MIDWEEK
ADVENT 3
December
18, 2013
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
1 Samuel 2:1-10
“SAMUEL’S FAMILY: PREPARE WITH JOY!”
I think I’m detecting a pattern here
during our Advent Worship. You hear you are going to have a baby or do have one
and you sing a song of praise. After Mary heard she was going have a baby and
shared the news with her cousin Elizabeth she broke into a song of praise that
we now call the Magnificat. As you heard in our Advent reading when John the
Baptist was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth, Zechariah sang a song of praise.
Our text today is kind of another song of praise. It’s sometimes called the Old
Testament Magnificat because of some content similarities with the Song of
Mary. We find it in the prayer Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.
1
Samuel 2:1-10 (NIV
1984) “Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my
horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts
over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 2"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides
you; there is no Rock like our God. 3"Do not keep talking so
proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a
God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4"The bows of the warriors
are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5Those who were full hire
themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no
more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who
has had many sons pines away. 6"The LORD brings death and
makes alive; he brings down to the grave and
raises up. 7The LORD sends poverty and
wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy
from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of
honor. "For the foundations of the earth are
the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. 9He will guard the feet
of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; 10those who oppose the LORD will be
shattered. He will thunder against them from
heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will
give strength to his king and exalt the horn of
his anointed."
Hannah was the mother of the Old
Testament prophet, Samuel. He faithfully served the Lord as the nation of
Israel moved from the time of the judges to the time of the kings. Do you
remember his beginning? His mom Hannah had no children. She prayed to God at
the Tabernacle for the gift of a son and vowed that if God gave her a son she
would give him back for a lifetime of service to the Lord. God answered Hannah’s
prayer. She gave birth to Samuel. When he was perhaps three Hannah took him to
serve at the Tabernacle. He would not live at home. He would stay their full
time. Moms, can you imagine that? How would you feel when you said Good bye? I
guess that’s what makes Hannah’s praise stand out. She said this prayer on the
day she left Samuel at tabernacle.
Listen again to how she starts. “My heart rejoices in
the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.” It’s almost impossible to believe but Hannah
rejoiced. Her prayer to God is one of thanks and praise. Why? How could she do
that? The Holy Spirit had Hannah focusing on the big picture. In the little
picture Hannah had to say good bye to her little boy. From what Scripture
records Hannah would see him once a year at the annual sacrifice. Certainly
that caused sadness. But in the big picture she was aware of God’s plan of
salvation. Her son would serve the God who saves His people. Her son would anoint
the next kings including the one who needed to be king, Jesus’ ancestor, King
David. She and her family were in God’s plan of salvation.
Seeing the big picture helped Hannah to
rejoice in her relationship with God. Listen again to how she saw God. "There is no one
holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
3"Do not keep talking
so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who
knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4"The bows of the
warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5Those who were full hire
themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was
barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. 6"The LORD brings
death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7The LORD sends poverty
and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” Hannah saw that God was holy. A
Rock. She saw that God helps
the needy, the humble, the lowly and who spits out the proud and self righteous,
those who are full of themselves. That helped Hannah to rejoice in who she was
and who God was. With no child back in those days she had been pitied and
looked down on. Probably by herself too. Now she knew that the Holy God helped
the poor in spirit, those who appear to be nothing to the eyes of the world.
The proud and arrogant would get theirs in due time.
Now what can we learn from Hannah that
helps us get ready to celebrate Christmas and always be ready for Christ to
come a second time? How about that we remember to see the big picture? It would
have been easy for Hannah to be overcome with the sorrow of saying good-bye to
her little boy but seeing the big picture of God’s greater plans she rejoiced.
How about you? Are you bogged down in the details? Are they taking your joy
away? Life in the sin messed world is riddled with hard things we must face. We
might be poor in spirit and in money. Sicknesses come and go. Family problems.
Saying good bye to loved ones for a short time or the longer time of death.
Sins of weakness and sins of choice cause problems for ourselves and others. If
those or other problems have you down pray to the Holy Spirit to help you focus
on the big picture. God has his plans. Like Hannah and her son Samuel you and I
are privileged to be a part of them. Think of it. You are a piece in God’s plan
of salvation. You too get to rejoice.
You too know and see God in the right
light. God is holy. He does help the humble and the lowly. There is no place
for pride or arrogance before Him. Remember it is not by strength that one
prevails, but by trusting in God. And He’s a God we can trust. You see Hannah
wasn’t the only one who gave away a son, was she? God did. God did when He sent
His one and only son Jesus. There was a big picture. People were helpless to
save themselves. People were damned to Hell. People needed to be delivered. For
that a sacrifice needed to be made. It was much greater than not seeing a child
for a time. God would have to punish Jesus. And He did. But that’s not where it
ended. Jesus rose. Jesus lives. Jesus will come again. So God’s people prepare
with joy. Amen.
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