A Paradox

 1 Samuel 2:18-21

What a paradox between the sons of Eli and Samuel, we see the extreme, Eli’s sons who are worthless compared to Samuel who is of great worth.  Why are there such extremes and the answer is found in the latter part of verse twelve; “They did not know the Lord.”  The son of Eli had the right birthright; they were of the house of Levi and were priests, much like many in the church who have all the religious jargon and credentials but lack the same thing as the sons of Eli.

Now we explore a little boy coming to live in a corrupt home at the age of three.  His name is Samuel and his mother is Hannah, a woman of great worth who is honoring a promise she made to the Lord.  To give her firstborn son, her first child, after years of being the one who could not have a child; she gave him to the Lord.  Each year Hannah got to see the little guy she gave to the Lord and bring him a little robe she had made for him to wear.  I’m not a mother but I’ve watched mothers and I am sure of this; each year as she took the yarn and wove it into that garment, each loop was filled with prayer for a son whom God was going to use.  Prayer is powerful, lives are changed, and God blesses when we come to Him with a broken and contrite heart, in Psalm 51:17, "God, You will not despise one who comes in this manner."

Often we wonder how our life can be a light in such dark times as we live where hate and sin are so prevalent?  Be a Hannah, be open and honest with God, do what you promise, learn to cover others in your prayers, be kind and loving, and trust God to use you in the manner that He chooses.

I believe Hannah’s life, her faith in a big God had a fantastic effect on Eli and each year he would seek out Elkanah and his wife Hannah and pray for them.  Eli’s prayer is found in verse 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.”   And she returned home, and God blessed her with three sons and two daughters.  Now that’s great but it is the last part of verse 21 that made Hannah’s heart rejoice; “And the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.”

The last thing you or I want is to be referred to as worthless, and I do not know about you, but I’m not a religious person.  I’ve entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ by grace and through the faith given to me by God the Father.  I put no stock in my goodness, but in God’s grace and mercy for a mess like me, and yet I desire to be a light in this present darkness.  Now we know from the latter part of verse 21 that a young man can grow in the presence of the Lord, but can an old man or woman do the same?  Turn in your Bible to Psalm 71:18-21, “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.  Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.  You who have done great things, O God, who is like You?  You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.  You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice