A Plea from Brokenness

Main Characters:

• Elkanah — EL-kuh-nuh

• Hannah — HAN-uh

• Peninnah — puh-NIN-uh

• Eli — EE-ly

• Hophni — HAHF-ny

• Phinehas — FIN-ee-us

Ancestral Names (Elkanah’s lineage):

• Jeroham — juh-ROH-um

• Elihu — ih-LY-hoo

• Tohu — TOH-hoo

• Zuph — ZOOF

Geographic Names:

• Ramathaim-zophim — ram-uh-THAY-im ZOH-fim

• Ephraim — EF-ray-um

• Shiloh — SHIH-loh

Intro:

The testimony of so many skeptics of the Bible claim that the OT scriptures portray God as an unrelentling, wrathful God who is all about judgment and death. One such skeptic and vocal atheist, Richard Dawkins, wrote these words, in his 2006 book God Delusion,

10th“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

Tell us how you really feel Richard! Richard clearly sees God through the lens of his own hate for God for whatever reason he may have. We of course know that God is the same, yeterday, today and forever. He does not change and He does not waver in his character or his will. If Dawkins would have read the Bible without some presupposition of anger, He might see stories of God’s gracious love and mercy toward the undeserving. Our story today is one such an example. It is a story of unconditional love and undisturbed purpose for those who are brokenhearted and desperate for God to move in their midsts.

I hope that you might be encouraged today as we study this passage similarly to the what the Psalmist David writes,

Psalm 34:15–18 “15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Let me ask you if you ever feel such a weight in this life that it feels crushing to your soul. You may have honestly asked the Lord, “how am I going to endure this. Will I make it through?

In our narrative today, Hannah, the mother of Samuel seems crushed with the weight of her circumstances. Her story is a message of hope for all of us who find our selves in desperation, suffering and hurt. Where will we turn in sad and difficult days. Will we remember what the Psalmist writes …that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted? Will we turn to him for help and for strength?

I. Our Journey in Brokenness (vs. 1-7)

As we begin this passage the writer focus on some comparisons or contrasts. Very naturally we are going to focus on Hannah contrasted with the second wife of Elkanah (EL-kuh-nuh), Peninnah, (puh-NIN-uh). What is clear is one woman who is clearly faithful and trusting in YHWH, full of purpose as a woman who desires to birth and raise children. Her counterpart, is Peninnah, (puh-NIN-uh), who is blessed with fertility and instead of rejoicing in the Lord, she is a bitter and spiteful woman full of hatred and venomous bullying of the weak and suffering.

There is also another constrast that needs our attention at the beginning of our study. These first 7 chapters of 1 Samuel are focused on Samuel. Here, without him even being born yet, there is an emphasis of contrast and comparison. Elkanah (EL-kuh-nuh) has a strong lineage that helps us see the contrast. In this genealogy given, we see some unfamiliar Hebrew names that culminate in a geographical reference of Ephraim.

1 Samuel 1:1–4 “1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim (ram-uh-THAY-im ZOH-fim)from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham(juh-ROH-um), the son of Elihu(ih-LY-hoo), the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

Now it easy for us to identify Samuel and his family lineage here to the tribe of Ephraim but there is another passage for us to consider. Look with me at 1 Chronicles 6:1–6

1 Chronicles 6:32–35 “32 They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they served in their office according to their order. 33 These are those who served with their sons: From the sons of the Kohathites were Heman(HEH-mun) the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, 34 the son of Elkanah(el-KAY-nuh), the son of Jeroham(juh-ROH-um), the son of Eliel(EL-ee-ul), the son of Toah(TOH-uh), 35 the son of Zuph(ZOOF), the son of Elkanah”

Now the entire chapter 6 of 1 Chronicles lays out the lineage of Levis descendants. These are the Levites that are called as a family to serve the Lord as priests in his temple. Samuel’s family line with of the Levites and his link to Ephraim was geographically. He was from the region of Ephraim just as his ancestor Phineas is described as in Joshua 24:33. Now this is extremely important because the Holy Spirit wants the reader to begin to the see the stark contrast of Samuel as a faithful priest against the corrupt and unfaithful Eli and his sons as Hophni and Phineas. As a matter of fact, look at how oddly placed v 3 and 9 are in this narrative.

