boy under his wing and trains him to serve in the Tabernacle. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas, were corrupt and as a result, a mysterious man of God visits Eli and proclaims that God would raise up a faithful priest to take the place of Eli and his family as ministers before God.

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 3:13
      • 1 Samuel 4:19
      • 1 Samuel 3:13

  • Samuel

    Discover More
    

    Samuel

    

    My infoscan is indexing the story of an important man named SAMUEL. He was born in Ramah, in the hill country of Ephraim. Samuel served as a judge and prophet for Israel. He was very wise and heard from the Lord. God instructed Samuel to anoint Saul as king of Israel. Later, when Saul disobeyed God, God led Samuel to anoint David, so David would then replace Saul as the King of Israel. That’s when the story really gets exciting.

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 3:4
      • 1 Samuel 1
      • 1 Samuel 3
      • 1 Samuel 7
      • 1 Samuel 8

  • Samuel the Prophet

    Discover More
    

    Samuel the Prophet

    

    Samuel was a great prophet and a leader of ancient Israel. He is viewed by rabbinical literature as the last of the Hebrew judges and the first of the Major Prophets.

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 2:26
      • 1 Samuel 7:3-12
      • 1 Samuel 25:1

  • Hannah

    Discover More
    

    Hannah

    

    Hannah was the wife of Elkanah. She was grieved because she couldn't have babies. Then on one of their annual trips to the temple Hannah began to pray. In her prayer she promised God, ‘If you give me a son I will dedicate my son to you for his whole life.’

    • Bible References

      • 1 Samuel 1:11
      • 1 Samuel 1:11
      • 1 Samuel 1:10

• Adventure Guide

  • 

    Gizmo's Bible Adventures - Your New Journey with God

  • 

    Samuel - Family Discussion Guide

• Videos

  The Sons Take the Best Meat

  • 

    The Sons Take the Best Meat

  • 

    Story of Hannah

  • 

    Prophetic Warning for Eli

  • 

    The Lord Speaks to Samuel

  • 

    Samuel Tells Eli What the Lord Said

  • 

    Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

  • 

    Samuel - The Salvation Poem

• Q & A

  • Why was the voice of the Lord, and dreams and visions rare in the time of Eli when Samuel was a little boy?

    When Samuel was a little boy there was not a zeal for God among the leadership of Israel. Eli had not raised his sons properly to fear the Lord, and they had all grown fat, both literally and figuratively, through their disdain for God's people and their sacrifices. When people allow their hearts to grow cold to God, they stop being able to listen and hear his voice.
    
    
    Discover God's love and plan for you

    • 1 Samuel 3:1

  • Why didn't the boy Samuel recognize the voice of God at first?

    Just as young children learn how to understand the meaning of words over time, when we are young in the Lord we need to learn how to discern the voice of God. The boy Samuel could hear God's voice, but he didn't know how to discern it from the voice of his master, Eli. It took Eli teaching him to listen and to respond to the voice of God for Samuel to begin his journey in hearing God's voice. Of course that journey lead him to become one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. But every New Testament believer can hear God's voice today, and discern His voice to share God's message of love with others.
    
    
    Discover God's love and plan for you

    • 1 Samuel 3:6

  • Why didn't Eli recognize that it was God who was calling to Samuel at first?

    Hebrews 5:14 says that those were mature, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil. Eli had allowed himself to become spiritually, physically, and mentally lazy. He had stopped listening for the voice of the Lord. So when Samuel heard God's voice, but didn't know it was God, Eli didn't recognize God was communicating until the third time it happened. We need to be careful that we do not allow ourselves to grow spiritually lazy. Instead, we need to constantly be listening for God to speak to us and then share that message with others.
    
    
    Discover God's love and plan for you

    • 1 Samuel 3:5

  • What lesson can we learn from the judgment that came upon Eli and his sons?

    The Bible says that God is not willing any should perish but that all she come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Scripture says that God is slow to anger (Numbers 14:18), and quick to forget. God sent Eli to warn his sons to repent and turn away from their wickedness. Then he sent a man of God to bring a further warning to them. But Phineas and Hophni would not repent, and so God's judgment came to them. We need to be careful to keep short accounts with God and to not allow there to be ongoing unrepentant sin in our lives. The wages of sin are still death if we refuse to repent and seek God's forgiveness for the sin in our lives. We may not lose our salvation, but ongoing sin will hinder our relationship with God and cause tragedy in our lives if we allow it to go unchecked.
    
    
    Discover God's love and plan for you

    • 1 Samuel 3:12

  • What can we learn about prophecy and hearing the voice of God through the story of Samuel the boy prophet?

    Prophecy is simply hearing God speak, then repeating exactly what He said to others without adding or taking anything away from it. If God can speak to a young boy like Samuel, and he can grow up to become a great prophet who influenced all of Israel, then any New Testament believer with the Holy Spirit residing within them can hear God's voice and can become a mighty man or woman of God if they will learn to listen and obey.
    
    
    Discover God's love and plan for you

    • 1 Samuel 3:10