I Samuel 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
There are a couple of things we want to note here today. Yesterday, the Lord impressed upon me to challenge the children, in the presence of their parents, of the importance of listening to the Word of God. Sunday School is not designed to entertain the children for a time. It is an important time where the word of God must be taught.
Sunday School is not a substitute for daily Bible teaching in the home. When we look at I Samuel, we read of a woman named Hannah who was the second wife of a man named Elkanah. This man had a problem with God. As we see in our verse from chapter 3, this man was not well versed in the Scriptures. Either he was not interested or there just was not much good teaching at that time.
We know that Eli, who was the priest at that time was a careless priest. He had two sons who did not know the fear of the LORD. They were adults at the time, and Eli allowed them to take part in the priesthood. They were abusing the sacrifices. The people became discouraged and they began to despise the sacrifices because of the abuse of those two sons. Eli spoke to them, but he did not stop them.
The Bible teaches us that we cannot force anyone to believe the truth. However, we can stop them from defiling the Truth. Eli should not have allowed his sons to participate in the duties of a priest. They were unfit for the task.
The attitude today too often is: we will let the lost have a part in the services because that way they will gain an interest in them. Most churches today are run by lost people. The people like to have it that way. Lost people can be sympathetic to the emotional desires of the people. They have no way of dealing with the emotional needs of the person. Lost people are often stuck in their rut due to their pride. Pride is a powerful sin that hinders the person from receiving the truth.
In I Samuel 1, we read that Hannah desired to have a son. Her competitor, Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. It is a natural and good thing for a married woman to desire to have children. It is also natural for any godly woman to have a desire to have children. However, the godly woman will wait until she is married to have children. If God does not give her children, then she can always be involved in helping mothers that have children as they need it.
Hannah took her concern to the right place. She sought help from the LORD. She knew that He is the only help for man. Hannah was not a selfish woman. She just wanted to have the privilege of carrying a child and giving birth to a child. She specifically wanted a son. She was willing to give that son to the LORD for His glory.
God heard her prayer and He opened her womb and she conceived. She was true to her word. She gave birth to this son and she kept him with her until he was weaned. Then she took him to the Tabernacle and gave him to Eli, to serve the Lord.
Hannah was living in a house that was already conflicted. God’s design was for one man and one woman to marry and remain married for life. Elkannah had two wives. We know that was a conflict. He thought he was being a good husband to both of them, but that is not possible. He did not understand the heart of a godly woman.
As we noted, Eli the priest was not fulfilling God’s will for him. The people were starving spiritually and he did not guard the sacrificial system as he should have.
In our opening verse we read that the word of the LORD was precious at that time. The Hebrew word translated as “precious” in that verse is found 36 times in the Old Testament. The first time it is used is found in our opening verse. The word speaks of the value of God’s Word. Again, Eli was not doing his job and the people did not have access to God’s Word as we do today. The people were very dependent upon the priests, to teach them the word of God.
Today we have access to the Word of God in a greater way. We can have it on our phone or on our computer or in book form. The important thing is to read and study God’s Word. The important thing is to read God’s Word to our children on a daily basis. God’s Word is precious. It is valuable. It is life giving. We ought not to neglect the reading and preaching of God’s Word. In Psalm 36:7 the same Hebrew word is translated as “excellent”. God’s Word is excellent.
As we consider that, we need to realize the short window of time we have with our children, where they are so much like a sponge. They soak in so much in those first few years. Hannah had those first few years with Samuel. The mother has a special place with the child as they nurse that child. God’s design for nursing is so much better than man’s way. There is a genuine attachment between the mother and the child as the child sucks on the mother’s breasts. That is lost in the bottle.
Hannah did not have access to the Word of God. The only Word she would know would be what she heard from the priest and possibly from her husband.
Those first few years of that child’s life are so important. God directed Paul to warn us of the importance of redeeming the time. The time keeps ticking. Every moment goes by and we can never get it back. Those first few years of a child’s life are so important in shaping the course of that child. Of course, every child has a mind of their own that they will develop. It is so important to put the right information before the child in those first years. Of course there are people who get saved later in life. God’s mercy and grace is unique. That does not give us licence to be careless with the time that God gives to us. We need to examine the use of the time God gives us and be sure we are using that time wisely.
Samuel was blessed to have a caring mother like Hannah. He was protected from the carelessness that he found in the Tabernacle under Eli’s care. When the right foundation is laid, God will use that to build the right life upon it. Freewill is always there. The Holy Spirit is also there to work in the heart of the lost. Adults need to be sensitive to His working in the lives of those young ones. We need to be careful to set the Word of God before them in a way that God can bless. To be continued.
Pastor Bartel