1 Samuel 1:3 “3 …And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there.”

1 Samuel 1:9 “9 …Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.”

What we will begin to see through these chapters is how God is replacing unfaithful priests with a faithful one in Samuel. Not only is Eli notorious as an unfaithful father, but spiritual leader and judge over Israel. Samuel will be called to the Lord to serve as a new priest. We see this happening early in his service in 1 Samuel 3:1

“1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.”

Now who do we know received such a word from the Lord and vision in 1 Samuel 3. It was the young boy whom the Lord spoke to and called to service in comparison to Eli who did not and quite possibly could not hear the voice of God.

Now the setting is being laid for Samuel the faithful priest and judge to be born in a miraculous way like so many faithful saints of God who preceded him.

In this chapter, we will see the blessing of the Lord in answering the prayer of the brokenhearted faithful servant Hannah. In her testimony of sadness and despair, we can learn a helpful truth of how God cares for and heals those who are broken and needy before Him.

A. The impossibility of sin to satisfy

When we dive into the story we are introduced to a familar scene of the OT. Elkanah was unfaithful and entered into two marriages. Elkanah was a polygamist. Polygamy is a common theme of the OT and just because we see it occur in the Bible does not meant that God promotes such sinfulness. God has and always will be the designer of monogamy in marriage. From the beginning of God’s story to the end, we see the design of marriage described by the Lord Jesus,

Matthew 19:4–6 “4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.””

Now polygamy is very visible in the story of Israel and it only brings about hurt to those involved and swift judgment from God. In Deuteronomy 17:17 “17 “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.”

The main warning against polygamy, especially for the kings of Israel is the temptation to be lured away from following YHWH as the One True God.

In this story of Hannah, the polygamy seems to be at the forefront of the controversy and conflict that exists in the passage. The Holy Spirit wants His people to see that sin and rebellion against God’s design is never going to satisfy. It always leaves us empty and wanting more . True satisfaction in this life only exists in a realtionship the Lord.. With the nature of sin present in all of us, humanity will always seek to circumvent God’s plan and design in order to bring about our own wants and desires. Take Abraham and Sarah as an example. They were promised children but could not wait on God to deliver on his promises. They circumvented God in the waiting period and Abraham had a child with Hagar. When Ishmael was born, it only caused more conflict to arise in Abraham’s home. Sarah was not thankful for the child she advocated for Abraham to produce. As a matter of fact, when God blessed Sarah with the child Isaac, there is a brief acknowledgment of God’s fulfilled promise in giving them the miracle child Isaac, only to follow with Sarah sending Hagar and her child into the wilderness to die.

Perhaps, Elkanah also married Peninnuh (puh-NIN-uh) because of the issue with the barrenness of Hannah. We are not quite sure his reason to take two wives. But the rebellion against God in taking two wives is simply a reminder for us that in our rebellion against God, we will never be satisfied. Solomon could not be satisfied with all the wealth and wisdom God gave him. He furthered his insanity by having over 700 wives as well.

Now you might not be considering amassing 700 spouses, but consider the damaging effects sin has on all of us that it leaves us empty and wanting to consume more and more, and yet never satisfying.

The nature of sin and its inabilty to satisfy is one main reason for the brokenness of this world.

B. The certainty of conflict with others

Secondly, in these verses, the contrast between Hannah and Peninnuh is a reality of sin in this world. Sin births conflicts with one another. Now barrenness in women is not a result of sinfulness in their life but it is a direct result of sin in this world. Sin that has plagued us since Adam and Eve. In addtion, sin causes relationships between people to sour and produce a fermented drink of hatred and contempt. People take advantage of the worst situations in others and they dogpile on them in order to make themselves feel better.

Penninuh is the worst. She is a committed antagonist who is metaphorically beating a woman already down and bleeding in the street. Hannah is stricken with a social pressure to have children. For women in her day, this was the apex of her purpose in society. Barrenness was a societal scarlett letter and for many was a sign that God had cursed you for some personal sin or greivance against him. But as the reader of Scripture can see, many women who came before Hannah expereinced the miracle of childbirth after initially being barren. In particular, Hannah stands among other well known Jewish women like Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel. Rachel gives us a sense of the grief that followed barreness in Genesis 30:1

“1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.””

