Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this the first day of December!
When you turn the calendar to December what happens with your emotions? Does joy well up because it’s Christmas month? Does anxiety rise up because you have so much to do and so little time? I love December but the truth is all around you and me are people who may have a ‘December smile’ on their face but it’s hiding a breaking heart.
Come with me back to Shiloh, about 1100bc and a woman named Hannah. She has come to the place of worship with her husband and family. But as they worship and eat their festival meal, there is joy and celebration with some people, but Hannah’s lonely heart is breaking. Oh she’d give anything to have children, but alas, after several years of trying, she remains unable to get pregnant for reasons known only to God.
Look, Hannah is rising up from the festival meal, wiping her eyes, not her mouth, and going to a quiet place to pray. Eli the old High Priest is watching her. 1 Samuel 1:10 says: “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, ‘O LORD God Almighty, if You will only look upon Your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget Your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
As you watch dear Hannah cry out to God for a son, can you feel her pain, her deep disappointment that she remains childless? Do you hear in her words anger or bitterness or resentment against God? I don’t. I hear respect for God, admiration for God, a willing submission to whatever Sovereign God has planned for her.
But I also hear a genuine appeal from an empty heart longing to be a mother. I imagine all around the world this cry is rising up this holiday season from many women who long to experience their own pregnancy. But do you also see Hannah has reached such a point of desperation that if God would hear her cry and bless her with a son, Hannah vows that she would treat her son as a “Nazarite“, (Numbers 6) by not cutting his hair, keeping him from any contact with any dead body, and giving him over in total consecration to God for all his life! It’s a remarkable vow of consecration to God flowing up from a heart of profound love for God, but also a deep love to be mother of not just any ordinary son, but a son consecrated to be used by God for a holy purpose.
As Hannah wept and prayed, I imagine she expected High Priest Eli or one of his sons, or another priest might come to comfort her and pray with her, but alas, sometimes even spiritual leaders disappoint people. The record says: “As Hannah kept praying to the LORD, Eli observed her. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.” (1 Sam. 1:12,13) I’m sure we’ve all done this, haven’t we?
In fact, you may pray silently like this very often. What happened next is sad but reflects how all too often people jump to wrong conclusions. “Eli thought Hannah was drunk and he said to her, ‘How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
I wonder what you do my friends, when people say dumb, even stupid or wounding things to you? In her grief Hannah was I’m sure first so shocked that the High Priest would be so insensitive to her pain and so confused about her deep soul praying. But when finally Hannah collected her thoughts, I believe her response to Eli the High Priest, is a true reflection of her tender heart in which God was working that day: “Not so my lord, I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking any fermented drink; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” (1 Sam. 1:14-16)
I’m sure you’ve probably known some people in your lifetime who simply cannot admit when they are wrong, nor do they know how to ask genuinely for forgiveness when they know they’ve hurt someone. This is especially disturbing when this character failure is in a leader, particularly a spiritual leader. Eli failed Hannah and her husband badly, shamefully.
The record of Eli’s response is: “Go in peace and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.’ Hannah replied, ‘May your servant find favor in your eyes.’ Then she went her way and ate something, her face was no longer downcast.” (1 Sam. 1:17,18) Perhaps Eli had a reputation of being insensitive to people, maybe he was an ‘all business’ type of guy, but I see no regret for his hurtful comment toward praying Hannah. Like too many men who have wounded a woman by words or actions, I see Eli anxious to bring this encounter to an end and move on to other people or other things.
At least he pronounced a blessing over Hannah, and evidently that was enough for her on this day, for she returned to the table and tears no longer were running down her cheeks. While the record does not even give us a hint, I wonder what Eli was thinking as Hannah walked away that day? Did he ask God to forgive him for his accusing words spoken in haste to a grieving woman in prayer? Did Eli ask God to please bless the dear woman walking away from him now?
This statement summarizes the next day, the next several months, and God’s response to Hannah’s prayer, all in a few words: “Early the next morning they arose and worshipped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah.” I love that simple but powerful statement. It tells me they did what David celebrates and evidently did often as he wrote in Psalm 5:3… “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and I wait in expectation.”
As Elkanah, Hannah, Peninnah and her children walked down the road leaving Shiloh behind and heading back home to Ramah, only God knew what He was planning to do next. This phrase summarizes the work of God over the next few months: “Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife and the LORD remembered her. So, in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel saying, ‘Because I asked the LORD for him.” (1 Sam. 1:19,20) Oh my! As we saw with Noami and Ruth, now we see God again bring great, overflowing joy to the broken but hopeful heart of this dear woman Hannah. I cannot imagine what a great day of celebration it was as Elkanah and Hannah consecrated their son to God through the Covenant mark of Circumcision and the anointing of him with that name “Samuel“.
Also, I presume both Elkanah and Hannah repeated their Nazarite vow to God assuring God they would do all they could to help their son live a consecrated, God honoring life. Oh it must have been a wonderful day of celebration. On that day, only God knew the plan He had for that boy and all Israel, and why, 3000 years later, we would hold Samuel in such high honor for the God honoring life he lived.
Tomorrow we’ll see how that journey began, but for today, I urge you to consider how God stands ready to work in your life circumstances, even the very difficult ones? And here’s a special worship song to help us consider that, my friends…
Today’s Scripture is 1 Samuel 1:9-20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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