Fulfilling My Vow to the Lord
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Fulfilling My Vow to the Lord
1 Samuel 1:28-2:26 ESV
28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. 2 “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. 9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” 11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home. 21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.
26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.
With my wife, Reu and I expecting the birth of our son next month I wanted to ask the parents a few questions but given some context first. She claims that I’ll be too much of “the fun parent” and will have a hard time saying no. She makes this assumption because I give my godchildren many gifts and would do anything for them.
Which of you is the parent who lets your child get away with something even by a little?
Which of you is the parent that doesn't waiver from the agreed decision for your children?
Let me give a scenario. Let’s go back to when you had your first child. You’ve given your first and only child an hour of playtime and then they have to eat dinner, finish homework or go to bed. It’s now five minutes left of that given time and your child is now asking to have a little bit longer of playing time. Do you keep your word by declining their request or do you give in a little because that’s your only baby? And do they go straight to your spouse because they know they’ll let them get away with it. Or maybe you both always agree and will say no. If you answered the latter, well that, I don’t believe.
Today in our text we will learn the result of a few people who either waived on their initial decision or stood firm in their vow or calling. Let’s dive right in.
I. The Child Dedicated
Our text today is formed a little differently from how we normally start a message. Notice we don’t start with 1 Samuel 2 which begins with the prayer/praise of Hannah, a woman who rejoiced in God. It follows the last verse of chapter one in which Hannah vows to dedicate her son Samuel to the Lord. This is important because we need the background of why we are here. Remember from last week Dr. Jerome’s message and the dedication passage I led? Hannah was a faithful mother, who offered up her son born out of barrenness.
1 Samuel 1:28 “‘Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there.”
That’s our starting point. Hannah is giving Samuel back to the Lord to serve in the temple, keeping her vow. The son she requested from God that opened up her womb will now be in service of the Lord for his entire life. It was what she promised to do back in the last chapter.
1 Samuel 1:11 “And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’”
From what we read as a congregation at a glance we can see Hannah's prayer is filled with praise to the Lord, by calling him Savior, Rock, Teacher, Judge, Provider, Guardian, and King. Hannah overflowed with gratitude for how God had worked in her life through both the highs and the lows. Yes, all these are true and though it was a blessing for her petition to be answered, it must have been difficult to let him go. On the day of Hannah’s prayer, it sure wasn’t an easy day. She was leaving her only son to be a servant in the temple alongside Eli the priest. Can we take a second to put ourselves in her shoes/her perspective? This might be a little easier to picture for parents especially moms. Imagine what it would be like to spend three years nurturing this child, and then taking him to the Tent of Meeting, leaving him there forever, to be raised by the priests and to serve the God of Israel. Would you be able to give away your only child and see him once a year?
Leaving Samuel behind, she had to go back home with her husband Elkanah. This also meant she would face the rivaling wife Peninnah who would be sure to remind Hannah about her lack of children. However, as depressing as it may seem, this was really an amazing day for Hannah, because she was confident in how the Lord would use Samuel. She knew that God had great plans and purposes for her only son. Now that we have our background let’s keep looking at Hannah’s song unto God.
A. Hannah’s Thankfulness to God (v. 1-3)
1 And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. 2“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
Hannah’s heart rejoiced, not in Samuel, but in the Lord. She looked beyond the gift, and praised the Giver. She rejoiced in the salvation of the Lord, and in expectation of His coming, who is the whole salvation of his people.
A lifted-up horn provides a picture of a proud animal with its head held high asserting strength. Hannah is saying that the Lord has given her strength and security in trusting Him.
My mouth “derides” is another way of her saying I smile at my enemies, though she was put down by Peninnah. God lifted her up and she rejoiced in Him vindicating her.
To say the Lord is holy, is to say He is completely set apart; that He is beyond unique, and not like any other.
Brothers and sisters, do we exalt the Lord like this in our own songs of thanksgiving? Especially if we‘ve come from a low struggle like Hannah? Notice how Hannah doesn’t boast of anything she does but gives God all the thanks.
