July 31, 2023

Prayer, seen rightly, can be a source of peace no matter the outcome.

1 Samuel 1

Hayle Oberle
Monday's Devo

July 31, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 31, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 31, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 31, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 1:10-11

She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."

1 Samuel 1

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb. 1 1:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the LORD had closed her womb 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.” 2 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God

Samuel Given to the LORD

21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, 3 1:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls an ephah 4 1:24 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.”

And he worshiped the LORD there.

Footnotes

[1] 1:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the LORD had closed her womb
[2] 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God
[3] 1:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls
[4] 1:24 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

S2:146 1 Samuel 1

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Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 1

I, like Hannah, have experienced yearning for a child. Growing up, I longed to someday become a mom. It was a dream of mine! When I got married, that dream seemed closer than ever before. A few months into trying, we experienced the loss of our unborn baby. We were heartbroken. By God's grace, we were surrounded with community group and family members who had also experienced miscarriages. But even while I was being comforted and supported by others, there was still a deep pain that led me to cry out to the Lord. 

We see here that Elkanah has two wives: Peninnah who had many children, and Hannah with a barren womb. Peninnah teased Hannah for not being able to conceive. This, coupled with a desperate desire for children, caused Hannah to weep, so much so that she would not eat. It was custom for the Israelite families to annually bring sacrifices to the tabernacle and worship the Lord through feasts. During one of these gatherings, all of the hurt and pain she had been experiencing became her catalyst to pray. Right at the doorpost of the tabernacle, Hannah knew God would hear the cries of her broken heart (Psalm 116:2). Hannah walked away with a changed heart posture long before her circumstances changed.

How was she able to do that? 

Because she chose to trust God. She knew that He would either grant her request like Eli prayed for, or He would change the desires of her heart. Hannah completely put her circumstances into her Father's hands. 

Whether it's the plea for a dream we long for, the mourning cries over loss, the request for financial provision, or the petition to understand what to do next, we can trust that the Lord hears our prayers. Once we pour out our hearts to Him, we can walk away with peace, no matter the outcome. Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock."

This month's memory verse

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

– James 3:17

Discussion Questions

1. What is something you are struggling to fully trust God in? Have you prayed and asked Him to help you do so? If not, take a minute now and share with Him what's on your heart. 

2. Have you had an experience in which surrendering your worries to God brought you an indescribable peace? If so, take a minute to reflect on it and let it be a mark of remembrance for when you go through the valleys ahead. (John 16:33)

3. Reach out to your community group and ask them if they would be willing to share anything that they might be having a hard time entrusting to God. Get the conversation started! Confess to, pray for, and encourage one another in the wonderful promises of God. (James 5:16; Hebrews 3:13)

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Hayle. Thanks for your devo. Amy and I had a similar set of trials as you all did. Three miscarriages in 1st trimester. Then medical intervention and then three kids. All three pregnancies had some level of difficulty. On two we thought we would lose them. Mind bending stress. in 2012 the last two became very difficult prodigals. For some reason God loves to grow me by testing me. Q1-Q2 answered below.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

