Hidden Treasure: III

Hidden Treasure: III

As the book of 1 Samuel opens we know that things are beyond bad.  God’s chosen people, the Israelites, have pulled a Fleetwood Mac: “You can go your own way,” and they did. The book of Judges sets the stage for 1 Samuel and concludes with the theme: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what they saw fit in their own eyes.” Not unlike our culture today.

So we read, “There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah…”

At first it seems that Elkanah is going to be the hero of our story, but apart from religious formalism and his generosity we see nothing in Elkanah.  By today’s standards Elkanah had an OUTSTANDING religious resume’. This man came from the tribe of covering (Ephraim) from waaaaaay UP in the double-high watchers (Ramathaim-zophim) clan in the hill country.  He consistently goes up to sacrifice at Shiloh every year (v.3), and he is compassionate and doubly-generous to Hannah (v.5). This is the kind of guy that Bible-hero stuff is made of right? Not even close.

Elkanah is religious, but not invested.  He is compassionate and generous out of guilt from his passivity.  His wife Peninnah (chief) is the one wearing the proverbial ‘pants’ in the family. Peninnah taunts Hannah because she is barren and has no children (v.6) – and so it goes year after year after year after year (v.7).  The religious trek, the taunts, the passivity, the extra burger divvied out from guilt… nothing changes year after year after year.

FLASHBACK: There was another guy (Adam) who sat by and did nothing while a serpent led his wife (Eve) down the path of temptation…  His passivity is how we got into this sin-mess in the first place. In Gen 3:15 we read that God puts enmity/discord/contrast between the offspring of the serpent (rebellion and sin) and the woman's (identification through obedience). God is telling us that you're in one camp or the other.

Maybe Eli the High Priest is the hero? “Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.” Is Eli our hero?  No. You’ll find no chair in God’s design for the temple. The work of priests was not a leisurely activity involving recliners with built in cup holders. Sadly, Eli, Israel’s High Priest, was content and comfortable with a lofty position, a name tag and a hat, but he had zero interest in God, His mission, or Israel’s sad condition.

Just when it seems like no hero will emerge – we read in vv.9-10, “After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose… she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”  The contemporary reader thinks that Hannah was weeping because she was barren, but that’s not it. Hannah was living in the steamy muck of Israel’s putrescence, which oozed forth from the nations overt rebellion and leadership void.  Hannah was desperate to radically alter Israel’s wayward course for the universal glory of God’s name and fulfillment of His mission; so she prayed, “give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…”

In stark contrast to Elkanah’s religious formalism and passivity and to Eli’s blind, impotent, stale and comfortable position, Hannah’s identification is with God, His mission, and His people – and it JUMPS off the page!

Hannah is our heroine! Because of her faithfulness and intimate identification with God – she is blessed with a son, Samuel, and he is dedicated to God for life.  Hannah quickly disappears from the story, but the impact of her faithfulness, courage, and intimate identification with God, His Mission, and His people lives on eternally in Scripture and the fulfillment of God’s story of humanity’s redemption – accomplished and perfected in Jesus Christ - but still inviting people with a heart like Hannah's to become intimately involved.

Consistency ≠ Faithfulness.

Generosity ≠ Obedience.

Position ≠ Participation.

Religion ≠ Identification.

Like Hannah, we too will quickly disappear from the story.  What legacy will we leave behind?  One of intimate, faithful, obedient participation in & identification with God’s story – or will we settle for a chair just outside the temple?

Hannah sought the hidden treasure. Then, when she found it, she sold everything she had and bought the field.  She leveraged everything to be intimately identified with God.

So what about you?

Blessings,

-Kevin