1 samuel 1 God-sized expectations
How big are your expecatations?
A soon-to-be mom with a God-sized vision
1 Samuel 1
God can be found in the small things
Remembering the small things
Source was found for the swine flu – you guessed it a toddler – here it is
Yet God always wants to do big things. He wants us to have a God-sized expectation of what He can do in our lives.
I. Needed a God-sized intervention
A. A Chaotic world
(NKJV) Judges 21 25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
B. Unfulfilled personal dreams
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. …5 … although the Lord had closed her womb.
1. Desired children
2. Mark of disfavor by God
3. Seemingly unfair response by God
C. An Empty religious system
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion,
1. Good theology / little reality
D. People Problems
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.
1. Source close to her
E. Deep internal struggles
1. Life was unbearable
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
2. Lord seemed to be the cause
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.
a) Mentioned multiple times
3. Continuous pressure over time
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 7 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.
II. Asked for something God-sized
A. Turned to the Lord in the midst of the trouble
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.
B. Prayed specifically
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child,
C. Kept Focused on God
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 11 … then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
1. Not just personal
2. Need of a man of God in the nation
3. Commitment for life not just a period of time
D. Prayed persistently
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord,
E. Persevered though misunderstood
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 12 … that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
F. Responded in faith
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” 18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
G. Worshipped with expectation
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah.
1. Receive peace prior to the action
2. Faith comes before sight
3. Gave God His rightful place – His control
III. Responded to a God-sized intervention
A. Lord did something God-sized
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 19 … And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son,
B. Gave God the glory
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 20 … and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
1. Samuel means “name of God” sounds like “heard by God”
C. Was accountable: Trained her child in godliness
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.” 23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
D. Released her child to God
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.”
E. Resulted in others worshipping God
(NKJV) 1 Samuel 1 28 … So they worshiped the Lord there.
Verses 27 and 28 contain a play on words that cannot usually be captured in translation. The words my petition (27), I made (27), I have lent him (28), and he is lent (28) all come from the same root, meaning “to ask” or “to request” and, in some forms, “to lend.” Osty attempted to capture the wordplay as follows: “It was for this child that I was praying, and Yahweh granted me the request that I requested of him. For my part, I yield him to [the request of] Yahweh; all the days that he will live, he will be yielded to [the request of] Yahweh.”
Emphasis on ‘for this child’
just as she made a request to God, God has also requested something of Hannah, namely, that the child be given to him for lifelong service.