As parents, it is natural that we should wish Christian fellowship for our children, and it is a happy thing when there are other children from Christian homes with whom this can take place. It is nice when there are other children in our local assembly with whom our children can spend time together, enjoying not only the things of the Lord, but also natural pursuits. This is a wonderful gift from God! However, in this day of small things, with assemblies that are sometimes down to “two or three gathered together in [His] name,” this kind of fellowship is not always there. Sad to say, it has become all too common for parents to turn their backs on that which they know is according to the Word of God, in order to seek for a broader path that will include greater fellowship with other children of Christian backgrounds.
Hannah’s Dedication
If we look into the Word of God, we see an example in the Old Testament that should encourage us not to take this road. When Hannah first prayed for a child, she vowed that if the Lord should give her a son, “I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Sam. 1:1111And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (1 Samuel 1:11)). In due time the Lord graciously granted her request, and when Samuel was weaned, Hannah made good on her vow. It is recorded when “the child was young,” “she ... brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh” (1 Sam. 1:2424And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young. (1 Samuel 1:24)). In the next verse (vs. 25), it is recorded that “they ... brought the child to Eli.” As we know, from that point on, Samuel lived in the house of God in Shiloh, with Eli as his guardian and instructor, and he saw his mother only once a year, when she brought him “a little coat” (1 Sam. 2:1919Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. (1 Samuel 2:19)).
Facing Immorality
From the human side, Shiloh might have seemed to be about the worst place into which to introduce a young child. The sacrilegious and immoral behavior of Eli’s sons was well-known and was of such a notorious nature that “men abhorred the offering of the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:1717Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:17)). More than this, Eli, although the senior priest of the Lord, did not restrain the awful behavior of his sons. He reproved them, but did nothing more. Could Hannah entrust her son, at his tender age, to men like this? As well, under these circumstances Samuel would also be deprived of the company of other children, including his own siblings. We may well imagine that Hannah prayed very earnestly for her son and for those under whom he was living.
But Hannah’s eye was not on the priests who officiated at the house of God; rather, her eye was on the Lord who inhabited that tabernacle. She had trusted Him to give her a son, and now she could trust Him to look after him, even in a place where the priests were not only unfaithful, but sinful. And so it came to pass, for Samuel grew up to be “God’s emergency man,” standing for the Lord between both a failed priesthood and later a failed king (Saul), and God’s rightful king (David).
Fellowship With Others
So it can be for us today. If we look for failure in our brethren, we will find it in every one of them. If the fellowship of other children, to encourage our own children, governs our hearts, we will, no doubt, be tempted to go where more of this can be obtained, even if it means compromising the truth of God. But if our eye is rather on the Lord in the midst, we will trust Him to look after our children under these circumstances. At the same time, we will make every effort to seek the fellowship of other children from time to time, when it can be obtained, but only within the framework of that which honors the Lord and His Word.
J. Prost (adapted from an open meeting, Toronto conference, 1967)