Opening illustration: Have you ever given your children back to God? Some of you may be thinking – why should I? This kid is mine and I have the sole ownership – if you don’t believe it, I’ll show you their ‘Birth Certificate.’ It has my name on it to prove that I am the parent. Well I always thought it meant owner. Something like having the title of the car you own. My spouse and I took a lot of effort in producing this kid as well as raising him / her up. (Well some of you may be thinking, “I’d like to give them back - but I didn’t think God would take them back. I thought He had a ‘no return’ policy on kids! Besides, I lost the receipt!”) The truth is, there is not a parent here who hasn’t had a few moments or days when they wouldn’t have liked to package up that kid and take him / her back to God’s customer service counter and demand, “I want my money back!” [v. 11 Hannah: Challenged God to give her a son & she would return him back....]
Introduction & Background: We read about an account of Elkanah and his two wives, Peninnah and Hannah, 1Sa_1:1, 1Sa_1:2. His annual worship at Shiloh and the portions he gave at such times to his wives, 1Sa_1:3-5. Hannah, being barren, is reproached by Peninnah, especially in their going up to Shiloh; at which she is sorely grieved, 1Sa_1:6, 1Sa_1:7. Elkanah comforts her, 1Sa_1:8. Her prayer and vow in the temple, that if God would give her a son, she would consecrate him to His service, 1Sa_1:9-11. Eli, the high priest, indistinctly hearing her pray, charges her with being drunk, 1Sa_1:12-14. Her defense of her conduct, 1Sa_1:15, 1Sa_1:16. Eli, undeceived, blesses her; on which she takes courage, 1Sa_1:17, 1Sa_1:18. Hannah and Elkanah return home; she conceives, bears a son, and calls him Samuel, 1Sa_1:19, 1Sa_1:20. Elkanah and his family go again to Shiloh to worship; but Hannah stays at home to nurse her child, purposing, as soon as he is weaned, to go and offer him to the Lord, according to her vow, 1Sa_1:21-23. When weaned, she takes him to Shiloh, presents hear child to Eli to be consecrated to the Lord, and offers three bullocks, an ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, for his consecration, 1Sa_1:24-28.
What does it take to release your ownership?
1. Preparing for Dedication (vs. 24 – 25):
(a) Weaning: “To wean” in English Versions of the Bible is always the translation of (גּמל, gāmal), but gāmal has a much wider force than merely “to wean,” signifying “to deal fully with,” as in Psa_13:6, etc. Hence, as applied to a child, gāmal covers the whole period of nursing and care until the weaning is complete (1Ki_11:20). This period in ancient Israel extended to about 3 years, and when it was finished the child was mature enough to be entrusted to strangers (1Sa_1:24). And, as the completion of the period marked the end of the most critical stage of the child’s life, it was celebrated with a feast (Gen_21:8), a custom still observed in the Orient. The weaned child, no longer fretting for the breast and satisfied with its mother’s affection, is used in Psa_131:2 as a figure for Israel’s contentment with God’s care, despite the smallness of earthly possessions. In Isa_28:9 there is an ironical question, ’Is God to teach you knowledge as if you were children? You should have learned His will long ago!’
(b) Offering:
(i) Bulls: I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or BULLOCK that hath horns and hoofs. (Psalm 69:30-31)
Used as synonymous with ox in the KJV. Baaqaar is the Hebrew for horned cattle fit for the plow. Tor is one head of horned cattle, akin to our steer. Egel, a calf, properly of the first year; specially one offered in sacrifice. Hosea 4:2; "so shall we render the calves of our lips;" instead of sacrifices of calves, which we cannot offer to Thee in exile, we present the praises of our lips. The exile, by its enforced cessation of sacrifices during Israel’s separation from the temple, the only lawful place of offering them, prepared the people for the superseding of all sacrifices by the one great antitypical sacrifice; henceforth "the sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of our lips," is what God requires (Hebrews 13:15).
(ii) Flour: Grain reduced to the form of meal is spoken of in the time of Abraham (Genesis 18: 6). As baking was a daily necessity, grain was also ground daily at the mills (Jeremiah 25:10). The flour mingled with water was kneaded in kneading-troughs, and sometimes leaven (Exodus 12:34) was added and sometimes omitted (Genesis 19:3). The dough was then formed into thin cakes nine or ten inches in diameter and baked in the oven. Fine flour was offered by the poor as a sin-offering (Leviticus 5:11-13), and also in connection with other sacrifices (Numbers 15:3-12; 28:7-29).
