THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

May 8, 2024

Happy Mothers Day!

LIFE IN THE FOLD

In the first two chapters of 1 Samuel is the story of a very special mother. Honestly, it's an example of a very sacrificial love of a mama for her son; as well as her love and reverence for God.

Hannah longed for a child. Her husband, Elkanah, had two wives, and his other wife had given him children; but Hannah was barren. Her heart longed for a baby!

Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifice to the Lord at the Tabernacle. On the day that he offered his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife, Peninnah, and each of her children. Although he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because she had no children. Year after year it was the same -- Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.

Elkanah would ask her why she was crying and not eating. He asked, "Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me -- isn't that better than having ten sons?"

One year when they were in Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli, the priest, was sitting at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. She made this vow, "O Lord, if You will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to You. He will be Yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut."

Eli was watching her and saw that her lips were moving, but heard no sound. He thought perhaps she had been drinking. When he confronted Hannah about it, she answered, "Oh no, sir! I haven't been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged and have been pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don't think that I'm a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow."

Eli replied, "Then go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of Him."

Hannah thanked him. She was no longer sad and began to eat again.

The Lord remembered Hannah's plea, and nine months later, she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the Lord for him."

When her husband and his other wife and children went to offer sacrifices to the Lord, Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently."

That's exactly what Hannah did. When Samuel was weaned, she took him with her to the yearly trip to Shiloh and presented him to Eli, the priest. She reminded him who she was and told him that the Lord had honored her request for a child. She said, "Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life." Then they worshipped the Lord.

The first ten verses of chapter two is Hannah's prayer of praise. Then the family left and returned home, leaving Samuel at the Tabernacle with the priest in Shiloh. He served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.

Each year his mother made him a coat and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.

Eli spoke this blessing over Elkinah and Hannah: "May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord." And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. Scripture says that the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.

When I read that story, there are so many questions that come to mind. Being married to a man who has another wife would be difficult, to begin with. But then to see that woman getting pregnant easily and being able to birth children must have made a difficult situation even more so; when Hannah longed to be a mother and was unable conceive. Then to have that other wife taunting her and mocking her for her barrenness added to that feeling of longing; and perhaps made her feel inferior and lacking.

We read of other women in the Bible who longed to bear children, but were barren. Sarah longed for a child! God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and made a covenant with him, but year after year passed without her becoming pregnant. She finally offered her servant to Abraham, but that didn't go well; and was not how God intended His promise to be fulfilled. Finally, when Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100, an angel of the Lord appeared once again saying that by that time the following year, Sarah will have given birth to a son. She laughed! But God did what seemed impossible and it came to pass.

Then their son, Isaac, fell in love with Rachel and worked seven years for her. On his wedding night, he found that her father had tricked him and that he was married to her sister, Leah, instead. He loved Rachel and was willing to work seven additional years for her; while married to her sister. Leah birthed many sons, and Rachel found herself to be barren. That caused her to have issues of jealousy. Finally, God did bless her with two sons -- Joseph and Benjamin. She died while giving birth to Benjamin, so was unable to care for her sons and watch them grow up.

I don't pretend to understand Hannah's sacrifice of giving her son, Samuel, to the Lord as soon as he was weaned. I do know that Samuel ended up being a great leader in Israel and the favor of the Lord was upon him. He accomplished much during his lifetime! Had his mother not been willing to take him to the Tabernacle and given him fully to the service of the Lord, would that story have had a different ending?

When she gave Samuel up, she didn't know how his life would turn out. I don't know how long she lived or if she was able to see some of the great things that he accomplished. I just can't imagine longing for a baby for years, then finally it coming to pass, then being willing to give that child up and leave him in a different town than where she lived and allowing a priest to care for him and be responsible for his upbringing. She was only able to see him once a year.

God did open her womb and allowed her to conceive and bear five more children, which was a great blessing. But as much as Hannah loved them and felt blessed by being able to raise those children, they wouldn't have taken the place of her first-born.

What I really want to emphasize is that after Samuel was weaned and Hannah took him to the Tabernacle and left him; she worshipped before leaving to go home. Scripture doesn't say that she mourned and wept and tried to bargain with God.... but she worshipped.

All of us, whether we are a mother or aunt or sister or daughter.... or a father, uncle, brother or son.... go through times in our life when we have to made difficult choices. We go through times when it would be easy to question and try to bargain with God. Perhaps even try to renege on a promise or vow that we made to God. We may have meant the promise when we made it, but when it comes time to fulfill it, we find it difficult to follow through. Our flesh wars with our spirit.

But what if we chose to worship during those times? What if we made the decision to bow and give adoration and honor to God? We all have choices that we make each day -- some easy and some hard. We can choose to worship! We can choose joy over fear and worry. We can choose love and kindness over hate and meanness. We can choose to trust God over questions. We can choose to hold fast, with faith, that God has given us hope and a future!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

The last verse of I Samuel 1 says that after Hannah left Samuel with him, Eli (or Eli and Hannah; depending on the translation) worshipped. But it doesn't say exactly what Eli said. I wonder if it was "Um... Thanks?" or "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Hannah surely knew the story of Moses. She knew that Moses's mother gave him up as an infant. The Pharaoh's daughter found Moses and took him as her own son. But Moses's birth mother was able to take care of him and raise him as his nurse or nanny. It is possible Hannah hoped to have a similar story. But God rarely does the same thing that big the same way twice. He had something big, but very different in Samuel's future.

Eli already had two grown sons. I Samuel 2:12 calls them "worthless" or "wicked" depending on the translation. But Samuel did what was right for God. In fact, while Samuel was still young, God began speaking to him. One of the first things God told him was that Eli and his sons would be punished. Samuel became one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament; enough to have a pair of books about him. He wasn't just a servant of God, but helped train many other prophets as well.

It is hard to say what our sacrifices will bring. But the hardest sacrifices usually bring the greatest good.

ON THE MENEWE:

Creamed Spinach

Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet. Sprinkle in flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until light golden brown.

Toss in onion and garlic and stir together, cooking for another minute or so.

Pour in milk, whisking constantly, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, while you cook the spinach.

To cook the spinach: melt 3 tablespoons butter in a separate pot. Add spinach in increments, until all incorporated; cook until wilted, but not soggy; about 3-4 minutes.

Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Add spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine.

Serve immediately.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I hope you enjoy these bulletin bloopers as much as we do!

Life groups meet on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm for food, fun, and fellow-whipping.

Illiterate? Write to the church office for help.

The peace making meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

It's Drug Awareness Week: Get involved in drugs before your children do.

Great news! Doctors have performed a CAT scan on Pastor McLaren's head and reported that they have found nothing!

When parking on the north side of the church, please remember to park on an angel.

Men's Prayer Breakfast. No charge, but your damnation will be gratefully accepted.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

We can't alter our past.... but we can lay our past at the altar! - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org