A Dead-end Life

Pray

The problem we often create as readers of the OT,

is to immedietly assume we are suposed to follow the example of one, some, or all of the characters!

And so when we come to passage like this,

we end up having to say that we should all have 2 wives,

we should all pray for what makes us most miserable and we will be give exactly what we want,

and you should all drop your 3 year olds off at your pastors house to live for the rest of their life!!

While those listeneing with 3 year olds may think that’s a great idea,

let me assure you,

and don’t take this personally!

But I don’t want them!

1 Samuel is not a book about you, or me.

And it’s not even a book for us to follow the examples of it’s characetrs

- although we will learn lots from them, both good and bad.

This is a book all about,

The word of God, pointing us to a saviour from God, becasue humnaity rejects God.

The Word of God - Well that’s Samuel the great prophet, and today the bible.

The saviour from God - Well that’s King David, who points us towards our saviour Jesus

And a humanity that rejects God - Well that’s everyone else and perhaps epitomised in King Saul.

The other way to be encouraged by this book is to see that we get a glimps into the very heart of God.

David is described as

‘A man after God’s own heart.’

That’s the Title of this series through 1 Samuel

‘God’s Own Heart’

And his heart - without wanting to give it all away,

is to save his people,

to deliver them from evil,

to rule them in peace and joy.

That’s a God worth knowing about!

So, as we journey this book full of pain, war, comedy, love, celebrations, coronations, sucesses and failures..

I trust, will see more of the heart of God himself.

We’ll see more of Jesus

And we will as a result be more and more inclined

to listen to and trust his every word!

(As David did - but Saul did not)

But, for now,

let us begin,

for there is a family scenario in chapter 1 that even Coronation Street would be proud of:

1 - A Dead-end Life is the Starting Point for God

Elkanah had 2 wives,

and

Unsurprisingly we find out that these 2 ladies really do not get on.

It’s likely that Hannah was his first wife - but when she wasnt able to have chidlren - he took a second, Peninnah.

No she’s not an Italinan bread roll.

And it’s a big familiy road trip each year, to the what was probably the feast of tabernacles,

that brought to a head the familiy fued.

1 Samuel 1:4–7 NIV

Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

Peninnah appears to be a fairly jelous and mouthy lady,

but it’s perhaps not that suprising given her husband clearly favours Hannah.

Hannah gets a double portion of food but is so distressed by the taunts of Penniah that she can’t eat it.

Of course it’s not just the taunts of others that bring Hannah, or us, down.

Somehow we have to balance the fact that God has allowed this to be upon us,

It’s easy to say we should be content with the hand we are given by God,

but the reality of dealing with painful situations like this,

is presented very honestly in Hannah’s life:

1 Samuel 1:8 NIV

Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

Again, husbands, not an example to follow - Elkanah showing the same level of sympathy as most husbands throughout history!

Hannah’s ongoing, year after year,

negativity at the hand the Lord has given her,

is no better in some ways to Peninnah’s taunts,

or Elkanah’s polygomy,

favouritism or bluntness.

This hardly seems the place or family from within which God will START a new stage in salvation history!

This family is well ordinary, normal, problematic.

In pain.

And more than that,

Hannah is simply unable be bear children at all, the way forward seems impossible!

Pause

But perhaps that is precisly why we start with this family and this situation:

Throughout the Bible,

it is God’s tendency is to make ‘our’ total inability ‘his’ starting point.

Our hopelessness and our helplessness are no barrier to his work.

Our utter incapacity is often the tool he delights to use for his next act.

Think through the Bible, and the number of time’s God has begun his next act of salavtion history through seemingly deadend situations and lives.

Sarah and Abraham unable to have children in Genesis,

Rachel too,

Samson’s mother was barren until his birth,

And of course John the Baptist born to the very old and barren Elizabeth!

But it’s not just barreness,

Paul had a thorn is his flesh,

The Israelites escaped Egypt and reached the deadend of the Red Sea,

The Isralite army hit the deadend of Goliath,

Naomi and Ruth hit the deadend of being widowed in a foreign country,

We could go on through virtually every page of the bible!

Our inabilites,

Our suffering,

our despair,

our own deadend lives -

as we read the Word of God -

should point us to the our need to call on a higher help.

And when we aknowledge our deadends lives - that is when God starts his work.

Let’s see how Hannah deals with her deadend:

2 - A Dead-end life needs Prayer

1 Samuel 1:10–11 NIV

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

It is extraordinary that a normal person, of no worldly significance,

feels able to address,

Lord Almighty!

That phrase understands God to be all powerful, the creator, above all!

And Hannah expects he will listen to her!

If you find yourself thinking that God would not want to hear from you,

or about your problems

- then what a joy to know he does!

We too have access to the Lord Alimighty!

He loves to hear from his chidlren - however small or insignifacnt we feel or even are!

Pause

The covenant, or deal Hannah makes with God in this prayer is a tricky one.

Was she right to bargain with God - you scracth my back and I’ll scrath yours!?

You give me a child - I’ll give him into lifetime service for you - with the Nazerite symbol of not cutting hair for all to see.

It’s an easy thing to do in prayer

- especially when you are so desperate, or in such distress about life as Hannah was.

Ulitmately, for a NT Chirstian like us,

we have already struck a covenant deal with Him - so I’m not sure there’s much more to offer.

We have already,

in pleading for our greatest need - forgivenss,

offered our own lives in exchange if he forgives us.

We have nothing left to give, and he has alreay given us everything in Jesus!

(we’ll think about this more in our next point:)

Pause

So, Rightly or wrongly, Hannah though in her pain makes this vow - and she keeps praying..

