1 Samuel 1:19

1 Samuel 1:19 says, And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.  After worshipping, they returned home and Elkanah and Hannah were intimate once more.  After we attend a worship service today, even one in which we pour out our heart to God, we need to then return home and get on with life.  Verse twenty adds, Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.  After the necessary time passed, Hannah had a son.  God had heard her prayer and had answered it yes.  She named him Samuel, which meant "I have asked him of the LORD."  If someone has a child today, she and the father should acknowledge that the child is a gift from God, especially if they have been trying for a long time unsuccessfully to have a child.  Verse twenty-one continues, And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.  Elkanah and all his household again went to offer their yearly sacrifice and his vow to God.  Though we should worship God daily, and as followers of Christ we have already vowed to give everything to God, we still need to attend worship services regularly and may need at times to make a special vow to God.  Verse twenty-two states, But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.  Hannah did not go on this trip, saying she wasn't going until the child was weaned, and then she would go and present him to God, where he would abide forever. She wasna't backing out on her vow, but was simply doing what was practical in order to be able to fulfill it.  God had blessed her with a child as she had asked, and she was willing to give him back to God as she had promised.  We need to fulfill our promises to God, even if at times we cannot do so immediately,and even if it costs us a lot emotionally.  Verse twenty-three adds, And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.  Elkanah told her to do what she thought was best, but to remember her promise to God.  We need to do our best to support others if they have made a promise to God and not rush them in fulfilling that promise.  Verse twenty-four declares, And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.  After Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him and some other sacrifices to the house of God, even though he was still very young.  I believe it was probably hard for her to do this, but she was fulfilling her vow.  It may be hard  for us to fulfill our vows to God today, but that doesn't make it any less necessary.  Verse twenty-five continues, And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.  After sacrificing the bullock, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli.  Verse twenty-six says, And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.  Hannah reminded God of who she was, though that really wasn't necessary.  He knew, just as He knows who each of us is as Christians today.  Verse twenty-seven adds, For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:  She also acknowledged that God had answered her prayer by giving her a son.  We need to acknowledge today that children are always a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their birth.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.  Hannah said that she had loaned Samuel to God for as long as he lived.  We cannot force our children to serve God today, but we can do our best to give them back to Him to serve Him as long as they live.  They are God's gift to us, and we should acknowledge that we need to treat them as our gift back to Him.  Though he was young, we are told Samuel worshipped God there.  We need to teach our children from a young age to worship God.

1 Samuel 1:9

1 Samuel 1:9 says, So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.  Hannah arose early while they were at Shiloh.  Eli the priest was at a post by the temple after Hannah and her family had eaten.  He was one of the last two judges of Israel, though he wasn't included in the book of Judges.  Verse ten adds, And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.  Hannah was bitter in her soul because she had not been able to conceive and was being put down by Peninnah.  Sometimes, if people today believe that life is treating them unfairly, even Christians, they can become bitter in their soul instead of still thanking God for all that He has blessed them with.  Verse eleven continues, And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.  Hannah made a vow to God concerning Him blessing her with a son.  It was an if-then vow, her obedience being dependent on God's blessing her with what she desired.   I believe that we should really avoid these type vows as Christians and be content in the Lord no matter what.  She said she would give her son to God and no rasor would come on his head, which was a part of the Nazarite vow.  I believe we should do our best to give our children to God if we are blessed with them, without any special requirements from Him.  Verse twelve states, And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.  While Hannah was pouring out her soul to God, Eli saw her and watched her lips moving.  Verse thirteen adds, Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.  Since she was moving her lips without any words coming out, Eli thought she was drunk, even though it was early in the day. We should never make assumptions when we see someone in distress, but should actually ask them what is wrong and how we can help.  Verse fourteen continues, And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.   Eli then asked her how long she would be drunken and advised her to put away the wine.  He was actually being judgmental without knowledge of all the facts.  This is not how we should be as followers of Christ today.  Verse fifteen declares, And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.  Hannah didn't lash out at Eli's faulty assumption, but told him what was really going on.  She was not drunk, but was pouring out her soul in prayer, which had become bitter at least before her time in prayer.  Verse sixteen adds, Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.  Hannah asked Eli to not think she was a worshipper of Baal, but to know instead of her great complaint against God.  If we believe that we have a complaint against God as Christians today, we need to pour out our heart to Him, and if we are doing so, we need to pray that our fellow believers will support us and not wrongly judge us.  Hannah had done nothing wrong except become bitter in her soul.  Verse seventeen continues, Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.  Eli then told her to go in peace and asked that God would grant her petition.  Verse eighteen concludes, And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad..  Hannah asked that she might gain grace in Eli's sight, but it was God's grace that she needed.  Still,she left no longer sad and bitter in her thoughts.  If we pour out our soul to God, we should be able to go away with no more sadness and bitterness in our soul if we have truly turned the problem over to Him. 

