If you read the first chapter of 1 Samuel you will find Hannah weeping near the door posts of the Temple. She's crying out to God and making a vow to God saying, "O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death." 1 Samuel 1:11 NRSV. In these words we hear the heart of a humble servant pleading with he Lord. Some however might say she was making a bargain with the Lord. If you do this one thing for me. I will do this for you. Perhaps you've made such bargains with the Lord as well. Some say things like, "Oh Lord if you save me from this crisis I will give my life to you as a servant of the Lord perhaps as a pastor." Or people say, "Oh Lord if you do this, I promise to never do that------ (fill in the blank) sin ever again.
Frankly some of these prayers are selfish by nature. In addition if everyone upheld there end of the bargain our seminaries would be overflowing. The Bible discourages us from making such vows or promises however Hannah's prayer was honored by God and she received a son just as she had prayed. His name was Samuel who was one of the greatest of the prophets and perhaps the last judge to serve in Israel.
I think God listened to her cry because there was something special in her heart. This is not to say that God, out of his amazing grace, doesn't give us things full well knowing that we can't or will not choose to fulfill our end of the bargain. However for a moment lets consider her prayer and her faithful response to the blessing.
Hannah was obviously a Godly woman and she loved her husband and her God so much that she wanted to give birth to a child as a gift to the Lord. In addition I'm sure she wanted the joy of bringing a child into the world and thus end her shame. However, her request wasn't purely selfish by any means. How do I know this? Because she freely gave her child, her gift, to the Lord just as she said. After she had weaned the boy she brought him to Eli in the temple and after that moment she would only visit with him once a year. This was indeed a great sacrifice to her.
But what we might find interesting is the timing of Hannah's song. In the end of the first chapter and start of the second we are made aware that she is lifting up these wonderful joyous words of praise to God not at the birth of her child but at the moment that she was giving him up to the Lord.
I'm sure that she had a prayer and a song at the birth of the child as every mother has but it's amazing that it was at the moment she was giving away her son that she exclaimed. "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high." 1 Samuel 2:1a The horn was the symbol of strength.
Most women would have wept bitterly to leave their child. Perhaps some would offer another bargain to the Lord like.. "If you allow me to keep him I will be sure to raise him in a God fearing home and teach him every day." This was not the response of Hannah. She knew that from beginning to end that the gift she held in her hands was a gift of God and now she was offering the gift with gladness of heart.
To ponder: What gifts has God given you? Has God called you to share that gift? Do you sacrificially offer that gift back to the Lord with Joy? What about your financial resources is it your joy and pleasure to offer your gift to the Lord and the Lord's work?
Hannah showed great faith. She made a vow and kept that vow long before she knew that the Lord would be faithful to give her other children as well. God is faithful to us especially when we put the Lord first and offer our best with Joy!
May we offer our best offering with joy as we walk through the Word together.
Showing posts with label Hannah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hannah. Show all posts
Friday, July 26, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
It's on to the Histories! By now you probably know that I love stories and the Old Testament history books are filled with great stories. The books of the Old Testament Histories are included in the books of 1 Samuel through Esther. They are filled with heroes and heroines but they also filled with disaster and devastation. They are filled with the faithful but also the proud and sinful. In the histories you find real people whose lives are changed when they trust fully in the Lord and gravely altered when they trust in foreign goods and compromise in their sin.
Frankly it's hard to find a man or a women who is without sin when you look at these books. Like our great westerns we want our cowboys to wear white hats. Unfortunately it seems that every white hat is stained with blood and mired in the mud. Yet, through it all we get a picture of God. Sometimes that view is challenging and we wonder, "Can anyone stand under the judgment of God?" Other times his grace abounds and God is revealed as one who's faithful to his people despite their sins.
Yes, I love the Old Testament history books! I hope you'll sense that as I blog over the next several weeks but perhaps like you at times I'm challenged and disturbed especially by the blood shed and destruction.
Today I'm thankful that I can look back upon the history books through the lens of the New Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus is the one who takes the punishment that I deserve. God's grace abounds through Jesus but don't be surprised if you'll find his amazing grace in the Old Testament as well. So join me as we walk through the word.
Let's begin!
There are many wonderful hero's of the faith to be found in the first and second book of Samuel. Samuel the prophet and judge was one such man! But seeds of his greatness came from the heart of Hannah his mother.
