We’re officially in the second full week of 2021! I hope it’s going well for you.
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SERMON – Quit tearing us apart – I Corinthians 1:10-17 – Seeking Christ in the Scriptures
We are well into this new year!
I continue to pray for an opportunity to serve the local church. My heart is to be a pastor, so I’m asking the Lord to open a door. If you know of a church is looking for a pastor or if you’d like to have me come and preach, please know I’d love to talk with you.
- To contact me: mjtilley.wordpress.com/contact
- More details about my time of transition in the ministry
I’m looking forward to preaching at Freedom Baptist (Rural Hall, NC) on Sunday, January 17! This is the church that ordained me in 2009 and the church where my wife, Vanessa, grew up. Pastor Jon White has been an encouragement and help to our family during our time of transition.
Make a commitment to Bible reading in 2021
I hope you’ve started (or continued) a Bible reading plan of some sort. If you got a plan, please stick with it. Somewhere around mid-January, New Year’s resolutions can fade a bit. Even if you slipped a little, just pick up the Book today and do it again tomorrow and the next day, and the next. Now if you don’t have something going, it’s not too late. We make a big deal about new years’ resolutions. But Bible reading isn’t a resolution thing–it’s a full-life thing.
The up-ending hand of God
Every summer, my family and I try to make a trip to the North Carolina coast. One year, we went out to Frisco, NC, way out on the Outer Banks.
We had a great time. But one day, I looked up from my book to see my second oldest–Eli–bouncing, waving his arms, and struggling. He clearly wasn’t haven’t fun. Just then, my wife says, “You have to go help him!”
I never felt more useless & helpless in my entire life.
He had been hollering for help, but no one could hear him over the crash of the waves. I could have tried to get him, but I am a completely incompetent swimmer who has had my own bouts with near drowning.
A very able-bodied swimmer near us was able to get out there and save Eli.
The waves of the Atlantic Ocean were so strong–stronger than Eli was–and they just about did him in. But his rescuer was stronger, closer, and on his way.
That’s exactly what happens in the first couple of chapters of First Samuel. Except, instead of ocean waves, it’s the sin and lawlessness of a family and a nation that’s overwhelming a specific woman named Hannah, pulling her in deep, and threatening to take joy and life away from her.
But as you’ll see in First Samuel, there’s One who exalts the humble and humbles the exalted. There’s One who is available to save. There’s One who returns blessings to the down and out like Hannah.
There’s only One who’s available. There’s only One who is able to give what’s precious.
But the Damage of Sin is so Deep
As we saw in Judges 21:25, this was the era of “doing what was right in your own eyes.” It’s hard not to see the parallels to our own time in 2021 as you read and study this.
The first person you meet in Samuel is Elkanah — from a good family in a good part of Israel and a religiously observant man. His family would likely be considered one of the good ones. He’s got to have some money since he’s got two wives–polygamy was not a practice for the poor.
Whatever your modern mind thinks of this family and situation, notice that you are looking at what would have been considered a normal, moderately wealthy, fairly religious family in ancient Israel in the final days of the Judges era. Think middle class, Bible Belt, Southern Baptist.
Yet, when filtered through the lens of God’s law and the character of God seen in Scripture, you also can’t help but notice the rampant sin:
- Polygamy: This was never God’s plan and has always been the source of problems in history
- Favoritism: In verse 5, you see that Elkanah liked Hannah better than Peninnah
- Jealousy: That generates jealousy, which you see in verse 6
- Pride: Even in his attempts to console Hannah, Elkanah’s pride shows in verse 8
- Hypocrisy and lawlessness: Eli, the priest, gets upset with Hannah in verse 13 when he thinks she’s drunk. That’s problematic because it suggests lawlessness if this was typical of people who visited Shiloh for worship. But it also shows his hypocrisy, being fastidious about this woman but so flippant about his own children using the tabernacle like a pick up bar
And that’s just the sin that’s exposed in this passage. In chapter two, you see that the high priest’s family is riddled with it. As we continue in First Samuel, you will see that the impact of sin hits the individual, the family, the community, and the nation.
