09(1Sam 01,02-02) Dedicated Housewives

Look with me in the OT to 1 Samuel. I want to share with you the profile of a godly mother.

We cannot exhaust all that is here, but we want to highlight some things that can be a guide or checklist for you by looking at the life of this remarkable woman and mother. If you want to know how to be a godly mother this morning, we perhaps have no better example to observe than Hannah.

The bible’s message on motherhood is certainly drowned out by society today. What many young mothers and young fathers are left with is a confusing message of self-centeredness mixed with guilt.

I don’t want to give the mothers today either a message on how to be more selfish, nor how to have more guilt. Rather, let’s talk about how to be a godly mom. (1 Samuel 2:1-2)

That’s the best way to introduce you to Hannah. Her prayer and praise lets you know she was a special lady who knew her God. (1 Samuel 1:1-2)

Strange family: two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children, Hannah did not. Elkanah was a Levite, so he was at least in the priestly family.

We focus on Hannah, who demonstrates three qualities necessary for a godly mother:

I.       She had a dedication to marriage.

A.     She shared in worship. (1:3)

§  She had a believing, worshiping husband. He went up each year (Exodus 23 - 3 times yearly).

§  Godly fathers make for godly mothers! A worshiping husband makes a wife a better worshiper.

§  When Elkanah went up to worship, so did Hannah (1:7)

§  In other words, they had a common bond of worship.

§  Some of you have a difficult task: you have an unbelieving spouse at home.

§  But if so, you also have a special ministry – did you know that?

1 Cor. 7:13-14 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

§  Now he had his faults. Name one? Bigamist. Serious, culturally accepted.

§  You will not find your partner to be perfect – but that should not keep you from worshipping the Lord together in your imperfections.

§  Don’t expect perfection. Where you find the love and worship of the lord, treasure that. That is rare enough.

B.     She shared in devotion. (1:4)

§  A double portion. He honored her in his gift. Why? “He loved Hannah.”

§  Marriage is not just physical: it is emotional and spiritual.

§  Elkanah loved her in a special way and his love was her security.

Our culture has become so individualistic that we shy away from the term devoted in marriage. We can be devoted to our hobbies, our careers, even our religion, but we have been taught devotion in marriage is akin to bondage. Such is not the testimony of scripture written by a God who knew today would come.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31).

II.    She had a dedication to God (1:9).

She had a problem, the other woman was able to give children. When she had a problem, did she lash out at others? No, she went to the Lord with her problem. And she wept bitterly before the Lord. (10)

A.     She had a passion for God’s best.

§  What was/is God’s best? Could it be to raise children? Today we believe that is what makes for desperate housewives. But Hannah saw it as a unrealized passion; a passion to bear children.

§  She wanted a child because she believed that was God’s greatest gift.

Psalms 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

§  Listen carefully: children are not a mistake, no matter the circumstance of their conception: they are a gift of God.

§  A truly godly mother is not a reluctant mother. She has a passion for her children, sees them as a gift from God, and as a divine fulfillment.

B.     She was a woman of prayer (12).

§  She wasn’t just doing her duty in prayer.

§  Her lips were moving: she was impassioned, in conversation with her God.

§  Why did she pray? Because she knew Elkanah wasn’t the source of her children, God was.

§  How we need mothers who are dedicate to pray for their children.

C.     She was a woman of purpose (11).

§  The desperate housewife has no purpose for being at home.

§  The dedicated housewife finds her purpose at home.

§  Her heavenly relationship meant she knew God had a plan for every child.

§  She vowed to give her son to God. That was her greatest desire.

§  How about you? Is your greatest desire to give your children to God?

D.     She was a woman of praise (chapter 2).

§  What was the result? God answered her prayer. She gave birth to Samuel: heard of God.

§  What was the response? In chapter 2, she is filled with praise.

§  Do we praise God when we hear that someone is expecting a child?

III. She had a dedication to Home (21).

A.     She was dedicated to the child.

§  She set aside her schedule to focus on her child.

B.     She dedicated the child to the Lord.

§  She was obedient to God.

§  She had the integrity to honor her vow before the Lord.

C.     She cared for that child the rest of his life.

That wasn’t the end of the story. The Lord never takes without giving. (2:21)