Hannah's Prayer

We have all been there. At a place where our situations are so great and so overwhelming and so out of our control that we are left defeated and bowed at the feet of the only One who is in control and who is greater than our situation. Whether that is due to a sickness or death of a loved one, a job  situation, a wayward friend or loved one, a longing for something, or any sort of upcoming life change we have all come to the feet of Jesus, pouring out our hearts, crying out to the One who is over it all. 

Hannah is remembered for one such time. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. His other wife, Peninnah, had children. It is not clear how many, but she was a fruitful woman and had many sons and daughters. Every year when Elkanah would go up to the Temple to sacrifice and worship he would give portions to Peninnah and her children and to Hannah he would give a double portion because he loved her. Peninnah was a jealous woman. So she would provoke Hannah grievously trying to irritate her because Hannah could not have children. The Bible mentions that this would happen year after year! Can you imagine? I know many women who have struggled to have children. I can't imagine the agony that this would have caused Hannah on top of being barren. I can only imagine the thoughts that were going through her mind. Feeling like a failure as a woman for not being able to have a child. We need to be careful as women to watch our tongues. Peninnah is only known for having a cutting and biting tongue. 

Hannah had a burden so great she would not eat or drink and it brought her to tears. Her husband tried to console her, but Hannah rose and went to the Temple. She sat right outside the door to the Temple and prayed to God and wept bitterly! Here was a woman completely broken after so many years of putting up with Peninnah's cutting words and so many years of not being able to give birth to a child. Knowing the Holy Spirit dwelt in the Temple during this time, she went as close as she possibly could to the feet of God and poured her heart out to Him in prayer. 

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.”

Hannah made a promise to God. And she continued to pray. She was so caught up in her prayer to God that Eli, the priest, came and saw her eyes closed and lips moving but not uttering a sound and he thought she was drunk! He commanded her to give up her wine! But she answered Eli and told him that she was not drunk, but rather a woman troubled in spirit who was pouring her soul out to the Lord.

Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Hannah found peace and comfort at the feet of her Lord. She was able to eat and drink. She had given her burden to God and she knew everything was going to turn out ok. 

So, what happened to Hannah? Well, the next morning they woke up early and worshipped before the Lord, then when they came home, Hannah and Elkanah loved each other and she conceived and in due time gave birth to a son who she named Samuel. 

I do not know what burden you are carrying around today, but I know the God who does! I know the God who can take your burden and carry it upon His shoulders for you! I know the God who is in control of every circumstance and situation you might be facing! I know the God who is strong enough to give you peace through the hardest of hardships! 

My God says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

Fall at the feet of the one who can carry your burden today! Let us be like Hannah and bring our cares to Christ daily! Let us be remembered as prayer warriors, just as Hannah is remembered. If you want a closer relationship with your creator you need to communicate with Christ daily! 

Ruth. Faithful, Obedient, and Blessed

The story of Ruth begins with Naomi. And it begins rather sad. Naomi's husband Elimelech dies. She is left with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Both take wives, Orpah and Ruth, who were Moabites. Then Naomi's two sons die and she is left with just her daughters in law. Naomi then proclaims she is changing her name to Mara, which means bitter. Her loss was that great. She then urges her daughters in law to go back to their mothers house. Orpah decided to go, but Ruth decided to stay and remain faithful to Naomi till death. 

The Faithful Ruth

But Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister- in- law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister- in- law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. Ruth 1:14-17

Ruth was determined to stay with her mother in law till death. She obviously loved this woman dearly. 

Would we be considered loyal or faithful women? I would argue that women today lack this description. Yes, they may be faithful to their immediate families, but it ends there (and some are not even faithful to their families). Women today are selfish, empowered by the feminist movement, determined to make a name for themselves (not always a bad thing when perspective is kept right), seeking gratification. 

What does it mean to be faithful? It is a giving of yourself in order to lift up another higher than yourself. When I think of faithfulness, the first thing that comes to my mind is the heart of a servant. Willing to put their desires aside in order to fulfill the desires of another. 

As a wife and mother, this is hard to do! No, you wouldn't look at me and say I am unfaithful to my family. But how many times as women do we put our desires above those of our children and husbands? Even the longing for selfishness is unfaithfulness. Does that mean that we don't need time to ourselves? No! We need moments everyday where we can get a few moments to ourselves. Whether that is to spend time in God's Word, enjoying a cup of coffee as we seek God. We need those moments in order to be better wives and mothers. What I am talking about is sacrificing time with our husbands or children to pursue selfish things. That could be spending too much time out with your girlfriends (not a bad thing to spend time with girlfriends, but when your family suffers at the expense of Mommy having a good time then your being unfaithful), spending too much money on things for yourself, letting the house go unclean, not spending quality time with your children or spouse, and neglecting your responsibilities in the home. All point to unfaithfulness. 

