1 Samuel 1:19-28 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
I’ve got some powerful lessons to share with you from 1 Samuel 1:19-28.
1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NIV)
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.
20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”
On verses 19-20: The Lord honours Hannah’s prayer for a son. Hannah names him “Samuel”, which means “the name [of God] is El”, a name which speaks to God’s power. Hannah picked a name for her son that would remind herself and others that Samuel was the result of God’s power at work.
1 Samuel 1:21-24 (NIV)
21 When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,
22 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.”
23 “Do what seems best to you,” Elkanah her husband told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
On verses 21-24: Here we see that both Hannah and Elkanah had exemplary character in that they were both committed to keeping the vows they had made to God. Hannah was committed to offering their baby Samuel for lifelong service to the Lord, even though he was her only child. Practically speaking, for Hannah this meant doing the approximately 10 mile trip from her home in Ramah to Shiloh with her baby, a bull, flour and wine to offer at the house of God. Elkanah technically had the right to cancel the vow that Hannah made (see Numbers 30:10-15), but Elkhanah respected Hannah’s decision and assumed his wife’s vow as if it was his own, going with her to fulfill her vow.
What can we learn from this? Keep your word and make good on your promises. Don’t just give God worship that is easy and convenient. Give God intentional worship. As David would later say, “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.” More than anything God focuses on the heart with which we worship Him.
1 Samuel 1:25-27 (NIV)
25 When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli,
26 and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
On verses 25-27: I am touched, sometimes to tears, thinking about Hannah’s love for her son Samuel and for God. It amazes me that Hannah was willing to surrender her only child to God, even after so many years of wanting to have a child but not being able to, being ridiculed for not having a child of her own and finally receiving one herself after praying to God for him.
The fact that Hannah was willing to relinquish control of her son to God shows that Hannah’s identity was not wrapped up so much in having her son physically nearby. Rather, Hannah’s confidence and hope were in God, who gave her a son in the first place.
Undoubtedly Hannah loved her son Samuel so much. The Bible says that each time she would go visit him, she would bring him a little robe that she made herself just for him (see 2:19). It must have been an incredibly difficult and emotional decision for Hannah to follow through with her vow. But she did so willingly. God would bless her with three more sons and two daughters after she gave Samuel over to the Lord (2:21).
Hannah giving her only son Samuel to the house of God points us forward to the day that God would one day give His only Son for the world and for His church.
1 Samuel 1:28 (NIV)
28 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.
On verse 28: Hannah gave her precious son to God for God’s purposes. The short-term and long-term impact of her sacrifice can hardly be overestimated:
– In the short-term, because of Hannah’s sacrifice, Eli the priest worshiped (v28). Why did this matter to Eli? Perhaps it’s because Eli knew that his own sons were corrupt priests, so the offering of young Samuel gave Eli hope about the future of God’s house.
– In the long-term, the whole nation of Israel would be blessed by Samuel’s leadership as he became one of its greatest priests, prophets and leaders;
– Hannah’s story and example continue to inspire us to this day.
As great as Hannah’s sacrifice was, the benefit and impact of her sacrifice was even greater. What can we learn from this?
1. When you give what you love the most to God, He uses your sacrifice in ways far beyond what you could imagine, both in the short term and the long term. The greatest sacrifices are always fueled by the greatest kind of love and they result in the greatest kind of impact.
2. Parents, do not just pray that your child would be happy, healthy and well provided for. Pray that God would use your child greatly for His purposes. The Lord has a destiny for your child! Raise your child up to be a man or woman who loves God, serves Him and is used by Him to lead others to Him. May your child grow up to be an AEIOU leader — alive, expectant, involved, out loud and united.
Father, because Hannah gave her only son Samuel, and because You gave Your only Son Jesus, we are blessed today. Thank You for Your amazing love which fueled such amazing sacrifices and brought so much good as a result. Help me to surrender what I love the most to You and trust that You will use that sacrifice far beyond all I could ask for or imagine. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
