Faith of a Mother
Notes
Transcript
There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
He had two wives, the first named Hannah and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.
This man would go up from his town every year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.
Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters.
But he gave a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving.
Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving.
Year after year, when she went up to the Lord’s house, her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat.
“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband, Elkanah, would ask. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.
Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.
Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, 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.”
While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her mouth.
Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk
and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine!”
“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.
Don’t think of me as a wicked woman; I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”
Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.”
“May your servant find favor with you,” she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.
The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
After some time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”
When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice and his vow offering to the Lord,
Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the Lord’s presence and to stay there permanently.”
Her husband, Elkanah, replied, “Do what you think is best, and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your word.” So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.
When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull, half a bushel of flour, and a clay jar of wine. Though the boy was still young, she took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh.
Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.
“Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord.
I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked him for,
I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” Then he worshiped the Lord there.
Hannah prayed: My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord. My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides you! And there is no rock like our God.
Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogant words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and actions are weighed by him.
The bows of the warriors are broken, but the feeble are clothed with strength.
Those who are full hire themselves out for food, but those who are starving hunger no more. The woman who is childless gives birth to seven, but the woman with many sons pines away.
The Lord brings death and gives life; he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.
The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the trash heap. He seats them with noblemen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; he has set the world on them.
He guards the steps of his faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness, for a person does not prevail by his own strength.
Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered; he will thunder in the heavens against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give power to his king; he will lift up the horn of his anointed.
Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.
Observations:
Not everything is perfect for those who worship God
Grief and sadness are not ungodly. Rather God can use them to grow our faith.
It is ok to be an emotional prayer
Hannah responded in faith
Hannah and Elkanah did their part
Hannah gave God everything she had asked for. We are merely stewards of God’s gifts.
3 bulls. Burnt offering, purification offering from after childbirth, peace offering in fulfillment of a vow. A bull was not required but showed their understanding of how much God had given them.
We have no reason to be proud.
God is the one in control
What is God prompting you to pray about in faith?
Are you acting on your prayers?
What one thing do you need to do this week to be obedient?