June 23, 2002

Samuel & His Times

1st & 2nd Samuel

As you read through the Bible, you notice that God seems to focus on certain people, and bring them to our attention. Some of those people are remarkable because they do so poorly, others are remarkable because they do quite well.

This last week, the Lord has been leading me to give some thought to the prophet Samuel, a remarkable man, an honorable man, a consistent man. He was a man who lived in a very turbulent time, a time of change, and God used him to give direction to His people during their time of trouble. Since it seems that our country may be about to enter a time of change and turmoil, maybe now is a good time for us to take a closer look at a godly and consistent man during his country's time of difficulty. This will take us several weeks, sort of a mini-series.

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to the book of 1st Samuel, chapter 1. As we go through this book, looking primarily at the life of Samuel, we will also be looking at other people in his life, other situations and circumstances that God wrote down for us. We will see some people who did real well, other people who really messed up. Both ways, we can learn something.

Today is not primarily a sermon with one main point or goal, rather it is an opportunity for us to see a number of different situations that might be like some situations we have in our lives, and learn from these examples that God has given to us. Thinking about these situations that God shows us, how should we respond in our situations? God has given us these examples for a good reason; how can we apply them today?, that is our goal. So let's read the Scripture:
1Samuel 1:1 "Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
:3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, -Eli was the high priest- Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
:4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb."

When the Israelites would go up to the temple to worship, they would bring an offering and after it was slaughtered and it was offered to the Lord, then part of it would be given to the priest. The priests were maintained by the offerings, and the priest was to get the best part of the animal, the breast and the right shoulder. The rest of the animal was given back to the worshiper, and then the worshiper would have a feast. The host of the feast, in this case Elkanah, would distribute the various portions to his family or guests.

In that part of the world, you honor someone by their seating position at a feast. The most honored person sits at the right hand of the host, and also the most honored person gets the next best portion of the offering after the priest has taken his part. So Elkanah honored Hannah by giving her the left shoulder of the offering, that was the worthy portion. Verse 6:
"And her adversary - the other wife - also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
:7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
:8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?"

The rabbis think that probably Elkanah had two households, one for Hannah, and one for Peninnah, and during the year they lived separate, but during the time when Elkanah went up to worship, probably at the feast of passover and first fruits, (although it doesn't say) then they were all together, and that is when Peninnah gave Hannah a fit.

Several thoughts come to mind about the situation this extended family is in. First of all, why did Elkanah have two wives? God had indicated all the way back in Genesis 2 that man was to have A wife, but from earliest times, men have tended to have more than one wife. During those times, God had not forbidden it, but also He indicated that He considered it a departure from His ideal. But the question for us is, why did Elkanah take a second wife? Probably because his first wife didn't give him any children. And notice why: in verses 5 & 6 it says that the Lord had shut her womb. Interesting. So that family's inability to have children was not physical or biological, it was spiritual. It was from God. God chose for her to be infertile during that time. Later on, we find that God gives her a total of 6 children, but at that time, she was barren.

The important thing for us to realize, is not to worry about why God does something, or why He chooses not to do something, our responsibility is how we obey His will. However, Elkanah responded to his problems by going and getting another wife, moving away from the middle of God's will. He responded to his problems by moving from a situation that was in God's will, within God's game plan for what is best, to a different plan, something that God did not intend, something of human devising. Something that solved one problem, but created other problems.

Because now he had children, but he also had strife. Now instead of just having a wife who was grieved because she was barren, now he had a wife who was grieved because not only was she was barren, his other wife was rubbing her nose in it, to add to her grief.

I think there is a spiritual principle here: when God puts you into a situation, be careful how you go about getting yourself out. If God puts you and your family into a situation, be extra careful about how you go getting yourself out, because you can mess up your spouses life along with yours. Will you solve your problem within God's will, or will you get tired of waiting on God, and imitate what the world is doing to solve the problem? I suggest to you that when God solves your problems, they get solved real well, but when you utilize worldly solutions to your problems; you will fix one thing and break two more.

Something that we will see in the next several verses and chapters, Hannah gets her problem of barrenness solved when she gets real serious before the Lord in prayer. Did Elkanah pray about his wife's barrenness? Did he ever get real serious before God in prayer? Maybe, but we don't see anything about it in the story, all we see is that he had two wives.

How long did he wait on Hannah to have children before he went and took another wife? We don't know, but in my opinion, he didn't wait long enough, because anytime you try to fix your problems by going to a solution that is outside God's will; you haven't waited long enough. I believe that Elkanah did the same thing that a lot of Christians do today, they adopt worldly solutions to spiritually based problems.

The problem that this couple had was from the Lord, it was God that kept them from having children, and later on we will see that God uses Hannah's vow, -a vow that if God will give her a son, she will give him back to the Lord as long as he lives - God uses her and her vow to raise up a son to be a great prophet in Israel.

Could God have done that without Elkanah taking a second wife? Why yes. Could God have worked in this family to bring them to that place of total surrender to Him without having to stir things up with a second woman? What do you think? I think He could, - if they had waited long enough. God eventually gave them a son from Hannah. That son became a great prophet in Israel, and he was one of the judges of Israel, he played a major part in Israel's history.

Was it necessary for Elkanah to step away from God's will, out of God's pattern for what is best in order for that to happen? Not at all. The main thing that Elkanah did by taking a second wife was to make his own life complicated, and make Hannah's life miserable.

Let's make this real practical; what are some of the ways that we as Christians turn to worldly solutions when we have challenges? We have some problem, we have some challenging situation, do we make up our minds we are going to do things God's way, or do we do things just like our unsaved neighbors?
Are our thoughts following the pattern of how God does things, or do we just go with the flow, whatever way the world is doing things, that is how we will do them too?

Let's apply this to a real major problem, something that troubles me greatly; divorce. What is your attitude toward divorce? Jesus said that there is only one reason for divorce, and that is infidelity; fornication. But what do we do? How do we behave when things get tough in our marriage?

We act like the world, both in how we think, and in what we do. "Boy, I wouldn't let a woman talk to me that way, I'd get rid of her." "My goodness, I wouldn't let a man treat me like that, I'd get rid of him." "After you get a divorce, things will be better, you can make a fresh start." That's the way the world thinks; what does Jesus say? There is only one scriptural reason for divorce; fornication - and even that reason is not compulsory. Every one of you here today that is married; you make up your minds right now that divorce is not in your vocabulary, either in your thoughts, in your words or in your actions and attitudes.

When Jesus Christ saved you, He put you into the ultimate marriage relationship with Himself, and your marriage here on earth is to be a pattern of that and reflect it. And just as He will never leave you or forsake you, just as He will never cheat on you, but He will teach you to love Him more and more until the day that you get to be with Him and be like Him, that is your pattern for your earthly marriage. Total commitment. Total commitment.

And if you are having problems, suck up your pride and get some help. And if the person you go to gives you any advice that is not totally aimed at strengthening and saving your marriage, then they are not helping, they are giving worldly counsel, not Biblical counsel. Turn them off, tell them thanks and leave. Go somewhere else.

What other false ideas do Christians get from the world? How about young marrieds that feel they need to have it all right away, and so both spouses are working to pay off their debt on two almost new cars, a big screen TV, and thousands of dollars worth of unnecessary debt, and meanwhile somebody else is raising their children. What's wrong with that picture? Are those Christian priorities?

How about radical feminism, or making politics or the environment more important than anything else, pick your own topic, choose the hot button of your choice, the world will have an opinion, but what does the Bible say? God will have an answer that is best, who will you listen to? Which pattern will you follow?

Elkanah followed the pattern that was common in his world, and as near as I can see, all he got for his trouble was an extra wife, extra kids, and extra trouble, and he was a faithful believer. He was faithful to follow God, as near as we can see. And on top of that, he was a nice guy; look at how he treats Hanna, look at what he did for her. He honored her in the family gatherings, he told her of his love, he was compassionate, he was not a bad husband. But he was a man that followed worldly patterns for doing things instead of God's patterns of doing things. And it doesn't matter how nice you are, how loving you are, or whatever; if you turn away from doing things God's way and do things the world's way, you will come up with second best, and somebody is gonna' be miserable.

Something else I noticed about this situation here: every year when they met up to go to the temple, there was all this strife and grief, and it had been going on for years. Go to church, have a fuss. Sound familiar?
How often does it happen that your family is trying to get ready to go to church, it is supposed to be a wonderful time of worship and joy, and what happens? Instead of singing "Bringing in the sheaves" on the way to church, too many families are singing: "Strife and discontent, strife and discontent; We are not rejoicing, strife and discontent, ..."

Don't you suppose the enemy just loves it when getting ready for church, or going to church is an occasion for strife? Doesn't that make a dandy impression on the kids, until they just can't wait to get ready for church? "Oh goody, Sunday morning, whoopie-do..." 3,500 years since 1st Samuel was written, and nothing's changed. Before you go to bed on Saturday night, pray that Sunday morning will be a time of peace, ask the Holy Spirit to be in your house and guide what gets said and what happens. Profit from the examples of others, and change.

Verse 9: "So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
:12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
:13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee."
How often do we as Christians speak without really knowing a situation? How often do we say something that has no justification, and it ends up hurting and wounding another believer?
Or maybe we don't say it to the person directly, instead we say it to somebody else, we gossip and slander? "You wouldn't believe what I saw this morning, old Hannah was in the temple, and she was drunkern' a skunk. Couldn't even talk. She was moving her mouth, but nothing was coming out, shameful I tell you, shameful!" And meanwhile we haven't got a clue, and instead of having God's attitude toward another believer, we have the world's attitude toward them.

Charity - or agape love - "is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; Beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (1 Cor 13: 5-7) The world's way of doing things is to look for an excuse to pin somebody's ears back for messing up. But that is not God's way.

Verse 15: "And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
:16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto."
Notice her gentle and even tempered response: she has been slandered, she has been unjustly accused, from a worldly standpoint she has every reason imaginable to really go off at Eli, but she doesn't.
Instead, she gives a clear testimony of her relationship to the Lord and her need of Him. She does not go off on some long tale about how righteous she is, blah, blah, she just states the facts. She simply tells the priest that she is not an evil or loose woman, she is simply a person who is filled with grief and she is bringing her grief to God.

Verse 17: "Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." Because of the peaceful spirit she answered him with, look how it has changed his spirit around. He recognizes that she is not only sober, but a spiritually minded person, and her spirit interacts with his spirit, and God reveals to him that He intends to answer her prayer. Because of her response, within less than a minute, his slander is turned into a benediction. Their whole relationship is changed for the good. What if she had given him a worldly answer? The world says; "You don't have to take that, straighten him out!" God says: "a soft answer turns away wrath."

Verse 18: "And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad."
No attitude, no hostility, she doesn't come back and stick her nose up in the air, she keeps her humility and keeps her testimony, and her faith is strengthened. Whereas before, she was so upset that she couldn't even eat, she probably didn't even want to be around the others, now she is settled down. She has faith that her prayers have been heard, she can eat, her face shows that she is at peace, her countenance has changed.

How is it with you when you pray? Do you have confidence that God hears your prayers, and even if the answer is "No," or "Wait," you are still at peace anyway?

Maybe part of how Hannah felt was because of what kind of prayer she prayed. It is a wonderful prayer, a prayer of surrender, a prayer that is completely unselfish between her and the Lord, the totally unselfish way she is willing for God to answer her prayer. "God, give me a son and I will give him back to you." I think that was where God wanted her all along. That was what God wanted in the first place. What if Elkanah and Hannah had prayed that prayer years before? Maybe they would already have children and Peninnah would not even be in the picture? No way to be sure, but I wouldn't be surprised.

It's a shame that Hannah had to get in such a bind before she prayed that prayer. It's a shame that Peninnah had to vex her, trouble her for years, provoke her and be this ongoing hassle before Hannah went into the temple and got really serious and completely submissive before God.

What will it take for you to get seriously submissive before God? What kind of extremity or terrible situation will it take to make you really get before the Lord in prayer, to where you get serious and pray through until you get to where God wants you, so that He can answer you appropriately? For Hannah, it took her husband marrying another woman, who then had ten kids and flung it in her face for years before she got to that point. Wouldn't it be better to get serious with the Lord, get completely submissive before it gets to such an extreme? You know it. Verse 19:
"And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
:21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
:22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.
:23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him."
:24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young."

