The Birth of Samuel

Transcript

GRS 2-59
3/4/2007
The Birth of Samuel
1 Samuel 1
Gil Rugh

We recently finished the study of the Book of Judges and we are going to move to the Book of First Samuel because it is really a seamless transition in the history of Israel. We are skipping the Book of Ruth because remember on this time through we are considering the Books just that moved the history along and the Book of Ruth does not move the history along. It tells you of an event that took place within the time frame work of the Judges but nothing to move the history along.

So we went from the Book of Joshua to the Book of Judges as Israel became established in the land. Then we come to the Book of First Samuel really in the Hebrew Bible, First and Second Samuel formed one book originally, but that was quite a large book in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament done a couple of hundred years approximately Before Christ, broke it down into two books.

First Samuel talks about the transition from the Judges to the monarchy. Samuel is the last of the judges and he is the judge who will anoint the first king of Israel, Saul and also the second king of Israel, David and thus the Davidic monarchy will begin. Saul will be anointed in Chapter 10 of First Samuel and David will be anointed in Chapter 16. Many commentators would say that Samuel is probably the greatest person since Moses and the history that unfolds in Israel. There had been some outstanding individual, Joshua been one, but Samuel does standout unique and he carries out more than one role in Israel. He is not only a judge, he is also a prophet, and he is also a priest. So indeed he does have a very prominent and significant role.

He was a judge, look in Chapter 7 verse 6; they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day, and said there, “we have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah. Down in verse 15; now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life and you come over to Chapter 12 verse 11; then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around. You see, Samuel is included in that list of judges. So clearly he was a judge, he was also a prophet. Chapter 3 verse 20; all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord and he was also a priest.

Chapter 10 verse 8; and you shall go down before me. Here he is speaking to Saul and telling what’s going to take place, in verse 8; you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. So you see he comes down and carries out the ministry of a priest. So any one of these roles would have established him as a significant person in Israel’s history, either as a judge or as a prophet or as a priest, but here Samuel fulfills all three of these roles. There are three key individuals in the Book of First Samuel; you can guess who they are, Samuel, Saul, and David.

Chapters 1 to 8 will focus on Samuel, Chapters 9 to 15 will focus on Saul, and Chapters 16 to 31 will focus on David, so three key individuals in this Book. First Samuel will end with the death of Saul and his sons, and Second Samuel is in its entirety about the reign of David. Samuel evidently authored the largest portion of First Samuel, probably about the first 24 Chapters. We don’t know who wrote the rest of First Samuel and Second Samuel, as I mentioned there was one Book in the Hebrew Bible, but were divided into two sections to make them more manageable. We’ve already seen the time of the Judges with the time of apostasy and decadence and this will become evident in the opening Chapters of First Samuel. Even though you have godly men, you have a perversion and a corruption in Israel that has even permeated the priesthood. And we will get an idea of how low we have sunk in Israel during this period of time.

Remember that period of the Judges covered 300 to 350 years, so that’s a large expands in Israel’s history. We’ll just highlights some key Judges and then the Book of Judges close with letting you know something of the religious conditions of the time and the moral conditions of the time. But when you come to First Samuel, we begin now to go a little more into detail in Israel’s history. And First Samuel covers a period of time from about 1100 BC down to 1010 BC. 1010 is when David assumes the role of king in Israel. So you have a period of about 90 years. 90, 95 years covered in First Samuel. So Judges covered a period of 300, 350 years, First Samuel will cover a period closer to 90 or 95 years in Israel’s history.

The first eight Chapters, Samuel is the dominant character. He will appear later as well during the reign of Saul because Samuel we live into the time of David and anointing David and so on, but he is the dominant person in the first eight Chapters. And Chapter 1 gives events relating to his birth and the uniqueness of events around his birth as he is prepared to serve the Lord. So let’s look into Chapter 1. First eight verses deal with the fact that his mother was barren, she was childless and this is the catastrophe in Old Testament times, remember, within the nation the family is the basic unit. To be childless was a serious matter and you’re familiar with that from other incidents in Old Testament history as well.

