A Mother Who Changed the Nation … and the World
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Our nation is turning 250 this year. As King Charles of England during his recent visit to the U.S. quipped in his speech to Congress, “as we say, just the other day.”
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While our nation’s history is filled with great moments, it has been filled with dark ones also. One of the darkest moments occurred some 160 years ago.
In that pivotal moment we remember as the Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln acknowledged that our nation, conceived in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal was now …
engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
Lincoln successfully led our nation out of the dark moment and we look back to him as maybe the greatest president of our nation’s history.
What made Abraham Lincoln the man he was? We know his story - his successes and his failures. Surely, there were a number of factors that shaped Lincoln into the president he became. Yet Lincoln himself said this:
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother" are the famous words by Abraham Lincoln about his mother, Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln, who died when he was 9 years old.
Though he knew her for such a short time, it is said that he remembered her for her warm affection and example. In that short time, she fused a solid foundation for how President Lincoln would treat both sides of the brutal civil war--with fairness, without judgment and in a way that ultimately bridged the gap between the two sides. His father remarried a year later to Sarah Bush Johnstone, a widow with three young children.
The epitome of a blended family, she formed the Lincoln household into one strong unit, and her homemaking skills and ability to organize had a profound effect on young Abraham.
President Lincoln often spoke of Nancy's traits--ambition, mental alertness and power of analysis--and Sarah's ability to provide love after the loss of his mother, as well as constant motivation to excel in sports, school and other aspects of his life.
Those powerful elements combined to form many of the traits he would be known for as well.
https://www.scott.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/162329/all-that-i-am-or-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/
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With a title like we have for this sermon: “A Mother Who Changed the Nation … and the World” and with this little vignette about Abraham Lincoln’s impact on our nation and the world… wow, we have our work cut out for us this Mother’s Day!
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Please rest assured, especially all you mothers who are here today, our topic today is not to hold you up to some impossible standard - that you will become known for changing the world!
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Rather, our desire today is to study the example of a mother in the Bible whose actions had a world-changing impact to find lessons that all of us - mothers, fathers, men, women, children, young people - can learn how God can work through our lives to change us and those around us.
Whether God has called someone to motherhood or not, every believer is called to entrust themselves to God’s purposes.
Our standard, then, is not to change the world but to let God change us and through us to impact others as God desires.
Mother’s Day can be joyful for some but painful for others — especially those who have experienced infertility, miscarriage, loss, estrangement, or deep disappointment.
Hannah’s story begins in sorrow, and because of that, many of us may find parts of her story very personal.
Our text is from 1 Samuel 1. I invite you and encourage you to open your Bible to that passage and to follow along as we study this scripture. But as we begin, we will read only a few selected portions of the text.
There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
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After Israel conquered the promised land and Joshua and his generation died, Israel was ruled by a series of judges. Samuel was the last judge.
Looking back to the book of Judges that details this period, we find that book ending very darkly. In the last several chapters of that book, we read about Samson, a physical He-man, but a moral wimp. We read of a corrupt Levite who, in effect, served as “priest” to whoever paid the best.
We read of an immoral town abusing a visitor and then a whole tribe defending those immoral actions leading to a civil war among Israel that almost wiped out the entire tribe. The last line of Judges is quite telling:
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
1 Samuel begins immediately with the origin story of Samuel, which is our focus today. However, 1 Samuel 2 helps us see the broader story of the nation by giving background information on the priest, Eli, and his two sons.
We are told that Eli’s two sons were evil, yet the priest did nothing to stop them. As a result, God would judge them severely.
As this book progresses, we see Samuel grow up and become the spiritual leader of the nation. Later, he anointed both the first and second kings of the nation, Saul and David.
Then, years after that, God would promise David that he would always have a ruler on the throne of Israel. This was fulfilled through Jesus, son of God, son of David, King of kings.
And so, as we come back to 1 Samuel 1 and the story of Hannah, a young barren wife, we find a woman who would become a mother who truly would change the nation and the world!
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1 Samuel 1 first introduces us to a Levite named Elkanah who had two wives, Hannah and Penninah.
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We should note that while the scripture reports that he had two wives, this does not mean that polygamy was condoned or the purpose of God.
We find God's purpose for marriage in Genesis 2 where God created Eve from Adam's rib and presented her as a helper to him. And we see in our story some of the consequences that can happen when we ignore or refuse to follow God's plan for life and marriage.
