But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the LORD. – 1 Samuel 7:17

Today's Scripture Reading (April 1, 2022): 1 Samuel 7

I was born in what was then a small town called Newmarket, Ontario. Newmarket is now a small city just outside of Toronto, and it is the birthplace of comedians Jim Carrey and John Candy; it is also the hometown of Edmonton Oiler star forward Connor McDavid (although Conner was actually born in nearby Richmond Hill), and it is the place of origin for the rock band Glass Tiger. The list of people and bands that have once called Newmarket home is a long one, much too long to be mentioned here. And, of course, it is also the place of origin of less famous people like me.

I was born in Newmarket, but I only lived there for eight years. My grandparents and many other relatives have lived around Newmarket much longer than I did. So even though I only called Newmarket home for the first eight years of my life, it is a place that I have occasionally returned to over the rest of my life. So, it is a city that holds a special place in my heart. I am proud of the famous people who began their lives in the same town that I began mine, and I have fond memories of Newmarket, even though I have lived most of my life thousands of kilometers away from the place of my birth. And I love to take my children to my old hometown, searching out some of the houses in which I used to live decades ago. Newmarket will always hold a special place in my heart.

Samuel was born in Ramah. It was the home of his parents, Elkanah and Hannah, but it was not where Samuel lived for long. Samuel might have been born in Ramah, but he grew up in Shiloh. His mother had promised to dedicate her son to God, and so, when he was old enough to eat on his own, his mother took him to Shiloh and left him in the care of the High Priest and penultimate Judge, Eli.

But it was Ramah that occupied a special place in the heart of Samuel. And when he grew up and took over the reins of Israel from Eli, serving as a prophet, priest, and the nation's last judge, it was not Shiloh to which his feet kept returning. Samuel kept returning to Ramah, the place of his birth and the home of his parents. Samuel traveled throughout Israel, but Ramah became his home, the place where he went not because he had to, but because it was where he wanted to be.

At Ramah, he made his home. And it was at Ramah that he built a place of worship. Samuel's altar in Ramah was never intended to replace the Tabernacle in Shiloh, which Saul moved to Nob and then Gibeon. But it was a reminder to Samuel that his relationship with God was not summed up by the places he went to worship on the various holy days, but something that required his attention daily.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 8