Hannah was praying silently; but she was moving her lips as she prayed. The Spirit of God must have been heavy upon her because a priest named Eli, who was watching from the door of the tabernacle, saw Hannah and thought she was drunk.
He approached her and shamed her.
Can you imagine pouring your heart out to God so much that His Holy Spirit fell heavy on you and then being interrupted by a priest who thought you were a drunk?
Did Hannah not have enough shame piled upon her for being childless? She had not been able to eat or drink, but she had turned to God and He was speaking to her. His very own priest had disturbed this prayer.
You can’t help but feel the emotion rising from Hannah’s heart.
WELCOME
Welcome to the COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY which is presented every Thursday at The IN SEASON Lifestyle blogsite.
Today we are in our second lesson from The Book of Samuel. The passages used to produce our story can be found in 1 Samuel, Chapters 1 and 2.
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HANNAH DEFENDS HERSELF TO ELI
Hannah seemed to have a knack for finding herself in tough situations. She must have been shocked when Eli interrupted her prayers.
Quickly she defended herself.
Probably blushing, the troubled woman explained that she was only deep into a passionate prayer to God. Hannah explained to Eli that she had just taken the vow of raising any son God sent to her as a Nazarite. Of course that would mean that she, as the mother to such a child, would not be touching wine either.
I hope Eli was at least embarrassed!
His actions toward Hannah in this story verify what we all should remember; that priest of God are simply humans too.
A holy priest should have been able to recognize when someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, so much so that they seemed out of control, or drunk.
All Eli was thinking about during this time was his duty to monitor what went on on inside God’s House. Probably preoccupied by the many preparations for the feast, Eli had temporarily lost his main focus.
Taking full advantage of the moment, the devil was clearly up to his usual deceptions. God’s House is his favorite place to redirect godly people from their true missions.
In the end though, it didn’t really matter.
As usual, God turned what was intended for evil back around and let it be something used for good. How so?
If she had not had such an odd interruption from Eli; Hannah might never have confessed her vow to God to her priest. This was an appropriate moment to share with her priest.
Eli won by default.
Neither was Hannah robbed of the fact that God had surely paid her a strong visit that day.
PENTECOSTAL MOMENTS
Think for a moment beyond this ancient time and go a little further into its future history.
The New Testament speaks of the first Pentecost. The amazing day happened in Jerusalem 10 days after Christ had ascended into Heaven after His Resurrection from the grave. On that day, Pentecost, He sent us a Comforter; The Holy Spirit from God.
Remember what the people gathered on that day thought about the Christians who were gathered in huge numbers?
Acts Chapter Two describes what happened. It is so short and to the point that I will print it here for you to read:
ACTS CHAPTER TWO (NIV)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia. Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliverance plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
“’I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’”
Fellow Israelites I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of The Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
HANNAH WAS NOT DRUNK
Hannah was no more drunk than these New Testament believers who received God’s Holy Spirit on a future Day of Pentecost. She was only FILLED with the holiness of a God who had heard her prayers and answered them.
When Eli was satisfied that Hannah was not drunk, he left her to finish her prayers. As he departed he said; “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” Hannah answered with “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went back to join Elkanah and Peninniah and her children.
At this point Hannah felt better. She was finally able to eat and enjoy the rest of their time of worship. After the feast they returned to their home in the hill country of Ephriam.
HANNAH’S MIRACLE FROM GOD
Once they were home, Elkanah was careful to pay extra attention to Hannah.
It wasn’t long before she found herself pregnant. With great joy in her heart she told Elkanah the good news. Then, she also informed him of her prayer and the vow she had made to God. Hannah knew when her son was weaned that she must take him to the Tabernacle to live out his life as a Nazarite priest. She wanted to enjoy every passing moment until that happened.
Everyone was happy on the day that this son was born. Hannah named him Samuel, which means: “Because I asked The Lord For Him.”
Note to our readers: Don’t you love how the message of God’s Holy Days are hiding inside this story of Samuel’s life? We have learned much about them in this story. I’m telling you loud and clear that the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ is also hiding inside the book of Genesis. Have you already discovered this? If not, you might enjoy purchasing Gail Landgraf’s books called THE GOSPEL HIDDEN IN GENESIS (BOOKS ONE AND TWO.) Why not go to Amazon.com and order your copies today? The backdrop of Genesis is a very helpful tool to have as we discover more of these stories that happened to Samuel.