Mother’s day is a special day because mothers are special people! Aman!
When you did your Bible reading last Sunday, you read the account of Hannah in 1st Samuel.
The account begins with Elkanah who was a descendant of the Levitical priesthood. He had two wives – Hannah (favored) and Peninnah (pearl). (She was anything but a pearl – that’s for sure)
Elkanah was a God fearing man as evidenced by his obedience to the Mosaic law whereby he went to the tabernacle of the Lord each year to worship. So, we know that this was a family who valued worshiping the Lord.
Elkanah lived with his family in the village of Ramah which is located at the top of a hill just North of Jerusalem. We know that at least once a year they made the 14 mile journey to Shiloh where the tabernacle of the Lord was now permanently located to offer sacrifices to the Lord.
We know from our reading of the Old Testament that after a family offered their sacrifices to the Lord, they also ate part of the sacrifice there on the grounds of the tabernacle. It was picnic style, it was a time of celebration, a fun family time, kind of like the atmosphere of an old fashioned church pot-luck.
In 1 Samuel 5 we are told that Elkanah gave a special portion of the sacrifice to Hannah because he loved her very much (even though she was barren).
Husbands, learn a lesson here. Elkanah loved his wife by demonstrating his love to her through action, thoughtfulness, kindness and respect. He reached out to show his love to her regardless of her flaws. Men, you would do well to follow Elkanah’s example.
Peninnah (the other wife) was not kind to Hannah. In fact she would make fun of Hannah for being barren. Peninnah must have felt threatened by Hannah, because she persisted year after year in making fun of Hannah’s handicap. This relentless taunting turned into persecution for Hannah and it affected her so deeply, that it would reduce her to tears so she couldn’t even enter into the worship and eat the sacrificial meal with her husband.
1 Sam 1:7 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.
I can’t count the number of times the Devil has provoked me on the way to worship. How many of you have ever argued with your spouse on the way to church? Come on – be honest.
Listen, the Devil doesn’t want you to be tuned up and ready to enter into worship, so he’ll try anything to distract you from it. He’ll gladly give you 100 excuses why you shouldn’t go to church. And if that doesn’t work, he’ll send someone to provoke you, even a family member.
My advice to you – DON’T TAKE THE BATE!
I love the Bible because it is so true to life. How many of you know that God has a sense of humor?
Just like a typical guy, Elkanah says in verse 8, “What’s the matter Honey? Why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad just because you have no children? – now here’s the punch line – You have me – isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Look guys, when your wife is having a hard day, the last thing you want to say is something like, “Hey Baby, you’ve got me – what else do you need?”
If you’re going to say something like that to your wife let me give you a little advise…………… DUCK!
Hannah was a godly woman. As far as we know, she never fought back against Peninnah, or spoke ill of her even in the face of her mean – spirited taunting.
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find the ability to endure tremendous pain and agony.
In verse 9 we see that Hannah was a woman of personal devotion to God. After the meal, she went to the tabernacle to pray to the Lord. The Bible says that she was in “deep anguish, crying bitterly” as she prayed.
Listen, when we pray like this God takes notice! When we get down to business with God in prayer, He will take notice!
In the intensity of her prayer she made this vow:
“Lord, if You look down on my sorrow, answer my prayer and give me a son, then, I will give him back to You. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign of his dedication to the Lord his hair will never be cut.”
Notice, Hannah prays specifically for a son. Listen, if you want your prayers to be answered, when you pray, pray specifically – not in generalities. Target your prayers precisely.
Verse 12, “As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.”
Two things to note about this verse:
(1) Hannah “kept on praying” This means that she was praying a long time. She just didn’t spend 5 minutes at the altar and call it good! No! She travailed in prayer! She spent TIME with God. If you want to get hold of God, then you need to pay the price in prayer and that means spending TIME before God!
(2) “Eli observed her,” Hannah could have been self conscious about other people watching her pray, but she was so desperate for God that she didn’t care about that. She got down to business with God regardless of what was going on around her.
When you come down to these altars, don’t worry about what other people are doing or thinking, you just make an altar and get before God Almighty because it doesn’t matter what other people think, it only matters what God thinks! Aman
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find the ability to pray, the ability to touch the very heart of God.
Eli thought she was drunk and scolded her.
Hannah, an honest, self respecting, unassuming humble woman, responded that she was not drunk, but very sad. She told Eli that she had been pouring out her heart to the Lord.
When was the last time you poured your heart out to the Lord?
Eli tells her, “Cheer up! (Be at peace!) May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of Him.”
Verse 18, “O thank you sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again and she was no longer sad.”
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find a tremendous capacity for faith.
Hannah received the word from Eli and acted on it. She responded in faith and was rewarded.
Verse 19 reports that as soon as they got home Hannah became pregnant and 9 months later gave birth to a boy and named him Samuel. Hallelujah our God is a God who answers prayer!
In fact, the name Samuel literally means “heard by God.”
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find perseverance of spirit.
