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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode is: HANNAH’S SACRIFICE

In 1 Samuel we find a story of a woman named Hannah. She was married to a man name Elkanah. He also had a wife named Peninnah. She had sons and daughters. Peninnah bullied Hannah because she was baren.

Every year they went to Shiloh to sacrifice and worship. Every time Hannah was sad. It grieved Elkanah that she was so sad and would not eat. She prayed many times for a son. She went before the Lord and wept asking God for a son.

1 Samuel 1:11 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 razor come upon his head.

She continued to pray before the Lord. She had a discussion with Eli after he accused her of being drunk. She explained that she was distraught because she was barren.

1 Samuel 1:17-18 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18 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 conceived and brought forth a son. He was named Samuel. As soon as he was old enough to be weaned, she took him to Eli. Hannah had made a promise to God that if he gave her a son, she would give him to the Lord. Eli mostly raised Samuel in the house of God. God then blessed Hannah with five other children.

Often the things we have worked hard or prayed hard to obtain in our lives are tested. Hannah wanted to be a mom more than anything in this life. But she then took what God gave her and gave back him to God. It is a great gift to God when we give him what he has given us. He gives us life and we give it back to him to honor him in worship and obedience.

God sometimes will allow us to be tested. Will we stand for truth and for God? Is our relationship with God the most important thing in our lives. Are you willing to give up the very thing you prayed for in tears before the Lord? That job, that house, your place of tranquility in the back yard, that position of standing in the community, or your position in church leadership? What has God given us that we should not be willing to give to him? Nothing.

He gave us life and we come to him in repentance and say I give to you, my life. But do we surrender all of it to him. I think over time we slowly take back control without even knowing it. Especially, if you have a personality that you are born to lead and control things.

Giving God full control is often hard. But he is the only one that can truly make our lives the fullest and happiest. There is a joy in serving Jesus. We often hear those words. They are very true. But there is also a lot of pain that people don’t want to talk about, that comes from the trials of being a Christian.

There are times that following Jesus will cost you a lot. Maybe even your family, because they don’t understand your passion. But as time goes by, people see that you did the right thing.

As we read the story of the life of Samuel, it is apparent that being a prophet of God was his destiny. We would not even know who he was, if it wasn’t for the position he held in God’s work. If Hannah had raised him then he would have never learned all he needed to know to be a prophet of God.

Hannah brought Samuel clothes from year to year when she came with Elkanah to worship and sacrifice. Samuel grew and was favored by the Lord and men. I am sure as she watched him become a grown man, that she was pleased with her decision.

God grew ever more weary by the day with the sons of Eli. He was displeased with Eli also for allowing them to continue in their wickedness. They cheated the people when they came to sacrifice to the Lord. They committed fornication with women who stayed in the doorway of the temple.

God always has a plan for his people. He knew that Eli’s sons would grow up to be evil and would not turn from their wickedness. Even after they were warned, they continued. God will let sin continue for a season. He is longsuffering and allows people every opportunity to make things right. If we choose to not turn from our evil, he will soon turn us over to it. When this happens, destruction is just around the corner.

God elevated Samuel to be the prophet of Israel. This happened right before God allowed Eli’s sons to be killed in battle. Eli died when he got the news of his sons. God’s will, will be accomplished even if He has to use a donkey. We need him more than he needs us. If we will not do what he asks us to do, he will send someone else.  

It is easy to judge the people in the bible. I have often thought, how could the children of Israel build a golden calf. After all they saw God do for them. But human nature wants to be comfortable and in the absence of things working like we think they should we fill in the blanks. They had head knowledge of God, but not heart knowledge.

This I think was true for Eli’s sons. They were raised to know all about God, but somehow missed the relationship part. They didn’t really know who God was in their hearts. Because their hearts were full of evil. They allowed pride to get in their way.

But God used the desire of a woman to have a child and the knowledge that she wanted to please God. He knew she would give him to the work of the Lord. So I have to ask again, what are you willing to sacrifice? Do you have head knowledge about God or do you have heart knowledge? Questions to ponder as you meditate on the goodness of God today.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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