Of all the examples of polygamous marriages in Bible times, we do not find one that had a happy ending.
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It is always best to follow God’s pattern for life and for marriage.
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Apparently, Elkanah had married Hannah for love, but when she failed to get pregnant he had married Peninnah who did bear him children.
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You can imagine how unhappy a marriage this must have been for Hannah and Peninnah. Surely we can assume that Hannah was also in love with Elkanah when they married, right?
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But… especially in that culture, it was expected that wives would bear children for their husbands. In fact, it was seen as a sign of God’s displeasure, even judgment.
Surely, Hannah felt disappointment and discouragement and even a failure as she failed to get pregnant during the first years of their marriage.
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Then, when Elkanah married Peninnah, even though Hannah appears to have been a godly woman and must have understood her reasons, surely she felt jealousy. She must have felt rejected, even betrayed.
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Then Peninnah started having children…
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Consider how Peninnah felt. Even though she is the antagonist, even the “bad” character in this story, consider how Peninnah must have felt “used” by Elkanah to have children, appreciated for her child-bearing but not loved like Hannah was.
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It doesn’t make it right, but is it no wonder that Peninnah was jealous and resorted to petty rivalries in order to “stick it to” Hannah?
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It is fascinating when we learn the meanings of these two women’s names. Hannah means “woman of grace”, yet everyone must have assumed she was a woman under God’s judgment.
Peninnah means “coral”, but the picture we find of her is not beautiful, but cold as stone.
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This was a God-fearing family, and Hannah was a godly woman. Yearly, they attended feasts to the Lord. So we find in 1 Samuel 1:7 that they had gone to the Tabernacle in Shiloh for another feast.
It is likely this may have been the Feast of Tabernacles. As such, it was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, happiness, and gratitude. But Hannah’s heart was heavy.
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1 Samuel 1:10 says she was “deeply distressed”.
The word for distress here is the same as that which Naomi referred to herself when she returned to Bethlehem from Moab - “marah” - bitter.
Weeping, full of bitterness, Hannah could not, would not eat. And so we see her go to the Tabernacle to pray…
1. A Prayer of Sorrow, vv. 1-10.
1. A Prayer of Sorrow, vv. 1-10.
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.
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We might like to skip past a certain detail in this story, but to truly understand Hannah’s sorrow, her bitterness, and then her relief and joy, but also the key truth we find in our text, we need to grapple with verse 5.
But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.
There is some uncertainty about the original Hebrew where it says Elkanah gave her “a double portion, because he loved her.”
The description of Hannah’s portion is obscure in the Hebrew. Most translations identify it as a double portion (niv, nasb, nkjv, nrsv), while other suggestions have been “only one portion” (rsv) and “special portion” (nlt). Many of the commentators favor “only one portion” because that sets up the contrast that makes most sense of the context.
Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., 1 Sa 1:5). InterVarsity Press.
But this detail is not the real problem we face in this verse. Rather, the problem we find is the assertion, “the LORD had closed her womb.”
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There is no reason to doubt that the writer actually wrote these words.
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The problem is that it does not seem fair to us, it does not seem just or right, that God would arbitrarily withhold something good from us, especially from those who love and serve God with all their heart.
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We are tempted to give God an excuse or to say that the writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, did not mean to say what the text clearly says.
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We would like it better if this was simply an expression attributing to God the closing of her womb. We don’t like the idea that God might actually determine to withhold good from His people.
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Again, there is no justified reason for us to doubt the veracity of this statement. Indeed, we will later find it emphasized that it was God’s choice if and when Hannah would bear a child. But let’s not get ahead of the story.
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The text does not suggest Hannah was being punished or that her suffering was caused by spiritual failure. Rather, God was mysteriously at work through circumstances Hannah could not understand.
In a fallen, sinful world we often experience great sorrows that we don’t fully understand. Yet scripture consistently portrays God as compassionate, wise and near to those who are brokenhearted.
But, this problem strikes at the heart of the challenges we face in prayer so often. We have a great desire. It may even be a need - a great need. We pray and pray. We trust God. We believe. And God does NOT provide.
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At least, God does not provide the way we want Him to. Or, he does not provide according to our timetable.
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Sometimes we must admit that God says, “no” and we don’t understand why.
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And… our confusion is magnified because we don’t necessarily hear a booming voice from heaven saying, “NO!” Instead, we are left to discover it’s a no over time as God does not grant our request.
