Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 2
God has power, even over life and death.
The fact that God gives life should not surprise anyone. He is the maker of every living thing. It is because of him that they have life and strength (Acts 17:24-25). They could not exist without him (John 1:1-4). They depend on him for their life, their food and everything else that they need (Psalm 104:27-29).
However, it may surprise us to read that God has power over death. Death is one of God’s enemies (Revelation 20:14; 1 Corinthians 15:26). It is an evil force that the devil uses, even against God’s people (Hebrews 2:14-15). God never intended that people should die. Death entered the world because of people’s evil deeds (Genesis 3:19).
God never does any evil thing (Job 34:10-12). However, God is not doing anything evil when he acts as our judge (Genesis 18:25). It is right and proper for a judge to issue right judgements. Death is the punishment that we all deserve because of our evil deeds (Romans 6:23). However, God is very kind. He allowed his Son, Jesus, to suffer death so that he can forgive us (Romans 3:23-24). We must confess our evil deeds to him and we must invite him into our lives. Then he will give us life that never ends (John 3:16).
The most astonishing statement here is that God brings people back to life. However, that is what the Bible clearly declares (John 11:24-26; Revelation 20:4-6). By his death, Jesus defeated death for all God’s people (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Isaiah 25:7-8). He himself became alive again after his death (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). So too will all God’s people at his return (1 Corinthians 15:22-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Next part: God’s attitude towards humble people (1 Samuel 2:7-8)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.