Life Around "The Fire"
This podcast is dedicated to those wanting to experience a living and real relationship with God as well as growing together in love for one another. We consider that to be a true sign of spiritual growth as we journey along The Way. If this is you then come along with us as we co-operate with God in what He is doing around the corner and around the world!
Life Around "The Fire"
Samuel's Legacy: Born in Intimacy, Raised for Purpose
What does it mean to truly give everything to God? Hannah's profound story of faith, patience, and sacrifice reveals timeless truths about divine timing and intimate relationship with our Creator.
The seemingly empty waiting periods of our lives often precede our greatest purpose. Hannah endured years of barrenness while watching her husband's second wife bear multiple children. Yet her single son Samuel would eventually impact an entire nation as prophet, judge, and kingmaker. While Peninnah's children served their immediate family, Hannah's son served generations.
This powerful narrative illuminates how God operates outside our limited timeline. Reading 1 Samuel takes merely hours, yet encompasses a century of history. Similarly, what feels like endless waiting to us may be God's perfect preparation. Hannah's answered prayer came through intimacy, not mechanical religious obligation, highlighting God's desire for relationship rather than transaction.
Perhaps most remarkable is Hannah's faithfulness to her vow. After finally receiving her heart's desire, she could have clung to Samuel, using him to validate her worth in a culture that stigmatized barrenness. Instead, she honored her promise, giving him to serve in the temple—even though that religious system had become corrupted under Eli and his sons. She entrusted Samuel to God, not merely to an institution.
The text reveals that even as a young child, Samuel "worshiped the Lord there," testifying to Hannah's profound spiritual influence during his formative years. This reminds us of the sacred calling of mothers and maternal figures who shape children's spiritual foundations through nurture, love, and example.
Ultimately, this story challenges us to examine our own hearts. Is our faith transactional or relational? Are we giving God everything or merely performing religious duties? As one listener observed: "All God wants is everything—that's all." True worship means complete surrender born from intimate relationship. Samuel's life demonstrates this perfectly: conceived in intimacy, raised in love, and dedicated in faithfulness.
What might God be preparing in your waiting season? What promises have you made that need fulfilling? Where is He calling you to deeper intimacy and complete surrender?
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
Recently we began a dive into the book of 1 Samuel and in fact we made reference to the fact that 1 and 2 Samuel, as they are written in our Bibles, divided up as 1 and 2 Samuel originally, really weren't written that way. They were written as one book, but because of the length of the book it was divided into two sections One, 1 Samuel. Second Samuel was the other one, and 1 Samuel encompasses roughly 100 years of history in Israel, and then 2 Samuel encompasses another 50. So altogether about 150 years. An interesting point that when we read the book of 1 Samuel out loud it takes roughly two and a half hours right around there, but in all reality it took a hundred years in time to actually live that out. And so we can look at things sometimes in reading and think well, they just happened, you know, in succession, day one, day two, day three or maybe a couple of weeks, but sometimes there's a significant period of time in between events. Something will take place and then for a stretch of time it seems like nothing. I mean nothing is taking place. For example, hannah, one of the characters in 1 Samuel, the mother of Samuel, she was barren for most of her adult life, her childbearing years she was barren, whereas her partner or Elkanah's second wife call her a partner. Elkanah's second wife, penina, was prolific in the conception and delivery of children. She had many children, but Hannah waited a long time years to have one child, and sometimes in our lives it takes time for things to develop. In the case of Hannah, samuel was delivered right on time, and God delivers things right on time. Sometimes it doesn't feel like that because we live in the realm of time and space and God is eternal and so for him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. It's really not relevant in eternity, but we have this experience in time and space where we feel the difference and sometimes it feels like nothing's happening, when in all actuality there are things taking place behind the scenes. But Panina had a lot of children, but they were primarily children for the good of their own family. Hannah had one child and he was for the good of the entire nation of Israel, and even good to this very day, because we're reading from some of his writings and some of his activity that took place that has impacted the nation of Israel but is impacting us to this very day and Hannah waited a long time, but God rewarded her greatly. And so we're going to pick up from where we left off in the first chapter of 1 Samuel and we're going to read through to the end of the chapter, verse 28. So we're going to read verses 19 through 28 and then make a few comments concerning what we find in there. We're going to dig some things out.