So we introduced to the father of Samuel in verse 1 and he is a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. Some names that are not commonly used for those if you are looking for some names that might me out of the ordinary. He’s an Ephraimite. Now this is not his family line of the tribe of Ephraim. This tells the region in which he live, he’s really of the line of Levite, because remember, Samuel is a Priest. So it has to come from the tribe of Levite. So when it says he lived in the hill country of Ephraim and so the line here – it identifies him as an Ephraimite that means that’s the territory in which he lived because remember the Levites were not given a territory, a portion of land like the other tribes. They were given 48 cities spread throughout the other tribes in Israel so that the priestly presence would be there to teach and instruct and so on among the tribes of Israel. Believe its Joshua 21 that set out the 48 cities spread throughout the land that were given to the Levites.

Come over to First Chronicles, Chapter 6. So Samuel, Kings and you come to Chronicles and First Chronicles Chapter 6, you get the genealogy of Samuel that shows he’s of the priestly line. In First Chronicles Chapter 6 verse 33; these are those who served with their sons and this is among those who are responsible, now the priestly family responsible for the care of the Ark and matters related to it. Verse 31, fix it up the ministry in the house of the Lord and where the Ark is and so on. Down to verse 33; these are those who served with their sons, from the sons of Kohathites. And so here you have now the line that comes from Levite through Kohath. The sons of the Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, the son of Elkanah. So here you see we’re going back from Joel, the son of Samuel, the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, and you’ll note that the same lineage that you have in First Samuel 1:1.

So what is happening in First Samuel 1:1? In case you read that, you think, well, how could Samuel be a priest if he’s descendant of an Ephraimite? Well, he is a Levite who lives in the territory of Ephraim. And all the Levites could be identified this way because they would live in one of the 48 cities, they’ve been set apart for a residence for the Levites, and they are supported by the people in their territory to carry on their priestly function. All right, come back to First Samuel 1. Now Elkanah, the father of Samuel, the man who had become the father of Samuel, had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, the name of the other was Peninnah, and Peninnah had children, Hannah had no children. Now God's plan for marriage from the beginning, Genesis 2 was one man less one woman. Jesus made this clear also.

The plan established by the creation; God created one man and he created one woman. He didn’t created one man and four woman. And Jesus indicated that indicates I was a manifestation of what God’s plan was. During Old Testament time, polygamy was practiced, it was tolerated by God, it did not bring his judgment, but it did bring difficulty trial and certain amount of misery and conflict in the families. And here you have conflict, Hannah is childless, Peninnah is not, she has children. Now you have rivalry and Elkanah favors Hannah but Peninnah has children and then you see the conflicts that exist between the two wives, there’s rivalry. We’re familiar with this from prior Old Testament history.

Now this man will go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. In Joshua Chapter 18, verse 1; Joshua had established the tabernacle and the Ark and so on at Shiloh. That would be its residence till ultimately is moved and will be established in Jerusalem, the city of David. So they would go up yearly for their annual sacrifice and worship to the Lord of hosts, name we usually think of is Jehovah Sabaoth, Yahweh Sabaoth, but Jehovah, name we often we often have used where in Hebrew name Yahweh. Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. And it indicates something of his power and his sovereignty. He is the Lord, the one sovereign over the hosts, the angelic hosts, as well as the armies of Israel.

Turn over to First Kings, just after Samuel, First and Second Samuel, you have First Kings Chapter 22. And here you have Micaiah the prophet and, as you’re aware, we had moved into the time of the kings, different kings, subsequent kings to Saul and David and Solomon and the vision to the kingdom. And here you have the preparation for the death of Ahab and Micaiah the prophet is the speaker here in verse 19. Micaiah said, therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right and on his left. So, see, here you have the Lord on his throne and all the host of heaven gathered around him, angelic hosts because he is the Lord of hosts and here in this context obviously the hosts are the angelic being because they are the host of heaven standing by him on his right and on his left and even demonic beings are here.

So they are all ultimately under his authority even though the demonic beings are in the rebellion and he uses their rebellion for the accomplishing of his purposes. So I just want you to pick up when we talk about the Lord of host, Jehovah Sabaoth. And that includes the heavenly hosts but it also includes the armies of Israel who are identified in that way. Go back to First Samuel, and go to Chapter 17 and verse 45.

Here we’re in the time of David; then said David to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. So you’ve ton of the armies of Israel but you understand these are the armies of the Lord of hosts, these are his armies. So this really is his people, so when you think of that name, the Lord of host it includes the heavenly beings and the earthly armies of Israel and emphasis on his power, his sovereignty.