“…HANNAH ROSE.” In the early 1990’s I started going to a therapist to help me with some very tough issues. Amy and I had been to him and his wife for several years for couples therapy. They had both come to know us well. The internet was booming and business was incredible. I was overwhelmed with the work and the torrent of money that was coming in. The bad part of this is that the pressure to produce and the stress of running the business had become unbearable. I was constantly arguing with Amy and yelling at my kids, then 4 and 6. I yelled at every one on my team for the least mistake. What was going on? A big part of this issue for me is that I had a false voice telling me what my roles are. In provision, I was killing it. In protection, I was struggling. In presence, I was failing. I was no kind of shepherd. The key was the voice, the false voice. It kept telling me lies about what was important. And what was not. The turn came in a very intense session with the therapist. In the midst of my describing the latest series of blow ups, arguments, and fights he got a very concerned look on his face. Then he did something I had never seen him do. He leaned far forward, scooted his chair up close to mine, looked me in the eye and said, “Hugh, you have to stop yelling at your kids.” I was stunned. We talked at length for weeks and weeks about this. I came to understand that the false voices I had grown up with were still with me. And they were eating me alive. I had to make a change. Fast. My response to the verbal and physical abuse I got as a kid was to work so hard to succeeding that it blocked out everything else. Bad choice. One of the main reasons I love Hannah is that she seems to be having a similar experience. Tim Keller has a fantastic sermon on this passage. 40 minutes. It’s one of my very favorites. Is it a must listen? Yes, I’d say. Especially for this passage. https://podcast.gospelinlife.com/e/hannahs-prayer-1593667106/ Short summary- He points out that Hannah had two voices coming at her, Elkanah and Peninnah. Elkanah telling her she was the one he really loved and that, to him, Peninnah was just a baby factory. Peninnah telling her she was a failure as that culture defined success as having a large number of children. The more the better. No limit. Hence, polygamy. Hence, problems. Keller notes that the key is verse 9. He quotes scholar Robert Alter, an expert in reading ancient Hebrew. He notes that the key phrase in the passage is- “Hannah rose”. In Hebrew its an idiom that means something like, -Hannah had had enough, -Hannah took charge, -Hannah took decisive action. Please stop and re-read verses 9-18. What did Hannah do that was the decisive change? She prayed. She prayed hard. She prayed long. She prayed her heart out. Notice that last sentence- “Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” The read? OBEDIENT SURRENDER. See also Luke 22:42. Now God has brought us to the rest of how her story plays out.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

One of the key learnings for me in re:gen was about abuse. All different kinds of abuse. Virtually all of it represents a “false voice” telling the person that they are something other than a child of God made in His image. What Hannah did was she stopped listening to the false voices and sought to hear the voice of God. Did I do that in 1996? I did not. What I did do is accept the truth that I was not responsible for the false voices. But I was responsible for my response to them. That’s what I changed. 17 years later was when I hit the same wall Hannah and so many others did. It was only then that I started down the road back to Eden.
MS

Michael Sisson

PREFACE “Samuel lived at the end of the period of the judges and ushered in the period of kingship. He was Israel’s last judge (1Sam 7:6; 7:15-17) and first prophet (1Sam 3:20; Acts 3:24; Acts 13:20). He functioned as a priest (1Sam 2:18) and was a great man of faith (Heb 11:32).“ — Tyndale’s ILLUSTRATED STUDY BIBLE https://www.tyndale.com/sites/tyndalebibles/samuel-israels-last-judge-and-first-prophet/ COMMENTARY Re: 1Sam 1:6-7 1Sam 1:6-7 (NASB) >>>Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her<<<, because the LORD had closed her womb. It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, >>>she would provoke her<<<; so she wept and would not eat. Just as Hagar had despised the barren Sarai (Gen 16:4-5), so Peninnah despised the barren Hannah. However, just as the L-RD brought forth Isaac through Sarah, so He also brought forth Samual through Hannah. Even the mothers…the vessels through whom G-d would bring forth both a progenitor and a prophet, were despised. This is yet another link in a chain of examples throughout scripture of the far off, approaching Despised Messiah (Num 24:17a), His types, His progenitors, and His prophets being unrecognized, mistreated, and despised. Thusly, Peninnah’s mistreatment of Hannah foreshadows the prophetic role the fruit of Hannah’s womb would play. Re: 1Sam 1:11 1Sam 1:11 (NASB) She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, >>>and a razor shall never come on his head.”<<< Samuel would be a lifelong Nazirite (Num 6:1-21) Re: 1Sam 1:22 1Sam 1:22 (NASB) But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; >>>then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD and stay there forever.”<<< In giving Samuel, Hannah was in essence dedicating her firstfruits to the L-RD.
MS