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For some, this part of Hannah’s story may touch very deep wounds. We must be careful not to assume that every sorrow, infertility, loss, or unanswered prayer is God teaching a specific lesson or expressing displeasure.
Scripture does not present Hannah as spiritually deficient. Rather, in Hannah’s story, we find a faithful woman bringing real pain honestly before God.
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Sometimes, unlike Hannah, we never fully understand God’s purposes for what we experience in life. Scripture gives examples of faithful believers, some of whom eventually understood what God was doing but also of others who never did.
Our hope comes not in understanding all of God’s ways but in trusting His character even when we don’t see the big picture.
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Is it no wonder that Hannah prayed out of the sorrow of her heart?
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But this day, this year, Hannah also prayed…
2. A Prayer of Submission, vv. 11-18.
2. A Prayer of Submission, vv. 11-18.
And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
As we read earlier, Eli saw her praying. She was praying to God in her heart, so only her lips were moving. She was not speaking out loud.
At least one commentator suggests that this type of praying was not typically practiced by the Jews - that they would typically pray out loud.
But commentators also note that Eli’s assumption that she was drunk is a sad commentary on the religious state of the nation. Eli knew his sons were treating the offering with contempt.
Probably Eli’s sons and maybe others had been a bit inebriated during worship before. So now Eli had enough.
He accosted Hannah.
But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”
Eli must have felt chastened, hearing of her fervent prayer to God. So he blessed her and said:
“Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”
In response, Hannah said…
“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.”
Notice how Hannah consistently referred to herself, both in her prayer and in her response to the priest. She called her a servant. The KJV uses the expression, “handmaid.”
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It might be tempting for us to consider Hannah’s prayer a bargain with God. Yes, she was asking God to grant her request and she was making God a promise, but it would seem her prayer was different now than in the past.
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We’re not told what she prayed before, but we can assume she had prayed for a child, but for her desire and purposes. Now she prayed for a child, but she did so in submission surrendering her child to God’s will, God’s purposes, God’s kingdom.
Jon Courson writes…
Previously, she wanted a son to give to her husband. God, however, wanted a prophet to give to a nation. God had something much bigger and bolder, greater and grander in mind than Hannah did.
If you’ve prayed about your barren condition, if you’re weeping bitterly, that is okay. It might be that God is simply waiting to get you into harmony with His heart, which means He wants to do something larger than your prayer.
This is really encouraging to me because I’ve discovered that my “unanswered’ prayers grow larger for those people or situations I’m forced to bring before the Lord over a long period of time.
And I’m reminded once again that prayer is not about getting God to do my will, but about getting me in line with what He wants to do in and through me.
Courson, J. (2005). Jon Courson’s application commentary: Volume one: Genesis–Job (pp. 824–825). Thomas Nelson.
Hannah’s prayer of submission was also a prayer of sacrifice.
3. A Prayer of Sacrifice, vv. 19-28.
3. A Prayer of Sacrifice, vv. 19-28.
They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
In God’s timing and according to God’s purposes, God answered her prayer. She became pregnant.
In this verse, it is emphasized the fact that Hannah’s story ultimately unfolded according to God’s sovereign care and plan. Now that God had given the word… now that God “remembered” her… Hannah conceived.
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In due time, Hannah gave birth to Samuel.
The Hebrew word sa-al means “asked,” and sama means “heard,” and el is one of the names for God, so Samuel means “heard of God” or “asked of God.” All his life, Samuel was both an answer to prayer and a great man of prayer.
Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). Be successful (p. 17). Victor/Cook Communications.
When it came time the next year to go up for the yearly feast, Hannah told her husband that she would not go till she had weaned Samuel and then she would leave Samuel there to be in God’s presence and to serve God the rest of life. Elkanah agreed.
Children at that time were typically weaned by the age of 3.
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Can you imagine how Hannah must have nurtured Samuel, singing songs of worship, telling him what we call “Bible stories” today, and teaching him the Law?
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The time quickly came to an end. So when Samuel was weaned, Elkanah and Hannah presented Samuel to Eli. Hannah identified herself as the woman who had prayed so bitterly a few years before and Eli had blessed.
Now, she would leave this little toddler with the priest to be trained in the ways of God and dedicated to God’s ministry the rest of his life.
Hannah willingly sacrificed what was so dear to her because she had submitted herself to the will of God.