He has infinite resources and he is the one who gets victory to this people. He is the one to whom the hosts of heaven are subservience to carry out his bidding. Come back to Chapter 1, great name, some of you’ve studied the names of the Lord in the Old Testament. There’s an added statement here at the end of verse 3; the two sons of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas were priests to the Lord there. They are mentioned here because they have a key part to play because of their wickedness and they will have a major role, a major impact, maybe I should say, in Samuel’s life because their wickedness will contribute to the rejection of the judgeship in Israel and the demand of the people to have a king to rule over them like the nations around them but that’s a future time period yet. But they are mentioned here, so remind it now, these are the days when Eli is priest and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there.

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters. But to Hannah he will give a double portion; for he loved Hannah. And you see that tension that’s here. Now you’ve got two wives but you clearly love one better than the other and you honor her above the other. How does the other feel? And now if he wants to get back and you note the statement here, the sovereignty of God, you should mark it. The Lord had closed her womb, Hannah’s womb, she had no children. This just wasn’t a medical malfunction, a physical problem; this is the sovereignty of God at work in the physical realm. The Lord did close her womb.

Her rival, interesting way to put it, the other wife, where are they, they’re rivals; however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because the Lord had closed her womb, that stress. I’m the one God is blessed, I’m the one who is truthful, I’m the one fulfilling the purpose that Elkanah married us to produce children. And so she is there to drive this home to make Hannah’s life miserable because they’re rivals and obviously Peninnah is not pleased that Elkanah prefers Hannah and on it goes. I have one wife, I can’t imagine having two at one time, not that I would want to because the one I have is just perfect but imagine having two wives, the battle, the conflict. I mean, how would you resolve that? And we won’t go any further on that, let’s just keep going.

So you see the sovereignty of the Lord brought out here in all of this and it happened year after year, is often issue went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her. So this becomes a special time when they come together, when you went up, you made sacrifice, you share portion of the offering as given back to you, is a fellowship offerings, and so there indicative, Leviticus Chapter 7, verses 11 to 18; and you went up, you made the sacrifice to the Lord and a portion belongs the Lord, a portion given to the priest but you then are given a portion back and it’s symbolic of your fellowship with the Lord and so they shared together as a family. And this becomes an occasion, here sits Hannah, no children. And this goes on not just short time, at year after year. We’re not told how long but this is a process, note that a kind of condition that Hannah says, when I have children then this will happen because it’s clear that she is barren and year after year this is going on and it’s an unpleasant situation.

Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am not I better to you than ten sons? And he tries to comfort her and assure her that our relationship, you know, I want to feel that need for you and be the kind of husband. So he sharing special attention on her but it doesn’t take away the fact that she is greatly distressed as we read in verse 10. Well, we go move on into the next section, you note here now, God his sovereign in all of this going on here. Hannah comes out as a great and godly woman. So we talked about the rivalry here but only Peninnah is the one said to be functioning in such an ungodly way. Evidently Hannah is a woman of great godly character. Get the Chapter 2, we’re going to have a speech or a song of Hannah which God has seen fit to include his part of his inspired word. It is a tremendous thing that will see we get the Chapter 2.

So she is a very godly person but God is sovereign and the difficulties, the affliction, the pain, the heartache have come to her from the sovereign God for the working of his purposes. And that pain and grief and difficulty that is gone on for years is part of God's sovereign plan for her. I mentioned that because, easy where things are going difficult or heart forgoes and there’s pain, and there’s trial, O Lord, what, remember, he is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of Sabaoth. His sovereign power over all and the pain and the difficulty, the childlessness is part of God's sovereign plan. So Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh, verse 9. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a seat by the door post of the temple of the Lord.

She greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maid servant, and remember me, not forget your maid servant, will give you maid servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, a razor shall never come on his head. To one of the things that adversity does for us. It intensifies our prayer life, strengthens our prayer life. And here you have Hannah doing what a godly person needs to do under pain and affliction going to the Lord. And she makes a vow and she promises that if Lord will give her a son, she will make that son a Nazirite. One devoted to the Lord that means, a full Nazirite would be in Numbers Chapter 6, remembers, will abstain from wine, won’t cut his hair, and won’t touch a dead body. Now the emphasis again is on the hair, remembers Samson, emphasis there was also on the hair. A razor shall never come on his head; he’ll be devoted to the Lord especially belonging to him.

