Giving Back to God

Based on 1 Samuel 1-3

God is so good to us, but how often is it that we give back to God? Although it's impossible to repay Him for His amazing works & miracles, we can certainly live a life of sacrifice & servitude to Him in order to show our thankfulness to Him. That's what we see as we head back into the Old Testament and explore the life of Hannah. We can also see the opposite of this as we explore the life of Eli & his sons.

"And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."
1 Samuel 1:11

"And Hannah answered and said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord."
1 Samuel 1:15

Hannah was barren and was not able to have children, but she was faithful. She believed God would do a miracle & bless her with a son. So, she went to pray outside the temple, and at first, Eli the priest thought she was drunk. He got upset at her behavior. She then explained her reasoning for being there, and the fervent prayer she was praying was this vow: If God would give her this child, then she would give him back to God! What a beautiful way to give back to God!

"Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:20

Eli then told her to go in peace, and The Lord would Grant her petition. Sure enough, Samuel was born! What a miracle of God, and what a mother it took to trust God to fulfill such a great petition! Hannah also followed through with what she promised God:

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there."
1 Samuel 1:27‭-‬28

When her son was a bit older, but still a child, Hannah brought him to the house of The Lord where the priest Eli was. She brought him there to stay & serve The Lord, and she did not stop rejoicing. This was a sacrifice of her own doing. This was not a requirement of God. She asked from her heart, and gave from her heart. God even blessed her with more children after Samuel, and Samuel would grow to be a great prophet of God. In Eli's case, however, his children were not concerned about pleasing & serving God. The sad thing is, Eli was aware of their evil deeds and did nothing to stop them.

"Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."
1 Samuel 2:30

A man of God approached Eli and warned him of the consequences of dishonoring God. God said "for them that honor me will I honor" (which reminds me of Hannah!), and "they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed" (we will see this in the life of Eli & his sons). God used Samuel to confirm that this message would indeed come to pass, because Eli still did not seek God to pray for his sons to stop their disrespect & disregard for God.

"And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground."
1 Samuel 3:18‭-‬19

God spoke & called out to Samuel in the night 3 times. At first, Samuel thought it was Eli, since Eli was his authority (and Samuel was a boy who stayed under authority!). Eli denied that he called him, and the third time he told Samuel to lay back down and if the voice called again, that it was God speaking. Sure enough the voice spoke again, and God told Samuel that the previous warning against Eli & his sons would come to pass. Although Samuel was a bit fearful to tell Eli, he did tell him what The Lord said. Eli accepted it, although it must have been hard to hear:

"In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever."
1 Samuel 3:12‭-‬14

Later on, we will see the sad punishment that Eli's sons suffer for their evil deeds in the temple. His sons held back the good meat of sacrifice from The Lord, instead of giving the best to God first. Eli will also suffer greatly because of this. But God continued to use Samuel. As the Scripture says, God didn't let any of his words fall to the ground! He was a great prophet of God, and it all started with a Mom who gave back to God and pointed her son in the right direction. Eli, on the other hand, could not rest on the fact that he was a priest. That did not mean his sons were exempt from judgment if they did wrong, and Eli failed to take authority over them & seek The Lord. Eli did not give back to God for the priestly position he was blessed to have. He did not encourage his children to serve The Lord as Hannah did with Samuel.

God gives so abundantly to us, so let's encourage our families to always give back to God! Hannah did not fear when her son went to serve The Lord. She had confidence in God and His provision! Let's not be afraid of giving our best to God! Eli's sons held back from God, but Hannah gave her son, and her son grew to continue to give into the leading of God! Don't fear, have faith & give back to God!