She took him to church and left him there

She took him to the house of God and left him there.

It doesn’t sound significant until you realize that it was not a "day care" we are talking about. Nor was it that he was left in church by accident as was one of my 5 brothers. (We arrived home after a Sunday night service and realized that my brother was forgotten on the pew where he had fallen asleep. A hasty trip back to church found him still asleep in the big dark empty church sanctuary. It was a good thing he did not wake up.)

Hannah left Samuel in the house of God at Shiloh on purpose. He had been the miraculous answer to this barren woman’s prayer request. He was the subject of a promise she had made when she prayed. "Lord, if you give me a son, I will give him back to you for as long as he lives." Quite a promise.

She was true to her promise when the Lord granted her request and blessed her with a son whom she named Samuel – "asked of God."

When the young boy was old enough to be separated from his mother, she dressed him in an ephod – a miniature replica of the priestly garment – and she took him to Shiloh and left him there in the house of God. Her covenant and intent was that he would grow up and serve the God who had answered her persistent, heart rending petition.

The marvelous part of the story was that she left him there – even though Eli the priest was old, had poor eyesight, was slow to hear the voice of God, and did not have control over his own boys. The sons of Eli were utterly profane. They were greedy and cared nothing for spiritual things. They were immoral to the max. This was not a warm healthy climate to grow a son. What an atmosphere in which to leave your miracle child.

Hannah left her son in Shiloh nevertheless. Even though the lamp in the temple had been allowed to go out. The oil ran dry and Eli was too old to notice and his sons did not care. Any spark of revelation or inspiration was gone from the house of God. Eli’s sons committed unspeakable, immoral sinful acts.

But Hannah left Samuel there. She did not "pull him out of church". She did not go searching for another place, another occupation, another situation where her son would find "more potential for growth". She had made a covenant with God and fully expected God to take care of her boy.

When she went up from year to year to worship, she did not take her son home with her. She left him there.

She did the right thing. It was in that dark temple in a rough time of history that the God, who had spoken to Samuel’s mother, spoke also to her son. The conclusion of the conversation and the fulfillment of the promise made to Samuel was that he would become a prophet and judge of Israel.

He would anoint kings. Kings were to wait for his counsel. When a king failed, he was the one to remove that king from his position. He would anoint David, ‘the man after God’s own heart’ to be the next king.

He would fight one military battle against the Philistines. He would need to fight only one, for God "thundered" and the enemy left, never to return during Samuel’s time of influence.

Too often we judge a situation by our own limited understanding and we do not give God a chance. Who knows how many young men or young ladies were destined to places of great influence, yet they were pulled from a situation that God himself had ordained for their refinement.

Let God lead.  It is often that God chooses to lead us in darkness when we need it the most.  I do not remember where I first heard or read the following quote --   "Do not doubt in darkness what you have seen in the light."  This quote is not original with me.  I wish I would have said it.  Logic sometimes robs us of a miracle. Our perception sometimes prevents the perfect will of God from being fulfilled in a life. What if Hannah had taken Samuel back home?