And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” – 1 Samuel 1:11

Today's Scripture Reading (May 5, 2025): 1 Samuel 1

If my math is correct, there are only 233 days until Christmas. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? There was a time when I would start my shopping in about 232 days, but I probably start at about the 30-day mark now. However, I never really know what to buy for the important people in my life. On the other hand, my wife tells me that I am easy to purchase for because I drop hints all over the place. I don’t mean to; there is just so much I want (I guess I am a material boy at the core of my being). Sometimes, they are books that I want to read. Or maybe toys that I want to play with. I have this concept about what makes a good Christmas present. A good Christmas present is never something that you need; it is a frivolous gift of something that you would never buy for yourself. But filling that request is often more complicated than buying underwear and socks.

I have a friend who grew up in a family where all of the gifts given and received on Christmas Day were practical. My friend never received toys at Christmas; he received socks, shirts, underwear, sweaters, and pants. Maybe the gift list as he grew older included deodorant or shaving cream. But these were the practical gifts of the season. 

One year, when he was eight, someone discovered that he had wanted a remote-control car for Christmas. Of course, the remote-control car was not on the approved Christmas gift list, so he never received it. When my friend was a couple of years past his thirtieth birthday, even though the gift was a couple of decades late, a plan was launched to purchase this thirty-something-year-old man a remote-controlled car designed for a preteen. It wasn’t practical, but it was a Christmas gift. And good Christmas gifts are never practical.  

What if we could take that a step further? What if the things we requested for Christmas weren’t things we wanted but something that someone else wanted? I know that a kid who lives down the street wants a new PlayStation, so I want a PlayStation so I can give it away. Okay, so you know a Pastor who wants a new PlayStation, so you are asking for one to give to him. What if our Christmas gifts simply passed through our hands?

It is the idea behind a series of gifts that can be bought for someone living in the Majority World. There are a few places that do it, but you can buy an animal for someone in your family, but the animal doesn’t actually go to your brother-in-law; it goes to someone who needs it in another part of the world. You can buy Uncle Stan a pair of chickens for $11. Have you ever received a rooster or hen as a Christmas present? Maybe not, but these animals are a welcome gift for a Dalit family (the untouchables living on the Indian subcontinent) and often the source of 200-300 eggs a year! And when the pair produces chicks, they will continue to provide nourishment and income.

Or maybe Cousin Emmanuel could receive a pair of pigs for $65. Giving a pair of pigs is like providing a steady paycheck for Cousin Emmanuel. Each pair can produce up to 20 piglets a year, and each piglet will grow over 200 pounds in less than five months. That's a lot of pork to feed a family and sell for extra income! You can give a Goat for $70, or a pair of Rabbits for $11, a pair of lambs for $130, or even a Water Buffalo (any Flintstones fans out there) for $460. And the gift passes through the person you are giving it to, to someone in another part of the world who needs it.

Hannah wants a gift that will pass through her hands. God, I have no right to ask you this, but I am asking. Please give me a child, and if you do, that child will pass through me and back to you. If I get pregnant, the child that I bear will be given back to you for all the days of his life. 

The idea that no razor would touch his head is simply a promise that this child would be given as a Nazirite. Men often took this vow for a short period of their lives. The name comes from the Hebrew word “nazir,” which means consecrated or separated. The vow meant that the person would abstain from all liquor or anything with even a hint of grapes. They would allow their hair to grow and refrain from cutting it. And they were committed to remain ritually pure. Typically, a man might take the vow to be a Nazirite for a year, but Hannah promises God that if he blesses her with a child, her child will take the Nazirite vow for life. Another man who did this was Samson, and maybe John the Baptist. Hannah’s child would be a gift to be given away. He would simply pass through her. She would give birth to the child, but the child would not be hers. He would be given back to God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 2

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my Daughter, Alyssa.