Hannah

[00:00:00] So, yes, I'll be sharing this morning about the story of Hannah, a childless wife whose story starts the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. [00:00:11] And this is back at the end of the period of the judges, maybe 1200 to 1000 years B.C. [00:00:20] and I'll just pray in a second. But I've loved this story for a long time. But when I actually sat down to consider it and I to know what I would say, I felt quite unsure and conflicted about some of the characters of the story and what I assumed they were doing or thinking. And I really had to read it and reread it carefully, noticing the things that I had missed before. [00:00:45] And I had to, or I did read some commentaries like the Bible Speaks Today and the IVP cultural Background, because I just realized how much culturally foreign elements were in the story that I didn't know. [00:00:59] And I definitely came to challenge my own misreadings of it. So I'm going to share those things that I've learned today as we go through the story. [00:01:08] But I do think it's amazing that there's a story of a childless, bullied wife in the Bible. But to start the beginning of the record of the kings of Israel, she must have been very important for the writer of this book to collate her story as part of this. [00:01:28] And her story is that she was childless, she was bullied, she was full of anguish and suffering. [00:01:37] But that anguish led her to prayer. And we read about the outcome of those prayers, which was her son Samuel. [00:01:45] And Samuel is a boy who would grow up in the presence of the Lord and become the first kingmaker of Israel, and even more, be the one to identify and anoint David from whom Jesus comes. [00:02:00] And I know there's a lot of really cool things in the story, but I had to pick three things to focus on. So I picked to talk about Hannah's anguish. Firstly, the actual dedication of Samuel and then Hannah's personal restoration that she experiences. [00:02:20] And I'm conscious that, as ever, if we read just an Old Testament passage, we are seeing it through the lens of Jesus now, like backwards. But we also see how it pointed towards Jesus at that time. [00:02:34] And I think Hannah's faith and sacrificial commitment that she had is like people in Jesus time who he commended to them for their faith and the way they reached to him or they touched him, or they just, you know, took a roof apart to get to him. That kind of. [00:02:54] That kind of faith, that kind of length. [00:02:57] And I think she's really. Hannah is really one of those blessed ones who was poor in spirit, in family relationship, in support, in emotions, but hers is the kingdom of God. [00:03:11] I think that's really special. [00:03:15] So I just pray. Heavenly Father, just thank you for this passage. [00:03:19] I thank you that a lot of us have managed to gather here at the end of December to hear your word and to reflect on what it means for us. [00:03:30] I just pray that there would be a truth that settles for all of us out of these words and otherwise be interesting and be for your glory, Lord, in Jesus name. [00:03:46] So firstly, there's a little dynamic that I'd like to mention at the start of the story, and it sets up the whole story of Hannah and her family. [00:04:01] So Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah, a Levite. [00:04:06] And the fact that this story has polygyny, as in one man and more wives, it raises many questions to me and I'm guessing to a few more of our modern ears here. [00:04:18] I learned from the IVB cultural background of the Bible that having more than one wife was not commonplace at this time. [00:04:27] And when it did occur, it was usually to do with barrenness in the couple or because of the need for a husband to take on a dead brother's wife and to continue a family line. [00:04:40] And mentioned first here in the passage, it's probably because Hannah could well have been Elkanah's first wife. And when they found out over time that she was barren, Elkanah took a second wife, Peninnah. [00:04:54] That would be the normal reading of the culture and the conditions. [00:05:00] So in the ancient near east at this time, a barren woman could easily have been discarded or sent back to her parents, because having children and making a family was Social Security. [00:05:14] There was no government support system in ancient Israel, no family tax benefit part A or B, no single parent payment, whatever level family was, the system of provision across all ages of life. [00:05:30] Children provided care in the old age. They were workers in the family business. They brought status in society. [00:05:38] They were physical security, as in guards, soldiers for a family against evil people. [00:05:45] Kids were basically a lifeline. [00:05:48] So a woman who didn't have children was not able to fulfill her irreplaceable part of a family structure. [00:05:56] And while it seems that Elkanah loved Hannah, he had also taken another wife to have children to provide for their future and to continue his family name, which Pennina was providing. [00:06:09] So Hannah would have