Prayers and Promises
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Today we’re beginning a new series. We’re going to be studying the books of 1 & 2 Samuel.
Now for those of you who have read through your Bibles, or are familiar with 1 & 2 Samuel, you will note that much of the story is repeated in 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. But for us, we’re going to be looking at 1 & 2 Samuel specifically and the transition between Judges and Kings in the Bible.
In 1 Samuel is where we are first introduced to King David, and as we’ve just come out of celebrating Advent and Christmas you will remember that Jesus was born the Messiah out of the line of King David, so we know that Samuel has a significance for us in understanding Jesus as Messiah.
Within these pages we are going to learn from God’s Word about devotion to God, relationships between husbands and wives, friendship, leadership, faith, obedience, sacrifice, love, and a whole lot more. What’s more it takes place in a narrative form so that we can read it almost like a novel and watch the characters unfold as the text continues.
I hope you will be able to be here as we make this journey together, and if you’re not I hope that you will check out our Facebook page where the sermons will be posted weekly and you can listen to them and follow the same slides that we show here each Sunday.
So with that said, let’s ask God to open the Word to us, and let’s dive in.
Invite Congregation to pray
Before we jump into 1 Samuel, I want to remind us of where we are in Israel’s history. The idea of following God had become for many flippant at best. The book of Judges ends with:
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
That really sets the back drop for the change that we’re going to see happen in 1 Samuel.
So, if you’ll turn with me to 1 Samuel 1 - If you’re trying to find it, don’t be afraid to use the Table of Contents in your Bible, or of course you can follow along on the screen behind me.
There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 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.
As we know polygamy was not uncommon in the OT. Though monogamy was generally practiced in Israel as in most of the ancient world, Polygamy was not contrary to law or morals. The main occurence of polygamy was when the first wife was barren as it was considered important to pass down your inheritance.
In vs. 3 we find out that Elkanah is a very devout man.
Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.
And when they’d go, he’d provide for his wives to be able to make sacrifices too.
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.
Now translators are not sure about the double portion - it seems to contradict the “But” statement, but the Hebrew used here is obscure. Most translators choose “double portion” others though choose “single portion”. Some scholars think that the single portion fits better because it sets up the contrast that makes the most sense in what follows.
And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.
So we see Hannah being provoked by Peninnah. And this happens every time they go up to sacrifice as a family≥ Remember it was seen as judgment from God not to have children. Yet we see that Hannah was devout as well...
After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.
And then we read her prayer:
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
This is an extreme vow. She is basically pronouncing that the son she will have will be a Nazarite - If we go back to Numbers 6, we see that this was a special vow of separation
“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.
However, note that there was a time period to it. Hannah is saying of her son,
And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
“I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
And remember what we said about the context this all is happening in. Israel was a place where piety was flippant in many ways. The place of sacrifice it was not kept “HOLY” as we will see.
As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.
A couple of things I want to point out here:
Hannah is praying in her heart, only her lips moved - this was not a normal way of praying in places of worship. They would pray outloud. This is different from our culture where when we see someone praying fervently we will often see their lips moving, but not hear any sound.
Eli took her to be a drunken woman - the fact that he takes her to be this and she’s even allowed in the place of worship would seem to suggest that it wasn’t uncommon to have drunk people in worship!
Notice Eli’s judgment:
And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.”
It is so easy for us to judge at times, just as Eli did.
But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”
Eli gives her this blessing:
Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
Eli’s blessing, Hannah’s request, bear fruit:
And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”
And later when she had weaned him she takes him up with her to Shiloh, when he is still young. She makes sacrifices to the Lord and she bring the child to Eli...
And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.
And finally in verse 28
Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Notice, it doesn’t say, SHE worshiped the Lord there, it says that Samuel worshipped the Lord there.
This is an amazing journey.
As we’ve journeyed through this passage I hope you’ve seen the request that Hannah made, and the promise that she made as well. She asks for a son and at the same time her request is not for her to keep - her gift is to bear the child, then she will give it up. Think about that - she asks for something to give up. It is the knowledge that God has heard, that God has answered - it’s enough for her. Is it enough for us?
And this child of hers, though he is very young, in fact if we assume that this takes place immediately after he was weaned as seems to be indicated in vv. 24
And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young.
She leaves this young child to worship with Eli, and it says:
Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
“He worshiped the Lord there.”
How did Samuel know how to worship?
How did Samuel know who the Lord was?
How did Samuel know any of that?
You have to think it was because of Elkanah and Hannah. They must have taught Samuel what he knew, what he could grasp. Now before we think that she is leaving a child that has barely learned to walk with some stranger it was common for children not to be weaned until 3 years of age or more. You still see this in parts of the world today. So this child may be as young as 3 but possibly even older. But this child knows how to worship the Lord.
What do we take from this:
We need to know the Lord in such a way that we can pass it down to our children.
When we ask of God - if we make a promise, we need to keep that promise.
God answers prayer.