To Encourage You

1 Samuel 1:20 “And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’”

What a wonderful gift is the gift of a child.  We are reminded of this in the story of Hannah and her son Samuel in the verse above.  Before Samuel came, Hannah was barren. She longed for a son and prayed to God year after year for this great gift. 

As I thought about this, I was reminded of how this is a picture of the nation of Israel as they longed for the coming of God’s greatest Son, the Messiah.  Year after year they looked for this One.  From the very beginning, God had promised a Son who would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).  Later God promises a son to Abraham who would come by way of his barren wife Sarah.  But in this promise God was ultimately pointing to one that would come from that son’s line Who would bless all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).  Moses spoke of one whom the Lord would eventually raise up as a great prophet from among the children of Israel, a clear reference to the Messiah that would come (Deuteronomy 18:15).  In fact, Jesus told the Pharisees that it was the entire Old Testament that bore witness of Him (John 5:39). 

You see, the blessing of the son given to Hannah was a shadow of the Son given to each and every one of us in the person of the Messiah.  As Isaiah pointed to this greatest Son, he speaks of Him like this: “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). 

May God be praised and glorified for this great and glorious Son, for it is this Son Who is the greatest gift that has ever been given to the world (John 3:16).