Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 1 Samuel 1:1
Elhanah was an Ephrathite; what does that mean? It does not mean, as most modern language versions of the Bible claim, that he was of the tribe of Ephraim. Only Levites were permitted to serve in the tabernacle of God; and Elkanah’s son Samuel served in the tabernacle. Ephrath was a former name for Bethlehem, and was commonly known as the area around Bethlehem even into New Testament times. So Elkanah was a Levite whose family had spent much time in Bethlehem. Another amazing element in that little town’s rich heritage!
The genealogy of the tribe of Levi contains at least three men named Elkanah, and there are seven other Elkanahs mentioned in the Scriptures. It’s a good name, meaning God has possessed or God has redeemed.We don’t know at what point the first of the Levites lived in Bethlehem, and it seems unlikely that Elkanah was living there. But he had roots there. It was a good place; the name Bethlehem means ‘House of bread’, in the Hebrew Beit (house) Lechem (bread). A good place for us to live.
The Lord Jesus declared Himself to be the Bread of Life. Bread speaks of provision, and our Lord is all the provision we need for time and eternity. Bread was part of so many special moments in the Gospels and was used by the Lord Jesus for so many of His lessons and illustrations. If we take the name of Elkanah and the name of Bethlehem and combine them into a lesson today, we have the people who God has redeemed, living in the house of bread. We are blessed! – Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/lu6LRWL3YcY