The two other lifelong Nazirites mentioned in the bible are Samson who’s one of the Judges in Israel and John the Baptist. In Luke Chapter 1, verse 15, we’re told he didn’t – he abstain from wine, and all alcoholic beverages and one indwell in the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb, evidently indicating his unique relationship to the Lord and would be in the same line. So those three men would have been both identified as the lifetime Nazirites from their womb. Normal Nazirite in Numbers 6 was a person who made their own vow and commitment for a time to the Lord and observed these things. But these are men that are set apart to the Lord in a special way from their birth.

She addresses him as the Lord of hosts that’s why we looked to see what he is. She acknowledged his sovereign power. She believes that he can do whatever he chooses to do among the host of heaven or among the host on earth. He is the God of all power, all sovereignty. And remarkable example of prayer; she doesn’t come complaining, she comes humbly asking. You are the Lord of hosts, if you will remember my affliction and give me this child, he’ll be your child. She did not even asking in a selfish way because she’s going to give birth to a child and then give that child up for all intensive purposes but a very young child.

So there is no bitterness, there is no resentment; there is no complaint in that sense. She is asked God for a gracious answer to her prayer and deliverance from this particular kind of affliction. Verses 12 to 18, record interaction that go on between Eli and Hannah. She’s praying and it was the common practice of the Israelites to pray audibly. And Eli is watching her pray, but she is praying in her spirit and her lips are moving but she is not talking audibly. Some of you pray that way while you’re praying in your mind and your lips maybe saying the words but you’re not giving audible expression to them, that’s what Hannah is doing. When Eli sees it, he thinks she’s probably drunk. That tells you something about what’s going on and I think here, maybe she got carried away and eating and fellowshipping and now as you come before the Lord and Eli is ready to rebuke her, something you should have done more firmly with his own sons.

So verse 14; he said to her, how long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you. And she says, no, my lord, I have a great burden. I’m not drunk, I’m not a worthless woman, I poured out my heart to the Lord. So I’ve been talking to the Lord. In verse 16, don’t consider you maid servant a worthless woman who’s coming before the Lord drunk. I have spoken now out of my great concern, my provocation, my spirit is so disturbed. So I’ve been praying intensely. Eli answered and said, go in peace: and may the God of Israel grant you your petition that you have asked of him. Remember, Eli now is the priest of the Lord; he is God's representative here. She said let your maid servant find favor in your sight. She takes that as a positive response from the Lord through Eli God's representative. I mean, the God of Israel grant your request. And the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad. Remarkable demonstration of faith, I mean, now, there is a change, the burdens are lifted, I can eat, I don’t have to be burdened in my spirit anymore.

And verses 19 and 20; they rose early in the morning, worshipped before the Lord, returned to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah and Hannah have relations, in due time she conceived, gave birth to a son, she named him Samuel, saying, because I have asked him of the Lord. And Samuel probably means the Lord’s name, the name of the Lord, something to that effect. She’s indicating here, I got him from the Lord. Well, that’s the concept. And Elkanah continues his practice, each year of going up to offer sacrifice annually, pay the vows that we are his responsibility as an Israelite man. Hannah did not go up. She said I’m going to stay home until I wean the child.

Verse 22, in the middle of verse, then I will bring him that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever. That’s remarkable, here, the woman is gone years so that able to bear a child, now she finally has child, she’s not going up to worship the Lord because when I go up to worship the Lord, the next time I will take the child and I’ll leave him there. And there is some negotiation, can I keep him, I mean, child was weaned, probably about three years of age into local times between two and three. So put that here us say it three years of age and you know, she says at the end of verse 22, then he will appear before the Lord, and stay there forever, the end of verse 22. I mean, she is serious about that vow to the Lord, you belong to the Lord, and I’ll leave him there. And we’ve already been told Eli’s sons were Hophni and Phinehas, going to find out they’re worthless men.

They come under the direct judgment of God and both die on the same day and with the judgment of God, I don’t know. You wait all these years for this child and now you’ve got him and you’re going to take him up and turn him over to a man who’s failed with his own kids. But she didn’t devote him to Eli; she devoted him to the Lord. And so she won’t go. Elkanah, her husband, recognize this her godly character and you do what’s best, remain until you weaned him, only may the Lord confirm his word. So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. When she weaned him, she took him up with her with a three-year old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him into the house of the Lord in Shiloh although the child was young. And he’d about three years of age, that’s young and he take him up and you are prepare to leave him there.

They slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli. She said, oh my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. Remember me, I’m the woman you thought was a drunk, you thought I was a worthless woman that you rebuke. Then I told you about my burden and you said the Lord would answer my prayer and give me my request and he has. Verse 27; for this boy I prayed; the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him. So I’ve also I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord, lent to the Lord, given to the Lord and I’m now going to do is child dedication.

In some churches they bring their children up and were dedicated to the Lord like Samuel was dedicated is another, you can take them back, I don’t know that anybody whose done that less their child there to be raised in the church and I don’t want you to start. All right, he worshipped the Lord there. That means he’s going to be left with Eli. I mean, he belongs to the Lord as long as he lives, this is not my son, my son I gave birth to, but I promised unto the Lord, I gave him to the Lord. I gave him to the Lord before he was conceived. Remember the promise, O Lord give me a son, then he belong to you, he’ll be a Nazirite devoted to you from his birth and she’s going to honor that. And this point, she has no other children, it might be different, you say, well, Lord give me a few more. All in give Samuel, there’s no bargaining here. I made a vow and here’s what I do.

You see something of the strength of her character, her godly character. And at this point, we’re going to stop but Chapter 2, you all open up and you note how the first ten verses said out as you have Hannah’s prayer recorded, exalt in the Lord, giving him glory. And then we’ll find out verse 11 until that tremendous statement, testimony, prayer, song. Elkanah and Hannah go back home and they leave Samuel there with the Lord and we were through, Hannah is what’s called to my bible a song of thanks giving, she praised to the Lord and exalted. This is not bemoaning, O Lord how can I give up this son? How can I? I leave the one that I waited so long for, Lord, he is so young, how can I leave him here? You know about Eli and Eli’s children Hophni and Phinehas. I mean, everybody in Israel knows about their miserable character.

O Lord, maybe I keep him at home and he stubble, none of that, this is the song of victory, this song a celebration. She’s in awe of the God who has done what he has done and it’s a privilege to leave this son with Lord, tremendous statement of godly character and confidence in the Lord. And his sovereignty and his control overall, we have to wait to our next study. So look at that, you get some insight in the Hannah’s godly character and relationship with the Lord, and how her even time of affliction and trial and difficulty, evidently has severed to develop her character as trials and affliction do for us all to a death that she stands as a woman of great godly character. You’ll learn about that a little more, well, I just remind ourselves a few lessons quickly as we conclude.

Number one, as we’ve been emphasizing, God is sovereign in the painful difficulties of our lives. It was God's plan that Hannah not have children through those years. He closed her womb. To her credit, we don’t find complaints, bitterness, because it would be a complaint against God, it would be bitterness against God, his sovereign. Now, good trust, remember that in the painful difficulties, the physical afflictions, the hard times, Lord your sovereign my confidence and faith in you would not shaken. Jehovah Sabaoth, you’re the Lord of hosts, the one who sovereign in heaven on earth. I may come and ask for his intervention in my trial and difficulty but I do that with humility and recognizing his sovereign plan.

Point two builds on that and God may even use people to add our affliction. You know, you would think even in this he could have given Peninnah a kind of spirit that would have alleviated some of the pain that Hannah was enduring, but at his plan, he is seen fit to have Elkanah’s other wife with such character that she does all hurt and all she can to make Hannah’s life even more unpleasant. We don’t find Hannah praying, O Lord take her life, take her health, cause her children to be afflicted and be a cause of misery. And you don’t praying that, she’s not telling that what the Lord to do here, but the Lord is seen fit to bring this other person. So now you have pain added to pain, affliction added to affliction.

Point three, and you note this as they come up to worship year by year that the pain and affliction is not alleviated in her worship, in fact, in those time, it’s aggravated because her rival has opportunity to drive these things home. So you sometimes say, go, I go to church, I worship the Lord, I would expect at least he would temporarily, at least, O my God, church I would define some. But, you know, the Lord is sovereign. He is preparing Hannah for greater thing, hence then she knew, I mean, here we are 3000 years after Samuel, life in after these events and we’re celebrating Hannah. We’re testifying to the greatness of Samuel, a son will be bore. So she didn’t know she needed to grow in affliction, grow in trial, grow in pain not knowing, I mean, we read the full story, we read all of Chapter 1, she had a live out day by day, moment by moment, hour by hour, the pain and difficulty over years, not knowing.