3 “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”
Hannah certainly had her rival in mind but she also saw Peninnah as a representative of all the proud and arrogant people in the world. Hannah wisely told the proud to talk no more and to let no arrogance come from your mouth. Pride can be expressed in many ways, but it usually is expressed by our words. Church, because the Lord is a God of knowledge isn’t that the best reason to forsake our pride? Next to God we know nothing. He knows us and by Him our actions are weighed. The majestic and powerful God humbles all those who boast against Him. This theme is shown all throughout 1 and 2 Samuel as we’ll be studying with the coming weeks.
B. Hannah’s Praise of God and His Attributes (v. 4-8a)
4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
“The bows of the mighty are broken” - We should be humble before God because He knows how to humble the strong. Those who were full are now begging and she who has many children has become feeble. If we are strong or exalted now, this is the reminder that we should keep humble because the LORD can change our place quickly.
“The LORD makes poor and makes rich” - He brings low and exalts: Hannah knew she was barren because the LORD had closed her womb (1 Samuel 1:6). She knew God first set her low, and then brought her high. She could see the hand of the LORD in all of it.
Take note of the several contrasts here, mighty/weak, full/ hungry, barren/fertile, dead/alive, poor/rich, humbled/exalted. We should be humble before God because He knows how to exalt the weak. If we are weak or in a low place now, we should wait humbly before God and let Him lift us up. His word says of how He lifts the lowly and humbles the proud.
C. Hannah’s Confidence in the Lord (v. 8b-10)
8b For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. 9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
“For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s” - The picture here is the earth’s stability. God is in control. He's got the whole world in His hand. He guards the faithful and the wicked cut off in darkness.
“For not by might shall a man prevail.” - Nothing of our own strength could we ever prevail. Hannah knew that the foundation of the earth itself belonged to the LORD. God uses His power to set things right. It isn’t enough for us to believe God has this power. We must truly know He will use it for His glory and righteousness.
“He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed” - At this time Israel did not have a king. So when Hannah spoke of His king she looked ahead to the Messiah, who will finally set all wrongs right. He is His anointed.
She ends her song with the confidence that God will give strength to the anointed one. This points to the royal nature of the anointed one whom God would raise up. The awesome thing about this song is that it will be echoed, centuries later, by Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke 1.
Now for us who have children and have dedicated them to the Lord are thanking God for blessing us with children with the opportunity to serve Him? If what happened to Hannah happened to you, what would you say? What kinds of words would describe, would express, would sum up your experience or view of God? What would you emphasize? How would you speak, with what kind of tone?
Are we acknowledging all of God’s attributes and taking confidence in them? Are we choosing to give thanks for all that God has done? The same God who created the earth is the same God who causes us to triumph. Let’s be able to bless the Lord with our own prayer and praise for all that He’s done.
II. The Contrasting Dispositions
Here we have the opposite of God-fearing and God-glorifying examples. After reading Hannah’s prayer and how Samuel was dedicated, we now have a clear contradiction to that.
1 Samuel 2:12 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.”
Verse 12 tells us that sons of Eli the High Priest of Israel, Haphni and Phinehas were “worthless men.” Let’s stop there for now. In other versions the phrase reads “sons of worthlessness” which denotes morally corrupt individuals. This was a significant problem, because the sons of Eli were in line to succeed him as high priest and they were functioning in the priesthood. The second half of this verse says: They did not know the Lord: Even though their father Eli knew the Lord, that knowledge was not passed on genetically to his sons. They had to personally know the Lord for themselves. That’s the same case for today, church. Your children’s faith isn’t yours; it has to be their own. It can’t be done for them, we need to be leading our children in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and in service of the King.
This disregard for the Lord can be seen in the way these two took advantage of their priestly position; let’s see just how exactly.
1 Samuel 2:13-17 (NLT)
13 or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. 16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” 17 So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
With many of the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle, a portion was given to God, a portion was given to the priest, and a portion was kept by the one who brought the offering. God’s portion was always given first, so it was wrong to take the priest’s portion before they burned the fat. The fat was thought to be the most luxurious, best part of the animal, so they gave it to God. The idea was that God should always get the best, and God should get His portion first. But in their pride the sons of Eli took their portion before they burned the fat placing themselves before God. They were greedy and motivated by physical appetites. They had no interest whatsoever in spiritual things. Their god was their belly.
“No, give it to me now; or, I will take it by force” (v17) The greed of Eli’s sons was so bad that they did not hesitate to use violence and the threat of violence to get what they wanted. The greatness of the sin of Eli’s sons was clear because through their greed, violence, and intimidation they made others not want to come and bring offerings to the LORD. It was bad enough what they themselves did; through their sin they caused Israel to despise the offerings to the Lord. Their sin removed the joy Israel received as they worshiped God. Of all people the priests should have enhanced the people's worship of God. Enough about these corrupt guys, let’s see how Samuel differs in his situation.
1 Samuel 2:18-19 (ESV)
18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
Many other versions start this verse with the conjunction “But”. This sets up the contrast of how Samuel was nothing like the two corrupt brothers. As bad as Eli’s sons were, Samuel was different. We can see that Samuel’s purity and service is a clear contrast to the evil of Eli’s sons. We can see God’s hand raising up Samuel as opposed to the corruption of Eli’s sons. God knew how bad Eli’s sons were, so He guided the whole series of events that resulted in Samuel’s service at the tabernacle. If Eli’s sons were not worthy successors, then God would raise up someone else.
You know what’s really sad, especially for a young pastor like me starting a family, there is corruption in many ministers. I hope we aren’t blind to it because there are scandals and downfalls of many big named pastors a lot more now. However, here’s the good news: It does not stop, or even hinder the work of God. It may look like it; but every time there are men like Eli’s sons, God raises up someone like Samuel. God’s work does not stop when God’s ministers become corrupt.
Even as a young child what did Samuel do? “He had small responsibilities, appropriate for his age, such as setting up lights/lamps, cleaning, and learning/playing music. And yet even in the small forms he did it all for the Lord. Though a child, Samuel served God better and in a greater way than the sons of Eli did. Despite his age Samuel distinguished himself in his service to the LORD. The term “served” is not used of slaves, and it often denotes a higher level of service, including priestly service. His mother is only able to see him once a year and brings very beautiful robes. Though Hannah gave her little boy to the LORD, she never stopped loving him. Her son might be gone from her home, but not gone from her heart. Imagine for Hannah this was definitely a tough time only seeing her only son once a year but God blessed her.
1 Samuel 2:20-21 (ESV)
20“Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.’ So then they would return to their home. 21 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.”
Eli took notice of Hannah’s faithfulness. For Hannah there was even more blessing, an unexpected reward for fulfilling her vow to God in dedicating her child to Him. He blessed her with three more sons, and two daughters! Not that this was her attitude but Hannah could never say to the LORD, “I gave you my son, but what did you give me?” because God gave her much more in return. In Hannah fulfilling her vow she was blessed with many children, something that was her burden for the longest time.
We’ve now identified the contrasting characteristics of Eli’s sons and Samuel and a bit about how they were raised/parented. But now let’s see the further growth (or regression) of the characters and what led to that development.
III. The Continued Development
1 Samuel 2:22- 25 (ESV)
22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.
This verse compared to the last section is not focused on Eli’s sons as much as it is on Eli himself. He heard everything his sons did, but Eli only just started to rebuke them about it. Here we have more sin from Eli’s sons: actively committing adultery in the holy sanctuary. It was bad enough that they stole and indulged their own lusts; but they also, by their corrupt behavior, made people hate to worship God with their offerings at the tabernacle and now led women worshippers into sexual immorality. Either way they didn’t listen to their father. They did not want to repent, and God did not work repentance in their hearts. God saw they were corrupt men and wanted to judge them. When the LORD desired to kill them, it simply meant that God desired justice towards Eli’s sons. It’s sad to see due to neglect or no desire to honor God this was the development of the priest's sons.
