Are you playing around with some sinful thought or thinking about something from your past that you shouldn’t? Sin is not something to be played with. In our pride, we think we can handle it and it won’t get a hold on us. But sin has invisible hooks that can drag us down and take us places we never intended to go.
And sin doesn’t just hurt us personally. It always affects others, especially those closest to us. Today we’ll see the effects of polygamy and a lack of parental and priestly discipline. But we’ll also see the faithfulness of God in the life of one godly woman.
Today’s Readings:
1 Samuel 1-3
Psalm 53.1-6
Proverbs 15.8-11
Luke 20.27-47
Sin’s Invisible Hooks
1 Samuel 1-3:
Multiple Wives: Provocation & Ridicule
There’s so much in these 3 chapters! First, once again, there’s the multiple wives issue. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating, God never presents it as a good thing. He always shows the conflicts and problems that resulted.
Chapter 1:
¹ Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
Verses 4-7:
4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.
It appears Hannah was Elhanah’s favorite. That may have provoked Peninnah to jealousy (not an excuse, by the way). In any case, she ridiculed Hannah because of her barrenness. Elkanah may have been a little provoked and frustrated himself. And he, certainly, doesn’t seem to understand Hannah’s longing for a son.
Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? (1.8).
This was never the way God intended marriage to be.
Hannah’s Vow
11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
And God heard the prayer of His humble servant, Hannah, and gave her a son. Notice how this faithful woman kept her vow to the Lord:
Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her … and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh.. And the child was young … For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there (vv.24-28).
Her son, by the way, was Samuel. He would become the first Prophet mentioned more than just in passing and would greatly influence the nation and God’s people. We will read more of his story as we continue through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel.
God’s Judgment on Willful, Unrepentant Sin
Next, there’s the sad story of Eli and his two ungodly sons in chapters 2 & 3. All three were priests. Eli knew that his sons were stealing the part of the sacrifices that belonged to God and sleeping with women who came to the Tabernacle, yet he failed to deal decisively with them. These “boys” (actually, grown men) had so hardened their hearts through their sin and disobedience that “the Lord desired to kill them” (1 Sam 2.25).
Sin’s Invisible Hooks
How did these two priests end up where they did? How did it start? What compromises did they make in their thoughts and attitudes along the way? How did they end up sleeping with women in the Tabernacle? Could that kind of thing happen to us?
Too often we’re legalists where sin is concerned. We like to get just as close to the line as we can, while we proclaim, “We’re not doing anything wrong.” The next thing we know we’re playing around with some sinful idea, still convinced we are in control.
Sin is not something to be played with. In our pride we think we can handle it; it won’t get a hold on us. But sin has hooks that we can’t see and “one more time,” “just this once,” or “it’s not that bad” can take us on a downward spiral that we never saw coming.
1 Corinthians 10 says:
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
And as James said, we can be tempted and drawn away by our own deceitful desires and what started out as just a thought that we had no intention of acting on, is often the bait Satan uses to ensnare us (Jas. 1.14-15). In fact, as someone said …
Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. – unknown
So, let’s be watchful and wise and pray as Jesus commanded us, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil …” (Matt. 6.13 ESV). Back to our text.
“You … Honor Your Sons More than Me”
Because he was the high priest and responsible for those serving under him, when God began to deal with it all, He started with Eli:
Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people? (1 Sam. 2.29).
Fearful words, “you … honor your sons more than Me.”
We run the risk of doing the same if we allow our children to act sinfully because we want them to be happy, popular, successful, get into college, or whatever. Children who are coddled in this way grow up thinking they are the center of the universe. And in his book The Heart of Anger, Lou Priolo says we can end up provoking them to anger when they realize life doesn’t always go their way.
Instead, we must teach them to do what is right even if it costs them their happiness in the short run. And when they do wrong, we must love them enough to get out of the way and allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions. We need to trust God to use those things for good even if it means a lower GPA, a loss of privileges, or whatever is appropriate. In short, we must help them understand that character is more important than what the world views as success.
Not Playing with Sin
In tomorrow’s reading, we’ll see that their sin cost Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, their lives (1 Sam. 4.10-122).
So, let’s not play around with sin. Let’s see it as dangerous and highly contagious. Let’s allow our children to see us battle the sin in our own hearts and help them see and battle the sin in their own lives. Instead of tolerating or minimizing it, let’s use it as an opportunity to show them their need for the gospel and how much all of us must rely on it throughout our Christian lives.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 53.1-6:
Living Like There Is No God
The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’ (v.1a).
And we might add that foolish men and women, even though they profess belief in God, sometimes live like there is no God which can have devastating consequences.
Proverbs 15.8-11:
Grace-Powered Obedience
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight (v. 8).
God delights to hear the prayers of those who are walking, not in perfection, but in “grace-powered obedience.”
We just saw this beautifully illustrated in the life of Hannah.
Luke 20.27-47:
“I shall go to him …”
Jesus was asked a question about marriage in heaven. He responded:
But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage (v. 35).
Reading that, some may wonder if we’ll be reunited with our loved ones in heaven, especially our spouses. David said this about his infant son who had died,
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me (2 Sam. 12.23).
So, while we will be reunited with our loved ones, including our spouses, there will not be marriage, as we know it.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about responding to criticism, persecution, and rejection. We’ll also talk about those times when we feel we have let God down or that we continue to fight the same spiritual battle over and over. And we’ll discuss how to tell the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them.
If you would like to receive a FREE downloadable and printable Bible study through the book of Mark, you can click here for more information.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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