(iii) Skin (bottle) of wine: Throughout the Old Testament, wine is regarded as a necessity of life and in no way as a mere luxury. It was a necessary part of even the simplest meal (Gen_14:18; Jdg_19:19; 1Sa_16:20; Isa_55:1, etc.), was an indispensable provision for a fortress (2Ch_11:11), and was drunk by all classes and all ages, even by the very young (Lam_2:12; Zec_9:17). “Wine” is bracketed with “grain” as a basic staple (Gen_27:28, etc.), and the failure of the wine crop or its destruction by foreigners was a terrible calamity (Deu_28:30, Deu_28:39; Isa_62:8; Isa_65:21; Mic_6:15; Zep_1:13, etc.). On the other hand, abundance of wine was a special token of God’s blessing (Gen_27:28; Deu_7:13; Amo_9:14, etc.), and extraordinary abundance would be a token of the Messianic age (Amo_9:13; Joe_3:18; Zec_9:17). A moderate “gladdening of the heart” through wine was not looked upon as at all reprehensible (2Sa_13:28; Est_1:10; Psa_104:15; Ecc_9:7; Ecc_10:19; Zec_9:15; Zec_10:7), and while Jdg_9:13 represented a mere verbal remnant of a long-obsolete concept, yet the idea contained in the verse was not thought shocking. “Drink offerings,” indeed, were of course a part of the prescribed ritual, and a store of wine was kept in the temple (tabernacle) to insure their performance (1Ch_9:29). Even in later and much more moderate times, Sirach writes the laudation of wine in 31:27, and the writer of 2 Maccabees (see above) objects as strongly to pure water as he does to pure wine. Christ adapted Himself to Jewish customs (Mat_11:19 parallel Luk_7:34; Luk_22:18), and exegetes usually suppose that the celebrated verse 1Ti_5:23 is meant as a safeguard against ascetic (Gnostic?) dualism, as well as to give medical advice. Neṣekh: “drink offering,” or “libation,” a liquid offering of wine, rarely water, sometimes of oil, and usually accompanying the ‛ōlāh, but often with the peace offerings.
© Bring child in the Temple (in God’s presence): to be under his care, to he instructed and trained up by him in the service of the tabernacle; from hence it appears that Elkanah the husband of Hannah came along with her at this time.
Note on the above offering: that particular sacrifice is referred to, which was associated with the presentation of the boy, that is to say, the burnt-offering by virtue of which the boy was consecrated to the Lord as a spiritual sacrifice for a lifelong service at His sanctuary, whereas the other two oxen served as the yearly festal offering, i.e., the burnt-offerings and thank-offerings which Elkanah presented year by year, and the presentation of which the writer did not think it needful to mention, simply because it followed partly from 1 Samuel 1: 3 and partly from the Mosaic law.
Illustration: In Yorkshire, England, during the early 1800s, two sons were born to a family named Taylor. The older one set out to make a name for himself by entering Parliament and gaining public prestige. But the younger son chose to give his life to Christ. He later recalled, “Well do I remember, as in unreserved consecration I put myself, my life, my friends, my all, upon the altar. I felt I was in the presence of God, entering into covenant with the Almighty.” With that commitment, Hudson Taylor turned his face toward China and obscurity. As a result, he is known and honored on every continent as a faithful missionary and the founder of the China Inland Mission (now known as Overseas Missionary Fellowship). For the other son, however, there is no lasting monument. When you look in the encyclopedia to see what the other son has done, you find these words, “the brother of Hudson Taylor.” “. . . he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17)
2. Acknowledging God’s Blessings (vs. 26 – 27):
(a) Praying earnestly: by which it appears that Eli was now at the tabernacle, and in the same place he was, 1 Samuel 1: 9 when she was some years ago praying near him, at the distance of four cubits, as the Jews say: she takes no notice of his mistaking her for a drunken woman, nor of his censure on her, and the reproof he gave her; but puts him in mind only of her praying to the Lord standing near to him, which made him take the more notice of her; standing is a prayer posture; the Jews say there is no standing but what is prayer, or prayer is meant by it. [And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. – Ephesians 5: 18]
(b) Answered prayer: Which Eli also desired might be granted her, or foretold that it would be, 1 Samuel 1: 17 though perhaps he knew not then particularly what it was she asked; nor did she acquaint him with it at parting, as she now did, having obtained of the Lord what she was so solicitous for, and now makes mention of with thankfulness.
How many of us forget to thank God for answered prayer and for the blessings He showers upon our lives? We just take Him and everything around us for granted. We believe that we deserve to get the best and always the good. Well that is not the way God thinks. He gives us and blesses us even though we are undeserving. That is His abounding grace, the same grace He showed to Hannah. Next time we need to acknowledge God’s blessings in our lives and answered prayer.