Speaker 1:So 1 Samuel, chapter 1, verse 19 says early the next morning they arose and worshipped before the Lord and then went back to their home. At Ramah, elkanah lay with Hannah, his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time, hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying because I asked for the Lord and he heard me. When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, hannah did not go. She said to her husband After the boy is weaned, I will take and present him before the Lord and he will live there always. Do what seems best to you, elkanah. Her husband told her Stay here until you have weaned him Only may the Lord make good his word.
Speaker 1:So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli and she said to him as surely as you live, my Lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to. The Lord has granted me what I asked of him, 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.
Speaker 1:Once again, there is a lot of meat on the bone in this particular passage of Scripture. We pick it up from when we left off previously, when Elkanah takes his family and they go back to their home at Ramah and over the course of time, elkanah makes love to his wife and she conceives. She conceives and she bears a son, gives birth to a son and names him Samuel. Meaning the Lord is heard. Interesting.
Speaker 1:Her prayer was answered, but it wasn't answered in a perfunctory way. It was actually answered in the midst of intimacy. See, elkanah loved Hannah and so when they lay together, when he knew her like that, it was in the midst of intimacy. And Samuel was born, conceived, I should say he was conceived in the midst of intimacy. God answered his, answered Hannah's prayer. He gave her a son, but he was conceived in intimacy.
Speaker 1:And funny thing about it is God was in the midst of that and he loves to do things in the midst of intimacy. You see, god is a relational God. He's not just a perfunctory being that mechanically spits things out because we put a quarter in. He loves us and he loves interacting with us and he loves intimacy. God loves us on a level that is deeper than the level of a man knowing a woman. But the comparison is made no-transcript and he said I never knew you. It's the same connotation as when a man knows a woman, meaning they have intercourse. The Lord penetrates our life deeply and loves to have interaction with us on a deep level. That's powerful, that's beautiful, that's wonderful. He gives us things in communication that we couldn't receive through another human being. So those who don't have relationships with a man or a woman, you're not left out in the cold when it comes to intimacy. You can walk in a very intimate way and know intimate things, because God penetrates our life on a very intimate level, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:So Hannah conceives and it comes time for again Elkanah to go back up to Shiloh, because three times a year a man needed to go and appear before the Lord, and so it came time for him to go and she said I'm not going to go, I'm going to wean this child. She wanted time with Samuel, she loved Samuel. So Samuel was reared in an environment of intimacy and love. He was loved. He wasn't just handed off, like some of us have just been handed off, left without any care, just handed off. But God, but God doesn't leave us that way, and some of us have experienced families of intimacy. Samuel experienced a family that was a close family on one level, but there was competition on the other regular family, but there was competition on the other regular family. But Hannah saw to it that Samuel was raised knowing that he was loved.
Speaker 1:I think it's very important for children to know that they're loved. They're loved, they're wanted, they're desired, they're not a burden. So she weaned him. And you know? Here's another thing she weaned him and it would have been very tempting for a woman who was barren for years to finally have a child and to have the shame removed that was associated with a barren woman in that culture. To have that removed finally, yes, I have a child. Like I'm worthy, I'm someone, but Hannah didn't succumb to that temptation. But Hannah didn't succumb to that temptation and that temptation is there for all of us. God gives us the answer to a prayer and with that answer there was a condition that we said we'll do this if you do that and it comes time for us to do what we said we're going to do and we like what we have that God's given and we say I want to keep it, I want to hold on to it.
Speaker 1:Easy to fall into that temptation and have that thing that needs to live be suffocated. We can suffocate things. We as people can suffocate things. Religion can suffocate things, can keep people from growing and expanding. No, you shouldn't be doing that. No, you just stay here and do this. I will take care of you Religiously, meaning, don't venture outside the group. That's unhealthy control. I believe we should be sent when we go. But being suffocated.