Instead of comforting the barrenness of Hannah, Penninuh staged a verbal war against her in many respects. Look with me at vs 6-7

1 Samuel 1:6–7 “6 Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.”

Not only was Penninuh a vixen, but she was so distracted from her rage that when she went with her husband to teh temple to worship, she didn’t worship. Instead, her attention was not on the Lord and his blessing, it was on Hannah’s difficulty. This surely describes for us the heart of a woman who does not love God but only wants to hurt others in her hurt. Why was she hurt?

Perhaps, in this polygamist relationship, Penninuh didn’t feel loved by her husband like she should. It is right to assume that Elkanah is also guilty in this as v 5 states,

1 Samuel 1:5 “5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.”

Somehow, it seemed that perhaps Elkanah had fallen into societies norms and married Penninuh for her fertility and not to honor the Lord. He received heirs and she was taken care of which are neither biblical reasons to marry. Marriage is designed between one man and one woman to glorify God in their union. In this case, this marriage was an anti-God disaster. Sin brings conflict with mankind and God and within mankind itself. This conflicts reflects our brokenness before God and it leads to broken spirits and hearts like we see with Hannah.

This despair leads many to end their lives by suicide. There is an suicide epidemic in our country. Suicide is highest among people 75 and up but it is also the 2nd leading cause of death in ages 10-34 years old. (American Foundation Suicide Prevention). We can identify sin as the cause of such despair because it brings such a conflict with others. When we are at war with others, we are at war in our souls. If God made us to be together with other people, and instead, we war with them, we are disturbed within. We need such a rescue from these tings

C. The circumstances of life are uncontrollable

Lastly, when we consider barrenness, we understand the uncontrollable nature of this situation. Barrenness again is not a result personal sin. If you struggle to have children, it is not helpful to dwell on God punishing you. For many, this is a biological and not theological problem. For some, barrenness may be a result of some poor choices in a earlier years that have damaging results, but that is often not the norm. Instead, barrenness leads us to consider just how uncontrollable life can be in our humanness.

James 4:13–15 “13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.””

James reminds us that life is fleeting and we are not the captains of our ship or the masters of our fate. Instead, we are not promised tomorrow and our plans are easily thwarted by God’s greater purposes.

Proverbs 19:21 “21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.”

Now consider up to this point the problem addressed in Hannah’s story. We see sin, conflict, and uncontrollable circumstances all leading to a place of despair and brokenheartedness. What will she do? What will we do if we have similar stages of our lives? How will we cope and endure these things?

II. Our Healing from Brokenness (vs. 8-18)

Hannah’s answer is a lesson for us as the church.

1 Samuel 1:8–10 “8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”

A. We must seek the Lord in our brokenness

Hannah is rebuked by her husband in v 8. We need to see this as a necessary correction as he focused her thoughts on rejoicing instead of despair. His comments could be perceived as narcissistic but it seems more likely that what he said is what helped her center, not on him, nor on herself, but on the Lord. His message is more about looking to what the Lord has blessed her with as opposed to what she does not have. This is the message of contentment.

Some of the Northwest TN areas got inches of that beautiful ski slope snow that melts almost immediately in the snow while others got less of the easy snow and more of the icy, more difficult to navigate snow. Regardless, we can look at it and be thankful for its beauty and its picture of purity. The same goes for the goodness of God. Contentment is found in being satisfied with the Lord’s goodness to us, whatever that measure of goodness might be.

For Hannah, there is a change in v 9. She went from fasting and grieving to eating and drinking. While she was distressed still, her presence at Shiloh to worship centered her on seeking the Lord. Hannah’s responded rightly by seeking the Lord in her brokenness. She cried out in prayer. Her body was physically and emotionally affected by her grief.

She sought the Lord in prayer. He became her refuge to find protection. He became her rock to cling to. Again reading from Psalm 34

Psalm 34:8–10 “8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 9 O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. 10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”

As sinful humans, we turn to many unnecessary things when we are hurting. Some turn to food, drugs, alcohol to east the pain. Some bury themselves in media to take their mind off things. Some even rely on other people to be the escape of thei problems and situations. Hannah teaches us to pray in the darkest of dungeons that we find ourselves in.

We must understand that in His presence there is satisfaction and joy. He can heal, he can rescue and he can grant peace that surpasses all understanding. This does not mean that every barren woman has a child. This does not mean that every prisioner is rescued. It means that God teaches us in our brokenheartedness that He is with us and he will give us peace.