been living with this sense of shame and real insecurity and lack of purpose that being childless would have given her. [00:06:19] And on top of that, her rival wife, Peninnah taunted her about it mercilessly while they were supposed to be worshipping God. [00:06:30] A key verse that says, whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. [00:06:40] So if we can just take a moment to imagine ourselves there in Hannah's place, second wife, snide remarks, comparisons, taunting about your deepest wound, all when you're there trying to worship God. [00:06:57] It would have been really awful. [00:07:00] And one thing I was reminded of as I was reading a commentary on this passage is that it's okay to not be okay with our life situation. [00:07:10] For example, Hannah's anguish over her childlessness. [00:07:14] It's not sinful to be upset, even anguished, about our lack or something we deeply desire. [00:07:21] What we do with that desire is really important. [00:07:25] And we can guess from Hannah's story being included in the Bible, that Hannah's process for dealing with her suffering points us to a model of faithfulness that we should emulate and follow. [00:07:45] So Hannah is being loved and cared for by her husband, but she's being bullied and made year after year to be absolutely miserable. While they're worshipping God at the tabernacle, Hannah is driven from her place of misery at the family sacrifice meal to pray to God near Eli, the priest, who was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's house. [00:08:10] Hannah's prayer, as read for us before, was in her deep anguish. She prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly, and she made a vow, saying, lord Almighty, if you'll only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget about your servant, but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head. [00:08:36] Her deep misery led her to pray a prayer of commitment and personal sacrifice. [00:08:42] She feels forgotten by God for being childless. And she decides that if she is able to be blessed with one son, she will demonstrate her love for God by dedicating him to the Lord for his whole life. [00:08:57] This is the thing I think is amazing, that she thinks it will be for her greater gain to have a child and then to give that child back to God. [00:09:08] Hannah, in her anguish, is praying silently. And unfortunately, Eli the priest, completely misunderstands her, and he assumes that she is drunk. [00:09:20] And obviously she protests that. She says to him, I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I've not been drinking wine or beer. I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman. I'VE been praying here out of my great anguish and grief. [00:09:39] And once Hannah explains her righteous grief and her anguish to Eli, he blesses her. [00:09:47] He says, go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you've asked of following that, Hannah goes away encouraged, and she can actually eat and drink and go about her normal life. She says, may your servant find favor in your eyes. [00:10:06] And then she walked away and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. [00:10:11] She actually walks away with peace. [00:10:15] What I had thought in one of these misunderstandings of this passage, I felt Eli was judgmental and rude misunderstanding, a desperate woman. [00:10:27] But really it is more like a very faithful but old and poor eyesight sage. He was upholding the proper behavior and respect for God in the tabernacle. But once he sees what's really happening, he blesses her. [00:10:44] And her prayer is for her to have faithful trust and belief in the goodness of God. [00:10:52] So the Lord remembers Hannah. [00:10:56] It says, early the next morning, they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife, Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. [00:11:12] She named him Samuel, saying, because I asked the Lord for him. [00:11:19] I think this is really beautiful and a powerful message that Hannah's desperation led her to pray. [00:11:27] And then she asked God, remember me and Samuel. There's a blessing that comes through asking and pushing through her misery to God's goodness. [00:11:42] The next part is Hannah dedicates Samuel to the Lord. [00:11:46] So the family life of Elkanah and his wives continues after Samuel's birth. [00:11:52] But Hannah discusses her vow and commitment of Samuel to Elkanah, her husband, explaining that she won't go up to Shiloh for their yearly sacrifices until Samuel is weaned. [00:12:03] And after then she'll dedicate him according to her vow. [00:12:08] So the cultural background commentary notes that extended breastfeeding was common in these times, which meant that Samuel could have been between three and five years old when Hannah did take him to Shiloh to the house of the Lord. [00:12:23] This is obviously a surprising decision to us to drop a young child off to a stranger. [00:12:31] And I personally cannot imagine dropping Asher, who's four and a half years old right now, to be raised by someone else. [00:12:41] It's just foreign. [00:12:44] But