1 Sam 2 In the Message Version

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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1 Samuel 2:1-36
1Hannah prayed:
I'm bursting with God-news! I'm walking on air.I'm laughing at my rivals.I'm dancing my salvation.
2Nothing and no one is holy like GOD,no rock mountain like our God.
3Don't dare talk pretentiously--not a word of boasting, ever!For GOD knows what's going on.He takes the measure of everything that happens.
4The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces,while the weak are infused with fresh strength.
5The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts,while the hungry are getting second helpings.The barren woman has a houseful of children,while the mother of many is bereft.
6GOD brings death and GOD brings life,brings down to the grave and raises up.
7GOD brings poverty and GOD brings wealth;he lowers, he also lifts up.
8He puts poor people on their feet again;he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope,Restoring dignity and respect to their lives--a place in the sun!For the very structures of earth are GOD's;he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation.
9He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step,but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark.No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle!
10GOD's enemies will be blasted out of the sky,crashed in a heap and burned.GOD will set things right all over the earth,he'll give strength to his king,he'll set his anointed on top of the world!
11Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served GOD in the company of Eli the priest.
Samuel Serves God
12Eli's own sons were a bad lot. They didn't know GOD and could not have cared less 13about the customs of priests among the people. Ordinarily, when someone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant was supposed to come up and, while the meat was boiling, 14stab a three-pronged fork into the cooking pot. The priest then got whatever came up on the fork. But this is how Eli's sons treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to GOD. 15Before they had even burned the fat to GOD, the priest's servant would interrupt whoever was sacrificing and say, "Hand over some of that meat for the priest to roast. He doesn't like boiled meat; he likes his rare." 16If the man objected, "First let the fat be burned--God's portion!-then take all you want," the servant would demand, "No, I want it now. If you won't give it, I'll take it." 17It was a horrible sin these young servants were committing--and right in the presence of GOD!-desecrating the holy offerings to GOD.
18In the midst of all this, Samuel, a boy dressed in a priestly linen tunic, served GOD. 19Additionally, every year his mother would make him a little robe cut to his size and bring it to him when she and her husband came for the annual sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "GOD give you children to replace this child you have dedicated to GOD." Then they would go home.
21GOD was most especially kind to Hannah. She had three more sons and two daughters! The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with GOD.
A Hard Life with Many Tears
22By this time Eli was very old. He kept getting reports on how his sons were ripping off the people and sleeping with the women who helped out at the sanctuary. 23Eli took them to task: "What's going on here? Why are you doing these things? I hear story after story of your corrupt and evil carrying on. 24Oh, my sons, this is not right! These are terrible reports I'm getting, stories spreading right and left among GOD's people! 25If you sin against another person, there's help--God's help. But if you sin against GOD, who is around to help?"But they were far gone in disobedience and refused to listen to a thing their father said. So GOD, who was fed up with them, decreed their death. 26But the boy Samuel was very much alive, growing up, blessed by GOD and popular with the people.
27A holy man came to Eli and said: "This is GOD's message: I revealed myself openly to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. 28Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests: to preside at the altar, to burn incense, to wear the priestly robes in my presence. I put your ancestral family in charge of all the sacrificial offerings of Israel. 29So why do you now treat as mere loot these very sacrificial offerings that I commanded for my worship? Why do you treat your sons better than me, turning them loose to get fat on these offerings, and ignoring me? 30Therefore--this is GOD's word, the God of Israel speaking--I once said that you and your ancestral family would be my priests indefinitely, but now--GOD's word, remember!-there is no way this can continue.
I honor those who honor me;those who scorn me I demean.
31"Be well warned: It won't be long before I wipe out both your family and your future family. No one in your family will make it to old age! 32You'll see good things that I'm doing in Israel, but you'll see it and weep, for no one in your family will live to enjoy it. 33I will leave one person to serve at my altar, but it will be a hard life, with many tears. Everyone else in your family will die before their time. 34What happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be the proof: Both will die the same day. 35Then I'll establish for myself a true priest. He'll do what I want him to do, be what I want him to be. I'll make his position secure and he'll do his work freely in the service of my anointed one. 36Survivors from your family will come to him begging for handouts, saying, "Please, give me some priest work, just enough to put some food on the table.'"
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language


