1. 1 Samuel 7:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

To what does the nursing lamb refer, and why does Samuel offer it as a whole burnt offering?

1 Samuel 7:9 (ESV)

9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

The nursing lamb would have been at least eight days old if it was to be used in a burnt offering (see Leviticus 22:27).1 The burnt offering was a sacrifice that emphasized devotion to God. The entire animal would be burnt on the altar with the fire and smoke rising to heaven being a pleasing aroma in the sight of the Lord (see Leviticus 1:1–17). The use of a blameless animal symbolized a life of complete devotion and this is pleasing in God’s sight.2 Samuel’s prayers and actions are that of an intercessor, similar to what Moses had done previously (see Numbers 21:7),3 and they will subsequently be linked together in the Psalms (Psalm 99:6).4 With their prayers of intercession, both Samuel and Moses serve as a picture of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ (1 Samuel 12:23; Jeremiah 15:1; Luke 22:31–32; Romans 8:34).5