Key Text: Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord (1 Samuel 1:20).
The two books of Samuel explain Israel’s transition from loosely associated tribes led by local judges, to a unified nation led by kings. Hannah, a judge in Israel, was one of two wives of Elkanah. The other wife, Peninnah, had children; but, Hannah had none. Hannah’s constant pain peaked, and she could hardly bear her fate. The Bible says that she was bitter, she was downhearted, she wept often, and would not eat. In her prayer to God, Hannah spoke of her condition as “misery.” Her depression was so great that she could not even recognize evidence of the grace of God. But she had a husband who loved her and who was sympathetic.
Hannah took her bitterness to God in prayer as she reordered her priorities. She prayed for a son and she committed to dedicate the son to the Lord, which means that she no longer wanted a child just for herself. Hannah began to look beyond her own needs, and to envision the good that meeting her need might do for others. Her prayer was so heartfelt that her lips moved, even though she was praying in her heart v 13. The high priest at that time, Eli, thought she was drunk and he rebuked her. When she explained that she was praying out her anguish and grief, Eli blessed her and Hannah went away with a “strange” assurance. We read that she ate, and “her face was no longer downcast” v 18. That prayer of Hannah’s was answered: she conceived and bore a child whom she named Samuel. When Samuel was weaned, which according to custom would have been about age three, he was taken to Shiloh and presented to Eli.
Now, Hannah’s prayer is one of pure joy and deep awareness of who God is. Hannah acknowledges God as holy, One who knows and weighs human deeds, One who satisfies the needy, One who is Master of life and death, and One of poverty and wealth. Hannah expressed a sense of the power and glory of God: “For the foundations of earth are the Lord’s; upon them He has set the world. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered (1 Samuel 2:8-10).
The same Hannah who was so bitter and downcast that she could not even sense God’s grace, now saw the Lord clearly. In fact, she was able to praise God in a situation which some might expect would throw her back into despair. Hannah is now able to look beyond herself and her own needs. She could sense the future that God had for her child because she had given her son to the Lord who she trusted to care for him and give him a fulfilling life. AMEN!
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