1 Samuel 1 tells about Hannah, the mother of Samuel (who
eventually anointed King David). They
are going to the Feast of Tabernacles, which was to celebrate and remember God’s
provision when they were in the wilderness before they came to the promised
land, and to thank God for God’s blessing to make their land fruitful for the
coming year. But Hannah is barren, which
at that time was considered a curse.
Hannah was being teased by Peninah, who was jealous of her husband’s
love for her despite her having no children.
Hannah makes a vow to God that if she has a son, she will give Him back
to God all his life (usually priests served age 25-50 only). It mentions her moving her lips and not
speaking. In Numbers 23, it says a woman’s
father or husband can nullify her vow if they hear it and disagree. So she does not want him to disagree. Eli makes sure she has not been drinking (the
Bible says not to make a vow when you have been drinking). He prays that God would grant her what she
wants. She got pregnant and called him
Samuel—2 words meaning “God” of “of God” and “to hear” or “cause to hear”. She named her child “I asked, and God gave.”
The next woman we are going to look at is Sarah. Again, she had to have patience and faith to
see God’s promises come to pass. Exodus
2 tells the story of Moses’ mother. She
has courage to defy the king in order to protect her child. The word for the basket she put Moses in is
only used one other time, for the ark, God’s protection for Noah and his
family. She figures out how to save
Moses AND take care of him. Her name in
Hebrew is “Jehovah is honored.”
The last is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was willing to be stoned or ostracized in
order to see Jesus born.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on
online media. To learn more about Living
Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