Following an awwkward converstaion where Eli the preist thought she was drunk,

she ends her prayer,

and what is interesting is that before she even knows if it’s been answered,

her life is more bearable:

1 Samuel 1:18 NIV

She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

Back in v7 she couldn’t eat, and now she can. Her face was downcast and now it’s lifted!

Her deadend life is transformed by prayer - not just answers to prayer.

Ofcourse it would be easy to say,

OH - if youre in dispair, then pray and you’ll feel better,

But You’ll most likely know from experience that that is not always the case.

But if you’ve persisted at prayer over the years -through thick and thin,

- as presuambly Hannah has about her bareness,

then the act and intimacy of opening your heart continuously to the Lord Almighty, who listens,

will help your apetite for life return.

Our story continues:

3 - A Dead-end life Gives All Back to God

1 Samuel 1:19–20 NIV

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

After years and years, Hannah’s prayer is now answer,

Samuel is a play on words between the ‘name of the Lord’ - and ‘I asked.’

But now her prayer has been answered,

her covenant must be fulfilled:

She doesn’t return to the festival for a few years, we’re not told how long,

but normally chidlren were weaned around 3 years old.

So aged 3 or 4 Hannah does return to the temple,

with Samuel,

and this time,

he’s old enough to be away from home.

She gives him into the care of Eli, the preist.

To be raised into, and for, God’s service.

She would spend time with him every year at the festival, we’re told,

but what a commitment to her covenant with God,

she gives back the child which she waited so long for.

In the OT,

God’s presence amoung the people was represented by the temple,

so to leave Samuel with Eli was to leave him in the presence of God.

And whether her covennat with God was right or wrong,

generally the bible insists on agreements that have been made to be held at all costs.

Of course if we know the story of Samuel,

then we know that he will be no ordinary boy.

We know that GOd has used this distressed woman’s prayers

to bring about a significant step in savalion history.

And so right or wrong,

God as always, uses

a mix of human sinfulness,

and our prayers,

to bring about salavtion and goodness for his people!

What an encouragement that a Deadend life situation is a starting point for God to work.

What an encouragement that a deadend life situation leads to prayer that leads to salavtion for humanity,

And now, we’re learning that a deadend life situation needs us to give all to God.

Samuel symbolises for us,

that ‘all we are given by God,

needs to be given back to Him!

and so for us, Jesus gives us life,

and so we naturally give our lives back to Him!

1 cor 6v19-20 puts it like this:

‘you are not your own,

1 Corinthians 6:20 NIV

you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

When we accept Jesus’ forgiveness and love in prayer for the first time,

we entre into a covenant,

and the price of receiveing our forgiveness is,

to give our lives to the Lord.

I mean why wouldn’t we!

We would hardly want to be right with God,

but then not want to live all out for him.

If we don’t wnat to live out all for him,

why would we want to be at peace with him?

And yet that is how many live.

I’ll live my own life,

but I’ll take forgivenss as an insurance policy for the next.

That’s not an option.

Jesus died in our place.

His death is the price paid for us,

and so we belong to the Lord.

It would be like Hannah saying,

ok thanks for the child, but now I won’t keep up my side of the deal.

But why would she,

For Hannah undertsood that God was the source of her son, and her joy.

and so as she hands Samuel back to God,

1 Samuel 1:28–2:2 NIV

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. Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

Friends, do not begrudge living your life for Jesus,

Rejoice in the Lord.

There is no one holy like the Lord,

There is no Rock like our God.

Give all to Him, for we live deadend lives if we don’t.

And as we’re on the topic of chidlren being given to the Lord,

perhaps it’s fitting to think breifly about what giving all to the Lord might look like for our children, grandchidlren, neices and nephews?.

Do we pray that they would know the Lord themselevs as they grow up.

Do we pray that they would seek Him and his ways,

Do we raise them to know that they do everything for Jesus, not themselves,

Do we speak well of the benefits and blessings of being part of a church familiy.

Do we read the Word of God with them, and ensure they read it themsleves as they grow,

Do we teach them to put others before themsleves, as JEsus did

Do we encourage the careers in ministry and youth work, chidlrens’ workers and missionaries

- or is that a kind of back up job for those who can’t quite fit in to the normal world.

(No offence taken)

Do we want fame, propsperity, or Godliness for them?

Our chidlren, along with everything else we have,

is a gift from God, that needs to be given back to him.

When this is hard, the next verses of Hannah’s prayer are helpful correction for us

1 Samuel 2:3–8 NIV

“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He 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 Lord’s; on them he has set the world.

And so to end quickly..

4 - A Dead-end Life is not a Deadend!

This is a great biblical prayer,

but Hannah is not just rejoicing in just the detail of her situation.

You’ll rememebr her head was lifted even before she knew she would have a child.

And so,

even after she has been given a child,

and given him back to the Lord,

she is still understanding the Lord’s kindness in her current situation,

as a model for His ultimate glory over all people of all time.

1 Samuel 2:9–10 NIV

He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

The word king at the end there is interesting - because of course as of yet there has been no king over Israel.

And she calls the king ‘annointed’ , which in Hebrew is Messiah, and in Greek is Christos.

You see, we must not see our deadend deispair,

without seeing that unless we ‘know dispair’,

we will not know our need for a saviour God.

And we must not see the goal of answered pray puely in the present -

without aknowldgeing it’s a picture of our greatest joy,

‘salavtion in Christ the King.’

And so,

this unlikley family,

that sounds a lot like our lives at times,

who find a deadend at each turn,

turn instead to the Lord.

and look forward to salvation from a King.

Instead of a deadend at the end of life,

they find a new creation,

life in all it’s fulness,

A King, a Messiah, an annointed one in coming.

A deadend life given to the Lord - Is no deadend at all!

PRAY