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For some parents, the pain is not in giving a child to God’s service, but in losing a child through death, estrangement, rebellion, or circumstances they never would have chosen.
Hannah’s story does not erase those griefs. But it does remind us that God sees the tears parents shed over their children.
Hannah submitted herself to God’s will. Her prayer was no longer focused on her dreams, desires, and plans. She was committed to the purposes of God.
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And what was the result?
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A few years later, God first spoke to Samuel. He didn’t recognize God’s voice at first, but Eli finally realized what was going on.
And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
This was the first time of many that God spoke to Samuel: God’s judgment on Eli and his wicked sons, God’s calling the people to repentance, God’s granting the people a king, God’s giving King Saul specific missions, God’s judgment on Saul for his disobedience, God’s calling of an overlooked shepherd boy to be the nation’s next king.
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Truly Hannah was a mother who changed the nation… and the world!
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How did she change the world? And what lesson should we learn from her life?
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Hannah was used of God to change the world as she submitted herself to God’s will.
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Big Idea: God uses people who entrust themselves to His purposes.
Big Idea: God uses people who entrust themselves to His purposes.
In eternity, standing outside of time and space, God looked down upon His chosen people. He saw their distress and need of a godly man to call them back to him.
He saw the need for a man who would not be compromised by sin and would fearlessly lead the people to God even as their enemies surrounded them.
He saw the need for a man who, even though feel rejected when the people asked for a king, would be humble enough and connected to God enough to seek God’s will rather than to consult his own pride.
He saw the need for a man who would stand up to those who did wrong, even if this man had chosen and appointed as king the one who then turned away from God.
He saw the need for a man who would brave the wrath of an insecure, jealous king to anoint the one God chose to succeed the first.
He saw the need for a man who would listen to God’s voice and not choose the one who looked the oldest, strongest, most handsome, most mature, but would wait for the one totally forgotten out in the fields.
Hannah wanted a son out of deep personal sorrow and reproach. God wanted a child who would lead the nation and impact the world.
Through years of disappointment and sorrow, God was shaping Hannah in ways she could not yet understand, eventually leading her to entrust even her deepest longing to Him.
Is this not the lesson God’s people have learned and lived so many times?
Consider Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission. Taylor willingly surrendered financial security and personal comfort to establish a missionary organization in inland China. He trusted God to provide the funds despite constant danger and uncertainty - and God used Hudson mightily for His glory.
Another example is Corrie ten Boom who was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War 2. She maintained her faith in God and a forgiving spirit even though she struggled mightily with both while imprisoned in concentration camps. She chose to trust God’s purposes even amid systematic evil and personal loss.
The life of George Müller also vividly illustrates what it means to entrust oneself to God’s purposes. He decided to run orphanages through prayer and faith alone. He refused to solicit funds directly. He demonstrated trust that God would provide for thousands of children.
Gladys Aylward was a missionary who abandoned conventional security to work in remote China. She trusted God through war, persecution, and impossible circumstances.
Jim Elliot is yet another great example of what it means to entrust oneself to God’s purposes. Elliot and four other missionary men pursued contact with Auca Indians, an isolated, violent people group, in an attempt to share the Gospel with them.
They did this knowing the risks, and ultimately it resulted in their deaths while demonstrating radical entrustment to God’s calling. And… God honored their faith by using their sacrifice to win this pagan tribe to himself.
There are many times when we don't understand how or why God does the things he does. We may even feel like he has failed us.
Sometimes, we have a very narrow focus on ourselves and miss the big picture of how God is working in the world. Often, we miss the fact that God desires to bring himself glory through his interactions with humanity.
But our scripture today helps us to reorient our hearts and minds to God’s Truth: God uses people who entrust themselves to His purposes.
We must understand that entrusting our lives to God is not a formula for success - a way to guarantee the outcome we desire. Hannah received Samuel, but faithful believers are pictured in scripture who never received the answer they longed for.
Our call to trust God does not rest on guaranteed outcomes, but on God’s character.
May God help us to understand that he is working in us to bring us to the place that we entrust ourselves to him and then he can use us in marvelous ways.
May we experience hope even though we may feel frustrated at times because life is not going our way and God does not seem to be answering our prayers.
For those who are carrying heavy grief today, know that the God who heard Hannah also sees you, hears you, and invites you to pour out your heart to him.
And so may we fully surrender our lives to God’s will and entrust ourselves to His purposes and His plan, whatever may come.
