This post I wanted to talk about Hannah. I’ve been reading and rereading her story over the last few weeks and there is just so much to learn from it. The story of Hannah is one that deeply moves me. I sometimes look at her and what she did and think “wow, I don’t know if I could have done that.” Despite the difficulty, Hannah was a person of her word and the Lord blessed her for keeping it. Hannah’s story is one that has so many lessons to teach us today it was hard to put a tag line to her name. So who was this remarkable woman and how is her story relevant to the modern mother?
Who was she? Hannah’s story is found in 1st Samuel 1-2:21 HCSB (If you’re not familiar with the Bible, that’s towards the front of the book *wink). Hannah is the wife of Elkanah, an Ephraimite (1 Sam 1:1,2). She was unable to have children so her husband married a second wife who was able to have many children (1 Sam 1:2). Elkanah loved Hannah and always treated her very special (1 Sam 1:5). He also tried to comfort her in her sorrow over not being able to have children but it didn’t really work (1 Sam 1:8). Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, would constantly harass Hannah over her inability to have children year after year (1 Sam 1:6,7). Scripture calls Peninnah Hannah’s rival so I think it’s safe to assume that Peninnah was jealous of Hannah even though it was Hannah who couldn’t have children. Maybe Peninnah realized that she only was asked to marry Elkanah because Hannah could not get pregnant (1 Sam 1:6). In Hannah’s “deep hurt” she pours out her heart before God and makes this vow: “Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.” She is so distraught over not being able to have children and having it constantly smeared in her face that the priest at the tabernacle thought she was drunk! She responds to the priest saying that she isn’t drunk but has a broken heart and is “praying from the depth of [her] anguish and resentment (1 Sam 1:15-16).” The priest than tells her to go home and basically intercedes for her, asking that God would grant her request, though he is completely clueless about her situation (1 Sam 1:17). Hannah than goes home feeling hopeful and in time she becomes pregnant and has a son (1 Sam 1:18-20). She names him Samuel and once he is fully weaned (which was typically around 5 years old at this time) she takes him back to the priest who had previously seen her and leaves him there to serve in the tabernacle, as well as presents many costly sacrifices to the Lord (1 Sam 1:23-28). Once Hannah drops Samuel off at the tabernacle she prays to God, worshiping God for who He is (His omniscience, omnipotence, holiness, and sovereignty) and His many blessings (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Hannah’s love and motherly devotion didn’t end once Hannah left Samuel at the tabernacle. When Hannah and Elkanah came to the tabernacle every year to offer the required annual sacrifices to the Lord, Hannah would bring Samuel a little robe that she had made him ( 1 Sam 2:18-19). So even though Hannah was separated from her son for the majority of the year she thought of him often. Her story ends with this line: The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord (1 Sam 2:21 HCSB).
That phrase in 1 Sam 2:21 HCSB really catches my attention: The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need….. As believers in Christ Jesus we can rest assured that the Lord pays attention to our needs even in those moments we feel that God is completely oblivious to what is going on in our lives. The Bible never tells us how long Hannah had to endure the taunts of Penninah. We know that it had to have been at least 4 years, since the texts says that Penninah had sons and daughters. It very likely could’ve been many more years. In the days of Hannah, having no children was a disgrace. She would have had very little social standing in the community and it may have even been extremely difficult for Hannah to have friends but yet Hannah was loved by her husband. Penninah is never given a voice in the text and is only referred to by her standing as a wife to Elkanah, her ability to have children, and actions towards Hannah. It never even says Penninah was loved and most likely she was not; second wives rarely are. Also, in the story there is never any dialogue between Hannah and her co-wife, only a reference of their strained relationship.
With no where to turn for comfort, Hannah turns to the Lord and pours out her heart before Him. Today God is still waiting for His children to pour out their hearts to Him. Psalms 51:17 tells us that God does not despise a broken and humble heart and that when we come to Him in this state, it pleases Him. It’s not the brokenness He is pleased with but that fact that we came to Him without putting on a show; we came to Him being real, open and honest about our current condition and we recognize that only He can help us. How often do we turn to other people asking for their help before we turn to God? We turn to: medicine, doctors, education, the “professionals,” etc; all before turning to God, if we turn to Him at all. Is it because deep inside we don’t really think God can help us? I’m not sure of the answer. Yet here Hannah is, pouring out her heart for a child.
Hannah, in her grief was mistaken for being drunk. Have you ever had someone misjudge you because they didn’t understand where you were coming from? Have you ever misjudged someone else because you didn’t understand where the other person was at? I know I have. Just recently the Lord has been speaking to me about how we as human beings tend to misjudge others positively or negatively: either I think ____ is either “better” than I am or I think that ______ is “worse” than I am. All the while we miss that fact that in the eyes of God we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that each of us are given different gifts for different functions (Rom 12:3-8). The Apostle Paul even warns us not to think of ourselves as more highly than we ought to (Rom 12:3). It don’t know about you but it is a struggle for me to keep a right perspective of myself at all times. I, more often than I like, find myself in the battle of comparison thinking “that person” is better than me or I’m better than “that person” instead of just being content in the season of life I am in or even just finding contentment in who God made me as a person. I think as mother’s it comes in the form of “mom guilt.” C-section or vaginal birth? Epidural or “all natural.” Breastfeed or bottle feed? Work inside the home as a stay at home mom or work outside the home? If you have a higher education prior to having children, why aren’t you working? Private school, public school, or home school? Am I living in the right neighborhood? Sports or no sports? OMG I can’t believe my kid just said that to the neighbor! They must think I’m a terrible parent. And the scenarios can go on and on. The world is constantly taunting us just as Penninah taunted Hannah in the area she was most insecure in. Yet what did Hannah do once God answered her prayer?
