The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Intro:

Todays word is about compromise...when you read this account in 1 Samuel, keep in mind it was written between 722 BC and 931 BC. That’s 2746 years between this account in 1 Samuel and today, yet it sounds just like our present day in the 21st century.

In this account written 2746 years ago During the time of when Israel had judges you see a society degrading, complete lack of respect for God even the religious leaders in the church were completely corrupt. In fact the word that was used to describe the chief priests 2 sons Hophni and Phinehas who were servants of the priests in the Tabernacle was “worthless men.” It was said that “they did not know God.” they were taking bribes and threatening people who had brought their sacrifices to be made to God. How sad to think that the God they supposedly served they didn’t know personally, they had not known Him personally or experientially.

There wasn’t respect for the “Ark of the covenant” in fact it cost the lives of 50,007 Israelites because they looked inside the Ark and were completely forbidden to do such a thing. They started lugging the Ark into battle because they wrongly thought that the presence of the Ark would guarantee victory. They were putting their trust in a thing instead of putting their trust in God

There was idol worship

The people weren’t satisfied with God as their leader, they wanted a king, a man to rule them, so enter King Saul who led them down a spiraling hole. Here he was supposed to be a King under God’s control but he went to a psychic for knowledge instead of God almighty. for 40 years since he was made king, it was a sad period for “God’s people”

They were removing God from their Government

They were removing God’s unwavering truth and word from their church

They were removing God from their society, hmmm. sounds a bit familiar with what were seeing today in our once great country.

However there was 1 woman dedicated to God and to doing the right thing. Her name, Hanna

PLEASE STAND FOR THE READING OF GOD’S WORD!

The New King James Version Chapter 2

Hannah’s Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD;

My horn is exalted in the LORD.

I smile at my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

2 “No one is holy like the LORD,

For there is none besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.

3 “Talk no more so very proudly;

Let no arrogance come from your mouth,

For the LORD is the God of knowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed.

4 “The bows of the mighty men are broken,

And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

And the hungry have ceased to hunger.

Even the barren has borne seven,

And she who has many children has become feeble.

6 “The LORD kills and makes alive;

He brings down to the grave and brings up.

7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich;

He brings low and lifts up.

8 He raises the poor from the dust

And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,

To set them among princes

And make them inherit the throne of glory.

“For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s,

And He has set the world upon them.

9 He will guard the feet of His saints,

But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail.

10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces;

From heaven He will thunder against them.

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to His king,

And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

PRAY!!

The Players:

Elkanah The Husband and patriarch

Hanna= The first wife and Elkanah’s love

as was custom back then, if your wife was barren ,you could take a 2nd wife to bear children with. Enter Peninnah:

Peninnah= The mean ole 2nd wife and provoker of Hannah

1 Samuel 1:5–7 “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.”

Samuel=Elkanah and Hanna’s miraculous son and prophet of Israel, who would lead Israel back to God

Eli=Chief priest

Eli’s 2 sons, Hophni and Phi= Terrible corruptors of God’s house

Lets look at a few things Hanna got right

Praising God's Power

This how you worship!

1 Samuel 2:1–2 “And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”

Hannah's opening lines of prayer show her deep trust and joy in God's salvation. She praises God's holiness and uniqueness, and recognizing God's active role in our lives. We should always start with praising God for His attributes, acknowledging Him as our ultimate source of strength during any season, thus moving our hearts to deeper worship.

There’s Power in Humility

I think Hanna knows God exalts the humble

1 Samuel 2:3–5 ““Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. “The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.”

I reckon she was gloating a bit over Peninnah there a bit?

Humility before God. Her words act as a caution against pride and self-reliance, reminding us that it's God who controls the world. This is the same servanthood and humility displayed in Jesus. Trusting in God's strength, not our own,

having a spirit of servitude and humility.

Providence's Reversals

Hanna gives a masterclass in God's sovereignty over life and death.

1 Samuel 2:6–8 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them.”

Hanna acknowledges God's control over every human circumstance. We need to see trials as opportunities to lean into faith, recognizing that God can reverse any situation for His glory and our good.

Promise of Victory

This is her victory song!

1 Samuel 2:9–10 “He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

Hannah speaks here of God's ultimate victory over His adversaries and His protection over His faithful ones. This future hope parallels with Christ's ultimate victory over sin and death. We have to remain steadfast in faith, and trust in God's justice and faithfulness. He is our source of hope and perseverance in times of difficulty.

This is where the interlude would go..” Lets all go to the lobby” ..Lol

I want us to heed the warning of what can happen if compromise with sin

We need to take a look at The High priests Eli and his 2 sons.

Take a look at what the Bible says happened to Eli over time:

1 Samuel 3:2 “And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,”

There is a bigtime lesson here. When we tolerate sin, slowly we will lay down to it, do nothing about it and sure as the world we’ll start to go blind to it.

1. Sin has consequences

The lackadaisical approach to Eli’s parenting and his refusal to hold his kids accountable for their actions caused the death of his sons and his own death, listen to what God said:

1 Samuel 2:30 “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”

Eli knew what his sons where doing, in fact the whole town knew!

Eli’s family went from blessed forever to cursed forever because there was zero accountability to sin in the house

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2. Raise your children right

Be a parent! not their best buddy

In the story about the chief priest Eli and his 2 rotten sons, everybody knew about his sons and they were sickened by their actions, they even went to Eli and told him but Eli wouldn’t hold them accountable

1 Samuel 3:13 “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.”

Proverbs 13:24 “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”

3. Give God His rightful place in your heart

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

makes me think of an old hymn we used to sing “Lord take the first place in my heart”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

4. Give God His rightful place in your home

Joshua 24:15 “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

5. Give God His rightful praise in your worship

Psalm 100:1–5 “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”

6. Never compromise with God’s absolute truth

Compromise is good in some circumstances - but when it comes to the things of God, We MUST NOT compromise! No where in the Bible are we commanded or are men commended for compromising on the things of God! We see in these two verses Eli’s eyes dimming and the lamp of God went out. I think it important to understand the symbolism found here:

As Eli continued allowing this sin within his sight, he began to grow blind to it. So blind that the lamp of God went out from him, and he didn’t even realize it. It’s amazing in that sin doesn’t hardly shock people anymore. It takes It takes a lot to shock us anymore, Hearing foul language doesn’t shock people anymore - because we’ve become desensitized to it, as we have been inundated with it! THIS IS WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO KEEP OURSELVES SEPARATE, TO GUARD OUR EYES AND EARS SO THAT WE DON’T WIND UP IN THE DARK AS WELL! Once his eyes grew dim, the light of God went from him. In other words, Godly discernment was leaving him as well. Compromise puts you in the dark

Eli and his 2 sons had forgotten just who it was that they were supposed to be serving and sadly, so have a lot of other leaders in the church

Deuteronomy 4:2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

we are very guilty as Pastors, teachers and leaders of God’s church of doing this.

We add to make everybody feel included

Denominations add their own commands that are not in the Bible. They speak of them as of equal authority to the Bible.

Christians add their own man-made rules, and abide by them more than by the Bible.

Christians add their own fanciful explanations that are not congruent with the Bible.

Christians add their own explanations that contradict the Bible but forward their agenda.

Christians interpret the Bible in a way that supports their own political viewpoint.

Rockstar preachers assert their own viewpoints as if they are equal to the Bible.

or

We subtract because we want everybody to feel comfortable

Call up worship!!

In Closing:

The word for today is “compromise.”

We need to get back to the basics and I believe the right place to restart is: The 10 commandments and Jesus as the living Word of God

PRAY!!