1st Samuel was a period in Israel’s history wherein there is peace. Beneath the surface; however; there is a spiritual crisis in Israel. According to Judges 21:25, in those days, Israel had no king, and all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Their time was similar to our postmodern culture. In our present society, we have this mentality of what’s right for you is not necessarily true for me.
The cycle was that they would sin against Lord, God would then send an enemy to punish them, Israelites will then ask for forgiveness, God would forgive them and then raise a judge that would free them from oppression.
1st Samuel start with a birth narrative and central to this story is Hanna’s pain. She’s having a hard time conceiving, and there’s nothing worse than being a barren wife in the ancient Near East. Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, had another wife named Phinehas. Phinehas always mocked Hannah because the Lord had kept her from having children.
Hannah then resolved to pray earnestly for a son. Hannah vowed that this son would be offered back to God as a Nazirite. A Nazirite is a person who made a vow to dedicate himself or herself to God completely, does not cut the hair, abstains from drinking wine and will not go near a dead body. Even if a relative dies, the Nazirite cannot go near it.
It is ironic that Eli, the priest who has not been a good leader and had evil sons, puts her down and thinks she was drunk while praying. Hannah told Eli her prayer because of great anguish in her life. Hanna’s circumstances drove her to prayer, and her pain prodded her to faith. Some would say that the pain may mean that a person must be in some sin in her life or if only she had enough faith, she wouldn’t have that pain. Hannah had anxiety, and John the Baptist had pain. We experience numerous pains in our life. It’s part of our walk, and it’s a necessary part. If you go through it right, you will know God much more profound and better.
Praying is sometimes like a child talking to their dad, and it’s always eagerly responded to by God one way or the other. God doesn’t always say “yes” to our requests, and that’s a pretty good thing because God is still smarter than us. What is more important is that in times of pain, God is there, and He does not leave us.
Nobody wants pain, but when God is there, He never wastes our hurt. In Hannah’s case, He allowed such suffering to get her to that broken place. God has a plan in all this. He wanted to change the world, and He would use the child Samuel, and he will be a prophet in the future. Samuel would then anoint King David. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would be born in the family line of David as prophesied in the Scriptures. It will be a plan stretching for hundreds of years and would be beyond the time of Hannah and even Samuel.
Jesus Christ died on the cross. He rose from the dead ascended into heaven and. He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples. God includes us in His plan, although they were never intended to be enough for that plan because God uses our weakness to show God’s power. It is not us but God’s power is in command, so we don’t have to worry.
Rock Church serves the communities of Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead. We meet at West Acres Cinema, Sundays at 10 am. At the Rock, you can belong before you believe.