Illustration: Jim Cymbala began at the Brooklyn Tabernacle as an ill-equipped, under-educated, time-strapped preacher who led a second congregation in New Jersey. The Brooklyn church had no money to pay him, a ramshackle building, and barely enough attendance to bother with weekly meetings. Today, the Tabernacle hosts around 6,000 spirit-filled worshipers. The difference came when Jim, in a moment of desperation, set aside his planned message and called the church to pray. The weekly prayer meeting, not the Sunday worship, became the focal point of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Jim’s belief that "God can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him" guides his work. It is Prayer, not preaching that reaches to the heart of God and can make the impossible happen. But are we thankful for the outcome?
3. Is there a ‘Return Policy?’ (v. 28):
Returning / Loaning to God: Lent does not mean to give temporarily, but to give unconditionally in dedication to the Lord. Hannah gave up what she cherished / wanted most – her son – and presented him to Eli to serve in the house of the Lord. Hannah presented her child to the Lord with a grateful acknowledgment of his goodness in answer to prayer. Children are an inheritance and gift from the Lord. All our gifts to him were first his gifts to us. In dedicating her only son to God, Hannah was dedicating her entire life and future to God. Samuel’s life was not really hers but the Lord’s because He had given him to her. Are we willing to part with the most precious gifts God has given to us by releasing our ownership to Him?
The first thing you are saying when you give that child back to the Lord is simply this...that you love God even more than you love that child. Now that sounds harsh and unloving – but it isn’t. It really is a simple and powerful statement that blesses that child as they begin to understand the love of God for them.
But you cannot give what you do not possess – that’s why you must give God your love and devotion first.
When You Give Your Child Back to God You Commit to Raise Your Kids God’s Way.
Your children are not your toys to play with and enjoy life with. They belong to God and when you give your child back to God, you are openly declaring that:
1) This child is a gift from God.
2) This child does not really belong to you.
3) This child belongs to God.
4) You are committing to teaching them the ways of God.
Hey listen! That little boy or girl does not really belong to you - they belong to God! They are a precious gift from God, on loan to you. [Note: We’d better be careful how we treat and care for God’s property! Too many people today try to live life vicariously through their children. Create pressure to perform and push them to succeed beyond reason – why? Because they want their kids to have what they didn’t have and to be what they could not be.]
Now that’s about them not the kids and it’s based on a false sense of ownership. Listen, they are not your kids! You have the privilege to love and train this child up in the ways of God!
It is a commitment that you are going to…
Be a Godly parent. (Parent dedication…requires getting right w/ God)
Teach this child of Christ. (They will need to be saved)
Love this child. (Even if loving them means disciplining them/letting God discipline you!)
Pray for this child and train him / her for the Lord.
Make your home a holy place. Put away worldliness. And above all live a righteous life.
What you are saying is “I love you so much that I want the very best for you. If that means giving you to God, spanking you, giving you limitations (holding the line), changing my life for your benefit…I’ll do whatever it takes!
Let me tell you something church. God did not authorize the state to raise children. And God did not authorize day care centers, schools, and institutions to raise kids. God authorized Mommies and Daddies to raise kids!
When You Give Your Child Back to God…
“…for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6
When You Give Your Child Back to God… You Claim God’s Promises for Your Child.
Illustration: Jonathan Edwards was a committed Christian who married a godly young lady. Some 1,394 descendants of his were traced through genealogical studies. Family records reveal that of the 295 who graduated from college, 13 became college presidents and 65 became college professors. Three were elected as United States senators and three as governors. There was one who became dean of a law school, 100 were lawyers, and 30 were judges. One hundred were missionaries, preachers, or prominent authors, 80 held some form of public office, of whom three were mayors of large cities. One became the comptroller of the U.S. Treasury, 56 practiced as physicians, and one was the dean of a medical school. One became vice-president of the United States and 75 were officers in the military. Let me tell you - this little ceremony means nothing – zero - if you are not making a sincere, life-long commitment to raise this child God’s way!
After releasing your ownership, what? (v. 28b)
Answer: Worship
Illustration: Victor &? daughter who has ‘down syndrome.’
Little children should be taught to worship God when very young. Their parents should teach them in it, bring them to it, and put them on doing it as well as they can; God will graciously accept them, and will teach them to do better.
Conclusion: Giving Your Children to God is claiming God’s plan and promises for that child’s life. I like what Joshua told the children of Israel as they settled into their new home, the Promised Land.
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served…and serve ye the LORD. And if it seems evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
“I want my family to turn out right, and so, as a parent, I’m going to begin to lead them right!”
That’s the kind of commitment God is looking for in parents today – and it makes a difference. Release your ownership and dedicate / give your child to God – today.
