The Greater Reward 1
1 Samuel 1:9-11 NLT
Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. [10] Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. [11] And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and 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 that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut. ”
When we go through issues in life we will see every against us, even though they are not.
Hannah was mocked by the other wife.
Her husband (Elkanah) did everything in his capacity and fair way but Hannah did not see him.
1 Samuel 1:8 NLT
“Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
She was concerned about the meat shared and the portion that reached her.
The plan of God is not just for Hannah but the whole of Israel and the generation to come after.
God don't think the way we think. He does not see the way we see.
We can only see what is around us but God sees everything.
1 Samuel 1:3 NLT
Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas.
This the problem, God needed a prophet that will change the cause of Israelite leadership but Hannah was only seeing her unfruitful womb.
1 Samuel 2:12-17 NLT
Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the LORD [13] or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, [14] the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. [15] Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. [16] The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” [17] So the sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD’s sight, for they treated the LORD’s offerings with contempt.
God was more concern about the principles than the pain of Hannah. Does it mean God is wicked? No! God knows that with Hannah having all the children she desire, she will not be here to see what happens to the life of others through the leadership of Eli's sons.
God want a prophet and Hannah is in dire need of a child.
God cannot come to the earth to prophet his people, he needed human being to be the prophet.
The bible made us know we are created in God's image and the feeling we have when we don't measure up, God has it also.
Don't just look at your situation with your own thinking or how you feel. Let the greater reward be birth, that is knowing what God will achieve through your want and desire.
