His Vow

1 Samuel 1:3-4,19-22 - Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters…Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 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.” When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”

Genesis 8:1 – But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

1 Samuel 7:5 – Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.”

Psalm 50:14-15 – “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Psalm 56:12 – I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.

Application:

• ·         To “remember” in the Bible is often not merely to recall people to mind but to express concern for them, to act with loving care for them. When God remembers His children, He does so “with favor”.
• ·         Samuel, like Moses, was later remembered as a great intercessor. Both were appointed by God to mediate His rule over His people, representing God to Israel and speaking on Israel’s behalf to God.
• ·         Making vows to God was a common feature of Old Testament piety, usually involving thank offerings and praise.
• ·         Three times a year every Israelite male was required to appear before the Lord at the central sanctuary.
• ·         “Sacrifice” here refers to a fellowship offering, a sacrifice that was combined with a festive meal signifying fellowship and communion with the Lord and grateful acknowledgment of His mercies.
• ·         “Your vows” were vows that accompanied prayer in times of need, usually involving thank offerings, always involving praise of the Lord for His answer to prayer.
• ·         Speaking as if his prayer has already been heard, David acknowledges that now he must keep the vows he made to God when he was in trouble.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV