1 Samuel 1
Today marks the day I begin to journal as I read the bible. The first book that I am reading is Samuel - so let's begin...
The Birth of Samuel
This first chapter talks about Elkanah and his 2 wives. The 2 wives are polar opposites, so immediately I'm thinking the reference is thinking tendencies.
Hannah seems to scream for relief and wants God to save her by giving her a child. I see this child as being a Godly spirit. The other wife, Peninnah has several children, meaning to me that she has everything that she needs. Not once does she call out to God and she appears to a nasty person. Peninnah represents our dark side.
Elkanah may represent the logic between the 2 sides. He reasons with Hannah stating that isn't he all she needs. This clearly tells me that Elkanah is the current mindset, which is not necessarily good or bad in that he pray, but his perspective may have ignorance in it, saying to settle for what you have even though God always has something better planned.
Eli could be the outside perspective as he did not understand what Hannah was doing when she was praying without moving her mouth and assumed she was a drunken. When Hannah humbled herself in honesty to Eli, he was loving and understanding and bid her peace and gave her his blessing.
When Elkanah and Hannah were at home they continued to worship in the morning. The Lord was glad of it. "In due time" Hannah bore her son Samuel. God blessed Hannah with a new spirit when the time was right, so this was not necessarily an immediately answered prayer.
Samuel given to the Lord
Elkanah (logic) was to make his yearly sacrifice. Hannah was not ready to stand before the Lord. Even though she had this new spirit there was much she did not understand in it and the commitment of having the Godly spirit required a change in life that she was not ready for. This could be considered Baptism as making the public gesture that you will from here on follow the Lord. Once done, it will be forever... So Hannah continued to get a grasped on this new spirit and what comes with it.
When ready, a baptized commenced at Shiloh. Sacrifices were slaughtered which could mean letting go of old ideas... This was before Eli (the outside perspective) where dedication toward the Lord was confirmed.
How this speaks to me...
Inside of me there are always 2 sides battling. One is dark and the other is a Godly spirit. Sometimes, I find myself pleading to God for relief even though either the dark side (Peninnah) is angry and closed to change to the point of being nasty to those around me, or the people around me believe what I have is enough.
This spirit that Hannah pleads for is my desire to feel God's presence in my life. This is not without sacrifice. As long as I continue to do what I know as ungodly acts, I can't be too surprised with the outcome. I say this understandingly, because I also know that I am far from perfect. Walking with God is a daily journey. We change and we are drawn closer to the spirit. While this happens, we become more attractive to those around us, but we will talk about that another day...
The Birth of Samuel
This first chapter talks about Elkanah and his 2 wives. The 2 wives are polar opposites, so immediately I'm thinking the reference is thinking tendencies.
Hannah seems to scream for relief and wants God to save her by giving her a child. I see this child as being a Godly spirit. The other wife, Peninnah has several children, meaning to me that she has everything that she needs. Not once does she call out to God and she appears to a nasty person. Peninnah represents our dark side.
Elkanah may represent the logic between the 2 sides. He reasons with Hannah stating that isn't he all she needs. This clearly tells me that Elkanah is the current mindset, which is not necessarily good or bad in that he pray, but his perspective may have ignorance in it, saying to settle for what you have even though God always has something better planned.
Eli could be the outside perspective as he did not understand what Hannah was doing when she was praying without moving her mouth and assumed she was a drunken. When Hannah humbled herself in honesty to Eli, he was loving and understanding and bid her peace and gave her his blessing.
When Elkanah and Hannah were at home they continued to worship in the morning. The Lord was glad of it. "In due time" Hannah bore her son Samuel. God blessed Hannah with a new spirit when the time was right, so this was not necessarily an immediately answered prayer.
Samuel given to the Lord
Elkanah (logic) was to make his yearly sacrifice. Hannah was not ready to stand before the Lord. Even though she had this new spirit there was much she did not understand in it and the commitment of having the Godly spirit required a change in life that she was not ready for. This could be considered Baptism as making the public gesture that you will from here on follow the Lord. Once done, it will be forever... So Hannah continued to get a grasped on this new spirit and what comes with it.
When ready, a baptized commenced at Shiloh. Sacrifices were slaughtered which could mean letting go of old ideas... This was before Eli (the outside perspective) where dedication toward the Lord was confirmed.
How this speaks to me...
Inside of me there are always 2 sides battling. One is dark and the other is a Godly spirit. Sometimes, I find myself pleading to God for relief even though either the dark side (Peninnah) is angry and closed to change to the point of being nasty to those around me, or the people around me believe what I have is enough.
This spirit that Hannah pleads for is my desire to feel God's presence in my life. This is not without sacrifice. As long as I continue to do what I know as ungodly acts, I can't be too surprised with the outcome. I say this understandingly, because I also know that I am far from perfect. Walking with God is a daily journey. We change and we are drawn closer to the spirit. While this happens, we become more attractive to those around us, but we will talk about that another day...
