Sunday Morning Service

I Samuel 1

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“A New Day Dawns” • 2.1.15 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- We've been following the history of the people of Israel. It began with a man named Abraham in the book of Genesis.

- His family becomes a nation while in captivity, that God amazingly delivers and sets free to worship Him as the true God, in Exodus and Leviticus respectively.

- Moses tells them that God promises them a land, but lets them know that they will have to dispossess it's inhabitants. A failure to believe brings horrifying results.

- In Numbers, the people die off in a long funeral procession in the wilderness until a new generation is raised and ready to fight. That second generation, led by Joshua, takes the land.

- Unfortunately, the people are unable to remain consistent in their worship and keep faling back into sinful patterns, necessitating God's intervention through a Judge or Deliverer.

- They have been raised in a Theocracy, but have failed to honor the God who raised and settled them. The book before us will reveal the transition from Theocracy to Monarchy.

- Again, I Samuel begins with a man, whose wife will beget God's man for the proverbial hour! The story vividly portrays the faithfulness of God to act on behalf of His people in miraculous ways.

- Let's pick it up in verse 1.

Intro.

• I Samuel 1:1-3 : "Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there." : Our story begins in this strange sounding town, Ramathaim Zophim, or "Two Watchtowers."

- The area is also called "Ramah," and is referenced as such in verse 19. It belonged to the tribe of Ephraim in the mountains that Joshua conquered at the end of his life.

- Elkanah, "God has possessed," descended from Zuph, who was a Kohathite according to I Chronicles 6:22-26.

- The Kohathites were a Levitical tribe whose responsibility was to carry the holy things of the Tabernacle upon their shoulders. He was a Levite by tribe and an Ephraimite by location.

- Immediately something is amiss, as Elkanah had two wives. Being that she is mentioned first, most assume Hannah, meaning "grace" is the older and Penninah or "Jewel" being the younger.

- It's very likely that Penninah became "necessary" when posterity became an issue. Since Hannah had no children, Penninah was brought in to preserve familial continuity.

- The Bible reports this but doesn't endorse it. Historical narrative, such as we are studying now, presents us with what happened but doesn't prescribe behavior.

- This was their situation, good or bad. He felt justified in his actions, as he had no qualms with heading into Shiloh to bow down before and sacrifice to the Lord!

- Culturally, there wasn't a rebuke to be had and as we'll see in short order, Shiloh's tabernacle wasn't a bastion of purity either!

- You'll want to remember the name Shiloh, as in the time of the Judges, the Tabernacle from the wilderness came to rest in this city, which was in the center of tribal allotment.

- Shiloh is located near Mt. Gerizim, near the city of Samaria. It means "Place of Rest." In the center of activity are Eli and his two sons, Hopni and Phinehas.

- This story takes place during their administration, which we will discover was profoundly ungodly in every way.

• I Samuel 1:4-9a : "And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, 'Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?' So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh." : Beginning at verse 4, you can see just how happy this family was! Peninnah and her minimum 4 children, were each given something to give the Lord.

- Elkanah gave Hannah a double or choice portion, but was by virtue of her infertility, still less than everyone elses. Elkanah loved her in spite of God's choice to shut her womb.

- Can you imagine what this might have been like? Certainly, Hannah loved to go to the house of the Lord, but her infertility was always present in her mind.

- Elkanah wasn't the problem, which was proven by Peninnah's fertility. Hannah knew that her incapability to produce children was God's doing.

- She can't resent her husband and to an extent, she can't blame herself. All that's left is to look at God and what will a person do about that? In His sovereignty, He had made a choice!

- All she can do is seek the peace that comes with reconciling her hearts before Him. Many enter into worship today with a similar need for conciliatory peace.

- Some face chronic health issues. Others have long standing relational strain. Some have discovered that every door to employment has been shut as tight as Hannah's womb.

- These things are difficult to deal with, but they certainly do not carry with them the stigma that Hannah carried into the Tabernacle. Culturally, a barren woman was believed to be cursed of God!

- Try that on for size as you walk into church! To make matters worse, Peninnah didn't carry her favor with much grace! She was a distressing enemy to Hannah.

- She provoked her to anger and frustration, taunting (TLB), tormenting and humiliating (NEB) her along the way! Peninnah used every opportunity she had to make Hannah miserable!

- This was the tenor of Hannah's trip every time she traveled to the house of the Lord. No wonder she wept and didn't eat!

- What was to be a joyous time with God was a constant emotional drain. Perhaps she can count on an emotionally wise husband. No, Elkanah was frustrated with Hannah's frustration!

- Like most men, Elkanah believed that he could bribe her with special treatment and a greater amount of attention, as if that makes up for the misery that she would endure.

- I like the TLB rendering of this verse: "Isn't having me better than having 10 sons?" Man, what an ego!  It's no doubt that he loved her, but he's not very sensitive to her needs.

- No wonder she got up off the table with great hostility. Elkanah's fix was the final straw.

• I Samuel 1:9b-11 : "Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, 'O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.'" : Eli the priest was sitting. Here's your first glimpse into the casual, comfortable priesthood that Eli endorsed.

- No priest was ever to sit anywhere in the tabernacle! God designed it without chairs!

- This was an accomodation to the weakness of Eli and a symbol of the weakened priesthood during the time of the Judges.

- The only High Priest who has the right to sit down is Jesus, because His work was finished! Eli is marring the scene and ruining the type. We'll see that his Pastoral care was just as sketchy.

- Hannah had left the table in tears of frustration, the plaintive voice of her husband and the prodding voice of Peninnah in her ears. She was in bitterness of soul.

