Hannah’s testimony to Eli the priest when she dedicated Samuel to the Lord has been used on many a baby announcement or nursery wall.
”I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.“
1 Samuel 1:27 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1sa.1.27.NIV
She was reminding Eli of a prayer and a promise she made a year earlier. She begged the Lord for a son and promised him as a Nazarite, devoted to the Lord always. She was not the only one to pray for a child.
”Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.
After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.“
Genesis 25:21-26 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.25.21-26.NIV
The older will serve the younger. This was Isaac’s predicament because of Sarah and Abraham’s impatience, because they couldn’t imagine how God’s promise would be fulfilled without their help. Two nations still jostle. We want better for our children than what we’ve experienced, but what is better? We pray for less struggle, fewer inconveniences, less work, fewer hard lessons learned, but often our attempts hinder growth. Entrusting them to God all their lives, as Hannah did Samuel, means realizing they were never mine. They’ve always belonged to God, and His heart for them is to know Him, to walk with Him as Father. I have stewarded what He entrusted to me, not always perfectly, but faithfully, and though I cannot be present with them always, He can.
”Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”“
Genesis 28:10-22 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.28.10-14.NIV
I pack my pillows anytime I travel. I’ve learned. I deal with variables and stressors better when I am rested and the surest way to ruin any chance of a good night’s sleep is to rely on unfamiliar pillows. I arrived at my daughter’s during nap time last week and before I’d had time to unpack my bags, her eldest was awake but not ready to be up yet so I scooped him up and tucked him into the guest bed where we both dozed off almost immediately. An hour later, I woke up thinking of Jacob and his rock pillow. My ear was numb and my neck hurt after just an hour. Surely no pillow is better than a stone!
The stone became a sacred pillar, an altar dedicated to God’s promise more than to God in that moment, but it would become a sacred space, a place where Jacob would learn to know God as His Rock. Here it’s more symbolic of his own hard head. He had taken advantage of his twin’s red-headedness and swindled him out of his birthright, and with his mother’s help, deceived his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. On the run for his life, if he knew God had a plan, he thought it was his to work out. He would operate under that assumption for many years before he wrestled with the living God and became Israel. Where God saw Jesus, Jacob only saw himself. God was orchestrating the means of salvation and reconciliation for the entire world, past, present, and future. Jacob had to see past himself to get a glimpse of God before he could surrender.
We all find ourselves in Jacob’s shoes. If not his, then Paul’s or Peter’s, Gideon’s or Samson’s.
”Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.“
Hebrews 11:1-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.11.1-3.NLT
In the verses that follow, we see faith fleshed out in the struggles. I’m not sure how we can translate the good news into a prosperity gospel so easily from there? We need the Giver of every good and perfect gift more than any material blessing. (James 1:17)
”Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.“
James 4:8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.4.8.NLT
”Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?
Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.“
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ecc.7.13-14.NLT
Jacob didn’t stumble on the gateway to heaven. He didn’t find God in a particular place. God was always there, pursuing him, waiting patiently for him to see with new eyes. As my great grandfather told my mother once, God won’t give you more until you use what He’s already given. He was speaking specifically about understanding God’s Word and being obedient to it. Largely illiterate, he met Jesus in the mess he had created for himself, and God gave him a hunger for the Word. My mother would read aloud to him, sometimes for hours. This is how he learned to love his family well and steward the trust he was given. He and my great grandmother were entrusted with six, four boys and two girls, before he trusted the Lord.
”Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.“
Psalms 127:1-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.127.1-5.NLT
Children are a gift from the Lord, not a reward in the sense of repaying my goodness. Far from it. They are a gift in the same way that salvation is- “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.“ (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.8-9.NLT) Children are a reward because they constantly reveal our limitations and point us continually to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. “Some time later, (but long before Isaac,) Abram had a vision. The Lord said to him, “Abram, do not be afraid. I am like a shield to you. I am your very great reward.”(Genesis 15:1 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/gen.15.1.NIRV)
”Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.
My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.
You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.“
Proverbs 3:5-7, 9, 11-15, 21-26 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.3.5-26.NLT
”Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.
Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.“
Hebrews 12:1-3, 12-13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.12.1-12.NLT
”All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.“
Hebrews 11:13-16, 39-40 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.11.13-40.NLT
”Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.“
Matthew 6:33 NLT
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