one thing I realized as I was reading it, if we want some comfort, what if we consider what the fruit was of Samuel being given to Eli to attend and be raised in the tabernacle based on What Jesus said about judging by the fruit, was there good fruit in her dedicating him? [00:13:05] And you would say, yes. [00:13:07] Samuel became an attendant to the leader, judge and high priest of Israel. And it says he worshipped the Lord there. [00:13:16] The boy ministered before the Lord there and he grew up in the presence of the Lord. [00:13:22] He was safe and well enough to grow and be blessed by his situation. [00:13:28] By all accounts, Eli was a good parent figure and a good mentor. And Samuel became his protege. [00:13:35] Unlike Eli's own son, Samuel developed a wonderful relationship with God thanks partly to Eli's nurture. [00:13:46] So though this was Hannah's vow that was made out of her deep anguish to dedicate Samuel, it seems that there was a supportive partner in her husband, Elkanah. [00:13:58] On initial reading, as you can probably imagine, or no, I'm just saying it, you don't have to imagine, but I had a lot of negative bias. I judged Ilkanah to be quite passive, letting his son from his beloved wife be dropped off a tabernacle 15 miles away. [00:14:17] It didn't seem like he'd protected Hannah from Peninnah from the taunting that she'd done. And now he's just letting Samuel leave. [00:14:26] But on a careful reading of the tabernacle drop off scene, I realised three things. [00:14:34] Hannah took Samuel to Shiloh with Elkanah's blessing. [00:14:39] He says, do what seems best to you, but stay here until you've weaned him. And only may the Lord make good his word. [00:14:49] I also noticed that Hannah took Samuel with Elkanah's monetary support. [00:14:55] After he was weaned, she, Hannah took the boy with her young as he was, along with a three year old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. [00:15:07] So this was a generous and wealthy person's sacrifice, a well off monetary support for Hannah's. [00:15:20] And also I realized that Hannah took Samuel with Elkanah. He was standing there when she was sending Samuel. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli. And she, meaning Hannah, said to Eli, pardon me, my Lord, as surely as you live, I am the woman who stood beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. [00:15:46] So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he'll be given over to the Lord. [00:15:51] And to confirm that, just later in chapter two, it says, then Elkanah, meaning him and his family went home to Ramah. But the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest. [00:16:05] So it wasn't just that it was Hannah, and it wasn't just that Elkanah was passive and riding along this wave of what she was thinking. [00:16:13] But the family together honoured Hannah's vow of desperation and they committed that Samuel would be this attendant in the tabernacle, and Samuel worshipped there with the blessing and support of his parents. [00:16:32] Thirdly, in these kind of steps of the story, I in the next chapter after the reading that we had before the parents go home to Rama, it's recorded that Hannah prays a remarkable prayer and psalm of thankfulness, of restoration and reflection on the goodness of God and the Bible Speaks Today. Commentary on this section notes that it's a similar theological reflection on events such as the Psalms as recorded of Miriam, Deborah and even Mary, the mother of Jesus. [00:17:12] The author of that commentary says the fact remains that the privilege of providing the main theological introduction to the whole account of the history of the Israelite monarchy is given to Hannah with this reflection on power and powerlessness presented via the lips of an apparently insignificant woman. [00:17:36] And I obviously can't go through that whole psalm that Hannah wrote that is recorded that she said. But there's one bit that I'd really like to highlight. [00:17:48] Verse 5 in that chapter 2 says, she who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. [00:18:01] So Hannah's prayer following her dedication of Samuel shows that Hannah feels completely restored before God for him, remembering her and her receiving one son. [00:18:14] She says, she who was barren has borne seven children. [00:18:18] And I know seven. That means like a number of completeness or perfection. [00:18:24] It says later. Hannah and Elkanah continue to attend the tabernacle at Shiloh each year. And they go on to receive a blessing from Eli the priest. [00:18:35] May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one that she prayed for and gave to the Lord. [00:18:42] Hannah goes on to have three more sons and two daughters, six children in total, including Samuel. [00:18:50] Her complete restoration figure of seven kids in her prayer is figurative. [00:18:56] It's just a perfect complete amount for even having her just one prayed for son that she has given back to God and no longer raises. [00:19:07] Because God himself remembered her, heard her voice and met her personal need. [00:19:14] He saw her