“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” ( Hebrews 4:15).
Hannah had a problem. Caught in a polygamous marriage she was barren and her rival Peninnah would not spare her. “Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her” ( I Samuel 1: 6). But Hannah kept faith. An opportunity came when Eli, the priest, mistaking her fervent prayers imagined her drunk instead. “Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine” ( vv 13-14).
But of course she wasnt. “Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief” (vv 16), she waved in protest. So, “Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him”
Eli the priest pleaded on Hannah’s behalf. “So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him” ( vv 20).
When Jesus came here on earth, and died on the cross for our sins, he became the high priest whom we all believers have equal access and can go to directly to plead our case. For “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” ( Romans 8:34). Where one might have been constrained to approach a priest to pray on his behalf, and perhaps be misunderstood as Hannah was at first, with Jesus we go directly to the throne of grace, where we lay all our requests to take them to our Father in heaven. What a blessing we should never hesitate to tap into!
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, through your son Jesus Christ we have a high priest interceding on our behalf, day and night, and whom we bring to all our requests, praying for mercy and grace, in anticipation of the victory that comes through you, and this we pray in Jesus’ name.
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08/05/2024 - 09/05/2024 All day“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
The culture of sharing gifts runs through scriptures and is at the heart of the Gospel. Upon realizing that Jesus Christ had been born the three wise main did not just go empty handed. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Mathew 2:11).
When Jacob decided to return to his country, he went with gifts to soften the heart of his twin brother Esau, whom he had left maddened at him for various wrongs. “Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys” ( Genesis 32: 13-15). The reason was, Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp” (vv 2—21).
Esau was already a wealthy man and had no need of the gifts presented. But Jacob pleaded with him. “Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift” (Genesis 33: 11). This symbol of good touched Esau, brightened his heart, burying the old acrimonious relation.
Taking after these two instances believers should be in the habit of sharing gifts. We should visit each other not empty handed but like the wise men with gifts, not so much that those we are gifting are lacking, but as a way of blessing them. Proverbs 11:25-26, says, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”
Most importantly we bless each other with gifts because we have received the most important gift there is in life, the gift of salvation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I thank you for the most precious gift of all that you gave me of eternal life through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and so I pray that I may not hesitate to share this gift and bless those with as much whom you enable me to meet, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
