Day 98 – 1 Samuel 1-3

Talking Points

• The Bible records Elkanah’s great love for Hannah.
• Hannah, living in great sadness, takes her cause to the LORD (1:10). She does not strike out at her rival. She doesn’t complain to her husband. Rather she “pours her heart out before the LORD” (1:15).
• It’s interesting to note — Hannah’s countenance changed before her condition did!
• Hannah has a son! She remembers God’s faithfulness. She also remembers her vow. Is it a sadness or a joy to give her son to the service of the Lord? Either way, God blesses and uses Samuel.
• Eli’s sons are called “worthless.” They are wicked in their actions. They are priests who did not “know the LORD” (2:12). Family lineage does not matter. Position does not matter. Proximity to God did not matter. It is a person’s heart.

Thoughts

What is the call of Scripture? Genesis to Revelation, 66 books recording the voice of God — What is the call of Scripture? Is it a call to religious duty — a listing of things that will somehow appease a rigid God? Is it a call to morality — a call to live life according to some moral code? Is it a call to a certain belief set — a set of facts and truths that result in enlightenment? Is it a call to be “saved” or delivered from a terrible, waiting fate?

The call of Scripture is so much better. The call? It is the kind voice of a marvelous, gracious God saying, “You can trust Me, so trust Me.” From start to finish, we hear this echo. “I am your Creator, your Sustainer, your Provider. So, trust Me. I am your Father, your Friend, your Savior. So, trust Me.” On every page, you can hear it. “Trust Me.”

One night, as I was sitting in bed reading, my then six-year-old daughter appeared. She was carrying her pink princess Bible and had been reading these very verses in 1 Samuel, Chapter 3. (I know, preachers’ kids are weird!) She said, “Daddy, when God calls you, you should answer, right?” Tears began to fall. “I think He’s calling me.” I pulled her up on the bed, and we went over the gospel that she had heard many times before. We prayed. It was now her gospel. She trusted Jesus, and by that faith, He was now her Savior — all from reading 1 Samuel, Chapter 3! A little girl had heard the call of Scripture — “Trust Me.”

“Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, ‘Come follow Me'”