For Hannah, her faith was evident in her pursuit of God in prayer. But for some, our brokenhearts cannot be healed until our brokenness is transformed. This is the nature of sin in all of us that must be put to death and transformed by Christ with newness of life. Sin is the brokenness and unreconciled state every person lives that can only be made right in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He died to pray the penalty of death for sinners, was buried and rose victoriously defeating sin, death, and Satan. This is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as we sing it in Come Behold the Wonderous Mystery

In our longing, in our darkness Now the light of life has come Look to Christ, who condescended Took on flesh to ransom us

Jesus is the healer of the brokenhearted. He is the rescuer of all afflicted with sin and death. He is Lord and Savior of all trust HIm.

Many people in this world find themselves in a broken-hearted state because of the troublesome circumstances and they just want God to make that circumstance right. We want him to correct that one pain, that one lingering guilt, that one difficult memory. But what they need…is healing from the brokeness of sin that is found in Jesus. With that healing of the heart, then the brokenness of our challenging lives in this world can also find a remedy.

T: Notice how Hannah responds as a woman of faith when she seeks the Lord. This is the second step in finding healing in our brokenness

B. We must pour out our soul before Him

1 Samuel 1:11–17 “11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” 12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 “Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.””

Now again, this throws some serious shade on Eli as a faithful priest. In chapter 1, he cannot discern the difference of a praying woman and a drunk woman. In Chapter 2, we see the rebellion of his sons as priests before God and Eli being rebuked in allowing it to occur. In chapter 3, Eli cannot hear the voice of God’s call to Samuel but the young Samuel can.

Eli is contrasted here with Samuel’s mother, who is faithful before the Lord, pouring out her soul. Her message to the Lord is one of intense transparency and complete trust in a sovereign God.

1 Samuel 1:11 “11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.””

Two titles in her prayer to note.

Lord of Hosts- JEHOVAH SABATwhich means the Lord God of all hosts or armies. Used literally as a military term to signify GOd’s power and strength is later broadened to mean that God is sovereign as Lord over all the hosts of the earth. He is Lord of heaven and earth over all rulers, all creatures, all moments of time and space belong to him. He is the one, the only one that our faith can be appropriately directed towards because we are by nature under his rule and his authority as his creatures.

Jeremiah 32:17–18 “17 ‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, 18 who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name;”

Your maidservant- Hannah uses this term multiple times in these verses to communicate the humble state of her heart. She is fully submitted to the purpose and plan of God for her. She asks in humility for God to bless her with a child and you can see her complete submission to whatever the Lord chooses to do will be acceptable to her. This is how the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Her vow that she makes with the Lord is simply to offer her son back to the Lord with a nazarite vow. Now the word nazarite is not used in this passage but the specifics of her vow reveal she committing her son to the Nazarite life. The nazarite vow can be found throughout the OT and it was simply a commitment to the Lord for a person to live an intentional set apart, holy life to the service of God. There were commitments in that Nazarite vow that symbolized the action of setting oneself apart from the pleasures of the world.

Look with me at Judges 13:5 and the story of Samson

“5 “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.””

The mother of Samson was given a command by the Lord that her son would be committed as a Nazarite and that person represented his nazarite vow by not cutting their hair, not coming in contact with dead bodies and not partaking in alcoholic drink. For Samson, his life was to purposed to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. For Samuel, it will be a holy devoted life to serve the Lord and to usher Israel into the first monarchy in their history.

C. We must rest in His grace to bring healing

Finally, let’s look at the final step of finding comfort in the Lord in our brokenness. Hannah also displays that in her interaction with inept Eli who thought she was drunk at the worship gathering.

1 Samuel 1:15–18 “15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 “Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

In this interaction with Eli, he immediately see that Lord bless Hannah. In v 18, it tells us “she went her way, and ate and her face was no longer sad.” In the act of prayer, Hannah had put her trust in the Lord. In that moment, as far as she knew, she was not pregnant. Her prayer had not been answered but her prayers had been the cataylst for healing of her broken spirit. She poured out her soul the Lord and he granted her reprieve in those moments of sadness. Her sadness was replaced with joy as she meditated on and prayed to the Lord of Hosts who rules and reigns over all things. Her faith is a message for us all that when we face brokenness from trials and tribulations, from suffering and sickness, we must place our faith in the Lord of Hosts who hears our prayers, who loves us and who is “working all things for good to those who love him and are called according to His purpose.”(Rom 8:28).

Romans 8:16–18 “16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”