Going Up or Down

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

GOING UP OR DOWN

1 Samuel 2:6-8

6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

NIV

In this stanza of Hannah’s song, we see another set of comparisons. The first is the matter of life and death, encompassing two distinct areas: one for the dead and one for the living. Interestingly, in Hebrew, the meaning is, the Lord kills, to die, to have one executed, and sends down to Sheol. This is the place of the underworld, Hades, the place of no return. This place is not, as some have invented, a temporary holding place where souls can be brought back from, or sent beyond. However, the lesson is that God is the giver of life and has the only authority to take life. In other words, we live and die by the authority of God. This could be seen in two ways. First, all people are given life by the will of God, as he created Adam and Eve to fill the earth. We believe every person on the face of the planet that has ever lived, is living, and will live, is knit together in their mother’s womb, by the will of God. All mankind is his creation; however, he also gave us the ability to choose to listen to him or ignore him, which we call free will. Therefore, we have the choice between being brought down to the grave, Sheol, or being raptured, being raised up. Because we have accepted his provision for eternal life, Jesus, we not only have been given life, but have been made alive, which is without the opposite, death. Second, he determines who is poor and who is rich. It is possible that those who do not have great wealth may not be able to handle wealth without becoming so prideful that a fall is imminent, while others use their wealth for the benefit of others. It all boils down to God having the ultimate authority over our lives. He is the one who humbles us, and he is the one who exalts us; we cannot do that. Although we are told to humble ourselves before him. However, our accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is an act of humility as we recognize our sinful state and our need to be redeemed. Without accepting Jesus, we are doomed to Sheol, the place of no return. As we are humbled by knowing our sinful state, accepting Jesus, God exalts us, raises us up, and gives us eternal life. He raised up our needy state, our covering ourselves in ashes, which has a deep spiritual significance. It often represents themes of repentance, mourning, humility, and mortality. We can see Old Testament men putting on sackcloth and ashes, humbling themselves before the LORD. The point again is the proud will be brought down while the humble will be raised up to sit with princes, and inherit honor before our LORD. Let us always know our pitiful condition, and live humbly accepting his grace. God alone has the authority over up or down, but he always allows us to choose which. Because we are in Jesus, we are going up, rather than down.