+ DAILY PRAYER +
The Family of Elkanah There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children….
This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 93
1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
5 Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.
Reading for Wednesday October 25th 1 Samuel 1
The Family of Elkanah
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 Now this man used to go up from his town ?year by year? to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh, ?where? the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh. 4 ?On? the day Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give ?a double portion?, because he loved Hannah, though Yahweh had closed her womb. 6 (Now her rival wife would provoke her severely in order to upset her because Yahweh had closed her womb.) 7 And so he used to do year after year; ?whenever? she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her so that she would weep and would not eat. 8 So Elkanah her husband would say to her: “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And ?why are you heartsick?? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking at Shiloh. (Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh.) 10 She was ?deeply troubled?, so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. 11 She ?made a vow? and said: “O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant ?a male child? then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head.” 12 ?While? she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth. 13 Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips were moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her to be drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you behave like someone who is drunk? Put away your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord. I am a woman ?deeply distressed?, but I have not drunk wine or strong drink. Rather, I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. 16 Do not regard your female servant as ?worthless?, but because of the extent of my worries and my provocation I have spoken all of this.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of him.” 18 And she said, “May your female slave find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went on her way and ate something, and ?her face did not look sad any longer?.
The Birth of Samuel
19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh ?and returned? to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah ?had sexual relations with? Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. 20 ?In due time?, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, “I requested him from Yahweh.”
21 So the man Elkanah went up with all his household ?to make the annual sacrifice? to Yahweh and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh; and he will remain there forever.” 23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “?Do what seems right to you?; stay until you wean him. Only may Yahweh fulfill his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Then she brought him up with her when she had weaned him, along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of Yahweh at Shiloh while the boy was still young. 25 They slaughtered the bull, and they brought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As ?you live?, my lord, I am the woman who stood with you in this place to pray to Yahweh. 27 I prayed for this boy, and Yahweh has given me my request that I asked from him. 28 I in turn have lent him to Yahweh. ?As long as he lives? he is lent to Yahweh.” Then they worshiped Yahweh there.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Almighty God, You stirred to compassion the hearts of Your dear servants Dorcas, Lydia, and Phoebe to uphold and sustain Your Church by their devoted and charitable deeds. Give us the same will to love You, open our eyes to see You in the least ones, and strengthen our hands to serve You in others, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[1] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jdg 13:1–25.
