[1Samuel 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.”
I read the true story of a Christian mother in California who said that, one day, her 3 year old son was making it hard for her to do her housework. He seemed to be right behind her wherever she went and whenever she stopped to do something and turned back around, she would trip over him.
Several times she patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied. “Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” she’d ask.
But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind her.
After stepping on his toes for the 5th time, she began to lose her patience with him and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. Then she asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at her with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mommy, in Sunday school my teacher told me to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and since I can’t see his, I’m walking in yours.”
(Davida Dalton “Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul”) …Jeff Strite
If your children follow in your footsteps will they be walking in the footsteps of Jesus?
In her pain, Hannah comes to a decision that if God will give her a son she says:
In 1Samuel 1:11 “… I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life…”
At first glance, that’s not really a big deal, since every first born son belonged to God anyway, according to; [Exodus 13:2] where God told His people: "Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."
Here’s the difference in the law and what Hannah was doing. In [Numbers 18:16] the law says this: “When (your son is) a month old, you must redeem him at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver…”
What Hannah’s vowing here is this: “God, if you give me a son, I’ll let you keep him. I won’t redeem him back.”
In her mind/heart she had already decided that if God gave her a son she’d give him to the priests at the Tabernacle to raise so he could serve God. And because she was willing to give her son to God… God rewarded her in some powerful ways:
• Not only does she get pregnant, this time but she got pregnant a few more times!
• She bears 3 more sons and 2 more daughters according to [1Samuel 2:21].
**But even more significant than that… she was the mother of Samuel!
• Samuel was one of the greatest men in the Old Testament.
• He was the last of the judges and the first of a long line of prophets and he guided the people out of their immorality back to obedience to God and His law.
• And he was so highly regarded by God that not only are there 2 books in the Bible that bear his name, but a couple of times God compares his righteousness to that of Moses.
FIRST VIDEO & HYMN
1. A Godly mother believes in the power of prayer…
She is willing to pray for her family to the point of weeping before God.
The heart of this entire story centers on Hannah’s prayer and how God is so impressed her.
We’re told that she prayed with tears.
She prayed with intensity.
She prayed with purpose.
She prayed believing.
And God heard her prayer and gave her the desire of her heart.
That’s the way we need to learn to pray. And when we do, God tells us in [Psalm 37:4] that if you “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
If your heart is lined up with the heart of God; your desires will be what e desires.
2. A Godly mother gives her children to God.
Now; Hannah’s gift to God was more dramatic than most of us would think to do, but a Godly mother is convinced that God will help her children if she places them in His hands.
SECOND VIDEO & OFFERETORY HYMN
3. A Godly mother desires GOD’s best for her children.
She learns the wisdom of Christ’s words in the garden: “not my will, but thine be done.
She does this because she’s convinced God’s best is the best.
She knows she can supply nothing better for her children than the best God has to offer.
4. A Godly mother keeps her word to God (and others)
God was able to trust Hannah with this wonderful baby boy because He knew He could trust her to do what she’d promised. CAN HE DEPEND ON YOU TO KEEP YOUR WORD TO HIM? As soon as Samuel was weaned…she marched him right up to the tabernacle and she honored her word to God.
But she didn’t just “leave” him there and walk away.
1Samuel 2:19 tells us that “Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.”
Every year she went to visit her son. Some mothers today don’t pay any more attention to their children than a flea does to what kind of dog it’s on.
They freely give their children to anyone who will take them and walk away or dump them on others when they become an inconvenience.
5. A Godly mother tells her children about God.
She looks for ways to tell her children about how God loves them and cares for them.
She looks for ways to make them understand that God has a purpose for their lives.
She looks for ways to drive home the fact that they ARE precious in HIS sight.
CLOSE: A Godly mother is one of the most powerful forces on earth.
They have within their hands the ability to shape the future with their children.
AND GOD VALUES YOU…MOM
LAST VIDEO & INVITATION HYMN
