May 18, 2022
1SAMUEL 2:
Yesterday we heard of the wonderful answer to
Hannah’s prayer and of her determination to fulfill a very
difficult vow to the Lord. Samuel might have only been 3 years old
when Hannah gave him up to stay permanently as a Nazarite serving
at the Lord’s tabernacle. Hannah is such an example of a Godly
woman. No wonder so many girls are named after her!
I noticed an interesting detail in yesterday’s reading. Elkanah also had a vow. When Samuel was newly born and Hannah did not go with the family to Shiloh for the yearly sacrifices, the GNT drew my attention saying that Elkanah went “to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and the special sacrifice he had promised.” We don’t really know exactly what Elkanah’s special vow would have been. But it is conjectured by commentators that Elkanah was offering a sacrifice in fulfillment of Hannah’s vow about giving birth to a son. According to the Law, a wife’s vow could be revoked by her husband on the day he hears about the vow. But if he doesn’t forbid the wife about the vow on that day, the wife is bound by her vow and it is logical that the husband would share responsibility. As Elkanah left on that year, he told Hannah, “May the Lord make your promise come true.” This is a great example of doing what God commanded about vows. The principle was to always follow through whenever God’s name has been invoked. To do otherwise would be to mar God’s reputation.
Thanks to Claire Greathouse for
her dramatic reading of Hannah’s prayer.
PSALM 91:
This
is a favorite psalm, frequently referred to in our hymns and
worship songs. It is also the psalm Satan quoted to Jesus to tempt
him to jump from the pinnacle of the temple. I feel that the
promise that was quoted is not just for Jesus, but is for every
believer. I preach to myself here: Let’s memorize and meditate upon
this psalm!
ROMANS 1b:
Yesterday we saw how the theme of this letter
is the Good News, and how believing this message is the center of
the way God has designed and revealed for how we are saved— no
matter if we are ethnically Jews or non-Jews. The start of this
Good News is that our relationship with God has been broken.
Understanding this fact is what makes the Good News ‘good’. We
don’t start out as ‘nice people’ but as broken people. And Paul
will show us in three chapters that this situation obtains for Jews
(who think they are so good) and non-Jews (who start out not even
having an appearance of ‘good’).
NLT Translation notes:
1Sam. 2:21, 27, 33 The NLT edition I recorded
for this podcast and the current edition display rather large
differences in these three verses.
21 I read, [And the LORD gave Hannah three sons
and two daughters.//new version: And the LORD blessed Hannah, and
she conceived and gave birth to …]
27 [old version: … when the people of Israel
were slaves in Egypt//new: to your ancestors when they were
Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt]
33 [old version: Those who survive will live in
sadness and grief, and their children …//new: The few not cut off
from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can
go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a
violent death.]
Rom. 1:8
Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all
of you, because your [fully believing//faith] in him is being
talked about all over the world.
12
When we get together, I want to encourage you in your [fully
believing in Christ//faith], but I also want to be encouraged [in
the same way by you//by yours].
16
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the
power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—[both Jews, and
also non-Jews//the Jew first and also the
Gentile.
[As I have said
repeatedly already, translating pistis/pistew (same root word) by
the different-appearing words in English ‘faith’ and ‘believe can
cause misunderstanding for some English speakers. (This certainly
happens in Indonesian where the same root was translated as ‘iman’
and ‘percaya’.) Keeping the word ‘believe’ in all places helps us
to see the continuity/cohesion. Our being ‘made right’ in God’s
sight is not accomplished by the fuzzy touchy-feely stuff Americans
often refer to by the word ‘faith’.]
17
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This
is accomplished from start to finish by [our fully believing this
message (the Good News)//faith]. As the Scriptures say, “It is
through [fully believing//faith] that a righteous person has
life.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.