Posted: 2/23/06
BaptistWay Bible Series for March 5
Replace dispair over circumstances with faith
• 1 Samuel 1
By Joseph Matos
Dallas Baptist University, Dallas
Writers typically know the end of their books from the beginning; however, readers, on their first reading at least, are not so fortunate. Seldom do they know the impact, consequences or implications of single events in the total storyline until the story begins to unfold. However, whether upon reading later in the narrative or upon a rereading of the text altogether, a reader will be able to say, “I see where this is going.”
The same is true for the books of the Bible. The titles 1 and 2 Samuel in the Hebrew (and English) Bible suggest someone named Samuel will be a key figure in what the author(s) meant as records of a nation’s history.
This national focus is even more overt in the Greek titles to these books, 1 and 2 Kingdoms. They recount the transition from the period of a loose confederation in the time of the judges to the time of the united monarchy.
Samuel indeed will play a key role in this transition. The opening chapter of 1 Samuel begins not with “the state of the tribes,” but with the plight of an individual, Hannah, a woman who, though dearly loved by her husband, was childless, and, consequently, in personal despair. What, a reader might ask, does this have to do with Israel as a whole?
As we read on, and as the author(s) intended, we find this narrative, while very personal and individual in nature, will have great significance for Israel. In fact, this is quite a common theme in the Bible. For though the Bible records the history of God’s dealings with a people, that history often is related through his dealings in the lives of specific people.
In this regard, the account of the childless Hannah is not unique. Prior to this, we encounter Sarah, Rachel and, in a period closer to that of Hannah’s, Manoah’s wife and Samson’s mother, all of whom were childless at first. In these seemingly impossible, and individual, circumstances, God worked to create (Sarah), grow (Rachel) and preserve (Manoah’s wife) a people.
Likewise, in the present circumstance, not only does the plight of Hannah parallel the unstable condition of Israel—the future of each appears uncertain—but furthermore, God’s bringing hope to Hannah will affect the future of Israel.
Hannah's situation was bleak. She and Penninah both were married to Elkanah. However, only Penninah bore Elkanah any (and many) children (v. 4). Hannah, however, remained childless.
Although Elkanah loved Hannah dearly, as is evidenced by his giving her a double portion of the meat when the family made the yearly trek to Shiloh, he could not relate to her struggle. Elkanah, in what appears to be a genuine attempt to console Hannah, asked, “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (v. 8).
In addition to bearing the cultural stigma of barrenness, Hannah had to endure constant ridicule from Penninah, her rival (vv. 6-7). Adding insult to injury, on one occasion at Shiloh, when Hannah prayed fervently to the Lord about her situation, Eli, the priest, completely misunderstood her actions and accused her of being drunk.
All of this brought Hannah down. She was so grief stricken, she refused to eat or drink anything.
The text vividly describes her feelings. She prayed “in bitterness of soul” with much weeping (v. 10), and in her prayer, Hannah referred to her “misery” (v. 11). In defending her actions to Eli, Hannah called herself “a woman who is deeply troubled” and her prayer was out of her “great anguish and grief” (vv. 15-16).
Truly, Hannah was at the bottom and in deep despair. But the text also gives us a clue to Hannah’s trust in the Lord. After all, she “prayed to the Lord” (v. 10).
Hannah asked God to “remember” her (v. 11) by giving her a son. Her heart also is revealed in this prayer, for she did not ask for a son whom she could keep for herself. Rather, if the Lord would be so inclined as to grant her this desire, she vowed to dedicate this son to the Lord’s service, not for a brief period of time, but “for all the days of his life” (v. 11). In addition, she would dedicate this son from birth to be a Nazirite, whose hair would never be cut.
As mentioned, it was during this prayer that Eli misunderstood Hannah’s actions. But once he received the facts, Eli’s tenor changed. Whether Eli promised God would hear Hannah’s prayer or only offered blessings that such would be the case, Hannah responded to Eli’s words in a further act of trust in the Lord. “Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast” (v. 18).
Hannah returned home, was wife to Elkanah, and “the Lord remembered her” so that “in the course of time” she conceived and had a son (vv. 19-20). She named the child Samuel, because the Lord heard her. Hannah made good on her word, presenting the child to Eli at Shiloh. When Hannah reminded Eli who she was and how the Lord had answered her prayer, he worshipped the Lord, and Hannah sang.
The birth of Samuel brought hope to Hannah and, as we read on, would evidentially demonstrate God was working in Israel.
Discussion questions
• What is causing you despair right now?
• Do you trust God to bring you hope?
• What would be the lasting effects in your home, church, even in the kingdom of God, if he were to bring you hope from despair?
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