There is the appearance of a loving and
supportive marriage between Elkanah and Hannah.
The account already reflects his affection for her. In this passage we see that he also entered
into the vow she made before the Lord. The vow is now revealed before us:
Samuel was to be “lent” to the LORD as long as he lives, “so that he may appear
in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.”[1] Wisely Hannah would wait to fulfill
this vow after Samuel is weaned.
So about two to three years later she went
to the Temple to fulfill the vow. Along with the boy, she took an offering. “According
to Numbers
15:8–10, a bull, flour, and wine were to be sacrificed in fulfillment of a
vow. Hannah brought all 3 in larger measure than required.”[2]
“Elkanah apparently was a prosperous man who was able to
afford an expensive offering of a bull or bulls and large amounts of grain and wine.”[3] These stipulations in
Numbers 15 recognized the thanksgiving offered to God for His bountiful
provision when Israel entered the land. The
land was symbolic of abundance and prosperity including a promised posterity.
Hannah fulfilled her promise. Young Samuel was left with the priest,
Eli. She “lent” her son to the Lord –
forever! The Hebrew word that the ESV translates “lent” is probably a poor
choice. “The Hiphil of שָׁאַל (shaʾal) might mean “to loan,” or “to
treat as requested”.”[4]
I think the NIV is a better rendering: “So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole
life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.” (1 Samuel 1:28, NIV). “The son Hannah requested God had given, and she gives her gift back
to the Giver.”[5]
“And he worshiped the Lord there.”[6] Who is the “he”? The EBC thinks it to be Eli. “Eli responded
to Hannah's brief remarks by worshiping the God whom they both served (v.28).”[7] Some might think it to be Elkanah; but it
very well may have been Samuel. If so,
this reflects Samuel’s ready and willing cooperation with the will of his
parents.
The fulfillment of Hannah’s vow and the
dedication of her son to the Lord, for his lifetime, was accompanied by a
generous thank offering. Later Paul was
to say, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1, ESV). In Numbers 15 Israel was also called to
continually offer thanks to God for the provision of his abundance. In a very practical way, those of us who have
received the gift of children, what better response would it be to dedicate
them to the Lord in thanks for his gift to us?
Interestingly the book of
Proverbs calls us who are parents to a similar response. Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) commands, “6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even
when he is old he will not depart from it.” The Hebrew verb translated “train” occurs three other
times in the Bible. In each of these, it refers to “dedicating” houses, either
a person’s house of God’s house. “To
train up a child in the way he should go means to dedicate him or her toward
the right goal, or stated otherwise: “train him or her as God would”. This calls for parents to actively devote or
commit their youth to a certain way – a certain path.
When we as parents daily dedicate our children to the
Lord, we affirm that we don’t own them, God does. Therefore, we need to seek
the assistance to raise them to know the Lord.
Therefore, we rest on God’s Word, His Holy Spirit and the influence of
God’s people. We must raise them as if
God was raising them.
As parents of a dedicated child, they don’t have the
right to just pass down their personal opinions and the wisdom and values of
this world. We must pass to them the values of God’s Word, the Gospel and holy
living that relies on the power of Christ.
The consequence of Proverbs 22:6
implies that the parents’ intentional Christ-centered, Gospel-centered shaping in
the early years may have a permanent effect on their child for good. This
statement is not a hard-and-fast promise to parents, however, for the rest of
the book makes clear that the power of the youth’s future depends not only on
the parents’ guidance but also very much on the choices he or she makes.
Parents don’t have to take their
children to a church building and leave them there. No, they can daily bring their children to
Christ and nurture them as Christ would in the truth of God’s Word through the
glorious Gospel. This is how we express
our gratitude.
[1] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 1:22). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[2] MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study
Bible (electronic ed., p. 378). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
[3] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible
(p. 492). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study
Bible (electronic ed., p. 378). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
[6] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 1:28). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[7] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:1 and 2 Samuel/Exposition of First Samuel/I. Prelude to Monarchy in
Israel (1:1-7:17)/A. The Childhood of Samuel (1:1-4:1a)/1. The birth and
dedication of Samuel (1:1-28), Book Version: 4.0.2
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