Tuesday 26 November 2024
For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” She left him there for the Lord. (vs 27-28)
Background
The first chapters of Samuel give us his origin story. They are being used to show how Samuel was born for a specific purpose. In this case to be a prophet God would use to give the people the king they were asking for after the chaos which the book of Judges describes.
Today's reading tells us how his mother Hannah was a woman of faith, who seems in an almost heartbreaking situation. She promised that if she got pregnant she would give the child to God for all the days of his life.
She indeed gets pregnant but knows she should fulfil her vow to give the child to God. In this reading she gets to have some precious time alone with the child – who the first part of 1 Samuel tells us she was so desperate to have – but then once he is weaned she takes him up to the Temple and gives him to Eli, the Temple priest.
Hannah is fulfilling the deal she believes she has with God and believes her son has been given for a specific purpose.
To Ponder:
- This can seem a heartless story because of the way in which Hannah is so desperate for a child but then has to give him away because of the deal she has done with God. Do you ever feel that God is asking things of you which require almost too great a sacrifice?
- This tells us Samuel’s origin story and the way in which God was working in his life before he was even aware. Looking back at your own life, can you see points in your childhood where God was preparing you for something?
Bible notes author: Sally Rush
Sally is a Learning & Development Officer in the Methodist Connexional Team.