Parents, the hope is that this won’t be us because we see Eli’s rebuke to his sons here as ineffective. With him even asking “why do you do such things?” We know there’s no excuse or good reason for sin. They had to just be responsible for it. My intro wasn’t something to gain leverage on the less strict parent but to emphasize more here of what could be the wrong move in rebuking our children. And what is that big mistake? Just all talk and no action.
We see here that all Eli did was whine and nag about what they did wrong, but he never took action to correct them. Do you think he put it off until he got old? This corruption in his children didn’t happen overnight. Did it take one last straw of “hearing all that they were doing?” As parents, are all we doing is yelling and lecturing? Let’s create a place at home that places God above all else so that our children would develop a genuine love and devotion for Him.
Let’s take notice at the end of all the good or bad situations surrounding him, Samuel continued to grow, mature and develop?
2:11 “Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.”
2:21b “And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.”
2:26 “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.”
Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men: What a contrast to the wickedness of Eli’s sons! This shows that although Eli was far from a perfect father, he was not a chronically bad father, because he essentially fathered Samuel and he grew up to be a godly man. Eventually Samuel would become the high priest, but all of this was pointing to someone even greater! Years later, there was another young boy who was an only son. When he entered the temple he demonstrated his knowledge of God and amazed the priests with his wisdom. He also grew in stature and favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52 (ESV) “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
This boy was the greater fulfillment of Hannah’s prophetic prayer: “The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (v. 10)
The greater Samuel is Jesus Christ. Like Samuel, Jesus served the Lord from his youth. Like Samuel, Jesus was a faithful priest amidst corrupt religion. Like Samuel, Jesus knew God, and ministered always before him. Jesus is the Messiah King that everything in 1 Samuel points to. There is no one beside him; there is no rock like our God!
I hope we understand the weight that comes with how we raise our children; just look at the examples. Are we ourselves allowing our children to be raised like Eli’s boys or like Samuel? Are we maintaining our promises to the Lord?
Last week I dedicated Isla Fields and these are a set of questions I asked the Fields family and I’m sure you were asked some version of this in dedicating your children.
Do you commit to each other as parents, creating a stable environment in which your child can mature? Will you make a covenant to strengthen your marriage relationship?
Do you commit to be parents of personal faith, recognizing your children are more likely to follow God’s path by the model they first observe in you?
Do you commit to lead a faith-filled home that honors God in all your relationships and in the choices you make in spiritually growing your family?
We should be honoring God by raising up our families in this way. Let’s keep our vows to God by raising up a family that is founded and grounded in the Lord. This needs to be created at home and to be met with consistency. Our children shouldn’t hear us teaching one thing and see us doing the exact opposite! I believe times are getting darker, the issues that are being raised today were rare discussions when I was younger. I can’t imagine what parenting will be like when my children will be engaging me with difficult conversations but, just like Hannah, I am confident and fully trust the one who holds it all in His hands. I’m blessed to have been dedicated, grown up in, and soon start a family here. However, this wasn’t done for me. I had to genuinely commit to God’s call myself following Him wholeheartedly.
I continue to emphasize that your child’s faith in Jesus Christ has to be their own. The full grasp of knowing that God sent His one and only son to pay the ultimate sacrifice must be personally real to surrender one’s life to Christ. Children, for themselves, need to know who Jesus is, not just what is said about Him. They can come to church and take part in ministries but if the decision to pursue Jesus isn’t theirs don’t assume they will live Christlike and teach their children the same. Start today in fulfilling your vow to the Lord. Continue praying for your children; let them see that. Give thanks for his blessings and continued promise in your family’s life but be faithful in stewarding what you’ve vowed to Him.
1 Samuel 12:24 (ESV)
“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”
-Rev. Reuben J. Cabrera