March 31, 2014 - Monday

Start Time: 6:52 A.M.

End Time: 7:22 A.M.

Title: The Birth of Samuel

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:1 – 28

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

→ There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite^[a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.  Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.  But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.  This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.  Her husband Elkanah would say 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?” Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.  In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on 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.” As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth.  Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”  “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”  Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,^[b] saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

NOTES:

Ø People can misjudge our actions easily but God always sees the heart!  Hannah (means grace) was provoked and weeping deeply, asking for a son to God, yet her silent prayer (for she was praying silently that no voice was coming out of her lips but only movements from her mouth) was mistakenly thought as her being drunk.  People before and even today are quick to judge because of what they see and we tend to rebuke or correct others without understanding or knowing the whole story.  Good thing, the Lord is not like that.  He sees our hearts always hears our cry. 

Ø God finds favor to those who are faithfully and consistently asking and when He does, He lifts our sadness away.  Hannah kept going to the temple for years asking for the same thing, a son.  She could easily felt depressed and decided to wallow on her feelings and become depressed, yet she persevered in her prayer and every year goes with her husband, weeping before God.  Each year, she will go back downcast and sad but when God, through Eli the priest, spoke, Eli’s words comforted her and she left happy even though there was no indication that she is pregnant.  Truly, Hannah had faith.  Simple words from Eli saying, May God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him, stirred her heart and kept her alive.  She went away and ate something, unlike before, where she usually ends up downcast after praying in the temple.  After that incident, she came back to the temple to worship before the Lord and the Lord gave her a miracle, a son!  Note that our words, how simple they may be, can comfort others and bring life or hope in them that will increase their faith and change their lives.  So let us become instruments of hope and favor as we speak positively to others.

→When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”^[c] “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his^[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[e] an ephah^[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.  When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,  and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 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 to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

NOTES:

Ø God always has a room for us, He is not limited by law or rules or tradition – He makes them and He can change them too!  Samuel was not a Levite, he was a child from the descendants of Ephraim, yet he was dedicated to the Lord and raised to serve as a priest, even if it is not his duty to do so according to the law/rules or tradition.  But God allows him to serve in the church and became one of the powerful prophets God used in a time because of God’s covenant with Hannah.  So no matter who we are, what we are, male or female, God has a place for us in His kingdom and when God uses us and calls us to do something that we may thought to be unlikely, know that God is not bound on any law, or tradition or rules.  He creates them to serve His purpose.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, miraculous God and wonderful Lord.  Thank You for You sees our hearts and don’t judge us solely with our actions.  Thank You because You know everything and make Your decisions justly.  Thank You because You hear our cries and sees our miseries.  You give us Your favor and give our hearts desires.  Thank You because when we spend time with You and You come to join us and move in our lives, our sadness, miseries, oppressions, etc are all lifted up.  Thank You because in Your presence there is rest and I can truly be at peace.  Just like Hannah, that after hearing comforting words from Eli, went away no longer feeling downcast.  Thank You because it is the same with us when we meet with You.  Thank You because You find favor to our consistent prayers and request.  Thank You because You are not limited of any tradition, or rules or law and You are more than able to go beyond it.  Remind me Lord, when my thinking will try to limit Your capabilities in my life, that You are more than all these rules or traditions and that You are more than able to do beyond what this world dictates.  Help me to increase my faith and allow me to just put my whole trust in You at all times.  Continue to open my eyes daily that I may see You greatness in my life.  Thank You for Your love, grace and favor every day.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!