By Rev. Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church KAG
1 Samuel 1:24-28
[24]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.
[25]When the bull had been sacrificed, they
brought the boy to Eli,
[26]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.
[27]I prayed for this child, and the Lord has
granted me what I asked of him.
[28]So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole
life he will be given over to the Lord.”
And he worshipped the Lord
there.
Just for a moment put yourself in the shoes of
Hannah. It was not easy having been barren and mocked then get a boy child and
without delay just after weaning hand over the boy to another man, not even a
woman. Just like that. It was easier to:
1. renegotiate with God and give herself priority over God
2. Delay
with the child as the boy was still a small child. She could have held on to Samuel
until he was 20 and ready for ministry.
3. Even
more so give the boy partially where the boy would be coming home regularly so
she somehow retains the boy she has wholly and fully.
She gave out Samuel
faithfully and wholeheartedly but in verse 28
28]So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole
life he will be given over to the Lord.”
The results of her faithfulness
1 Samuel 2:19-21
[19]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.
[20]Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife,
saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the
one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home.
[21]And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she
gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up
in the presence of the Lord
We can learn
the following
1. God is a promise keeper
God is a promise keeper and a covenant-keeping
God.
Numbers 23:19
[19]God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he
should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not
fulfil?
He expects us to do the same as his children and
walk in his nature
2. We must
fulfil the promise
We have no other way out but to fulfil the promise.
We cannot break the promise or opt-out because we are bound. God is a promise
keeper and expects nothing short of our promise
Numbers 30:2
[2]When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes
an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do
everything he said.
This is only possible if God takes priority over
us and our circumstances.
We honour our pledges not because we have enough
but because we know that He is God over everything.
We do it without giving it a second thought
failure to which we must be ready to face the consequences.
3. We must
do it without delay
It is important that we not only fulfil our
pledges but do it on time.
Honouring God means giving him the first priority
and not at our convenience.
The moment God enables you, consider Him first
not your interest.
It is not at your discretion to decide when but
as soon as He enables you failure to that he will demand it
Deuteronomy 23:21
[21]If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do
not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you
and you will be guilty of sin.
Ecclesiastes 5:4
[4]When you make a vow to God, do not delay to
fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow.
4. We must
do it faithfully willingly, wholeheartedly and fully.
We must be committed to redeeming our pledges faithful not looking for the slightest excuse not to do so but seeking every opportunity to do so
Deuteronomy 23:23
[23]Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to
do because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
Psalm 89:34
[34]I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have
uttered.
conclusion
Once again consider this
Psalm 18:25-26
[25]To the faithful, you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless, you show
yourself blameless,
[26]to the pure, you show yourself pure,
but to the devious, you show
yourself shrewd.
1 Samuel 2:30
[30]“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares:
‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But
now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honour me I will honour, but
those who despise me will be disdained.
Galatians 6:7
[7]Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A
man reaps what he sows.
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