By Apostle Aje Pelser
Preached at Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town
As I was reading about Hannah who was barren petitioning God for a son that she would dedicate to his service, something opened up for me about this move of God.
Hannah was loved by her husband and given a double portion (See Job’s mockers and how God gave him a double portion of what he lost.) Yet Hannah was barren and her counterpart Peninnah mocked, provoked and vexed her so much that it made her life miserable.
Trigger Scripture
1Sa 1:4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.
1Sa 1:5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb.
1Sa 1:6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.
Source Code of Mockery and Vindication
Elkanah means: “God has possessed” or “God has created” H511BDB Definition:
Elkannah’s father Jehoram’s name means: “showing pity” H3395 BDB Definition:
Penninah means: “Jewel” H6444 BDB Definition:
Hannah means ‘grace.’ (H2584 BDB Definition.) the mother of Samuel, one of the wives of Elkanah
The Lord’s name means: “the existing One”H3068 BDB Definition. The proper name of the one true God
Eli was the high priest and he had two sons Hophni and Phiniehas
The Ark of the Covenant bearing the Lord’s presence was also there – at Shiloh which means place of rest. H7887 BDB Definition:
Shiloh = “place of rest” a city in Ephraim and temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, the place where Samuel grew up
Eli = “ascension” H5941 BDB Definition
Hophni = “pugilist” H2652 BDB Definition
1) one of the two sons of Eli who were priests at Shiloh and were noted for their brutality and lust; their sinfulness provoked a curse against their father’s house and were judged by the Lord when they took the ark into battle; the ark was lost and both brothers were killed and Eli died when he heard the news
Phinehas = “mouth of brass” H6372 BDB Definition:
1) son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron; his zealousness for the Lord averted a plague on Israel and gained him the promise of the Lord of an everlasting priesthood in his family
2) a priest and the son of the priest Eli
Samuel: heard of God; Strong’s H8050
From the passive participle of H8085 and H410; heard of God; Shemuel, the name of three Israelites: – Samuel, Shemuel.
Summary of meanings:
What we learn from this episode of mocking in Hannah’s life:
Grace (Hannah: grace) from the Lord (Jehovah: the Existing One) is only obtained in the face of a vexing jewel (Adversary: Penninah: jewel) that seems unobtainable.
You obtain grace in the face of mockery in a place of rest (Shiloh: Rest) when you ascend God’s Mountain (Eli: Ascension) where the high priest hears your petitions – (Eli in the OT and Jesus in the NT)
The answer you seek is right there – God will show pity (Jehoram: pity) to your cause and God will possess you and create what you need within you. (Elkannah: “God has possessed” or “God has created”)
Then God will honour your diligence and petitions and bring about a change of guard in His kingdom.
That which constantly mouths off like brass (Phineas: mouth of brass) against you and beats you from every side (Hophni: pugiglist – boxer) will be removed from office and God will hear you (Samuel: Heard from God) and take what is birthed from you and raise a new standard in the Tabernacle making way for a blessed future of a nation with King David and later the King of Kings Jesus.
Mockery will come when you Preach about the Kingdom of Heaven
Mat 10:7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Mat 10:9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,
Mat 10:10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
Mat 10:11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
Mat 10:12 And when you go into a household, greet it.
Mat 10:13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Mat 10:14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
Mat 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Don’t Worry about mocking and Persecution to come
Mat 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
Mat 10:18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;
Mat 10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Mat 10:21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Mat 10:23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Mat 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Mat 10:25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
Have No Fear
Mat 10:26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Mat 10:27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
Mat 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
Mat 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Mat 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Mat 10:38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Mat 10:39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Rewards
Mat 10:40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Mat 10:41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
Mat 10:42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
Jesus endured mocking for us
Mar 15:26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mar 15:27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.
Mar 15:28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS.”
Mar 15:29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,
Mar 15:30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
Mar 15:31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.
Mar 15:32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.
On the day of Pentecost they were mocked:
Act 2:12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
Act 2:13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.
Act 2:15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Act 2:17 ‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.
Religious Spirits mock the Prophets
Jer 20:9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.
Jer 20:10 For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him.”
Jer 20:11 But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
Elisha saved a city’s water then their youths mocked him
2Ki 2:19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”
2Ki 2:20 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
2Ki 2:21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ”
2Ki 2:22 So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
2Ki 2:23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
2Ki 2:24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
Deal with Mockers in the Last Days
Jud 1:17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Jud 1:18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
Jud 1:19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
Jud 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Jud 1:21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
The longsuffering of God gives mockers time to repent
2Pe 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
2Pe 3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
2Pe 3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
2Pe 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
Mockers G1703 empaiktēs emp-aheek-tace’
From G1702; a derider, that is, (by implication) a false teacher: – mocker, scoffer.
Opposite of a mocking mentality – diligence: G4704 spoudazō
From G4710; to use speed, that is, to make effort, be prompt or earnest: – do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.
Samuel’s name means to hear diligently from God, and for God to hear us diligently too!
Make your petition to the Lord of Grace and don’t let mockers provoke you and make you miserable anymore, even in the church world. Be diligent and labour, study the word and be prompt to obey God and He will hear you and bring about a change of the guard and raise the standard of His church through you. To compare ourselves even in the church world with another is carnal and the Lord will discipline ministries who put the humble ones down.
Once more:
Grace (Hannah: grace) from the Lord (Jehovah: the Existing One) is only obtained in the face of a vexing jewel (Adversary: Penninah: jewel) that seems unobtainable.
You obtain grace in the face of mockery in a place of rest (Shiloh: Rest) when you ascend God’s Mountain (Eli: Ascension) where the high priest hears your petitions – (Eli in the OT and Jesus in the NT) The answer you seek is right there – God will show pity (Jehoram: pity) to your cause and God will possess you and create what you need within you. (Elkannah: “God has possessed” or “God has created”) Then God will honour your diligence and petitions and bring about a change of guard in His kingdom. That which constantly mouths off like brass (Phineas: mouth of brass) against you and beats you from every side (Hophni: pugiglist – boxer) will be removed from office and God will hear you (Samuel: Heard from God) and take what is birthed from you and raise a new standard in the Tabernacle making way for a blessed future of a nation with King David and later the King of Kings Jesus.