"O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life...."
I have read Hannah's words from 1 Samuel 1 many times, and have been in awe of this woman of great faith. But recently I have been studying this book with some dear friends, and I have been completely reintroduced to and humbled by this precious woman of faith. She is such an example for all of us.
Hannah's story is recounted in I Samuel 1 and 2. Her heart was breaking, because she had been unable to have hear heart's desire...a child. What did Hannah do with her anguish and suffering? She did what the Lord tells us to do. She brought it to Him and laid her soul bare. She brought her petition to Him and asked Him to act on her behalf. But it is what she said after her request that I have had to revisit.
"Lord give me a child, so I can turn right around and give him back to you."
Yeah....no...that is NOT what I would have said. I think my words would have stopped with the request.....or maybe I would have added another request or two....
Some people think Hannah was bargaining with God. I don't think so. Yes, Hannah made a vow... a promise...but I don't think it was Hannah bargaining. I think Hannah's heart had been prepared for the special purpose this child would have, and the beginning of that purpose would only be fulfilled if she was willing to release him before she had even received him.
We can see Hannah had great faith in God when she came to Him with her petition. Her prayer was not just going through the motions. She trusted that God could answer her prayer. Why? Because she clearly knew Who God is. She addressed Him as Yehovah tsaba'....Yehovah meaning Supreme God...Existing One. Tsaba' meaning of the whole creation...of the sun and moon...of the angels and their armies. She knew when she was praying Who she had an audience with. She was very aware of whose ear she had. But I think Hannah's understanding went deeper than this.
When we are given the gift of a child, we are given the most precious of stewardships. What an awesome gift and responsibility it is. It is such a blessing and honor to raise your child....to be given the commission of loving them, caring for them and raising them to love and know the Lord. We are called to be a godly example for them to model their lives after. The Lord's desire is for our children to come to know Him personally, love Him, and live for Him. We are called to raise them to seek God's will for their lives, for He has made each of us for a special purpose.
Hannah knew this child, who had not yet been conceived, had a specific purpose. That said, I am pretty sure she had no idea that he would be the last judge (not counting Jesus) of Israel, the first national prophet, and the priest who would anoint the first two kings of Israel, King Saul and King David.
Hannah may not have known the details, but Hannah knew she was to release the child she would be given by the Lord. She was to release him to the Lord, and she knew she had to release this child much sooner than any of us could ever imagine releasing one of our children. She and her husband would not be the ones teaching their child. They would not be the ones tucking him in at night. They would not be the ones giving him comfort when he was lonely, hurt, or confused. This would not the role Hannah and Elkanah were to have.
Hannah knew she was to give this child back to the One whom he belonged.
When I have thought of this in the past, I have thought.... how heartbreaking for a mother to release her little boy.... it would be so hard to do that....and to say goodbye....BUT what comfort she must have had. She knew she would be leaving her precious little boy at the tabernacle of the Lord with the high priest Eli. What comfort and security a mother could take in that, knowing your little guy was in the holiest place in Israel.
This time it hit me....WAIT!!! OH NO!!!! She was leaving him at the tabernacle!!!
There is a detail in 1 Samuel 1:3 the writer of Samuel wants to make sure we know going into this account of Hannah and Samuel. The verse tells us Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were at the tabernacle. Good, right? More godly men for Samuel to model himself after. Nothing could be further from the truth. I knew about Eli's sons, but I never thought about it with regards to Samuel.
Hannah's story is recounted in I Samuel 1 and 2. Her heart was breaking, because she had been unable to have hear heart's desire...a child. What did Hannah do with her anguish and suffering? She did what the Lord tells us to do. She brought it to Him and laid her soul bare. She brought her petition to Him and asked Him to act on her behalf. But it is what she said after her request that I have had to revisit.
"Lord give me a child, so I can turn right around and give him back to you."
Yeah....no...that is NOT what I would have said. I think my words would have stopped with the request.....or maybe I would have added another request or two....
Some people think Hannah was bargaining with God. I don't think so. Yes, Hannah made a vow... a promise...but I don't think it was Hannah bargaining. I think Hannah's heart had been prepared for the special purpose this child would have, and the beginning of that purpose would only be fulfilled if she was willing to release him before she had even received him.
