19 June 1 Samuel 1:21-2:2

19 June. Samuel is dedicated to serve God

“Every year Elkanah went with his whole family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and to keep the promise he had made to God. But one year Hannah did not go with him. She told him, ‘When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the LORD, and he will always live there.’”

“Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, said to her, ‘Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat. May the LORD do what you have said.’ So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat.’”

“When Samuel was old enough to eat, Hannah took him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, ten kilogrammes of flour, and a leather bag filled with wine. After they had killed the bull for the sacrifice, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli.”

“She said to Eli, ‘As surely as you live, sir, I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD answered my prayer and gave him to me. Now I give him back to the LORD. He will belong to the LORD all his life.’ And he worshipped the LORD there.”

“Hannah prayed:

‘The LORD has filled my heart with joy;

I feel very strong in the LORD.

I can laugh at my enemies;

I am glad because you have helped me.

There is no one holy like the LORD,

There is no God but you;

There is no Rock like our God.’”

(1 Samuel 1:21-2:2)

As a young child, Samuel was taken by Hannah and Elkanah to the sanctuary at Shiloh and dedicated (literally, ‘set aside’) to serve the LORD as a ‘Nazirite’ (see Numbers 6:1-21).

In the sanctuary at Shiloh, which housed the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ inside the ‘Tent of the Lord’s Presence’, their son Samuel grew up under the care of the priest, Eli (see 1 Samuel 1:24-27).

While Samuel became the leader of the Israelites and the last of the ‘Judges’, his lifetime also marked the destruction of the sanctuary at Shiloh. This probably followed the defeat of the Israelites at the Battle of Ebenezer (in c.1024BC), when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines following a disastrous move by the Israelites (see 1 Samuel 4:1-11 & Jeremiah 7:12-14).

The priesthood transferred at this point from Shiloh to Nob, just north of Jerusalem on the road to Anathoth (see Isaiah 10:32 & Jeremiah 11:32). Here, David was given the consecrated bread and recovered the sword of Goliath of Gath (see 1 Samuel 21:1-9), and Saul later killed the priests for assisting David (see 1 Samuel 22:9-19).

The site of Shiloh was re-developed during the reign of Jeroboam I when it was the home of Ahijah the prophet (see 1 Kings 14:1-4). Shiloh then probably continued to exist through the Divided Monarchy period (c.931BC - 722BC).

Excavations to the south of the mound in 2006 revealed the remains of a mosaic floor from a large Byzantine church, erected near an ancient Jewish wine press. The church was built between 380AD and 420AD when Shiloh had taken on Messianic significance amongst the local Christian community (see Genesis 49:10 which refers to the coming of ‘Shiloh’ as a messianic figure).

The photo (by zeevveez) shows a Star of David on the mosaic floor of the Byzantine basilica at Shiloh.