As she continued praying before the Lord,
Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips
moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken
spectacle of yourself? Put away your
wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply
troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring
out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have
been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the
petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate
and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer. 1 Samuel 1:12-18 (NRSV)
When I read the
opening story of Samuel’s life, Eli strikes me as Secret Agent Maxwell Smart. Don Adams played the inept spy on the TV comedy
series “Get Smart”. He was a satirical combination
of James Bond and Inspector Clouseau.
Smart was an
American spy trying to thwart all the evil efforts of the world-takeover
organization “KAOS”. The bumbling Maxwell
Smart, known as “Agent 86” would always save the day, but he hardly had a clue
how he did it.
Eli was priest at
the temple, but he had some severe blind spots.
Hannah was crying out at the temple altar to God because she had no
children and desperately wanted a son; Eli thought she was drunk. Talk about a preacher in need of some
sensitivity training!
I empathize with Eli,
I’ve made my share of hasty misjudgments; I daresay Eli and I have company
there, lots of company!
But even when Hannah
protests to the priest that she is not drunk, merely in prayer over her deep soul-distress,
Eli still rushes to judgment, this time in the opposite direction – offering a may
God grant your petition. She
never told Eli exactly what she was praying for; she
could have been praying for a new Cadillac, or a way to assassinate the king.
Rushing to judgment without a clue, can be damaging in so many ways. Who among us hasn’t offended a friend or
co-worker by speaking before we have all the facts? Parents can speak too quickly when a child
brings home a poor test grade. Marriage
can be a shouting match when a spouse assumes before knowing. Remember the old saying, looks can be deceiving?
In Eli’s case he
judged Hannah’s spiritual condition with a glance, that she was desecrating God’s
Temple with drunkenness. He hadn’t so
much as taken a stab at understanding.
Then, without knowing what he was supporting, he threw his prayer in
with Hannah. What a careless way to handle
his spiritual calling and vocation.
Today there are
plenty of opportunities to make rash judgments, and literally throw away our
opportunities to be of real service to God.
The conclusion of
the matter is fairly simple – spend time with God silently so you don’t offend
God publicly!
For You, Today…
Like the old hymn
has it – take time to be holy.
When you give God plenty of time to speak to your heart and mind, the
chances are you will not be a Maxwell Smart kind of Christian, without a clue.
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