Ruth gave up everything to be faithful to her mother in law after her husband died. And God blessed her for it! 

The Obedient Ruth

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother- in- law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:8-12

Ruth decided to work in the fields to help Naomi. Ruth decided to work in the fields of Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi's husband. While she was working in the fields, Boaz saw her and immediately took an interest in her. He instructs her not to leave his field for her own protection, as I am sure she was beautiful and if she went somewhere else she would not have the protection Boaz could promise. She obeys. Boaz also has noticed her faithfulness to her mother in law. Boaz makes a point of providing for her because of her faithfulness and obedience. 

She then goes back to Naomi and brings her the barley she had worked for and even the rest of the food she was given. She explains to Naomi how she had worked for Boaz. 

Then Naomi her mother- in- law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” Ruth 3:1-5

Ruth obeyed Naomi even in this. What Ruth did was the equivalent of asking Boaz to take her as his wife. Which would redeem her family. 

The Blessed Ruth

 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter- in- law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth 4:13-17

Boaz chose to redeem Ruth and took her to be his wife. He saw her faithfulness and her obedience. He knew she would be a faithful and obedient wife to him. God richly blessed Ruth. She gave birth to a son whose name was Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David! Jesus was born into the lineage of David! 

How will your faithfulness and obedience influence your heritage? Will God richly bless you? We need to strive to be faithful, and obedient women! Obedient to God, our husbands and obedient to any other authority that God places into our lives! Let us strive to instill faithfulness and obedience into future generations as well! 

 

When Men (and Women) Do Only What is Right In Their Own Eyes.

Today, I read the horrible story of the concubine in Judges 19. The chapter begins by stating, "There was no king in Israel." Countless times throughout Judges it recalls how the people were choosing to do what was right in their own eyes. I believe this account of the concubine is an extremely vivid example of the consequences that come from the choice of going our own way instead of doing what is right in God's eyes. 

I did a little bit of research today trying to understand the story a little bit better because, frankly, it broke my heart. 

Who were concubines? Concubines were women that had a relationship with a man who was normally married. Think mistress, but generally was more accepted by the man's wife. They played more of a servant type of role to the man. 

 In chapter 19, a Levite took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem while sojourning in Ephraim. She was unfaithful to him, and fled to her father's house back in Bethlehem. He pursued her and went to speak kindly to her. Some think he may have caused her to flee by getting angry after she was unfaithful. Her father was so happy to meet the Levite that he persuaded him to stay 5 days! Finally, the Levite took his concubine, his servant, and two donkeys and left the concubine's fathers house.  They passed by Jerusalem and decided to spend the night in Gibeah. They have no place to stay, till they run into an old man coming in from working the fields and he invites them to stay with him at his home. 

Then worthless men of the city surround the house, beating on the door, asking for the old man to give them the Levite so they can "have their way with him." 

Does this not remind you of a similar story? How about the story of Lot and his angelic visitors? This story almost exactly parallels that one. 

So, here is what happened:

The old man answers the worthless men of the city, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man (the Levite) seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning.

Because everyone did what was right in their own eyes, it was wicked for the worthless men to have their way with the old man's visitor, but it was not wicked for them to do what they did to the concubine? 

I just want to pause and cry! This girl was not of a most moral sort by any means, she had made herself a sex slave of sorts to men. But without God, men (and women) are only going to pursue wickedness. In a world where God is pushed aside and people go about trying to live without him, women tend to get abused and mistreated. We see it in this city and we see it today in our world. This is why a healthy, God centered, marriage relationship is so important! This is why God stressed that we follow Him! It is only then that wickedness is avoided and women are treated with respect and dignity, and love! 

Unfortunately, the story does not end here for this concubine. She was abused so horribly by the worthless men that she died. Her master took her and went home and then cut her in 12 pieces and sent her piece by piece throughout all of Israel. 

The world we live in today wants nothing to do with God and we can see the affects of that decision by turning on the news each day. Women all over this world are treated as objects by men, abused, raped, and killed. 

We need to do everything we can to support our husbands and encourage them to be Godly men! We need to raise our children to live lives where they desire only to follow God! How do we do this? By being women who do that which is right in God's eyes! 

Where is our focus? The story of Samson

As you make my way through Judges, you begin to see a continual cycle. The people of Israel continually do what is right in their own eyes and turn away from God. God then appoints judges over the people to try to revert their focus back to where it should be...on God alone. One of those Judges was Samson.

His story begins in Judges 13. 

The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So, God gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years! The Philistines were the enemies of both God and the children of Israel. Aggressive and warmongering people given to pagan worship. 

There was a man named Manoah, from the tribe of Dan, who's wife was barren. One day, an angel of the Lord came to her and said,

“Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

I am sure this woman was excited! She ran and told her husband these things! 

