A Mother's Prayer

This post is part of my 1 Samuel series.

Setting The Scene

In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Samuel follows the Book of Judges and the story of Samuel picks up where the story of the Judges left off.

Judges ends with stories of spiritual ineptitude among the Levites (cf. Judges 17:1-18:31), sexual misconduct in Shiloh (Judges 21:15-24), and Levitical involvement in tragic military encounters (Judges 19:29-20:48).

1 Samuel begins with all three: Spiritually dull Eli and his corrupt sons operate the Shiloh sanctuary contrary to the Torah guidelines (1 Samuel 2:12-17); Hophni and Phinehas abuse the women serving at the Tent of Meeting (1 Samuel 2:22); and ultimately, Eli’s sons die in a catastrophic battle with the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 4:10—11)(Bergen, Robert D. The New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 1996. pp57-56)

This post is about the story of how God used one of Israel’s weakest and least significant individuals — a rural barren woman named Hannah — to change the course of Israel’s history.

Hannah’s faith in God brings rewards that surpass all the pain and humiliation she experienced earlier in her life and teaches us that God has the power to bless anyone who possesses tenacious faith that refuses to walk away from God.

Through gentle forces of faith and motherhood, Hannah played a formative role in shaping the future of Israel.

With this in mind, let’s get into the story.

Meet the Family

1 Samuel 1:1 introduces us to Elkanah the husband, but does so in a way that raises some questions regarding Samuel’s background, especially when compared to 1 Chronicles 6:22-28, 33-38 where it says that Samuel was born into the family line of Kohath in the tribe of Levi. The best explanation I came across regarding this apparent contradiction in the biblical text is that Samuel was geographically an Ephraimite but genealogically a Levite. Joshua 24:33 affirms that Levites lived in a hilly region of Ephraim, which supports this interpretation that Samuel’s family could hold both tribal relationships.

1 Samuel 1:2 introduces us to Elkanah’s two wives. I know, this already foreshadows problems. Though there is no explicit prohibition of bigamy in the Old Testament there are plenty of examples of it leading to problems. The fact that Hannah (Gracious Woman) is mentioned first probably means she was Elkanah’s first wife. It was probably due to Hannah’s infertility that Elkanah took a second wife, Peninnah (Pearl[?]) to produce an heir. This is not the first time we see this, Abraham (Genesis 16:2-3) and Jacob (Genesis 30:3-4,9) had similar experiences that also were unpleasant. Elkanah’s circumstance of having a beloved wife who could not bear him children links him with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To the careful reader, this link foreshadows the possibility of the birth of a child of great significance to God’s kingdom.

1 Samuel 1:3, 21 portrays Elkanah consistently as being devoted to the LORD, by describing him faithfully leading his family to the yearly sacrifices. Elkanah serves as a contrast to Eli who fails to lead his sons properly. Elkanah and his family would travel to Shiloh because that was the center of Israelite worship since the days of Joshua (Joshua 18:1).

Signs of Trouble

1 Samuel 4-6 Describes heartbreaking family dynamics. The yearly sacrifices were a highlight of Israel’s religious activities. The burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings (Numbers 29:39) meant the consumption of lavish meals. Elkanah is described as sharing with his family members his portion of the meat of one of his offerings. Meat was a rarity in the typical Israelite diet of the day and each wife would receive an amount proportional to the number of children she had produced so she could share it with her children. (Bergen, Robert D. The New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 1996. p66)

The affirmation that God closed Hannah’s womb is troubling. This statement is unique and only appears in this narrative, yet it appears twice. What makes it even more troubling is that the name used for God is YHWH which is usually reserved for use when describing activities that are significant in Israel’s covenantal relationship with God (Bergen, p67). What good covenantal purpose can be accomplished through Hannah’s infertility? This, my friends, is a question worth pondering.

Hannah suffered ridiculed due to her barrenness, and her suffering seems to be accentuated especially in the context of worship and religious celebration. Where was God? Hannah would become so sad she even lost her appetite.

Prayer Warrior

Hannah is considered the most pious woman of the Old Testament (Bergen, p67). She is the only woman in the Old Testament that is described as going up to the Lord’s house, and she is the only woman shown making and fulfilling a vow to the Lord. Not only that, but Hannah is also the only woman who is specifically said to pray, and her prayer is among the longest prayers recorded in the Old Testament. Hannah also avoids the faults of making schemes (like Sarah did in Genesis 16:2) and instead pursues YHWH. She is also wise when making her vow. Unlike Jephthah who offered his daughter as a burnt offering, Hannah offers her child as a living sacrifice. (See Romans 12:1)

1 Samuel 10 describes Hannah as weeping in anguish and praying to the LORD “in bitterness of soul.” This same phrase, “in bitterness of soul” is used elsewhere to characterize the psychological pin experienced by one who has been deprived of a child through death (look at Ruth 1:13,20; 2 Kings 4:27; Zechariah 12:10) or who is experiencing great personal physical suffering (see also Job 3:20; 7:10; 10:1; Isaiah 38:15). It is worth noting that whenever this type of pain is described in the Old Testament the relief never comes from human help. In each of these cases, the only solution was divine intervention. Hannah does the right thing, the only thing that could be done in her situation, she goes to God for help.

Even though Elkanah was a Levite and Eli was the priest at Shiloh, Hannah is portrayed as having a more intimate relationship with God. In first Samuel 1:12-18 we notice that Eli misses the deeper reality of what he was witnessing. Hannah, on the other hand, continues to struggle with people misunderstanding and judging her. She goes to the tabernacle to seek God and while she pours our her heart Eli rebukes her for being drunk. The beauty of this part of this story is that even though Eli misunderstood Hannah, and Elkanah was clueless regarding how to help her, God knows and answers and blesses Hannah. The God of the Bible is a God who listens to a woman and answers her prayer.

After Hannah came to God in and poured her heart to Him in tearful prayers she was able to eat the festival meal. She now had peace and hope, and it came from her personal relationship with God.

Remembered

1 Samuel 19-20

When we read that “the LORD remembered” Hannah it does not mean that He had forgotten her and suddenly (randomly) remembered her. “Remembered” is closely linked to salvation when used with the LORD as the subject. That is, when the LORD remembers someone, they are about to experience a major blessing. Some examples of this are seen in the lives of Noah (Genesis 8:1), Moses (Exodus 2:24), Lot (Genesis 19:29), and Rachel (Genesis 30:11).

Notice what happens as a result of the LORD remembering Hannah,

 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 1:20 NKJV

Hannah refused to give up on God. Despite the pain, humiliation, bullying, misunderstandings, Hannah continued to seek God and God remembered her and blessed her with a blessing that will bless the entire nation of Israel.

But this is only the beginning of the story, join us for the next posts as we continue studying 1 Samuel.

For now, I challenge you to be like Hannah and refuse to let anyone or anything to keep you from coming to God with your deepest hurt and the greatest desires of your heart.