1 Samuel 1: Cake & God, Life on Loan, Fluid Samuel ⇨ ☧

Rev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 1.

“And she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the LORD. [...] Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.’” How should Christians wield political power? The stories of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon all begin here in 1 Samuel chapter 1 in this very “fluid” situation. We are introduced to priests and Levites who seem generally faithful to Yahweh, but they want to have their cake and eat it too. Samuel however as a name is an acknowledgement that everything in this life, including this life itself, is a loan from God, meant to be given back to God. God demonstrates this complete self-giving through His Son, foreshadowed by Samuel as one who holds the offices of prophet, priest, and king all at the same time.