Then she obeyed the commands given, and gave birth to Samson. He grew and God blessed him! 

After you read the rest of the story of the life of Samson, you can't help but cringe. Samson's life can be summed up with these words, "He did what was right in his OWN eyes."

And it all began with a simple choice in chapter 14. 

Samson SAW a daughter of the Philistines and determined in his heart that he was going to have her as his wife. His parents even questioned his decision and tried to encourage him to look for a wife from their own people. But Samson declared in verse 3, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

It is clear from the beginning that Samson was not living his life to please God, but rather to please himself. I wonder what would have happened if he had chosen a wife from his own people as his parents tried to encourage him to do, or to do what was right in God's eyes. It is a simple choice, but one that can alter our future greatly! 

The next mishap comes while he goes down to meet this woman of the Philistines. A lion comes upon him and he tears it to pieces with the strength that God has given him. According to Old Testament law, he would have been unclean at this point. But he continued on and did not tell his parents what had happened. Because he was unclean from touching the carcass of a dead animal he needed to go through the ritual of cleansing. But he did not.  And again, after some time he passes by the carcass of the lion and sees a beehive and fresh honey inside the carcass. He then takes and eats the honey and gives to his parents to eat it too. He does not tell his parents where it has come from. Again, he is unclean and disobeys the law of cleanliness because he is choosing to do what is right in his own eyes!

While he is at the feast of his marriage to the Philistine woman he seems to make a bet of sorts with the thirty companions at the feast. He tells them a riddle and bets thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes that they cannot figure out the riddle by the end of seven days. He is then swindled by his new wife to tell her the answer to the riddle. She then tells the companions. Obviously, there is a lack of trust in this new marriage. So, Samson, in his hot anger, goes and strikes down thirty men and takes their spoils and returns back to his fathers house. His wife is then given to his best man to be his wife. A consequence of doing what is right in his own eyes. 

After some time, Samson seeks out his wife to go in unto her, but her father steps in his way and tells him that she is not his wife anymore and tries to give Her sister to Samson. Again, he reacts in anger and ties together the tails of 300 foxes and sets them on fire and lets them loose in the fields of grain and olive orchards. Destroying the crop of the Philistines. As a result, his wife and his father in law are burned with fire. 

By this point, you are begging Samson to see the results of his actions and turn and seek what is right in God's eyes! But let's continue on. 

When the Philistines come to Judah to find Samson and get rid of him, he uses the strength God has given him and kills 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey. 

Then in verse 18 of chapter 15 of Judges: 

And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived.

Again, Samson could only give himself credit for what was done. Everything was all about himself. He did not give God the glory for what was done. 

And it only goes down hill from there....

Chapter 16 begins with him making use of a prostitute and then he lays eyes on Delilah. For the first time it says he loved a woman. Unfortunately, she would be the end of Samson. Delilah was approached by the lords of the Philistines who offed her 1,100 pieces of silver if she could tell them Samson's weakness. So, she seduces and presses Samson 3 times. The first two times he does not tell her the truth and he gets out of his bindings, but the third time he shares that his hair has never seen a razor and if it does he will lose his strength. So, while he sleeps she has a man shave his head and then she wakes him by once again saying that the Philistines are upon him! He rises and, not knowing that his strength has left him, goes out to fight them and is subdued by the Philistines. They pluck out his eyes and bind him with bronze shackles. 

After this, the lords of the Philistines hold a grand feast to celebrate how their pagan gods allowed them to conquer Samson. Over 3,000 men and women were on the roof celebrating and they brought Samson bound before them to entertain them. Samson was brought forth and he asked the man who held him if he could lean against the pillars of the house. 

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

And Samson then leaned on those two pillars and put all of his weight into it and he brought the whole house down and killed himself and all those 3,000 of the lords of the Philistines. The number of those he killed with him was more than he had killed in his life. 

Even in his last cry to God, Samson's focus was on himself and what he could do instead of on God and what God could do. His focus was off. As I read the story of Samson, I couldn't help but go back to the beginning and wonder what would this story be like if Samson had a focus on God and what would have happened if his choices were God centered choices instead of self centered choices? I do believe that he could have been used in a greater way for the glory of God! Yes, Samson still began to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines as the angel had declared in chapter 13, but Samson wanted the glory for himself. 

Samson also made it into the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews chapter 11:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Samson was made strong out of weakness and was used to begin the salvation of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Despite Samson's misplaced focus, he was greatly used by God. We may also have a misplaced focus in our lives like Samson did. Does that mean God can't use us? No! But I do believe if we have a God centered focus, God can use us in greater ways! Let us begin today to give God the glory for EVERYTHING! It is only through Him that we have the gifts of strength, compassion, helps, prophecy, etc! Where is your focus? Let it be on God alone! 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31