When external circumstances looked impossible, Hannah sought God, got hold of God, was answered by God, was touched by God – she persevered and turned the impossible into the possible and she conceived – Hallelujah!
The bond between a mother and her infant child is powerful. And so Hannah chose to stay home and nurse Samuel until he was weaned. Then she would fulfill her vow and give him to the service of the Lord for the rest of his life.
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find a great capacity for physical and spiritual nurture.
If you were raised by a godly mom, you are indeed blessed. You have no idea how much she nurtured you. You have no idea how much she sacrificed for you. You have no idea how much time she spent on her knees before God for you.
A praying mom is a powerful force.
A praying grandmother is an awesome force.
Listen, if you’re backslidden and away from God, yet have a praying mom or grandmother, you don’t have a chance of escape! God will track you down – He will hound you until you are miserable. He won’t let go of you until you’ve come back to Him or you’ve become so reprobate that He releases you to destruction.
The effective and fervent prayer of a righteous mother and grandmother is one of the strongest forces in the universe!
So, moms and grandmas, keep praying! Keep praying! Keep praying! Keep praying! Don’t give up – Keep praying!
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find integrity. She is faithful to her promises.
When Samuel was somewhere between three to six years old Hannah brought him to the tabernacle and gave him to the Lord. In verse 28 she says to Eli, “Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.”
Oh how hard that must have been Hannah, to give up your only son.
Put yourself in her place, imagine how difficult it was to give up the child you love so much. Oh, it tears at your heart just thinking of it.
Both Hannah and Mary knew what it meant to dedicate their firstborn son to God.
They knew something of what it was like for God to give up his only son.
Oh, the pain and agony that comes with saying goodbye to your child! When a child you dearly love grows up and leaves home it tears a parent’s heart. We are happy for them and sad for us all at the same time.
So, it is important mom’s, that you dedicate all your children to the Lord. Our kids don’t belong to us, they belong to God, and when we bring our kids to the altar and dedicate them to the Lord, we are saying, “Lord here is the child You’ve given to me to love and nurture, now I give him or her back to You. I dedicate this child to You for Your care and protection and for Your service.
And we as a congregation, as the family of God, recognize our duty to help raise that child in the love and admonition of the Lord. That means that we will take a personal interest in the children God sends to this church. We will do everything in our power to nurture them, protect them and to see to it that they have a foundation of faith on which the church will continue to go forward in future generations! Aman!
The last sentence of verse 28 tells us that after Elkanah and Hannah turned Samuel over to the Lord “they worshiped the Lord there.”
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find a heart of worship!
In chapter 2 we read Hannah’s song of praise.
The prayer in which Hannah poured out the feelings of her heart, after the dedication of her son to the Lord, is a song of praise of a prophecy. After giving utterance in the introduction to the rejoicing and exulting of her soul at the salvation that had reached her, she praises the Lord as the only holy One, the only rock of the righteous, who rules on earth with omniscience and righteousness, brings down the proud and lofty, kills and makes alive, makes the poor and the rich. She then closes with the confident assurance that He will keep His saints, and cast down the rebellious, and will judge the ends of the earth, and exalt the power of His king – who is none other than Jesus Christ – the Messiah.
Hannah as it turns out is a prophetess. She is the first to mention the messiah as king. So the conception, birth and ministry of Samuel points us to the conception, birth and ministry Jesus.
Out of the character of a godly mom you’ll hear the words of God speaking to you.
We are told in 2:11 that Elkanah and Hannah returned home to Ramah without Samuel and the boy became the Lord’s helper, for he assisted Eli the priest at the tabernacle.
Samuel wore priestly garments and in verse 19 we are told that each year Hannah made Samuel a new coat and gave it to him each time she visited at the annual sacrifice.
Shiloh was only 14 miles from Ramah, so it is reasonable to assume that Hannah and Samuel kept in contact as he grew up. In fact when Samuel grew up and was the last Judge of Israel, he chose Ramah as his home base.
Here is the beauty of God’s wondrous power and grace to us who believe and have faith in Him.
Verse 21 tells us that Elkanah and Hannah had an additional 3 sons and 2 daughters and it concludes with, “and Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.”
Within the character of a godly mom you’ll find the drive to ensure that her children are brought up, like Samuel, in the presence of the Lord.
A godly mom will ensure her kids are in church, Sunday school, children’s church, youth group, and any other ministry that will strategically place them under the influence and in the presence of the Lord.
So I want to conclude today by asking all the moms who are here to come forward and stand here in the front and we are going to say a special prayer of blessing over you.
PRAYER:
Lord, we are very thankful for the godly influence of our mothers and grandmothers.
We bless them today in the mighty name of Jesus!
We encourage them today through the power of Your Holy Spirit!
We lift them up to you Father and ask that Your special anointing would be on them.
May You embolden them in prayer!
May You speak Your prophetic word through them!
May You cause their godly influence to be felt throughout their families and throughout this church.
And may we love them and respect them as You have set them before us as examples integrity, caring and faithfulness. Aman
