The Presentation of our Lord – Feb. 2, 2020 – 1 Samuel 1:21-28
“THE SERVICE OF THE FAITHFUL”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from 1 Sam. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Our text is the second part of an amazing and miraculous account. It explains the origin of Samuel, of his being and of his service to the Lord.
- In the first part, Samuel’s mother, Hannah is barren and distraught in “the house of the Lord at Shiloh.” She promises God to devote her son to Him if only He grants her a child. God granted Hannah a son, Samuel. Our text records her “service” to the Lord.
- Shiloh, by the way, is a very weighty and important word. Though the city so named was quite remote and barren, it was the place where the Ark of the Covenant remained from the conquest under Joshua to the time of King David, when it was taken to Jerusalem. The main priest and prophet there at the time was Eli, whose two sons were horrible miscreants. The town became barren in time, and was used as an example of what happens even to special places when God is rejected and sin prevails. [Jer. 7:12-14]
- The word “Shiloh,” also a proper name, derives from the Hebrew word “Shalom” which means peace. So Shiloh also means peaceful, tranquil. The word is often connected to the coming of the “Prince of Peace,” the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, Who gives us peace. So there is a connection between our text and the Gospel Lesson regarding the “presentation of Jesus in the temple.”
- What is clear from both texts is that knowing God’s great love for us, His service to us, moves people of faith to engage in “THE SERVICE OF THE FAITHFUL,” that is, to serve the Lord and His purposes and causes in the course of our life here on earth.
I. Such Service Of The Faithful Was Present Long Ago In Samuel’s Family
A. Elkanah Faithfully Served The Lord And His Family
Text: “The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.”
1 Sam. 1:5 “But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.”
B. Hannah Faithfully Served The Lord, With The Gift Of Her Son To God’s Service
Text: “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”
C. Samuel Served The Lord As Judge, Priest, And Prophet For The Entirety Of His Life
Jeremiah 15:1 “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My heart would not turn toward this people.’”
Statement: Consider that Hannah nursed Samuel and shared great love and affection for her only child for three years prior to turning him over to the Lord! Think also that the everyone knew how wretched Eli and his sons were. Her son would be under their care and instruction. Elkanah also likely had great love for Samuel, considering how he loved his mother.
Application: Yet all of this was set aside for service to the Lord. Hannah, Elkanah, and Samuel were among the faithful! It was no different at the time of Jesus, for:
II. The Service Of The Saints Was Also Present When Christ Came
A. Consider Simeon’s Service To God
Gospel Lesson: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, who name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Isreal, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel.’”
B. Consider Anna’s Service To God
Luke 2:36-38 “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
III. Mary And Joseph’s Family Also Participated In The Service Of The Faithful
A. Accepting Jesus As A Gift From God
Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’”
Matthew 1:24,25 “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called His name Jesus.”
B. Going To Jerusalem To Fulfill What The Old Testament Law Required
Text: “When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord . . . and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord.”
C. Then Letting Go Of Jesus For His Mission – To Save The World
Text: [Simeon said of Jesus] “My eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples.”
Luke 2:34,35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”
D. And Jesus Own Self-Sacrifice
Luke 22:42 “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Statement: We are considering the faithfulness of humans, but central to all of this is the faithfulness of God – to Hannah, to Mary, to Joseph, to Anna and Simeon, to all of us! Yes, God is the original and the ultimate “faithful server” of His people!
Application: It nonetheless remains heartwarming and moving to consider what these human beings were willing to endure and give up for God’s purposes! Mary’s relationship with her firstborn, her beloved Jesus, and yet she endured all of this for love of God. What a sword she endured! And such considerations remind us that:
IV. We Too Can Participate In The Service Of The Faithful
A. We Must First Know God As Did Elkanah, Hannah, Simeon, Anna, Mary, And Joseph – By Knowing Jesus
John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.”
B. Then We Can Consider What We Can And Want To Devote [Lend] To The Lord
Text: “And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said . . . ‘for this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.’ And he worshiped the LORD there.”
Statement: Offerings, obedience, generosity – and even one’s precious child. God requires none of these from us, but allows us to also “lend” to Him, and serve Him. As Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it unto Me.”
Application: The motivation must be right – grateful thanks and praise to God for all that He has given us, especially His salvation in Shiloh, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. But also as Luther notes: “He has also given me clothing, shoes, food, drink, house, home, wife, children, land animals, and all that I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.”
Conclusion: We do not have to go to Shiloh to make our offerings and sacrifices. Shiloh is right here with us, for He said, “I am with you always even to the end of the age.” He Who devoted Himself to us and our well-being invites us to be devoted to Him, and devote what is precious to us to Him. May He grant us grace to participate in “THE SERVICE OF THE FAITHFUL.” Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.