The Story- Chapter 10 Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• Today we as we continue on our journey through The Story, we are still see a nation that is not in good shape.

• Chapter 10 of the Story covers the book of 1 Samuel 1 through the early part of chapter 15. These chapters cover Israel through the circumstances leading up to the birth of the final Judge of Israel, Samuel through Israel’s demand for a worldly king and his subsequent failures.

• The key idea for today’s message is the word DISTORTION.

• The word DISTORTION is defined in the Bing Dictionary as “a change that makes something no longer true or accurate, to change the way something looks, sounds, or behaves so that it becomes strange or difficult to recognize.”

• I do like electric guitar distortion! But usually when something is distorted it is not a good thing.

• WE have seen pictures and most of us have heard music through 8-tracks. Maybe out satellite dish pixelates during a movie. 24! Seeing a distorted picture or hearing music that is distorted is no fun.

• The nation of Israel was to be a model nation for other nations to behold.

• The nation was meant for other nations to be able to see God working through the nation, but Israel was really giving the world a distorted view of God.

• So as we explore 1 Samuel in chapter 10 of the Story we are going to examine three major distortions of the perfect picture God set before His people.

• I want to begin our exploration by first examining…

• SLIDE #2

SERMON

I. The backdrop of the three major distortions.

• 1 Samuel opens with what seems like an episode of Sister Wives. A man named Elkanah (EL KAIN NAH) had two wives Hannah and Peninnah (PEN NIN NAH).

• Hannah was childless and heart-broken. She was having a rough time of it because she was unable to have children up to this point.

• On the other side of the coin the second wife PEN NIN NAH had children and she gave Hannah a lot of trouble and provoked her to a deeper pain.

• When men do not get along, they will fight it out and be done with it, but women, and I saw this when I worked for Square D, when women are upset with one another, they would figuratively paper cut their opponent to death.

• In an episode of Sienfeld, Elaine is talking about how boys fight: they punch and hit each other and then afterwards it’s all over.

• But, she said that women fight by talking behind each other’s backs until one of them develops an eating disorder. 

• This is what was happening with Hannah and PEN NIN NAH! Hannah developed an eating disorder, she lost her appetite, and she crying all the time.

• SLIDE #3

• 1 Samuel 1:6–7 (NIV) Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

• Then of course EL KAIN NAH was ask Hannah why she was crying and not eating? REALLY?

• We are not told exactly why PEN NIN NAH was so mean to her other than the Bible tells us that EL KAIN NAH LOVED Hannah and would give her a double portion when it came time for sacrifices.

• After some more time passed Hannah went to Shiloh she was praying, her lips were moving but no sound was heard.

• She had prayed to God and told Him if He would allow her to have a child, she would dedicate the child to God.

• SLIDE #4

• 1 Samuel 1:11 (NIV) And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

• Eli the priest was watching her and accused her of being drunk. Once she explained she was not drunk but praying to God from a broken-heart, Eli sent her on her way and said may God grant her prayer!

• Well, God heard Hannah’s prayer and blessed her with her son, Samuel!

• When Samuel was weaned from his mother, she dropped him off to Eli at the Tabernacle so he could serve the Lord as she promised.

• She would go visit Samuel every year with a new robe!

• SO this leads us to the major distortions of the true picture of God the nation would show.