DK Prize Giving 2015, 6th Sept. Life Church.
1 Samuel 1:1-23:
[1] There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. [2] He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. [3] Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. [4] Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. [5] But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. [6] And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. [7] This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. [8] Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons? " [9] Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple. [10] In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. [11] And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty , if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." [12] As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. [13] Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk [14] and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." [15] "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. [16] Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." [17] Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him. " [18] She said, "May your servant find favour in your eyes. " Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. [19] Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. [20] So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him." [21] When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, [22] Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always." [23] "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
- Samuel's Story Starts With a Great Dad
We often think of the story of Samuel beginning with Hannah. It doesn't. It starts with a great husband, Elkanah. He is of the tribe of Levi, the priestly line (I Chron 6:27).
He loves Hannah and gives her a double portion everything. He had two wives, although polygamy was never really the ideal, and would give Peninnah and her sons a portion each. When we read Hannah got a double-portion it means that she got everything Peninnah and her sons got, multiplied by two.
Some things for dads this morning from Elkanah:
Be the Priest in the home:
Bring the family to church. Elkanah is the one who takes his family to worship (3). Whether you like it or not, if you are born again, you set the spiritual temperature in the home. You care called to be the thermostat, not a thermometer. You set the temperature, you don't just monitor temperature.
You want your kids to pray, let them see you pray. You want them to worship, let them see you worship. You want them to follow Jesus, let them see you follow jesus.
Be the Best Husband You Can be:
He gave double potion of things to his wife. Why? He loved her. This is not her demanding things from him. This is him loving her beyond anything she expected.
The best thing a man can do for his kids is to love their mother (Ed Cole). Be her best friend.
Be Her Champion in Prayer Before God:
As Elkanah sacrifices before God he has Hannah on his mind (5-6). You want a happy wife? Get before God on her behalf. your prayers will change the atmosphere in the home.
2. Samuel's Story Continues with a Great Mum
Samuel's brith was a miracle. She could not have kids and then she could. In fact she ended up with five other children (1 Sam. 2:21).
Some lessons for mum's from Hannah:
Pray for Your Kids:
Hannah prayed for Samuel before he was born, after he was born and during his life (11, 20, 22).
never stop praying for the your children. I pray for my kids each day but there seems to be something vested in the prayers of a mother for her children.
Hold onto the Promises of God for your Kids:
Hannah made a promise before she even conceived Samuel.
11: And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty , if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
She promised him to the priesthood before she conceived.
God has a plan and a purpose for each of your children. At times it may look like they are far away from that promise. Everything works out fine for Hannah, sometimes it doesn't for us. Sometimes kids wander from the path. Hold onto what God has told you about them.
Clothe Your Kids:
I know this seems obvious! Hannah doesn't just think that the priests will look after her sons. She goes each year and takes a new set of clothes for him (2 Sam. 2:19).
Don't spoil your kids with the latest things. Every child will want the 'best' stuff but actually all they are doing is learning consumerism, a breaking of the 10th commandment.
Give them what they need. When they are old enough, teach them the things they want have to worked for. Let them earn it! It's a tough lesson.
When our kids were younger we had to say if you want extras, even though we have ben generous. You will have to work for it. This was especially hard as one of their friends had everything he asked for and his dad had a Ferrari!
A Lesson for both mum's and dad's:
Dedicate Your Kids:
Both Hannah and Elkanah are involved in dedicating their son to the Lord (22-23).
The act of dedication is one where we thank God for our children, we give them back to Him as an act of worship, and rely on Him for the wisdom in raising those he had entrusted to us.
3. The Result:
1 Samuel 2:21b: ....Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
Samuel lived at the House of the Lord at Shiloh. We tend to thin that DK/Youth for 45 minutes a week is going to have the same effect! It won't. Do not treat DK as a baby-sitting service, it's not. It is a partnership with you to teach and disciple your kids. Do not think that 45 minutes a week will transform the children God has entrusted to you for a lifetime.
But we do want the same result. If we do our bit and you do yours, we can see what happened to Samuel happen to all our children and youth:
1 Samuel 2:26: And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with men.
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