The Song of Hannah

Princesses

Sarah, wife of Abraham

Barren, having no child

Devises her own plan for Abraham to have a child with Hagar.

Contrast with Hagar

Wife, not concubine.

Barren, not a mother (yet).

Free, not a slave.

Oppressor, not the oppressed.

At right time, God makes it that she becomes a mother.

Rebekah, wife of Isaac

Barren, having no child

Reversal upon Isaac’s intercessory prayer

Mother of twins.

Devises her own plans to ensure Jacob, the younger, receives the blessing from Isaac.

Rachel, wife of Jacob

Barren, having no child

Devises her own plan for Jacob to have a child with Bilhah. Has 2!

Contrast with Bilhah

Wife, not concubine

Barren, not a mother (yet).

Free, not a slave.

Cunning/devious, not an innocent.

In time, God gave her a child, Joseph.

Died giving birth to Benjamin.

Patriarchal Pressure of Parenting

When a woman married, she was expected to have children.

Wives were expected to outlive their husbands so having children, especially sons, was their financial future and security.

The Bible stands alone as a book that emphasised the role of a son to love his wife and to provide for his parents, especially his mother if she were widowed.

So, a wife who bore no children was seen as cursed by God and was facing a life of destitution. Consider Naomi and Ruth’s futures without husbands and children!

Yet, the view of the world is not necessarily the one that God wants or desires.

A Praying Woman

Hannah, wife of Elkanah

A woman of faith, but barren.

Oppressed by her sister-wife, Penninah, 1 Sam. 1:6-7.

Prays at the Tabernacle for God’s intervention, 1 Sam. 1:11-12.

Blessed by Eli with an assurance that YHWH would answer her prayer, 1 Sam. 1:17, 20.

A Promise Is A Promise

When Samuel was old enough, she fulfilled her vow and gave Samuel to the Lord, 1 Sam. 1:24-28.

God rewarded her faithfulness with 3 more sons and 2 daughters, 1 Sam. 2:21.

Hannah would visit her son Samuel every year.

Praise from a Woman

YHWH, the God Who knows, 1 Sam. 2:1-3.

Hannah’s heart is the Lord’s.

Hannah’s strength is the Lord’s.

Hannah’s mouth is the Lord’s.

Hannah’s enemies are the Lord’s.

YHWH has the power to transform and the willingness to intervene.

YHWH reverses fortunes, 1 Sam. 2:4-5.

The strong can lose and the weak can triumph.

This is not how it is supposed to happen in the world.

YHWH presides over human actions and can change the course of history. He is not impressed by human actions or plans. Such power is the provision of hope to those who are weak and oppressed.

YHWH is sovereign, 1 Sam. 2:6-7.

Hannah only knows that her fortunes change because there is only YHWH.

YHWH always stands ready to help the afflicted.

Reversal of human fortunes, 1 Sam. 2:8.

There are no benefits from power, position or prestige when it comes to our standing before YHWH.

If YHWH is on our side, no one can hinder his plans for our lives!

YHWH is trustworthy, 1 Sam. 2:8-10.

The world belongs to YHWH. If He built it, then He can accomplish His will through it and for those upon it. He has created foundations that prevent the world falling into chaos. How much more our lives?

When YHWH comes to our side, He has the freedom to do so and woe to the one who would set himself against God’s plan. The powerful will fall before Him when He pleads the cause of the oppressed.

Deut. 10:14, 17-18.

Hannah’s song is a reminder that with YHWH no one is marginalised.

Arrogant human strength wilts in the presence of God’s power and majesty.

The King Who Comes

Hannah’s song begins with a confidence that comes from YHWH Who gave her a son. Her song ends with her confidence that YHWH would lead His people through His chosen One, 1 Sam. 2:10.

We must, like Hannah, see the blessings that YHWH has given us now as a surety of the better things yet to happen.

A Mother’s Day Blessing

Hannah’s song is a praise of God for redeeming the barren; humbling the proud and exalting the lowly.

It is a song of resurrection and hope, of faith and promise.

It is a song of a devoted mother. For Hannah, to be a mother was a gift of blessing from God. However, in having Samuel, she discovered something far more valuable that bringing a life into the world, more significant than playing her part in the continuance of God’s creation through motherhood.

It is the song of a woman who discovered YHWH. Not in childbirth and motherhood, but in trust and confidence in the power of YHWH.

Today, we give thanks for our mother’s, those still with us, those we loved and miss, but if there is one thing that we must learn from them, it is to know and to trust in YHWH.