Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 26 - 1 Samuel 1

Transcript

December 26 - 1 Samuel 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:10
  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is.
• 0:14
  Tuesday, It is the 26th of December.
• 0:17
  Yes, it's Boxing Day, that Christmas.
• 0:22
  Penultimate day, that climax yesterday.
• 0:25
  We have had it, and it was glorious.
• 0:28
  And now for many of us, we have this quiet time where we may not
• 0:33
  have to be going to work every day and we can enjoy a little
• 0:37
  bit of a breather after the craziness of the Christmas
• 0:40
  season. And today we begin a new book,
• 0:44
  which is wonderful. We will begin reading through
• 0:47
  the book of Samuel. First Samuel and Second Samuel
• 0:51
  were originally the same book, just broken into two halves, so
• 0:54
  we will treat them as one book as we read through them.
• 0:58
  And this this is the story of God revealing himself to his
• 1:04
  people and about establishing kingship and what does kingship
• 1:08
  even look like? And so Samuel himself.
• 1:11
  He's not the main character of these books.
• 1:13
  David, although these books will climax with God creating a
• 1:17
  covenant with him as king over his people, he is not the main
• 1:22
  character of these books either. God is the main character as he
• 1:27
  continues to reveal himself as Israel's true king and this will
• 1:32
  eventually come to its fullness and expression in Jesus.
• 1:37
  But we're a long way from Jesus. I know he was just born
• 1:40
  yesterday, but as far as this story goes, it's still a long
• 1:44
  time in the life of Israel. So as we read through this, this
• 1:48
  is not going to be a historical document.
• 1:51
  This is very much going to be from God's perspective, how
• 1:56
  these people do in this situations of power and how they
• 2:00
  rule according to God's opinion and God's criteria.
• 2:05
  And this is very, very unusual in the ancient Near East.
• 2:08
  You know how we have the saying that history is written by the
• 2:11
  victors? Well, that was very much the
• 2:14
  case. And all the history that was
• 2:16
  written at that time was written to the glory of the ruling king
• 2:20
  who was the victor. But not so in this book as this
• 2:24
  is God's perspective. So we have got a long way before
• 2:28
  we get to there. But first we are going to meet
• 2:31
  Samuel and see God anointing him for his life of service.
• 2:35
  So join me friends, as we begin this journey reading together.
• 2:38
  First Samuel, chapter one. There was a man named Elkanah
• 2:53
  who lived in Rama in the region of Zaf, in the Hill Country of
• 2:58
  Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son
• 3:02
  of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zaf of Ephraim.
• 3:08
  Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Penina.
• 3:12
  Penina had children, but Hannah did not.
• 3:16
  Each year, Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and
• 3:20
  sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven's armies at the
• 3:23
  Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that
• 3:26
  time were the two sons of Eli, Hofny, and Phineas.
• 3:31
  On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give
• 3:35
  portions of the meat to Penina and each of her children.
• 3:39
  And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice
• 3:43
  portion because the Lord had given her no children.
• 3:47
  So Penina would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord
• 3:51
  had kept her from having children.
• 3:53
  Year after year it was the same. Penina would taunt Hannah as
• 3:58
  they went to the Tabernacle. Each time Hannah would be
• 4:02
  reduced to tears and would not even eat.
• 4:06
  Why are you crying, Hannah? Elkanah would ask.
• 4:10
  Why aren't you eating? Why be downhearted just because
• 4:13
  you have no children? You have me.
• 4:17
  Isn't that better than having ten sons?
• 4:20
  Once, after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and
• 4:24
  went to pray. Eli the priest, was sitting at
• 4:27
  his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.
• 4:31
  Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to
• 4:35
  the Lord. And she made this vow.
• 4:38
  O Lord of Heaven's armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and
• 4:44
  answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back
• 4:48
  to you. He will be yours for his entire
• 4:51
  lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord,
• 4:56
  His hair will never be cut. As she was praying to the Lord,
• 5:01
  Eli watched her, seeing her lips moving, but hearing no sound, he
• 5:06
  thought she had been drinking. Must you come here drunk?
• 5:10
  He demanded. Throw away your wine.
• 5:14
  Oh no, Sir, she replied. I haven't been drinking wine or
• 5:17
  anything stronger, but I am very discouraged and I was pouring
• 5:22
  out my heart to the Lord. Don't think I'm a wicked woman,
• 5:26
  for I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.
• 5:31
  In that case, Eli said, go in peace.
• 5:35
  May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.
• 5:40
  Oh, thank you, Sir, She exclaimed.
• 5:43
  Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer
• 5:47
  sad. The entire family got up early
• 5:52
  the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more than
• 5:56
  they returned home to Rama. When El Canar slept with Hannah,
• 6:01
  the Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth
• 6:05
  to a son. She named him Samuel, for she
• 6:09
  said, I ask the Lord for him. The next year, Elkanah and his
• 6:16
  family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord
• 6:20
  and to keep his vow. But Hannah did not go.
• 6:24
  She told her husband. Wait until the boy is weaned,
• 6:28
  then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there
• 6:31
  with the Lord permanently. Whatever you think is best,
• 6:36
  Elkanah Agreed. Stay here for now, and may the
• 6:39
  Lord help you keep your promise. So she stayed home and nursed
• 6:44
  the boy until he was weaned. When the child was weaned,
• 6:49
  Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh.
• 6:52
  They brought along a three-year old bull for the sacrifice and a
• 6:56
  basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they
• 7:01
  brought the boy to Eli. So do you Remember Me?
• 7:05
  Hannah asked. I am the woman who stood here
• 7:09
  several years ago, praying to the Lord.
• 7:12
  I ask the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my
• 7:15
  request. Now I am giving him to the Lord,
• 7:20
  and he will belong to the Lord his whole life, and they worship
• 7:25
  the Lord There. You are a faithful God.
• 7:38
  Thank you that you do hear our prayers.
• 7:42
  Thank you for the story of this faithful woman and her anguish
• 7:46
  that she poured out to you, knowing that you bend your ear
• 7:52
  to hear her cries. Lord, I pray that as we go about
• 7:58
  our days, that we too would come to you with the anguishes of our
• 8:03
  hearts and the yearnings of them too, that our first instinct
• 8:08
  would be to share our life with You, our loving Creator, our
• 8:14
  heavenly King. And as we read this book
• 8:17
  together, we look forward to learning about your kingship in
• 8:22
  our lives so that we can more fully worship You, our Savior
• 8:29
  and our King. And it's in Jesus name that we
• 8:32
  pray all of this. Amen.