Michael Scaman

Samuel was born of travail and a promise of answered prayer. In the law of Moses an oath could be set aside by a husband or father on the day he heard it. Did Hannah's husband believe or have a never really gonna happen attitude at first? Don't know. As Samuel grew he would be a reminder not just to his parents but also to Eli. Hanna;s husband may have grew into believing te promise as his unfavored wife became pregnant and the child became reality. The child would be a reminder to the other wife of a special blessing for Hanna and in part a measure of reolution abd avoidance of more of that conflict. By the time the child was weanned they seemed all in as they gave a 3 year old bull as a sacrifice when they brought Samual as something like a 3 year old kid to te temple. Since Hanna was not thte favored wife I wonder if sending him to boarding school at the temple for life spared him from some trouble at home with the favored wife and kids? Like the children of Rachel and Leah where strife in one generation led to strife in the kids. It seems Eli was moved because he worshipped the LORD when he took it all in and the blessing he gave is now a toddler, toddling his way to the temple. Samuel was an walking talking growning reminder of God's faithfulness.
SB

Sue Bohlin

SUPER devo, Hayle! Bless you! First, Hugh, beloved brotherfriend--THANK YOU for sharing your story about the voices in your head, and linking it to Hannah. The longer I'm in regen circles, the more I hear of what a BEAR the sin ditch of anger is for so many people--especially toward their kids. It's so damaging. #harmsdonetous Second, I winced at how Eli assumed Hannah was drunk and lit into her instead of investigating what he THOUGHT he was seeing. Having just finished Judges, where we also saw people jumping to wrong conclusions based on their assumptions, I am praying for greater sensitivity to my assumptions so I can lay them down and be more of a grace-giver by asking the Lord to give me His eyes to see other people. Third, having spoken about gender differences for years, including how competition is such a driving force in many boys and men, I remember how I always include the caveat, "Of course, we've all known uber-competitive girls and women as well; it's not a gender-restricted characteristic." And here we see it in Peninnah despising Hannah, just like we did with Sarai and Hagar, and Leah and Rachel. Competition can be a healthy thing where it helps everyone to do their best, even beyond what we think we can do; but it can turn ugly, into the contempt of "I'm better than you." Did Jesus run races with other boys when He was young? I bet so. What would have happened when the other boy won? He probably would have clapped him on the back and said, "Good race! You did good! I'm glad for you!" And if He won? He wouldn't have said, "Well duh, of course I won, I'm God!" He probably would have clapped the other boy on the back and said, "Good race! You did your best. You'll probably win next time."
MH

morgan houghton

What is something you are struggling to fully trust God in? Have you prayed and asked Him to help you do so? If not, take a minute now and share with Him what's on your heart. I would say right now it would be my relationships. God has provided me and blessed me with so many things but yet I am struggling to trust he will provide Godly relationships and friendships and also help me to be a good friend. 2. Have you had an experience in which surrendering your worries to God brought you an indescribable peace? If so, take a minute to reflect on it and let it be a mark of remembrance for when you go through the valleys ahead. (John 16:33) Yes I would say when i was praying about what school to go to for college. I was unsure of where God wanted me to go and I was nearing all the deadlines and hadn’t made a decision. Finally after sharing with people around me and praying for direction I gave up control and God showed me where He wanted me to go and provided the means to get there, and in just 2 weeks I will be finished with my degree!
AL

Amy Lowther

1. Currently, I trust God in everything. Prayer: God thank you for being strong and loving. Thank you for being respectful to everyone in everything good and everything not so good. These things help me trust you and can help others trust you too. Amen. 2. I went through a demoralizing conflict. Surrendering everything to God gave me peace and continues to give me peace as I proceed in other activities. 3. God, we look to you for guidance as we live. We thank you for the glory you let us work with and live in. May others come to you, surrender to you, and experience your glory as we have. Amen.