Hannah’s story is found in 1 Samuel 1. The story starts by telling us that she is married to Elkanah, but they have no children because she is barren. Barren women were considered cursed by God and often ostracised from society. Culture even allowed her husband to marry another woman who could provide him with children and keep his family line alive. And so, Elkanah married Peninnah.
Elkanah still loved Hannah:
“Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.” (1 Sam 1:4-5)
This probably moved Peninnah to make Hannah’s life miserable whenever she could. So that in the end, even Elkanah’s love could not satisfy the burning desire for a child in Hannah’s heart (verse 8).
“Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” (verse 6-7)
Hannah is Desperate
One year, after the family had travelled to Shiloh to offer sacrifice to the Lord, Hannah in her desperation decided to go speak to the Lord in the temple. She prayed from her heart, weeping bitterly before the Lord, she made this vow:
“‘Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget 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.’” (Verse 11)
Quite a serious vow wouldn’t you say? She promised to give her son to the Lord and dedicate him to service in the temple. Most of us in the same situation, would stop at asking for a son. But Hannah vows to give back to the Lord what He will give her, knowing exactly the source of all blessing.
Eli the Priest, sees her praying silently, with only her lips moving and believes her to be drunk. But she says:
“‘Not so, my lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have 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 have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.’
Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him’” (1 Samuel 1:14-17)
They returned home, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, the prophet Samuel. Imagine the joy in her heart, her prayer had been answered. Peninah now has nothing to say, Hannah’s shame is over and now she has peace.
She got what she wanted.
Most of us stop there and continue with our lives. Our pain has ended. We receive our blessing from God. We abandon the process we started with the Lord and we go back to the way things were.
Ever made a promise to God during a difficult time that you did not follow through on?
Most of us expect blessings from the Lord like it is our right as His children. Much like a toddler can be demanding of his parents to get what he wants, knowing that his parents want to bless him and would want to give him anything he asks for. Over time, this same attitude, can look like an attitude of entitlement.
Many see God as some form of ATM machine that you feed with prayers to get what you want. Or a Genie in a lamp, which you rub and God grants you all your wishes. This is not our God. God is not in relationship with us, just so that you and I can get what we want. God is in relationship with us, to get what He wants and what He desires for our lives. Ultimately what He wants and desires for our lives is bigger, and in this story, God had a plan bigger than Hannah’s.
Our Lives are not our own
“We have been bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). That means, God is not our servant, rather we are His servants. We belong to him and everything He blesses us with ultimately comes from His hand.
Hannah knew this. She understood that all of us are blessed to be a blessing to others. And when she made a vow, she kept it.
This principle of being blessed to be a blessing, Hannah would have known is a characteristic of the people of God. God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
The purpose of God’s blessing is not for us to become entitled, but so that we can be generous.
Samuel Dedicated by Hannah at the Temple by Frank W.W. Topham
“After he was weaned, she 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. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, ‘Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he shall be given over to the Lord.’ And he worshipped the Lord there.” (1 Samuel 1:24-28)
Hannah enjoyed her blessing, reveled in her baby and then she followed through by allowing God to use what he gave her for HIS purposes. She had to give her son back to God at age 3, which meant she had to take him to the temple at Shiloh to be raised by the priest Eli and trained to be a priest himself. It was not an environment most mothers would want to leave their little boy because at that time in the history of Israel, the priests where not holy and Eli himself was not pursuing holiness in himself or his sons (See 1 Samuel 2.)
Imagine how hard it was for Hannah to follow through on her vow to God. But she dedicated her blessing to the Lord making His worship her priority, singing songs honoring the Lords strength when she is weak and she brought the Lord a generous gift.
“But Samuel was ministering before the Lord – a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, ‘May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.’ Then they would go home. And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.” (2 Samuel 2:18-21)
Here we see that God had a greater blessing for Hannah than even Hannah expected, God blessed her generosity to Him. She didn’t just have Samuel but went on to have three sons and two daughters. But not only that, Samuel went on to play an important role in the nation of Israel. Not only would he be the first to hear the voice of God in a very long time, speaking for God (1 Samuel 3), but he facilitated the transition from the time of judges to becoming the first prophet and anointed the first two Kings, Saul and David. He spiritual leadership, led the nation to victory against their enemies (the Philistines) and ushered in a season of peace. He faithfully listened to God all his life and in so doing Israel was blessed, something Hannah would never have anticipated.
Blessed to be a blessing
- Would you follow through to allow God to use what He has blessed you with to be a blessing to others?
- When it comes to blessings from God, what is the difference between an attitude of entitlement vs generosity?
- To what extent are you happy to receive blessings from God and yet not consider how God can use it to bless others?
Lord, please make me a blessing, make me a vessel to pour out Your goodness to me, upon others. Help me to always remember that my greatest treasure is You and that You have given me everything I have and every blessing. Even my salvation is a blessing from Your hand that I could not have earned for myself, it is a gift from you. May this blessing in my life, always be a blessing to others.
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