“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”
~ 1 Samuel 2:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Would you like to be staying and studying at a boarding school right now – like your dad and Aunt Lynn did? If you were at a boarding school right now, you would not get to see your dad and/or ma at times for a long time. Ask your dad if he liked being at a boarding school. Your dad asked your grandmaa and grandpaa if he could go to Tambo. Tambo is the New Tribes boarding school in Bolivia. Your dad spent three years staying and studying at Tambo while your Aunt Lynn’s first year at Tambo was her fourth grade. Your dad was an eleventh grader when your Aunt Lynn first went to Tambo. Your grandmaa and grandpaa really missed your dad and Aunt Lynn when they were at Tambo. How do you think that Hannah and Elkanah were feeling as they began heading back to their home – which was located where the Ephraim tribal clan was allotted land, after leaving their little kid – Samuel, behind in the temple of God that at this time was being kept in the town of Shiloh? Hannah and Elkanah left Samuel in the care of a fat, old high priest whose name was Eli. Hannah did exactly what she had told God that she and Elkanah would do if God ever blessed them with having a kid. Hannah was not able to have kids for years after she married Elkanah. Hannah finally became pregnant with Samuel. Just as soon as Samuel was able to eat food on his own, Hannah and Elkanah took Samuel to the town of Shiloh – to the temple of God that was being kept there, in order to dedicate Samuel to God and to leave Samuel there with Eli. Do you think that Hannah was feeling really sad about leaving her kid with Eli in the temple of God that was in the town of Shiloh? Hannah was happy. Before Hannah and Elkanah left the temple of God that was in the town of Shiloh, Hannah prayed a dedication prayer for Samuel. 1 Samuel 2 begins with Hannah’s prayer. Hannah says in her prayer to God that her heart was rejoicing because of how happy that she was that she could leave her little kid in His care in His temple. Hannah gives God the credit for having blessed her with a kid. Hannah says to God in verse 2 in her prayer to Him, “‘There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” Hannah had internalized in her heart that God knows everything – that He completely knew her heart. Hannah tells God that she knows that He is the One Who determines life and death and prosperity and adversity through His righteous judgments and exalted power. Hannah and Elkanah would have five more kids.
Your grandpaa thinks that the family ideal for any kid – like you kids, is to grow up having a dad and a ma always around to help a kid mature into being an adult guy and gal. Samuel got to see his dad and ma once a year when Hannah and Elkanah brought their annual animal sacrifice to the temple of God that was in the town of Shiloh. A priest from the Levi tribal clan would be the one who would make the actual animal sacrifice to God. Each year before Hannah and Elkanah headed to the town of Shiloh with their annual animal sacrifice to God, Hannah would make a new robe for Samuel – which Hannah would give to her kid when she was in the town of Shiloh. Getting to grow up in the temple of God – a place where God was specifically worshipped – a place that had been built years before with the specifications that God had given to Moses on Mount Sinai, seems like it would have been an idyllic setting for Samuel while he was growing up to know God in an intimate way. Depraved, ungodly activities though were taking place in the temple of God. Eli’s two kids – Hophni and Phinehas, were really, really bad kids. Hophni and Phinehas were involved in immoral activities with the gals who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meetings. The Tent of Meetings was an integral part of the temple of God that was being kept in the town of Shiloh. Hophni and Phinehas were also making a mockery of the animal sacrifices that the Levi tribal clan priests were making to God. Instead of sticking a fork into a boiling pot of meat for a piece of meat to eat from an animal sacrifice – which a Levi tribal clan priest was permitted to do, Hophni and Phinehas were taking pieces of an animal that were to be sacrificed to God on an altar in the Tent of Meetings to fry the pieces of meat to eat – which no Levi tribal clan priest was permitted to do.
Growing up for Samuel in an environment where an aging priest – Eli, could not control his own kids, could have resulted in Samuel growing up doing what Hophni and Phinehas were doing. Samuel though would grow up to be a prophet to God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals. Why do you think that Samuel grew up to be a good guy versus growing up to be a bad guy – when his growing up environs should have shaped him to grow up to be a bad guy? Your grandpaa believes that Hannah’s faithful prayers as a caring, loving and God-fearing ma created a strong, protective hedge around her kid. Your grandpaa also believes that Hannah’s ongoing prayers for Samuel kept her kid from getting caught up in the wickedness that was always around him. Your grandpaa also absolutely believes that your grandmaa’s faithful prayers for your dad and Aunt Lynn kept your dad and Aunt Lynn from getting caught up in any of the ugliness that was around your dad and Aunt Lynn when they were at Tambo. Even though Tambo was a boarding school for missionary kids, some missionary kids who stayed and studied at Tambo and a couple of the teachers who taught at Tambo failed life tests. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are very grateful today that your dad and Aunt Lynn are not pulling being a Hophni and Phinehas but instead are pulling being a Samuel through pursuing doing things through their lives that bless the lives of other guys and gals. Your grandpaa also believes that your grandmaa’s prayers for you will have you pulling a Samuel.
1 Samuel 2 (739)