"As she (Hannah) kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Eli said to her, "How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself?" And Hannah replied, "Oh no, my lord! I am a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart to the LORD" - 1 Samuel 1:12-15 [Tanahk]
"Outward acts of piety which do not flow from the new and God-given affections of the heart, which delight to depend on God and seek his glory are only legalism and have no value in honoring God" - John Piper (The Supremacy of God in Preaching - pg. 83)
"A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself" - A.W. Tozer
In Jamaica we have a saying, "Who feels it, knows it" - we use it to express the uniqueness of personal experience and also as a warning that people should not make unfair judgments. Hannah was bearing a problem that many women face today - for one reason or another, she could not bear children. It had caused her to be scorned by other women (cf. 1 Sam. 1:6), and to feel depressed and inferior (vs. 8). In the midst of this, she held fast to her integrity and faith in God: she believed that God could work a miracle for her granting her a son. That being said, she was desperate --- she was fervent: emotions that we can all identify with when we are in great need. She goes to the temple and instead of following the usual form of sacrifice and public proclamation to God through the priest, she prays in the anguish of her soul to God silently. The interesting thing is that the priest, instead of empathizing and encouraging her, made a judgment call that she was drunk - seemingly because she was 'mumbling under her breath'.
Two important lessons:
1. The responsibility of the Christian is to be TRUE TO GOD - God already knows the heart (Ps. 139:1-4).........God already tests the motives (Ps. 26:2). It is never unspiritual to be HONEST. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'over-dramatics' and being humble and contrite before God. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'extra-piety' and being real and expressive before God. We must be committed (as Hannah was) to sincere, heart-felt, spirit-led worship of God.
2. Another responsibility of the Christian is to BE CAREFUL NOT TO JUDGE only based on one's own point of reference. Eli made an assumption and because of that he (initially) missed out on an opportunity to bless and encourage Hannah. We do the same thing when we dismiss the work of God in people's lives because it isn't what WE WOULD DO. Whether something is traditional of contemporary......old or new......personal or corporate....we must ask one question: DOES IT MANIFEST THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD? (Gal. 5:22-23) If it passes the "fruit test", then it must be from God.
What do you think?
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
"Outward acts of piety which do not flow from the new and God-given affections of the heart, which delight to depend on God and seek his glory are only legalism and have no value in honoring God" - John Piper (The Supremacy of God in Preaching - pg. 83)
"A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself" - A.W. Tozer
In Jamaica we have a saying, "Who feels it, knows it" - we use it to express the uniqueness of personal experience and also as a warning that people should not make unfair judgments. Hannah was bearing a problem that many women face today - for one reason or another, she could not bear children. It had caused her to be scorned by other women (cf. 1 Sam. 1:6), and to feel depressed and inferior (vs. 8). In the midst of this, she held fast to her integrity and faith in God: she believed that God could work a miracle for her granting her a son. That being said, she was desperate --- she was fervent: emotions that we can all identify with when we are in great need. She goes to the temple and instead of following the usual form of sacrifice and public proclamation to God through the priest, she prays in the anguish of her soul to God silently. The interesting thing is that the priest, instead of empathizing and encouraging her, made a judgment call that she was drunk - seemingly because she was 'mumbling under her breath'.
Two important lessons:
1. The responsibility of the Christian is to be TRUE TO GOD - God already knows the heart (Ps. 139:1-4).........God already tests the motives (Ps. 26:2). It is never unspiritual to be HONEST. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'over-dramatics' and being humble and contrite before God. For some of us, it may mean dropping the 'extra-piety' and being real and expressive before God. We must be committed (as Hannah was) to sincere, heart-felt, spirit-led worship of God.
2. Another responsibility of the Christian is to BE CAREFUL NOT TO JUDGE only based on one's own point of reference. Eli made an assumption and because of that he (initially) missed out on an opportunity to bless and encourage Hannah. We do the same thing when we dismiss the work of God in people's lives because it isn't what WE WOULD DO. Whether something is traditional of contemporary......old or new......personal or corporate....we must ask one question: DOES IT MANIFEST THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD? (Gal. 5:22-23) If it passes the "fruit test", then it must be from God.
What do you think?
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
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