~ Lena’s Journalin’~
Hannah’s rejoicing is the joy of every Christian who has come to know who their King is and who has put their total trust and reliance in Him. Those who have had a revelation of Him, know how BIG He is.
I see how she says there is no none like You and no mountain is too large. Ever feel a situation or circumstance is bigger than can be conquered? Ever feel like everything in life is so huge and unsolvable? Hannah was barren, she’d tried to have babies and could not and there was nothing she could do to help, nothing, BUT she saw the Lord, she saw Him in a way beyond what every other voice that had spoken to her even in her head was saying.
Let me ask you, IS the problem you are having BIGGer than God? In all actuality, is it? The lie is that it is WAYYY bigger, way bigger, and it has led us to believe it can come against even God. It has exalted itself before God and has made itself to be bigger than life.
Hannah saw that evil tactic, she got a word from God, grabbed a hold of it and decided to Not let it go or be taken from her! She decided to turn the declaration around for truth and agree with Truth in the midst of a lie. She became a participant with 2/3rds of a host of angels, while it was only 1/3rd that were lyingto her !
So, no matter what, Praise the Lord? That takes a revelation of Him, of His word, of His spirit, of His life and truth. Once we get that we have to keep a hold of it, it is what the enemy wants to steal away from us, our agreement with God, if he can take that he has us again, in any given situation.
God is Great and greatly to be praised by those who feel like it and by those who do not.
Notice how Hannah says God brings death and life, prosperity and poverty?
Do we only bless the Lord because of what comes our way? Like if he brings relief to our problem do we bless Him then, or do we just bless Him? If we’ve seen Him, we bless Him.
We seek not only His hand – what He gives us, but His face- who He is. We DO NOT understand the workings of all of His plan and even where we find ourselves in it, but if we truly love and trust Him, does it matter? I mean we’ll marry a man or woman and say something like, “I’ll love you to the end, in sickness, health, richer poorer…”, but where God is concerned do we only love Him when things get better?
How deep is Your love Oh Lord, How great Your love! How deep and how great is ours for Him? Does it last eternally? He gave His Son as Hannah did, what do we give? I pray we offer up our lives as a daily sacrifice.
The sons of Eli went through the motions of service in the house of the Lord, but they did not know and love God, their lives were offensive to God. We cannot only seek His hand and expect the benefits of the sons of God. Rather than being blessed, Eli’s sons were cursed, Eli was a priest, who would not discipline his own sons. If we do not come under discipline we cannot learn the depth of love. Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and calls them His sons. Discipline means training for growth. Those who are not in submission for growth and change are mere acquaintances. Are we sons of God or acquaintances? If we know Him and in knowing Him, love Him, we will live an honorable life for Him.
Honor your Father - God, and your Mother - His church and you will have long life on the earth!
Honor God and He will honor you! Dishonor Him, and dishonor will come. Do you realize these things appear as options now, but later on we’ll find each of us should have chosen to go all the way. We’ll all regret having of taken options to just know his hand and not seek diligently after His heart.
Raising our children in the Lord is a great honor to Him. Blessings passed on to generations will bless the Lord. He is looking for people to pass the blessing of Divine love on forever.
Yesterday our minister said that even if we do not have our own children, we have a generation that comes after us, whom we are all influencers of and we can pass on generational blessings or cursings to, depending on our personal choices. Don’t exempt yourself from these commands due to not having any natural children, we are all required by God to reproduce at least spiritual children, and there will be an accounting taken of this command fulfilled or unfulfilled.
If we don’t have any spiritual or natural children yet, we must cry out in faith as Hannah did, and bless God in faith for your children. Hannah went away from there and every time she came to visit Samuel she had another child. 5 more children - at least! There’s so much more!



Daily Recital Verses -
Psalms 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Prov 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.