Sin abounds! While grace does much more abound (thank you for Romans 5:20!), the reason we need God’s grace to abound is because sin’s damage has also abounded. And in this situation, the damage is deep:
- Childlessness: Hannah is unable to have children. Her barrenness may or may not have been due to her sin. But created the female body to be able to bear children, if the woman so chooses. In this sin-filled, broken world some bodies do not operate as they should–birth defects, cancer, chronic illness.
- Jealousy, depression, unhappiness, and grief: As a result of sin in the family, the nation and the personal impact, you have a cluster of damage, with one thing leading to another. Ultimately, the center of this passage is a woman who just about cannot go on because of the damage that sin has caused.
A Savior from Sin is So Available
The available hope is reflected in the annual sacrifices that this family participates in. They offer a “peace offering,” something that can be given anytime to thank the Lord for His goodness. This offering is detailed to Israel (Leviticus 7) at a time when they had no idea how to connect to a righteous and holy God. It is part of a longer message from God that starts with Moses being essentially locked out of the tabernacle because he wasn’t holy enough. But the message of Leviticus is the story of how sinful men can be made right and able to boldly enter into the throne room of grace.
So, this is intended to be a celebratory gathering. But chapter 1 is all about a grieving woman “in bitterness of soul” who “prayed unto the Lord and wept sore.”
Most folks deal with grief by going through the familiar Kubler-Ross stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, then Acceptance. Helpful and natural, to a point.
However, no method (healthy or not) of dealing with grief is really the way to get the ultimate help that we need. Hannah knows this too, it seems. While her family is praising God for provision, she’s crying out to Him for help.
She’s doing what people who needed help from God throughout the ages have done: she humbled herself before God.
And God helped her. He literally exalts a humble, broken woman, answers her prayer, and gives her the one thing that she’s asked for–a son.
When she comes back to worship God the next year, she acknowledges this, emphasizing how this little boy was the result of asking God.
Here’s Hannah in the Old Testament–a barren wife in a culture that valued child-bearing, a woman in a culture that saw women as secondary, a person without the benefit of the full revelation that you and I have of Scripture–boldly and with confidence approaching God with her needs, fully expecting that He would hear and could help.
How much more should you and I, with the promises revealed in Hebrews 10, boldly go to God for our help?
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 10:19-22
The cure for the damage of sin is found by humbling one’s self before a Holy, Mighty God. He will respond with exaltation.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
I Peter 5:6-7
This is Exactly How God Works!
As a result of God’s exaltation of her, Hannah sings a song of praise, which is comprised of three basic parts:
Section 1 — verses 1-3 — How great God is. She goes on and on about God as Yahweh, the covenant name of God used nine times in her song. She is describing Him as the self-existing One who needs no one but on whom all of the world depends. She talks about Him as the God who turns her life around from being overwhelmed and depressed by the impact of sin in her life (verse 1) to rejoicing and triumphant (verse 2).
Section 2 — verses 4-8 — God exalts the humble and humbles the exalted.
- In verse 4: He causes the mighty to be broken while the clumsy are strengthened
- In verse 5: He makes the full to go begging while the hungry are fed. He also causes the barren woman to have seven children while the woman with a house full of children ends up weak and pitiful.
- In verses 6-8: He kills and resurrects, gives wealth and takes it, gives honor and takes it.
Section 4 — verses 9-10 — This is just the kind of God that He is. This work is not just something that God does for this one woman in Ephraim, instead, this is the sort of action God takes for His chosen people (saints). Those that go against His people might as well hang it up.
Hannah is underscoring for future generations who would read her song that this salvation from the damage of sin isn’t just something that God does occasionally or when the circumstances line up. This is fundamental to His character. It is Who He is and what He does. He is the exalter of the humble and the humbler of the exalted.
