1 Sam
1:1-6 (NIV) 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.
NOTE: This forms a
bridge between Judges and the introduction of a new period in Israel. Not only does it also introduce Samuel
but it shows what life was like in those days. A number of negative things
stand out. One, Elkanah had two wives (a common practice but still wrong). The
other wife bullied and provoked Hannah, instead of showing love and mercy.
Hophni and Phinehas, two wicked men, were the priests. They regularly stole
from the offerings and used their position to bed women. Eli, while not
mentioned here, was so fat that he died falling over. And in the midst of all
this ugliness is one young women whose heart's desire is to have a child. It
has a lot of similarity to Mary's story. God begins a work in a young lady with
a heart to do what is right. While the rest of the nation is falling apart, God
has slowly begun a work that will transform the nation.
The small things may
not seem important, but how do we know if our obedience in the small things
might not result in a major change years from now. God desires men and women
with a heart to seek him and to do what is right. He can use what the world
sees as weak in something incredibly strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment