Scripture Graphics #89

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
(1 Samuel 1:27-28)

How often do we have a deep desire, beg of God, receive it, then selfishly hoard it? Hannah did no such thing, and it was her very own child! God’s blessings on us should enable us to give more back to Him and bless others, but do we selflessly give back to God or selfishly cling tightly to what we have?

How many people try to do good things and follow the commandments—yet neglect to believe in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation! This is the most important commandment for us to obey!

These verses bring out just three aspects of God’s love:
- God loved those who did not love Him
- God gave what was most precious to Him, to demonstrate His love
- By His love, God atoned (appeased) our sin
And this is how we are to love: by extending love to those who do not extend love to us, by giving what is valuable to us for others (be it ourselves, our time, our money), and forgiving others’ sin against us.

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
(1 Samuel 5:7-8)

It is amazing…the enemy of God knew exactly Who was punishing them and bringing judgment, but today, many Christians lay all of their afflictions at the hand of satan. Yes, sometimes trials are sent by satan (look at Job), or the affect of another’s sin (Joseph), but we tend to neglect examining ourselves to see if maybe God Himself sent this punishment because of our sin. In the Philistines’ case, they knew it was God, yet their solution was not humility and repentance before God. They “removed themselves from the presence of conviction.” Even as believers, we can do the same by neglecting God’s Word, neglecting church, avoiding Godly friends, and spending more time with worldly friends who convince us that “sin is okay.” Are we like the Philistines?

How has God's Word challenged you this week?