Was Samuel right to offer sacrifices?

Leviticus 17:1-5 and Numbers 18:6-8 state that only Levites should offer sacrifices, and only at the tabernacle.  However, we find Samuel offering sacrifices at a location other than a tabernacle, and Samuel was not a Levite (I Samuel 1:1-2, 20; 7:7-9).

Response

Samuel was a Levite; Samuel was the son of Elkanah, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi (see I Chronicles 6:1-28). ¹  Furthermore, although he did not offer the sacrifices at the tabernacle, this was a special case, and Samuel was a prophet of the LORD.  When God gives a general rule, He can issue exceptions when necessary.