A few words on commentaries
Before I go any further on this, I must say that a copy of the Scripture and the illumination of the Holy Spirit are all you need to really study the Bible. Don’t ever think that those things are not enough. Definitely don’t wait until you have a bunch of resources to start studying.
God’s word is absolutely accurate and reliable. But it is also sufficient. Period.
That does not make additional resources wrong. But it does mean you need to do so with caution. Be careful not to rely on any resource first. Remember Scripture is God’s communication to you.
Literally, it is “God’s Word.” So, take the time to read it, hear it, listen to it, think about it, memorize it, and let it speak.
With that in mind, you may find it helpful to learn from others who have thought deeply about Scripture. One particular kind of Bible study tool that I appreciate is the Bible commentary.
If you’re not used to using commentaries but thinking about trying, understand that there are a couple of different types, at least by the way tend to think about them:
- Devotional commentaries. These come in some different packages, but I tend to think about Warren Weirsbe’s “Be” series as an example. Often these are sermons that someone preached on the book. I know that’s what Henry Ironside did for his series and I find those very useful. The focus is on application although you may also get some information about context, language, meaning, etc. These are often going to read a lot like a regular book and you will probably consume them that way — start on page one and read through — though you can use them to refer to specific sections you are studying.
- Technical commentaries. These can vary in degrees of technicality, but most are usually very much academic studies on a book of the Bible. You can get in pretty deep into the Hebrew and Greek, with some textual criticism even. I own a couple in this category and will refer them on occasion. They are great if you really want to get a deeper understanding of the language on the page. Most often, these will be reference material for particularly tough passages.
- Pastoral commentaries. I call these “pastoral” in that they are great for pastors to use in their study of the Bible. But these are really a wide range of commentaries intended to provide a thorough Biblical theology of specific books. I like to get at least one of these commentaries on any book of the Bible that I’m preaching through. Some are good for reading through — I have one on Leviticus that’s set up so that you can do that. But most are best as a ready reference as you study specific passages. In fact, that’s how I will usually use them: read and digest the text myself, come to some conclusion about it. Then, I’ll consult a good pastoral commentary to check question mark areas or to challenge my thinking.
Now that I’ve explained a philosophy of commentaries, I want to give you some recommendations for some commentaries on First Samuel — particularly some resources that I’m using for our study.
A great commentary recommendation tool. First, here’s a free resource of resources. Just about anytime I’m looking for which commentaries are good for a particular book, I’ll check out this site: www.challies.com/best-commentaries-on-each-book-of-the-bible/. I really appreciate Tim Challies’ ministry; he will usually keep you looking at conservative, Biblically faithful scholars and writers.
A very helpful, pastoral commentary on I Samuel. Hands down the best commentary I’ve ever read on any book of the Bible, is “Looking on the heart” by Dale Ralph Davis. Davis has such a good style that he’s enjoyable to read, and he packs in so much useful information in each chapter. Davis is very practical, applying the truths presenting in helpful, up-to-date (yet timeless) ways. Just an overall good resource.
A deeper, more academic commentary. I do like to have at least one deeper commentary on a book to use as a reference. There are newer ones out there, but this is one that gets referenced a lot. This one is part of the “Anchor Bible” series and is written by P. Kyler McCarter, Jr. Now, be warned, it’s pretty detailed. In fact, McCarter has made the effort to give what he sees as a clearer translation of I Samuel, based on his study of the underlying Hebrew. You’ll get an almost phrase-by-phrase analysis of every verse in the book. You’ll also get a very good explanation of the history and controversies of the underlying manuscripts, and so much more. Ultimately, McCarter is just so good and so in-depth that he has got more in here that I’ll ever fully be able to appreciate. But if you want a deeper study, academic commentary, you’ll want to check this one out.
Until Next Week!
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Seeking Christ in the Scriptures 