specifically, all her anguish and suffering are was met and he answered her prayer. [00:19:25] And I feel like this is an incredible picture of a faithful, righteous person living their life, but seeking God's specific personal touch for her. [00:19:35] Not like a corporate prayer or familial, but it's a personal, intimate and owned prayer. [00:19:44] And this is the model that we should be trying to emulate. [00:19:49] Are there intractable situations that we have in our life that we are bearing with rather than bringing to the Lord and just saying, remember me, Lord, in this really difficult situation and not shying away from that, just to go back to the second part of that verse five in that prayer, she who has had many sons pines away. [00:20:16] Seems to be to me a reflection on the heart status of the second wife, Peninnah, who had many children but was ultimately mean and nasty. [00:20:26] And the same author of the commentary I mentioned says it's important to recognize that just as present weakness may not be the final setting, present good fortune is not necessarily anything to boast about. [00:20:40] God knows what's going on, and he does weigh actions. [00:20:49] So Hannah was asking God for specific and personal for him to remember her, for a special touch for her to be heard. [00:21:00] And we too, in our trials and difficulties, might pray for God to remember us specifically and move for us in intractable situations for his glory. [00:21:12] It isn't sinful to be unhappy with our situation. [00:21:16] And it is healthy, though, to direct it to the right person and in the right way. [00:21:22] Hannah prayed to the sovereign God for him to remember her in her suffering. [00:21:28] God didn't just hear her prayer, but he answered with six children in total, the first of whom she had dedicated to Yahweh, who went on to grow up in his presence and become, as I said, the first kingmaker of Israel, and even more as this picture shows, the one who identified and anointed David. [00:21:52] Hannah's restoration, though, was perfect in that God had remembered her and given her one son, even though she didn't raise that one son past weaning. [00:22:03] And that one totally dedicated child opened up Hannah and Elkanah's life to having more children and fruitfulness. [00:22:13] And the third point I think here that I feel surprised by and is a challenge for me is that Hannah believed it would be for her greater gain to have a child and then give it back to God. [00:22:31] And it was such a gain for her, but also for the kingdom of God in the leader and the prophet that Samuel was. [00:22:41] And I think it's a personal challenge as well and a beautiful thing to think of as a parent, that Hannah's son grew up in the presence of the Lord, learning to hear his voice and to obey him through her dedication of him. [00:23:00] That's what I had prepared to share this morning about Hannah. And so I'll just pray now, but in this Old Testament passage, I'm Just wondering if one of those will speak speaks to you this morning. [00:23:15] Is there something that you haven't brought to the Lord recently with a desperation that you can bring for the sovereign Lord who can change heaven and earth? [00:23:29] Are we directing our feelings in the right way as Peninnah taunted and mocked and cajoled Hannah? Or Hannah turned away from that taunting and directed her feelings to God? [00:23:48] And that process of sacrifice that Hannah made as well, that she just believed it would be her greater gain to have a son, but then for him to be the Lord's completely. [00:24:01] Is there a personal application that you can feel from that? [00:24:07] So I'll just pray now to finish this time of the word. [00:24:12] Heavenly Father, I just thank you so much for being here with us today. [00:24:17] I thank you for Hannah and I thank you for the other women of the Bible as well mentioned, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was well carried and prayed for her child who went on to suffer greatly and a sword pierced her own heart as she saw Jesus crucified and died. [00:24:45] But we thank you Lord, that Jesus resurrected and was raised to new life with God and that we also will be raised through Jesus. [00:24:58] Lord, I just pray for us that there would be a stirring in us to have a desperation of heart and. And the desperation in our prayer that we'd bring our intractable situations to you. Lord, what have we been too shy to say recently? [00:25:16] What have we been too disappointed about to bring to you, Lord, the sovereign Lord, who can change everything. [00:25:27] We thank you Lord, that Hannah gained a child and then gave him back to you to then go on and be part of Jesus story and his lineage through David. [00:25:40] We just thank you for this model, Lord. And may we meditate on it and have it speak to us that we would also emulate that faith and that desperation. [00:25:54] Thank you Lord. And we pray that this would be settling in our hearts, Lord. [00:26:01] And we pray that you would bless the year that has been and the year that comes ahead of us here this week, Lord, in Jesus name, amen.