- Hannah was in utter spiritual pain! Thankfully, she exemplifies what we should do when we face the same thing: She took her bitterness and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish before Him!

- Too often, we run from the presence of the Lord, but His presence is where the comfort is found and Hannah knew that! There is no fear in His presence and her tears show an intimate trust.

- God is not threatened by our emotional state and we are always the better for having the honesty to present our tears and pain to Him!

- In the deepest part of her agony, she calls out to God to look upon her, to remember her, to not forget her, all terms of deep request.

- She identifies herself as a Maidservant, the equivalent of the male Bondslave, revealing her humble estate. She asks the Lord for a male child to give to the Lord all the days of His life.

- Listen to this: I desire something that I might give it to you! She didn't want to stick it in Peninnah's face. She didn't want personal vindication. She wanted God to have a servant!

- This is a wonderful prayer and a wise Christian, who sees from the begininng that every true blessing must be given to His use. She promises God a Nazarite, a dedicated, devoted servant!

- Anyone could take a Nazarite vow for a period of time, but only 3 people in the Bible were Nazarites their entire life! Hannah's son would be one!

• I Samuel 1:12-18 : "And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, 'How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!' But Hannah answered and said, 'No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.' Then Eli answered and said, 'Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.' And she said, 'Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.' So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." : Eli watched from his seat at the edge of the "outer court." Hannah's trembling lips moved without sound.

- Eli went for the first thought in his mind, assuming her to be drunk. It's possible that this was the norm for this time in history as people used the feasts of the Lord for their own self indulgence.

- How many women had he told, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!" Certainly, his administration in the time of the Judges saw it's share of this kind of abuse.

- Hannah wiped away her tears and told him what was really going on. She used her bitterness and her complaint as fuel to speak out to the Lord.

- Other translations include the words "anxiety and resentment" (HCSB) as well as vexation. (ESV) Each of these emotions are a signal that we must go to prayer!

- We aren't to expose these things to the world at large, to publicize them before men! We bring these things to the Lord in prayer and then publicize the peace He gives us!

- When Eli heard this, he changed his tune and blessed her, perhaps confirming in her mind that the Lord had heard her request. Eli isn't the model High Priest, but God used Him to confirm this!

- This changed everything for her. No, Peninnah was still around and Hannah was still barren. Elkanah was still insensitive and the tabernacle was run by charlatans.

- But in the midst of that, she went and ate and her face was no longer sad! She had everything that she needed from the hand of God!

- When did her countenance change? When her circumstance changed? No. When her vision of God changed! When her mind was filled with His promise! She was no longer sad!

- How long will you be content with your sadness, resentment, bitterness and anxiety? Go to the Lord. Seek Him in prayer and find your peace!

• I Samuel 1:19,20 : "Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked for him from the Lord.'" : Just like that, God turned the tide! I can only imagine the worship that the Lord received.

- Hannah's whole disposition had changed! They went before the Lord and there was a freedom and a joy present. It wasn't long before her pregnancy was discovered!

- What a wonder of the Lord! She brought forth the final Judge of Israel, Samuel. His name was a reminder of how he came to be: His Mother had asked for him!

• I Samuel 1:21-23 : "Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, 'Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.' So Elkanah her husband said to her, 'Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.' Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him." : A full year has passed and little Samuel was about 3 months old, a little too young to bring the child into the tabernacle.

- She had no problem with bringing Samuel. She just wanted to bring him there permanently.

- The weaning process from the breast could have taken a full year, perhaps more in that ancient time. Some believe, noting Josephus' work, that Samuel came into the Tabernacle at 12.

- Those who hold that belief point to Jewish traditions which speak of a child's weaning being that which is in the things of the Lord.

- When they could hold their own in the world, firm in the way of the Lord, a child was "weaned." The other conservative view was that Hannah brought him when he was about 5.

- Either way, Elkanah trusted his wife's instinct, but wanted to be sure that she did not reneg on her promise.

- The law of Moses specified that if a vow was made, it was to be kept, especially if a husband heard it made and kept his silence.

- Elkanah's words essentially are "May the Lord help you keep what you have vowed." He was in full agreement with her vow and Hannah was not looking to back out.

• I Samuel 1:24-28 : "Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, 'O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.' So they worshiped the Lord there." : Most scholars believe that she brought a bull that was three years old, one that was fully matured, along with the flour and wine.

- Those who went through Leviticus with us will recall what these were for.

- The bull was presented as a sin offering, which represented full consecration unto the Lord.

- She was saying on behalf of Samuel that he belonged entirely for God's use. He was set apart for His purposes.

- The flour and the wine were the implements of the grain offering, which represented fellowship, which can only occur after consecration was declared.

- As the priest made up the cakes, the people who offered it shared in a meal with the Lord together, signifying a work that was performed together, God working through His servant.

- Her belief was transferred to this young boy who would grow to be one of the greatest of God's servants, and certainly the man of his generation.

- Nothing can take the place of a godly heritage in a person's life. Samuel was put in the position to be the man that he was because of the faith and trust of his Mother!

- He was young, a word used elsewhere of a boy as young as 1 or even a 20 year old! I'm fairly certain that we're talking about a 5 year old.

- Remember that while the Priesthood was occupied by men, there were also women who worked near and around the Tabernacle.

- The Daughters of Shiloh that we read about in Judges 21, would have been near the Tabernacle often and would have helped raise the boy.

- After the sacrifice, Hannah explained who she was and testified to God's faithfulness. She was the one who had say there not too long ago in the bitterness of soul.

- In just a short time, she returned with great joy! Therefore, with joy in her heart, Hannah lent Samuel to the Lord for his whole life! They began worshipping there together, Mother and son!

Conclusion

- Let's pray!