1 Samuel 1:1

1 Samuel 1:1 says, Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:  Verse two adds, And 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. We first have a record of Elkanah, who had two wives.  Matthew Henry points out that this was during the time of the last two judges of Israel, Eli and Samuel, who were not military men, but priests.  It then moves on to the reign of the first two kings, Saul and David, and their anointing by Samuel.  The book begins before the birth of Samuel though, when his mother Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, was one barren.  Verse three adds, And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.  Elkanah was a Godly man and went out of his hometown to Shiloh once a year to worship and sacrifice to the LORD when two of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas were the priests there.  So, evidently Eli's sons were priests as well, though they may have been so because of their birth and not by a calling from God..  Sometimes, a preachers child will be called to the ministry today, but simply being a preacher's child does not mean that a person is called into to preach.  Verse four states, And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:  Verse five adds, But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.  When the time came for the family to eat their portion of the feast, Elkanah gave Peninnah and her children ample portions, but gave Hannah the choice parts of the feast.  Matthew Henry says Elkanah married Hannah first, and since she was barren, married Peninnah, who bore him sons and daughters, but that still did not make her the favorite of Elkanah.  Families divided by jealousy will never be happy families.  Neither wife was responsible for the situation, but they both suffered for it.  We as Christians may sometimes suffer for a situation that we have no control over, but if so, we need to continue to put our faith in God and ask Him for guidance in the situation.  Verse six continues, And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.  Peninnah is said to have provoked Hannah because she was barren.  This may have led to her feeling superior to Hannah, but if we are blessed by the LORD with things that others may lack, we should never feel superior to them as followers of Christ, and we certainly shouldn't put others down because of our blessings.  Verse seven says, And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.  This didn't just happen once, but happened year after year, leaving Hannah so upset by the provocation of Peninnah that she couldn't eat.  We should never put others down because we feel more blessed by God, but should offer them our support in their need and lift them up in prayer instead.  Verse eight adds, Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?   Elkanah asked why Hannah was so upset, asking her if he were not better than ten sons. Either he was oblivious to what was going on between Peninnah and Hannah, or he chose to ignore it. Though we should offer words of comfort to those in distress, that is not enough if we ignore the reason for their distress.  

Judges Review Concluded

Then we have an account of Samson, from his birth to his death.  He was dedicated to God to be a Nazarite even before he was born.  His birth was foretold by an angel, as was his being set aside as a Nazarite.  We as Christians today may not be visited by ab angel before the birth of a child, but we need to acknowledge that they are a gift of God and dedicate them to His service.  Samson never seemed to consult God in much that he did, but seemed to assume that his great strength would always bring him victory.  We should never go through even a day as followers of Christ without consulting God about our day, and we should always put our faith in Him and not our personal abilities.  Samson killed many Philistines before he married Delilah, but after he married her, he seemed to be more interested in pleasing her than in seeking God's will.  This should never happen in our life, and if it does, like Samson it may lead to our downfall.  After he was blinded and abused for a period of time, Samson asked God to give him the strength to defeat the Philistines one last time, and God did so.  If we have turned away from doing God's will in our life, we simply need to ask His forgiveness and He will forgive us.  There were other examples of the people of Israel following false gods and false priests, and we can never afford to do that.  The book of Judges closes with an account of the great sin committed by some of the tribe of Benjamin, their defense by the rest of the tribe, and their ultimate near annihilation in a war against the rest of Israel.   Hopefully, we as followers of Christ will never find ourselves at war with other followers of Christ.  We once again saw the effects of an ill thought out vow almost dooming the people of Benjamin, but their ultimate continuation by the people of Israel finding a way around the vow.  I believe if we make a vow to God, it should be inspired by our faith, and if it is, we will never have to look for a way around it.  We will next look at the book of 1 Samuel. 

Judges Review Continued

After Joshua died, the people asked who would go up against the Caanites, and God said Judah would go, and the people of Judah asked the people of Simeon to go with them, and they agreed, even though God had already promised to deliver Canaan into Judah's hands.  Though it is nice to have other Christians accompany us in our battles today, if God has called us, then He will give us success if we go alone.  We have the record of God raising up many judges, starting with Othniel,  Caleb’s nephew, who delivered them from the Mesopotamian rulers, and them shortly falling back into sin.   The next Judge, or deliverer, after the people called out to God again was Ehud, who delivered them from the Moabites.  The next judge was Deborah, a woman.  God works through many different people to accomplish His will, and we should not set limitations on who God can use.  Barak worked with her, but wouldn't go without her being there also.  Through Deborah's leadership, they were freed from the king of Canaan.  Again, the people of Israel soon turned away from God.  We have the raising up Gideon as a judge, and his doubts and testing of God with the fleece.  We should be able to trust God without testing Him.  We also have the reduction of Gideon's army from a large force to a few, at which time he really had to put his faith in God.  As Christians, we don't need larger armies in our battle against the forces of evil today, though it is nice if we do have them, but we really just need more faith in God.  Gideon by obedience to God and under His power was successful in delivering Israel from the Midianites.  Then, once again the people turned away from God.  We have the record of Abimelech killing the other sons of Gideon, his half-brothers, and claiming power over Israel, but not by God's appointment.  We need to beware of those who would claim power in the church today for their own glory and not by God's appointment and for His glory.  Jotham, the youngest and only other son of Gideon pointed out the error of the people following Abimelech.  God will have ready one to point out our error if we begin to follow false religious leaders today.  We have a record of the judges Tola, Jair, and then Jephthah, who delivered them from the Ammonites, but made a foolish vow which cost him his daughter's life.  We need to avoid making unnecessary vows to God, but if we make them, we need to keep them. After Jephthah, Izzan, Elon, and Abdon judged Israel, and we know little else about them.  They reigned for various periods of time.  We do not know even the names of all the people who have served and are still serving to deliver people from the forces of evil today, but that is okay, because God does.

Judges Review

The book of Judges is filled with what I refer to as cycles of faith.  The people of Israel would at first be faithful to God, though not always totally faithful, then God would bless them with prosperity, then new generation would grow up that didn't know God, and He would allow them to be defeated. They would then cry out to God, and He would raise up a judge to deliver them, and the cycle would repeat once again.  We as followers of Christ should never fall into this pattern, but we often do, except for the raising up of a judge.  Our Judge and Deliverer is Jesus Christ, and instead of Him being raised up again, we simply need to repent of any sin we might commit, and by our faith in Him, we will be restored to a right relationship with God.  Just as the people of Israel did not stop being God's Chosen People when they turned away from Him, neither do we stop being a part of God's kingdom if we allow sin back into our life once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Even though we like the people of Israel may stop receiving the blessings of God during such times, God stands ready to forgive us if we turn to Him again.  The book of Judges begins after the death of Joshua, when there was no successor appointed to rule over Israel.  We are told several times tha their was no king in Israel during these times, but they really didn't need one.  What they needed was a man, or in one case a woman, called by God to lead them under His direction.  This is what we still need today.  At least we will never be in this situation of not having a spiritual leader as Christians, because the Holy Spirit indwells us to guide our actions if we listen to Him.  We then have a record of the people of Israel conquering the Promised Land, though even then thay did not completely obey God, leaving some of the people in the land still alive.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we cannot leave any sin still alive in our life if we want to successfully follow Him.  Also, during their times when they forgot God they were without a judge, or leader of the nation.  Of course, God was really their ruler, if they had only allowed Him to be.  If we are without a preacher, or religious leader today, we still have the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Judges 21:16

Judges 21:16 says, Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?  The elders of Israel then asked how they were to provide wives for the rest of the men of Benjamin, since they had killed all the women of Benjamin.  Their solution had not eliminated the whole problem.  Sometimes, it may be more difficult to eliminate all the problems that our rash actions as Christians may cause than we might realize.  Verse seventeen adds, And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.  They said there must be an inheritance, or continuation of, the tribe of Benjamin, including the two hundred men who as yet had no wives.  Verse eighteen adds, Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.  Still, they had a problem, because they had sworn not to give their daughters as wives to the Benjamites.  This was a problem of their own making, and they were still looking to themselves for a solution.  We are not told that they consulted God before taking the vow or as they sought a way around the vow.  Of course, if we make a vow to God, we should not be looking for ways around it, and we should make certain that He has led us to it to start with.  Verse nineteen continues, Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.  They remembered that there was a feast of the LORD at Shiloh every year.  Verse twenty states, Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;  Verse twenty-one adds, And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.  The leaders of Israel said to the remaining men of Benjamin to come out of the vineyards at the feast when the women were dancing and claim themselves a bride and return to the land of Benjamin.  Basically, they were told to kidnap two hundred of the women of Shiloh, and the people of Shiloh were definitely not consulted about this plan.  If we are attempting to get around a vow to God we certainly should not do so at the expense of other people, especially others who are a part of God's people.  Verse twenty-two continues, And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.  The leaders said when the men of Shiloh came to complain, that they would basically tell them that this was their fault because they had not reserved brides for the men of Benjamin during the war.  Of course, neither had anyone else of the people of Israel.  We should never expect just a few people to bear the responsibility of something that we as Christians have all caused.  They said that since the men of Shiloh had not given the women to the men of Benjamin, they had not disobeyed their vow.  Again, we should never make a vow to God and then try to find a way around it at the same time, especially at the expense of others.  Verse twenty-three says, And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.  The men of Benjamin did as they had been instructed to do.  The women as usual had nothing to say in the matter.  Verse twenty-five adds, And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.  After this, all the people of Israel returned to their own inheritance.  They had gathered against the tribe of Benjamin because of the actions of a few of their members, avenged the Levite for the death of his wife, and then devised a way to have the rribe of Benjamin continue to exist, so now they returned home.  I believe some of this was done at God’s direction, but not all.  Verse twenty-five continues,  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  At this time, there was once again no king in Israel, so the people did what was right in their own eyes.  Of course, there were still priests and God's law to go by, but they chose not to be guided by them, but by their own desires instead.  Even when they later had a king, they still often disobeyed God, the king included.  We as followers of Christ will always have the Holy Spirit to guide us, and should never be guided by our own desires.