“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
    he humbles and he exalts.
 He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.”
1 Samuel 2:6-8 (NIV)

Yesterday was May the Fourth, which has become a bit of a cultural phenomenon celebrating the Star Wars universe. Some people may be unfamiliar with the fact that George Lucas, Star Wars creator, was credited as being one of the best students of Joseph Campbell. Campbell was a great 20th century scholar and unlocked the mysteries of human mythology.

In creating the original Star Wars story, Lucas tapped into some of the most core themes that resonate for us as human beings. The orphan boy is mentored by a wise old sage and is launched on a heroes journey. A rag-tag group of freedom fighters face a David vs Goliath fight against a seemingly unstoppable evil empire. A selfish scoundrel finds out he just might have a soul after all. These are all themes and archetypes that recur again and again in stories, even from ancient times.

As I meditated on today’s chapter, I found it to have a bit of epic feel to it. It’s not just narrating facts, there’s a spiritual heartbeat thumping underneath the text.

The chapter begins with Hannah, the barren woman we met in the opening chapter who promised that if God answered her prayer and gave her a son, she’d give the boy back to the Lord. She wasn’t flirting with God — she stepped into something deeper, something intimate and costly. Because most of us want God to fix our pain. Hannah invited God to redeem it. And redemption often requires open hands.

Having made good on her trust and delivering her son, Samuel, to be raised in God’s Tabernacle by the high priest, Eli, she sings a song. The song is about God’s providence.

He reverses fortunes (the weak are lifted, the strong are humbled)
He brings life and death, poverty and wealth
He raises the poor from the dust and seats them with princes

Hannah reveals God as the great Reverser of human expectations, and she should know. She’s experienced it first hand. But the song isn’t just a reflection of Hannah’s fortune, it’s a foreshadowing of the fortunes of the high priest Eli and his sons.

The priesthood as originally designed was a family business. Only sons of Moses’ brother Aaron could be priests. Eli and his sons got the job because they were in line, but inheritance is no substitute for faithfulness. Eli’s are described as “scoundrels.” The original Hebrew word is not gentle.

They were anti-priests. They didn’t just fail to honor God They actively undermined the sacred system they were entrusted to steward. They turned worship into exploitation. They turned sacrifice into appetite. They turned proximity to God into a tool for self-gratification.

And Eli saw his son’s corruption…and did nothing.

Enter the Lone Stranger. A nameless “man of God” shows up. Nameless because the messenger isn’t important — the message is. God is about to make a few changes:

Eli’s priestly line will die out.
God will raise up a “faithful priest,” who will follow God’s heart and mind.
This priest will minister before God’s “anointed” (e.g. A king is coming!)

And right there, quietly sitting in the corner of the chapter is the boy, Samuel — entrusted to God by his mother — “growing in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.”

In the quiet this morning, I hear God’s Spirit whispering a truth that eventually becomes a roar:

God is not impressed with appearances or bound by human systems.
He often overturns what we assume is stable. The powerful fall. The overlooked rise, and the silent child in the corner becomes the voice of God.

And the comfortable, entitled insiders? They collapse under the weight of their own unfaithfulness.

As for me, my job is to be faithful. Like the priest God says He’s going raise, I am seek after God’s heart and mind. As for what happens with me and my fortunes in this earthly life…

I can trust God with that story.

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