{"id":32638,"date":"2024-09-29T22:00:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-1_19-28-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-08-09T13:12:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T20:12:59","slug":"1-samuel-2_1-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-2_1-11\/","title":{"rendered":"The Humble Will Be Exalted"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel 2:1-11 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 2:1-11.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:1-2 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the\u00a0LORD; in the\u00a0LORD\u00a0my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“There is no one holy like the\u00a0LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2: \u00a0As Hannah surrenders her son\u00a0Samuel\u00a0to the Lord, it must have been a difficult and complicated moment for her.\u00a0 Yet instead of worrying, she worships.\u00a0 She says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord…There is no rock like our God”.\u00a0 And while she worships, Hannah prays a prayer that contains so much insight into who God is and what He does.<\/p>\n

Praise God that in our most difficult and complicated moments, we have the Lord — His presence, His promises and His faithfulness — to rejoice in and worship.\u00a0 Hannah’s example shows us that\u00a0when we choose to worship instead of worry, God gives us a peace that sustains us, a joy that will overflow, and deeper insight into who He is<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:3-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-5: \u00a0When I read this part of Hannah’s prayer, I think about the many other parts of the Bible that warn us against pride and encourage us toward humility.\u00a0 There’s Mary, who upon receiving news that she would be pregnant with Jesus, sings a song that echoes Hannah’s prayer (see Luke\u00a01:46-55).\u00a0 There’s Jesus, who would famously teach that “Those who exalt themselves will be\u00a0humbled; and\u00a0those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew\u00a023:12) \u00a0There’s\u00a0Solomon, James and Peter who would all write, “The Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)<\/p>\n

In a way, Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2 is a summary of what God did in her own life.\u00a0 It also foreshadows what God would do with the lives of\u00a0Samuel, Saul, and David as God would take them from humble beginnings and exalt them.\u00a0 It also negatively foreshadows what would happen with Eli the priest and his sons.<\/p>\n

The lesson here is clear: \u00a0Don’t be prideful, thinking that the world revolves around you and that you don’t need to be accountable to anyone.\u00a0 Instead, be humble.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A leader in my life once shared that in the kingdom of God, all the entrance doors are very small: that’s not because God’s people are short. It’s because you need to bend down and humble yourself if you want to get in and experience its blessings.<\/p>\n

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.\u00a0\u00a0Humility is acknowledging that God is God and we are\u00a0<\/strong>not,\u00a0and that we depend on Him for life.<\/strong>\u00a0 He knows everything that we think, say and do.\u00a0 So let’s live with humility and reverence of Him.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:6-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The\u00a0LORD\u00a0brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the\u00a0LORD’s; upon them he has set the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-8:\u00a0 God is sovereign.\u00a0 He always has the final say.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 9a:\u00a0 Those who trust in the Lord have God\u2019s ultimate protection, while those who refuse to submit to God will remain in the dark.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a02<\/strong>:9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>…It is not by strength that one prevails;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 9b: \u00a0Any success we enjoy is not by our ability and hard work alone (“It is not by strength that one prevails” – v9). Ultimately, it is because our gracious God decided to make it happen (v9-10).\u00a0 As Paul says, it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians\u00a02:8).\u00a0 So be humble before God,\u00a0recognizing\u00a0that without Him we would not have anything good in our lives.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0those who oppose the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 10:\u00a0 Here Hannah describes the LORD as the unbeatable one, so powerful that nothing can stand against Him, and the one who will judge the earth one day.\u00a0 Then in this last part of Hannah\u2019s song, it\u2019s interesting that Hannah sings \u201cHe will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed\u201d.\u00a0 Keep in mind that at this time Israel had no king, other than God Himself.\u00a0 So when Hannah sings \u201cHe [God] will give strength to his king\u2026his anointed\u201d, if truly Hannah is singing this in real time when she gives up Samuel, it\u2019s as if God has given Hannah a revelation about the king, even the Messiah, that God would send to His people one day.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/strong>\u00a02<\/strong>:11\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 11: \u00a0Here we see the importance of mentoring.\u00a0 Young\u00a0Samuel\u00a0needed a mentor who could teach him how to serve God.\u00a0 That mentor was Eli.\u00a0 Eli was far from perfect, but he was the leader that God provided to\u00a0Samuel\u00a0so that\u00a0Samuel\u00a0could learn, grow and step into his God-given calling.\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0we all need people more experienced than us whom we can learn from.\u00a0 Do you actively seek the advice of people more experienced than you?<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you have a teachable heart that desires to learn from others?\u00a0 If you want to step into our God-given calling, a teachable, humble heart that is willing to place yourself under the tutelage of others is just what you need.<\/p>\n

God, thank You for being…<\/em>
\n– the source of our joy (v1)<\/em>
\n– our deliverer (v1)<\/em>
\n– holy like no other (v2)<\/em>
\n– a rock beyond compare (v2)<\/em>
\n– the One who knows everything that we do (v3) and weighs our actions (v3)<\/em>
\n– the One who holds the power of life and death in His hands (v6)<\/em>
\n– the One who can take a person’s breath away, or raise them from the dead as He pleases (v6) \u00a0<\/em>
\n– the One who chooses who will be humbled and who will be exalted, and who will be rich and who will be poor (v6-8).\u00a0<\/em>
\nThank You that You don’t do these things arbitrarily, but Your heart is to help the humble and to oppose the proud (v9).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank You for also being…<\/em>
\n– the Creator who made the world’s foundations (v8). \u00a0<\/em>
\n– the One who is just, protecting the feet of those who trust in You (v9) while silencing those who oppose You (v10). \u00a0<\/em>
\n– the\u00a0Most High\u00a0(v10), the one who thunders from heaven (v10).\u00a0<\/em>
\n– the judge of all the earth (v10) and \u00a0<\/em>
\n– the One who strengthens His leaders (v10)<\/em><\/p>\n

God, we worship You and thank You for being all of these things to us today and every day.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 2:1-11.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 2:1-2 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the\u00a0LORD; in the\u00a0LORD\u00a0my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“There is no one holy like the\u00a0LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2: \u00a0As Hannah surrenders her son\u00a0Samuel\u00a0to the Lord, it must have been a difficult and complicated moment for her.\u00a0 Yet instead of worrying, she worships.\u00a0 She says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord…There is no rock like our God”.\u00a0 And while she worships, Hannah prays a prayer that contains so much insight into who God is and what He does.<\/p>\n

Praise God that in our most difficult and complicated moments, we have the Lord — His presence, His promises and His faithfulness — to rejoice in and worship.\u00a0 Hannah’s example shows us that\u00a0when we choose to worship instead of worry, God gives us a peace that sustains us, a joy that will overflow, and deeper insight into who He is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32638"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32641,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32638\/revisions\/32641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}