Sorry, Hope, and Joy from Hannah

Can anyone share with us a time when they were seemingly crippled by a situation in life that was out of their control?

Now imagine if there was someone who mocked you because of that situation.

v. 1-11

v. 8-9 | In situations of despair, there often seem to be two options. Fight or flight. In this case, instead of battling with Peninnah with words or fleeing the situation altogether, Hannah goes to the lord in prayer.

v. 11 | Hannah desires so badly to have a child of her own that she will dedicate him to the Lord for the entirety of his life.

v. 12-18

v. 12-16 | Eli takes the great despair that has overcome Hannah as drunkenness in the house of the Lord. Out of respect for the house of the Lord, His desire is to politely remove her and rebuke her in her drunkenness.

v. 17-18 | It is interesting that Eli does not know the specific reason as to why this woman is in such a sorry state but gives her the promise that God will grant her request.

This interaction seems to put Hannah in much better spirits. After having just reached her breaking point, she is to a point where she can stomach food again

v. 19-28

v. 19-20 | The Lord answers her prayer with a yes and gives her son. It is notable that while the Hebrew for Samuel, shemuel, ‘means His name is el’, it sounds like ‘heard of God’.

Hannah fulfills what she promised to the Lord.

How do we feel about the word “lent” in verse 28?