Special D Series

Return To Sender

Pt. 1 - Special D

I. Introduction

Written by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott wrote the song Return To Sender in 1962 and was first recorded and released by none other than Elvis Presley. On November 11th, 1962 the song peaked at #2 for 5 weeks on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart because it was featured in Elvis' hit movie "Girls, Girls, Girls." The concept is that a letter or package that was either addressed incorrectly or lacked enough postage is returned to the person who sent it. There is a line in the song that says, "I write I'm sorry, but my letter keeps coming back. So, then I dropped it in the mailbox and sent it special D." The account I want to read today chronicles a special delivery in Scripture that I want us to consider this morning.

I Samuel 1:1-11, 24-28, 2:1-2 (NIV)

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 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. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 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.”

24-28

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

2:1-2

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. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

I think it is essential to recognize an underlying truth that Hannah knew from her prayer in those last 2 verses. She realized that not only was God the only One who could meet her need she recognized He was the ultimate source of blessing. It isn't because you have your dream job or a nice boss. God alone is our source! Everything else is a channel He chooses to use as a delivery system to get it to us. I think we should be thankful for the delivery systems, but I also think we need to look past the delivery system and remember the source.

You have what you have health or wealth because of Him. Hannah knew that do you? Or do you think you are a self-made man? Do you think the company you work for is your source? I have news for you the channel can dry up and the source will still have plenty of supply! That is why, like Hannah and like James tells us in James 1:17, we must conclude that every good and perfect gift comes from heaven above. If you have been blessed or will be blessed it is ultimately from God and God alone. It is necessary to know this so that when it is time to return to sender we ascribe glory, gratitude and giving to the right person and place!