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Good morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Do you find it easier to pray when your heart is happy and full, when life is going well, or when you are facing great difficulty or grief?
Are goodbyes difficult for you, especially when the person leaving is a close friend or family member and you may not see them for a long time?
What emotions do you suppose Hannah was dealing with as she brought her young son Samuel, perhaps age 4 or 5, to Shiloh, to the Tabernacle of God, first for the purpose of worshiping God and thanking Him for this miracle son, but then secondly with the intention of fulfilling her vow and leaving Samuel there, permanently, to serve God for the rest of his life there? Can you put yourself into that moment?
I would imagine her emotions ran the full gamut of great joy in the miracle of this precious son born to an infertile woman, and the wonderful privilege it has been for her in these past 4 or 5 years, to have him with her every moment of every day, watching him grow from a newborn baby to this little boy full of energy and potential. How many times has Hannah told Samuel the story of his miraculous conception by God and the vow she made to God? How has she tried to prepare herself for this day, when she would actually hand little Samuel over to Eli the High Priest, for him to raise her son and teach him how to serve God at the Tabernacle, for the rest of his life?
Shiloh, where the Tabernacle of worship was located, and Ramah, Hannah’s home, were only a few miles apart. Perhaps she had in the back of her mind, the thought that she could come and visit often, or maybe Samuel could come home for the weekend occasionally? No… I don’t see any evidence of that in this story, do you?
Do you see what Hannah said to Eli as she presented Samuel? “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over the LORD.” (1 Samuel 1:28)This action of entrusting her son to the LORD and to the oversight of Eli, was definitive, for the rest of his life, submission to her vow before God! I cannot imagine the emotions of that day for Hannah, even though she’d had several years to prepare!
In view of that, let’s look today at what Hannah said after she handed Samuel over to Eli, you’ll find that in chapter 2 of 1 Samuel. It’s her prayer to God. You might want to compare it to Mary’s prayer in Luke 1:46-55. You’ll recall Mary had come to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah, after receiving a visitation from Gabriel the angel, who told her she would become pregnant as a virgin, by the Holy Spirit of God, and the child born to her would be the Son of God.
While certainly not the same, Hannah’s miraculous pregnancy is similar isn’t it? I wonder how often Mary thought of Hannah during her pregnancy? Both woman bore sons whom God had made miraculously. Both women experienced the strange reality of nursing and raising sons who did not grow up to be their boys, staying close to home, working on the family farm or in the family trade, to help provide for their family.
No, both boys grew up to be men whom God had raised up for the benefit of His people.
Both boys grew up in difficult times, when a new spiritual leader was desperately needed. Both mothers watched their boys experience wonderful, fulfilling, happy times when they were applauded by many, as well as times of rejection and near despair. Both mothers could only watch and pray for their sons, for their sons were more God’s men for their season of history and for the benefit of the human race, than they were sons for two mothers.
1 Samuel 2:1 says “Then Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in Your deliverance. There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God...” Perhaps these opening lines of her prayer were sung like a song or spoken with great gratitude to God as Hannah stood before the altar and the sacrifice she had brought was being offered up to God, while little Samuel stood at her side hand in hand with her, or was perhaps in her arms.
It was a great moment of deep gratitude, of profound worship of Holy, Almighty God who had blessed Hannah with a son, removing the shame of a barren womb and the pain of empty arms. The enemies she was boasting over were perhaps the emotional enemies which had led her to such brokenhearted agony as we see described in chapter 1 verses 6, 7.
Have you found my dear friends, it is so much better to begin your prayer time with thankfulness, gratitude, praising God for HIS majesty and His great works, rather than coming to God with your long list of needs? That’s what Hannah and Mary both did. They both honored God and declared great truths about God and how He has blessed them.
Do you see the warning in verse 3 that God hears, sees and knows all things, and will hold everyone accountable for everything? We know that truth is echoed in other places in the Bible like Hebrews 4:13 or 2 Corinthians 5:10.
As I read verse 4-10 it’s as though the Spirit of God was leading Hannah to say words which describe much of what would be the life story of her son Samuel and his role as leader of the people of Israel. Over these next days, we’ll look at this and I think you’ll be amazed! I doubt she had full understanding of the scope of what she was saying, but over time I’m sure she stood amazed to watch it unfold. The major theme of course is that God is holy, sovereign, all powerful, and accomplishes His purposes in our world for His glory. In so doing He defeats evil, and both guides and blesses His people, if they will follow Him.
Samuel was born at a time when Eli and his sons Hophni and Phinehaus, who should have been God honoring men leading Israel in following God closely,… were not. Thus Samuel is far more than simply the son born to a tearful, barren woman. Samuel will grow up to be the man of God who will lead Israel back to God, and guide them through one of the most tumultuous and difficult time in all of Israel’s history, as shall see.
Do you see verse 11 says “Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.” This tells me Hannah had brought Samuel during one of their annual worship pilgrimages to Shiloh as we saw described in chapter 1. It also means the entire family had come, including Peninnah and her children, Samuel’s step-brothers and step-sisters. When you think about that does that even increase the emotional trauma of this experience of handing little Samuel over to Eli to be raised at the Tabernacle for the rest of his life?
As we watch their final hugs and waves good bye, turning to begin their journey home to Ramah as a family, and little Samuel probably in Eli’s arms, waving goodbye… what do you feel?
I envision Elkanah walking with his arm around Hannah as she weeps again, but this time with tears of deep gratitude and hope that this little boy will grow up to be someone special in God’s sight. How long, however, until the ache of missing her son filled her life? I believe what kept her going was the confidence of that 11th verse. and her hope that little Samuel was finding this to be a new adventure, helping with all the activity at the Tabernacle, and being loved and trained by Eli, and his sons Hophni and Phinehaus. What Hannah didn’t know of course, was what we’ll look at tomorrow. Verse 12 gives us a clue… “Eli’s sons were wicked men, they had no regard for the LORD.”
For today, may I invite you join me in concluding our time together with prayer of thanksgiving that we can trust God to be holy, sovereign, all powerful, as we thank Him for our children and grandchildren. We can trust Him to watch over them and work in their lives, despite the evil and danger all around, right? What is God doing today, in the lives of the children of your extended family, especially those living far away from you? Who are they becoming?
Oh LORD God Almighty…
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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