To Take the Place

Eli [blessed] Elkanah and his wife [Hannah], saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” … And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy…continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men.” 1 Samuel 2:20-21, 26, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “To take the place of the one?” In a literal sense, yes. In the sense of a parent’s love for their child? No. Every parent who loves their child (sadly there are some who don’t), no thing or no one could ever do that. So, “each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 2:19, NIV 1984). God saw Hannah’s faithfulness to Him and to Samuel, and “was gracious to Hannah.”

I see at least two spiritual applications here.

To take the place of the one – The house may otherwise be full, but the one who is missing leaves a hole. “Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?'” (Luke 15:3-4, NIV 1984). Just like Hannah never forgot Samuel, God will never forget you. Even if (when) you wander off. Our Father will be persistent, “until He finds [us].” I am sure that the robes that Hannah brought to Samuel warmed not only his body, but also his heart. I find God’s persistence in “[going] after [us]” heart-warming.

The Lord Was Gracious – Before she became pregnant with Samuel, her husband Elkanah had said, “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8, NIV 1984). While Elkanah may have been her first love, that did not diminish her love for the first-born she willfully gave up. This fact, I am certain, was not lost on God. He gave up more than His first born, He gave up His only begotten. So, do not ever believe or think that you can out give God. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left [given up] home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:30, NIV 1984).

My Advice – We can give Him nothing that did not come from Him in the first place. We cannot give Him enough to repay Him for what He has done for us. But give Him your all nonetheless.