Hannah was a woman of prayer and her prayers came from the burden and pain in her heart. She was unable to conceive and bare a child to her husband Elkanah. This was a sin of shame for women in those days because children were viewed as the blessing of the Lord. To complicate things her husband was married to another woman as well. Her name was Peninnah and she did have children. Peninnah also had a way of making sure Hannah knew all about it which didn't help matters for Hannah. But Elkanah loved Hannah.
At one point he said to her. "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" 1Samuel 1:8.
Now I want to offer a note to husbands out there everywhere. Don't say things like that to your wife. It doesn't really help. Now I know that Elkanah may not have meant it this way as most of us men don't mean everything we say. Generally speaking men don't always think before they speak. ha!
But I wonder if all Hannah hear was this..... "Honey I'm sorry you don't have a child but look on the bright side, at least you have me!" I'm sure that wasn't what Elkanah meant. It was obvious the Elkanah deeply loved her as evidence to her kindness to her and you can read about that in the first chapter of 1 Samuel which I would highly recommend you do!
Hannah was in the temple one day praying to the Lord pleading with the Lord for his favor to overshadow her. There she made a vow to the Lord saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." 1 Samuel 1:11
God was faithful to her and over time she proved to be faithful to God and to the child given to her as a gift. As we read Hannah's song or Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2, we see just how over joyed she was. These are beautiful words indeed! They are words that might remind you of another later song offered by Mary the mother of Jesus many years later.
To Ponder: Perhaps you could read those words as your own today. I pray that the Lord has been your rock and deliverer. I hope you can say along with Hannah that there is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
I'll talk more about these words and the wonderful story of Hannah and Samuel in the week to come but today I encourage you to read 1 Samuel 2: 1-10. Thank God that he is your strength and your provider. Indeed God continues to guard the feet of his saints! 1Samuel 2:9a
Frankly it's hard to find a man or a women who is without sin when you look at these books. Like our great westerns we want our cowboys to wear white hats. Unfortunately it seems that every white hat is stained with blood and mired in the mud. Yet, through it all we get a picture of God. Sometimes that view is challenging and we wonder, "Can anyone stand under the judgment of God?" Other times his grace abounds and God is revealed as one who's faithful to his people despite their sins.
Yes, I love the Old Testament history books! I hope you'll sense that as I blog over the next several weeks but perhaps like you at times I'm challenged and disturbed especially by the blood shed and destruction.
Today I'm thankful that I can look back upon the history books through the lens of the New Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus is the one who takes the punishment that I deserve. God's grace abounds through Jesus but don't be surprised if you'll find his amazing grace in the Old Testament as well. So join me as we walk through the word.
Let's begin!
There are many wonderful hero's of the faith to be found in the first and second book of Samuel. Samuel the prophet and judge was one such man! But seeds of his greatness came from the heart of Hannah his mother.
Hannah was a woman of prayer and her prayers came from the burden and pain in her heart. She was unable to conceive and bare a child to her husband Elkanah. This was a sin of shame for women in those days because children were viewed as the blessing of the Lord. To complicate things her husband was married to another woman as well. Her name was Peninnah and she did have children. Peninnah also had a way of making sure Hannah knew all about it which didn't help matters for Hannah. But Elkanah loved Hannah.
At one point he said to her. "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" 1Samuel 1:8.
Now I want to offer a note to husbands out there everywhere. Don't say things like that to your wife. It doesn't really help. Now I know that Elkanah may not have meant it this way as most of us men don't mean everything we say. Generally speaking men don't always think before they speak. ha!
But I wonder if all Hannah hear was this..... "Honey I'm sorry you don't have a child but look on the bright side, at least you have me!" I'm sure that wasn't what Elkanah meant. It was obvious the Elkanah deeply loved her as evidence to her kindness to her and you can read about that in the first chapter of 1 Samuel which I would highly recommend you do!
Hannah was in the temple one day praying to the Lord pleading with the Lord for his favor to overshadow her. There she made a vow to the Lord saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." 1 Samuel 1:11
God was faithful to her and over time she proved to be faithful to God and to the child given to her as a gift. As we read Hannah's song or Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2, we see just how over joyed she was. These are beautiful words indeed! They are words that might remind you of another later song offered by Mary the mother of Jesus many years later.
To Ponder: Perhaps you could read those words as your own today. I pray that the Lord has been your rock and deliverer. I hope you can say along with Hannah that there is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
I'll talk more about these words and the wonderful story of Hannah and Samuel in the week to come but today I encourage you to read 1 Samuel 2: 1-10. Thank God that he is your strength and your provider. Indeed God continues to guard the feet of his saints! 1Samuel 2:9a
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