Apparently she nursed him for several years. In our culture, children are weaned much earlier than in other parts of the world. It is normal in much of the world for children to nurse longer than we think is typical. Also, Hannah had a powerful reason for nursing him as long as possible: whatever year she weaned him, that was the year she would give him up. It wouldn't surprise me that God in His grace might have caused things to work out that she would nurse him for even a bit longer than normal, keep him with her longer than you might otherwise expect. When you get really committed to doing God's will, He will find ways to bless you that you might not expect, God is like that; very gracious.

Verse 25: "And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
:26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.
:27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
:28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there."
No crying on her part or on Samuels part, the boy made no tantrums, no whining and clinging to mommy and daddy, it says that Samuel worshipped the Lord. This little kid, this little boy, he knows what is expected of him and he does it.

That tells me that his parents had spent time with him teaching him what things were going to be like, teaching him that he had a special purpose in life, teaching him how to behave. Do your children know they have a purpose in life? The world says that our purpose in life is to have a lot of fun, have a good time, but these parents and this little boy realized that their purpose in life was to serve God. What's your goal in life? What are your children learning from you? What sort of example are you setting for them?

Notice that not only were Samuel and his parents at peace with their purpose, they honored God in how they went about it. Over the years, all of us have been around kids whose parents have never taught them how to behave, but I think this is a good example of how Christian children ought to behave at church.
Little Samuel knew what he was there for, what he was supposed to do, what was appropriate, and what wasn't. And he did what he was supposed to do. He was in church; he worshipped God.

In our culture today, there are a lot of bad influences. A lot of pressure on kids to conform to the world, and unless the parents -both parents whenever possible- train up their children in the way they should go, those kids will act just as heathen as the rest of the world. Samuel was raised in a culture where the Philistines were a big influence, there was a lot of paganism around. If Eli thought Hannah was drunk in the temple, then probably drunkenness was as much or more of a problem then as it is now. But in the midst of a worldly culture, little Samuel knew what to do and when to do it, he knew how to behave. Christian parents have a responsibility to their kids to train them properly, especially in their relationship to the Lord.

The next chapter, chapter 2 and verses 1 through 10, is Hannah's song of rejoicing and praise to the Lord.
>From a worldly standpoint, you would expect Hannah to be all torn up about leaving Samuel behind at the temple, only coming to see him once a year, but she is not like that. She got exactly what she asked for, there are no apparent regrets, but instead, she has a hope that from here on out, things will get better.

1st Samuel 2:1 "And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
:6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them.
:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."

Quite a remarkable song of praise to the Lord from a woman who is about to go away and leave her son at the temple with an old priest. Not the sort of thing that most women would do, but probably just the sort of thing a woman would do if she were filled with the Holy Spirit, and He was filling her with praise and hope.

This afternoon after you have had lunch and you are relaxing a bit, turn to the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, and read what the Virgin Mary has to say when the angel Gabriel tells her of the Son that she will have.
Mary's song of praise is almost a paraphrase of what Hannah says here, probably because the situations are sort of alike. Both of them are having sons by a miracle, both of them are having sons that will belong to the Lord all their life, and both of them are having sons who will not really belong to them, in the sense that most women think of their sons. Maybe Mary thought of Hannah when Gabriel came and told her of her Son, who knows? Either way, both of them were full of praise to God for what He had done with them, and with their sons.

As we close this morning, maybe what we need to take away with us is that God wants us to expect something different in our lives. He wants to bless us in ways that the world would not want or appreciate.
God wants to meet our needs in ways that the world wouldn't be interested in.

He wants us to ask Him for blessings that we can hold with an open hand, not as if they have become ours to hold and keep, but knowing and accepting that they are still His.

He wants us to trust Him to give us what is best, and not get impatient and try to satisfy ourselves with second best.

He wants us to avoid becoming conformed to this world, but just trust Him, trust His ways of doing things, and let Him transform us into what He wants us to be.

Think about that this week, and next week, we'll see some more things in the life of Samuel that God would like for us to imitate, and some things in people around him that we need to avoid.