Speaker 1:No, hannah could have suffocated Samuel, but she didn't. That's wise. And she also kept her promise. Be careful of the vows that you make before God, because he takes them seriously. It's better to say nothing than to make a vow and not fulfill it. But Hannah fulfilled her vow and gave Samuel away to live in the house of the Lord for the rest of his life and then from there, he was sent out to do other things, as a prophet and as a judge in Israel, blessed the nation, was used by God to ordain kings, anoint them.
Speaker 1:This little boy who was given over to a priest who we're going to find out later was really not living up to his calling, and his sons were even worse. It was a religious organization, supposed to be spiritual, supposed to be alive, supposed to be relational, but it was religious self-seeking in many respects. But nonetheless, samuel was given over even to that, because he was given over to God, not just to an organization but to God, and God was faithful to his word. Like Elkanah said that she should go ahead and stay home, but only may the Lord make good his word. God made good his word. God makes good his word. God makes good his word. God makes good his word. And Hannah said to Eli in the presence of the Lord so now I give him to the Lord for his whole life He'll be given over to the Lord. His whole life, he will be given over to the Lord. And then it says and he worshiped the Lord. There, isn't that powerful. He wasn't just a little sniveling brat. There was something about the way he was nurtured and the things that Hannah had spoken into his life that molded him into the man he would become.
Speaker 1:Ladies, you have a powerful role to play in the raising of children, and those of you who are helping raise children who are not your own. God bless you. You have, seriously, you have a very, very, very high and holy calling and I commend you for what you're doing. Continue on, continue on, continue on speaking into the lives of these young children as a woman, as a mother to them. Let God mother them through you, because it's going to shape their lives forever. You never know. It might be a Samuel in your midst, maybe many, but he worshipped the Lord there.
Speaker 1:Our highest call in life is to worship God. There is no higher call. Our purpose to live on planet Earth, first and foremost, is to worship God, meaning to give Him everything in honor of who he is. He's worth it, he's worthy of it all, he's worthy of everything we have. In fact, the other day, in my time, specific time spent with God, I heard him say to me David, all I want is everything, that's all. All I want is everything, and that is faith.
Speaker 1:Faith is everything. Trusting God with everything, trusting him with everything, everything Trusting him, that's worship, that's faith. In fact, it says, without faith it's impossible to please God. Meaning God is not satisfied, he's not filled up, like when you have a big, nice, good meal, you're satisfied. Faith satisfies God and God's not satisfied with anything else, but everything. And that's what faith is. Faith is nothing less. Anything less than that is religion. It's not relational. And faith is relational. It's giving god everything with a heart of intimacy, not a heart of just perfunctory duty. Well, I guess got to give my life. That does nothing. Who'd want that in a relationship? If we're just on a human level, well, I guess I got to spend time with you. Spare yourself the trouble, don't bother. But when it's with a heart of intimacy.
Speaker 1:Samuel was conceived in intimacy, reared in intimacy and offered in intimacy, and he worshiped God in intimacy all the days of his life. Hallelujah, hallelujah, let's pray. Father, you said all you want is everything. So I offer you again everything. I trust you with everything. You are worthy of my complete, 100%, everything. Trust. We trust you Collectively.
Speaker 1:We give ourselves to you and say have us, oh Lord, all of us, everything. And we want everything of you, all of you. We want you to penetrate our lives. We want you to know us, of you, all of you. We want you to penetrate our lives. We want you to know us. We look to you, holy Spirit, for your guidance, for your leadership.
Speaker 1:Rear us up, like Samuel was trained in the ways of the Lord, where Samuel was raised in intimacy, raised as Holy Spirit to serve Jesus in a way that he's worthy of Lord Jesus, we honor you as our Savior, as our Lord, and we give ourselves to you and want to. I want to be like you in all ways everything, not only in how you functioned here, but how you're functioning where you are now. Teach us to function above so we can impact the world that we live in. We come on up and call your glory down, lord. We thank you, we stand here in the name of Jesus and we say amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, all right folks, amen, amen, amen, alright folks. We love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire, at gmailcom. That's our email address, or you can type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you. In the meantime, god bless you, adios amigos.