Hannah could have held on the Samuel. She could have said “you know what Lord, that vow/promise I made well…. It’s too hard, I can’t give up my son whom I suffered for and prayed for.” Yet when Samuel was old enough to be weaned, Hannah brought him to the tabernacle along with expensive sacrifices and gave them all to the Lord. Hannah had her deepest desire met by God and she turned around and gave God not only what He had given her but also more (her son and the other offerings) and she poured out her heart again before the Lord, but this time it was a loud and joyful declaration of the power and sovereignty of God. She did not mourn over giving up the son she so longed for but she rejoiced in having the chance to fulfill her vow in the first place. Plus I think Hannah knew that there was no better place for her son to grow up than living a life in the presence and in the service of the Almighty God. Hannah released her son to the Lord and I think today God is looking for parents who willingly release their children to the Lord and make it a priority to teach their children about God and to give them opportunities to serve Him.
Hannah released her son to the Lord at a very young age. Research today shows us that the first few years of life are very formative, so Hannah and Elkanah’s influence at home during those few years still helped set the stage for Samuel’s life. While we may not be releasing our children at such as young age but we still have a “releasing” to do. We have to release our own dreams and ambitions for our kids. Sometimes it’s a releasing of how we think they should act or behave. We do have the responsibility to raise our children in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, which includes: teaching them about God’s character, teaching God’s standards for living, giving them opportunities to encounter God on a regular basis, teaching them to pray and how to live godly lives (Prov 22:6). However, we don’t always know the plans God has for our children and the calling He has placed on their lives and even if we do know, it is only in part and how that calling(s) will be fulfilled could be completely different than how we imagine as parents. Heck, so often we (as parents/adults) are still trying to figure out our own “assignment” in a particular season! Ultimately, the Lord holds our children, we don’t. Heaven forbid we get to heaven and see God face to face and He ask us “why did you hinder your children from obeying my call?”
Hannah sacrifice to God ultimately brought her great honor as a mother. In being a woman of her word and making the sacrifice necessary to make sure that Samuel was raised in the presence of the Lord to serve Him; Samuel went on to be a prophet, the last judge of Israel, and he anointed the first two kings of Israel. Samuel and his parents stood in stark contrast to the priestly family whom he would serve under. l Samuel 1:12-17 tells us of the extreme wickedness of the son’s of the Priest that Hannah had give her son to raise and serve under. Scripture tells us they had “no regard for the Lord (1:12), they treated the Lord’s offering with contempt (1:17), and they were sleeping around with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting (2:23). Though the priest did confront his son’s behavior and leave them with a warning, he did not remove them from their positions as priests (2:22-36). Thus a stark contrast is made between the family of Hannah and the family of the Priest. Hannah’s family honored the Lord while the Priest’s family did not. Ultimately Hannah’s family was given the blessing of children and honor in relation to Samuel, while the Priest and his two sons would eventually die all on the same day (1 Sam. 4).
I think the more I mediate on the few chapters of Hannah’s story the more I discover there is to learn from it. So to not keep you here for hours, I think I will end with a summary of what lessons I have gleaned from her so far:
- God always pays attention to our needs and responses.
- It is easy to draw conclusions about others based on our own assumptions.
- God does things in His own timing, not in ours.
- God always blesses our sacrifices; in some ways we expect and in many ways that we do not.
- Ultimately it is the Lord who holds our children. He is the one who protects them and leads them into their destiny’s if our children learn to listen to His voice.
- God still desires that His people will follow Him regardless of the current leadership.
This last point I didn’t talk specifically about previously but if you look at the story of Hannah you will notice a stark contrast between the leadership who was suppose to be godly and Hannah’s family who did all that was required by God’s law every year. I find this point particularly admonishing in today’s world. How often in the Church have we seen leaders who are caught in sin and sometimes even promoting it on the world stage (when I say Church I mean all denominations who claim Christ as the Son of God). Regardless of these ungodly leaders who should know better, God still desires a godly people to display His goodness, majesty, and power among the earth. No one is without excuse, especially those who claim to be followers of Christ. God will deal with each of individual regarding there sin. Either we come before God presenting Jesus as our sacrifice for our sin, presenting the fruit that comes from that belief or we stand before Him on our own righteousness. It’s not that God expects us to be perfect but He does expect us to live a lifestyle of repentance and follow His Word the best we can.
I encourage each of you to spend your own time in 1 Samuel 1 & 2. What pops out to you? What have you read today that spoke to you in your current situation? I know for me I have to consistently remind myself that God is holding my children. Today was a perfect reminder of that. Long story short, I got locked out of my house and my toddler son got locked in a running van this morning while I was trying to leave the house for a doctors appointment. Thankfully my neighbor was home and let me use their phone to call my husband’s work because mine was locked in the van too! My toddler didn’t mind being in his car seat in the van and was perfectly content. I stood out in the cold near his window while I waited for my husband to show up so I could get my spare van key in the house. Inside I was panicking but also trying to stay calm by praying and singing to the Lord. Once I saw my husband I burst into tears. Thankfully the whole thing only took 20-30 minutes and everything was fine. I did end up making it to my appointment on time and my friend who was going to watch my son while I was there waited patiently for my arrival. In my moment of need I cried out to the Lord and he brought people to my aid and all was well in the end. He was watching out for my son the whole time. I’m sure if you sit and think for a few minutes about God’s protection and provision in your life, you too may have a similar story. The God we serve is so kind, but He is also just. He never turns any away who come to Him.
The Ruby Blossom 