Two things strike me today as I read through the Scriptures:
- The global message of God throughout the Bible
Psalm 66 is a song of praise from Israel to the Lord for all he has done and all they have been witness to. Yet it still keeps the global perspective of God’s plan. It sounds to me like it was written on one of those emotional highs where you’re just in love with everything about God. As if it was written sometime just after all the people had celebrated and recommitted themselves to the Lord (like after Joshua’s time, or after David is crowned king). The focus is very much on Israel, but verse 4 declares that all the earth worships God. Verse 5 implores all people to “Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of (all) man.” Verse 8 continues this train of thought, saying “Bless our God, O peoples.”
Israel was always meant, as promised through Abraham, to be a blessing to the nations, to all the world (Genesis 17:4-6). They were never called to be a special people among all the world that was privileged to be with God and become a secret club that pitied the rest of the world. God had chosen them to be a whole kingdom of priests, a holy nation that would bring light to the world and move all other nations to also worship God (Exodus 19:6).
Yet, in many places, we have made worshiping God into so many things that do not address the heart of God’s plan. Even when Jesus walked the earth, he commanded his followers to be the salt and light of the earth, not hermits and ascetics (Matthew 5:13-16).
This is the large scale plan of God’s.
Another thing that stuck out to me came as I read the opening chapters of 1 Samuel. Hannah says a lot of things, her husband Elkanah, says very little. I’ve heard it said that women generally speak almost 3 times as many words in a day as compared to men. To be fair, the focus of the author is to tell of Samuel’s upbringing, not to comment on why women talk so much. =D
(As a note, I never type out those smiley face things. I just thought it would somehow indicate that I was just kidding. But, whatever)
Hannah is so concerned on pouring her heart out to God Almighty, desperate to connect with him and find his favor. Elkanah for the most part is portrayed as a family man concerned with all the things a husband and dad is concerned with; mostly, keeping his family in order.
I find that this seems to be a reflection today still. I see women in church as the ones who are far more responsive to connecting with God than the men. My wife unceasingly seems to desire a connection with the Lord, while I never seem to fail trying to do things on my own, or being concerned with other things above pouring my heart out to God and desiring his presence. Some of the most powerful prayers recorded in the Bible come from women: Deborah (Judges 5), Hannah (1 Samuel 2), Mary (Luke 1). These aren’t just girly pages ripped out of girly diaries, they’re awesome declarations of God’s greatness. In her prayer, Hannah says things like, “My mouth derides my enemies...the bows of he mighty are broken...the LORD kills and brings to life...the adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.”
She’s not butch or sporty, she just loves the Lord and has extreme confidence and faith in him; probably because she talks to him so much and knows his heart.
Following this prayer of Hannah’s, the author goes straight into showing how worthless Eli’s sons were. They were the sons of the high priest, and they completely disregarded their privileges and did nothing but seek their own selfish gain.
This is something we’ve seen since the fall in the Garden (Genesis 3). That women are far more willing to turn to God in their distress, and men are apt to suppress their God-given mandate, saying less and working slothfully.
God has a huge plan for the whole world, and his church is the primary vehicle. Yet the world (and the church) is full of men and women who are unable to reconcile these basic, ancient differences.
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O Lord, make me into a man after your own heart! Burn away the worthless tendencies in me and forge in me character that is refined like silver.
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