So we learn to grow and develop and mature and not think that we can have a magic pill. Well, if I pray enough, if I go to church enough, God will relieve me. Maybe yes, maybe no and sometimes we go on and on and on and nothing get better. All I do is be sure I’m growing and maturing also I’m prepared for whatever God has in my tomorrows. Number four, we should turn to Jehovah Sabaoth in our distress and that’s what she does in verse 10, verse 11, verse 15. I’ve poured out my soul to the Lord. she calls out that’s the Lord of hosts, she prayed to the Lord, I mean, there’s no sense of lashing out at Peninnah, there’s no sense in complaining to Elkanah, there’s no sense of becoming a bitterer woman, a complaining woman and an unhappy person.

She goes to the Lord, he is the Lord of host, we sometimes talk about Oh, how great our God is, how sovereign our God is and we walk around being show up little complainers. So our God couldn’t do anything and if he can and is chosen not to, what is that mean? Is perfect plan for me is to live in this context at least for now, and to learning grow. And we look in Chapter 2 and see the prayer of Hannah, we’ll realize she’d been growling, used on all of those sudden, get the level of majority manifest there. And not to be ready to do such a difficult thing, leave the child that you prayed so intensely for, the care of another and all these things. We need to be growing and maturing in these times, and we go to the Lord and leave it in his hands. He is sovereign, ultimately he is the one, Peninnah is not the problem, Elkanah is not the problem. It’s just the matter, this is what the Lord had for Hannah so that she might mature and be ready to function in the way that she needed to honor the Lord. So we could be honoring her 3000 years later.

And point five here, we shouldn’t take it personally when we’re misunderstood. Eli accuses her, it could add to her frustration, she could lash out at Eli, but she handles it very graciously. No, you misunderstand. And rebuke him and say, why do you jump to the gun and beside you got enough problems with your own son, why did you go correct them and trying to accuse me as something not true. He’s not all wound up nobody likens. She’s a godly woman. Sometimes we excuse ourselves and say, well, they don’t understand the pressure I’m under. Well, they don’t have to. Pressure that I’m under never makes me sin. I sinned because I wanted to sin.

So I think, even her response to Eli is a good reminder to us. Simple explanation of the burdens you have, no blame of Eli, should have understand, he shouldn’t have jump to conclusions, he should a better job with his own kid, none of this, just here’s the burden of my heart to the Lord. So, because again Eli is not the problem. Even Eli’s sons are the problem, here as far as Hannah is concerned and involved, no, it’s just a simply – simple explanation; we need to remember that under the pressures of our life. I think it’s beautiful in verse 18, we bring our burdens to the Lord and leave them there, we sing to the song covering to burden to the Lord and leave it there. That’s what she does. When it presented its to the Lord, the Lord is heard, she said that encouraging word, now I go about and I really believe the Lord will do as he is promised through his servant, Eli.

First Peter Chapter 5, verses 6, and 7, tell us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt us in due time; casting all your care upon him for he cares for you. I mean, under the pressures, the distress, the trials, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, recognize his sovereignty in, bow before him in humility, recognizing this is what he is done. And cast all your burden, roll it over on him and he’ll exalt you in due time and Hannah is an example of that. We bring our burdens to the Lord and leave them there, God does bring his blessings in his time, in his way that guarantee every outcome will be like Hannah’s, no, but these are examples of the fact we can trust our sovereign God.

And we, now as this people have been told about the good things that he is promised for us, provided for us. And so my afflictions may not end until the glory that he is prepared from it but that’s fine. I can wait upon him. And lastly, we need to keep our commitments to the Lord and that is true in the New Testament as well as the Old, we make great and wonderful promises under pressure and forget them and even a difficult promise is one that is to be kept and Hannah does that. All right, we’ll see more of her character while we go into Chapter 2.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for your sovereign work in the lives of your people. Thank you Lord for the record of these historical people were written for our admonition, our instruction so we could learn from them. Thank you for Hannah, such godly character. What it’s easy to study and read about the pain, trials, heartaches of other people and think of course they should be faithful, of course they should trust their God. Lord we need to take these to heart learn for ourselves. We go through trials, and pressures, and pain and difficulty, things we don’t understand why, it needs to be this way. Why it should happen this way? O Lord we know these things come into our lives on the hands of a loving heavenly father. Lord as we walk with you in these times and trust you, we’re privileged to grow and mature, gain an understanding of you, the knowledge and insight of you that we could not learn in any other way. We desire to mature. We pray that we’ll take this to heart even in the days before us in this week. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.