Parenthood plays a crucial role in shaping the character and faith in their children. The great evangelist Billy Graham rightly said that
" The great legacy one can pass on to one's children and grand children is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith".
If a parent fails to raise a Godly generation, they not only bring condemnation to their family but also become a threat to the society. I Samuel tells us the story of two parents, one barren woman turned to become a mother of the great prophet "Samuel" and the other one is a faithful servant of God but failed to influence his kids and turned to be curse to his family as well as the people of Israel. In the first seven chapters of I Samuel, the ironical transformation of these two parents was beautifully portrayed.
If we look at the life of Hannah, she was second wife of Elkanah, who loved her so much more than his first wife. Though her husband loved her so much, that did not satisfy Hannah as she was barren woman, who was provoked and irritated by her counterpart, first wife of Elkanah. She was deeply anguished by her situation of not being able to conceive a child, being rejected and subjected to derision by her counterpart and the society. In spite of her anguish and deep sorrow, she did not loose faith in God and trusted Him, which was mentioned in I Samuel 1: 18 that "She went her way and ate something and her face was no longer downcast". It was beautifully conveyed in this verse that she completely left her worries and anguish in the presence of the God and came back home with hope and joy. When her husband made love to her, it was mentioned that God remembered her in I Samuel 1: 19. Hannah's prayer was a perfect model on casting our worries on Him that she completely left her worries to God and did her part to receive the blessing from God. Are we still carrying our burdens even after we submitted our anxieties to God ? Later we can see that this child is separated from his parents at a tender age and brought up in the temple of God under the priest Eli and Bible says that Samuel grew in favor with the Lord and with people in I Samuel 2:26. This blessed child has later turned the people of Israel from their sin towards God and became Israel's leader all the days of his life. Though Samuel was born in a family of polygamy, which was not intended by God, his father being an unfair husband, mother being derided and scorned by his stepmother, separated from his loving mother at a tender age, he was mightily used by God, which gives us hope that no matter how you messed up in your life and how devastated your family background is, still God can bring out a blessing from our broken lives.
On the other hand, we can see the the priest of God Eli, who faithfully judged Israel for 40 years failed to correct and influence his sons, when they committed sin against God. Though Eli's sons had been raised in the temple of God with his father, they failed to honor God. Though Eli was faithful to God, he could not leave his legacy to his children, for which God curses his family as mentioned in I Samuel 2 : 32-33. Though Samuel and Eli's sons are growing in the same premises, temple of God under Eli, Eli's sons did not obey his father and brought condemnation to their family as well as on Israel. Many times we can see that God separates us from our comfort zone and closed circle and moulds us for His glorious purpose, which is evident in the lives of Samuel. Samuel was separated from his loving mother at a tender age and trained under Eli in the temple of God to become a leader and blessing for the people of Israel. Though Eli's sons are enjoying comfortable life with his father, they failed to follow his father and became a curse to many.
Because of Eli's failure as a responsible father, he lost his two sons, brought destruction on Israel, lost his life, his daughter-in-law lost her life while giving birth to her son and eventually lost the privilege of priesthood from his family and lost the ark of God to philistines. Because of the faithfulness of one barren woman, God could bless her with many kids and used her to be a mother of a great prophet and bring blessing for the people of Israel.
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