We can see Hannah had great faith in God when she came to Him with her petition. Her prayer was not just going through the motions. She trusted that God could answer her prayer. Why? Because she clearly knew Who God is. She addressed Him as Yehovah tsaba'....Yehovah meaning Supreme God...Existing One. Tsaba' meaning of the whole creation...of the sun and moon...of the angels and their armies. She knew when she was praying Who she had an audience with. She was very aware of whose ear she had. But I think Hannah's understanding went deeper than this.
When we are given the gift of a child, we are given the most precious of stewardships. What an awesome gift and responsibility it is. It is such a blessing and honor to raise your child....to be given the commission of loving them, caring for them and raising them to love and know the Lord. We are called to be a godly example for them to model their lives after. The Lord's desire is for our children to come to know Him personally, love Him, and live for Him. We are called to raise them to seek God's will for their lives, for He has made each of us for a special purpose.
Hannah knew this child, who had not yet been conceived, had a specific purpose. That said, I am pretty sure she had no idea that he would be the last judge (not counting Jesus) of Israel, the first national prophet, and the priest who would anoint the first two kings of Israel, King Saul and King David.
Hannah may not have known the details, but Hannah knew she was to release the child she would be given by the Lord. She was to release him to the Lord, and she knew she had to release this child much sooner than any of us could ever imagine releasing one of our children. She and her husband would not be the ones teaching their child. They would not be the ones tucking him in at night. They would not be the ones giving him comfort when he was lonely, hurt, or confused. This would not the role Hannah and Elkanah were to have.
Hannah knew she was to give this child back to the One whom he belonged.
When I have thought of this in the past, I have thought.... how heartbreaking for a mother to release her little boy.... it would be so hard to do that....and to say goodbye....BUT what comfort she must have had. She knew she would be leaving her precious little boy at the tabernacle of the Lord with the high priest Eli. What comfort and security a mother could take in that, knowing your little guy was in the holiest place in Israel.
This time it hit me....WAIT!!! OH NO!!!! She was leaving him at the tabernacle!!!
There is a detail in 1 Samuel 1:3 the writer of Samuel wants to make sure we know going into this account of Hannah and Samuel. The verse tells us Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were at the tabernacle. Good, right? More godly men for Samuel to model himself after. Nothing could be further from the truth. I knew about Eli's sons, but I never thought about it with regards to Samuel.
Samuel 2:12 tells us Eli's sons were sons of Belial and they did not know the Lord. Sons of Belial means wickedness...sons of the devil. Here they are serving in the tabernacle and they did not know the Lord. First Samuel 2 touches on their sins and evil behavior. They stole sacrifices from the Lord. They turned the tabernacle of the Lord into their own private brothel, using women who came to serve at the doorway of the tent. How Eli, as their father and as the high priest, did or didn't deal with them needs a post of its own.
Hannah knew about the sons of Eli. The people of Israel knew what was going on in Shiloh. They knew of the wicked acts of Eli's sons. And this is were Hannah's little boy would be raised. This is where she promised to leave him. This is where I sat up and took notice of Hannah in a whole new light. Hannah TRUSTED God. Hannah did not compartmentalize God or try to make Him fit what she would be capable of doing. Hannah, by releasing Samuel to God, was trusting He would protect and care for her son. She was acknowledging the absolute power of God. She knew no matter what the surrounding circumstances may look like, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was Who was in control...Who was caring for and ensuring her little boy was protected and raised to love and honor the Lord. She was turning the parenting over to God. Oh, how God honored her faith.
If you study the life of Samuel, it is precious to see this man of God, who when the time came to release the reigns of being Israel's judge, was able to stand before the nation and ask if anyone could accuse him of ever abusing his position or authority. No one could. Samuel, like his mother, showed throughout his life what a prayer warrior he was. He took any crisis or concern immediately to the Lord. I picture Samuel as a little toddler watching his precious mama on her knees for hours on end, pouring out her heart to the Lord.
What an example for us. I can't tell you how many times I am challenged to trust the Lord with things, and I will think, "Yes, but what about this..." or "What about that..", as if maybe God will miss something if I turn things over to Him.
What a precious comfort for us to know, no matter what the situation is, we can turn it over the Lord. He is Yehovah Tsaba'. We just need to trust, pray, and release it to the Lord. It is not the what, where, how or why of a situation..it is the WHO. Who are we placing our trust in? Whose hands do we place our lives in?
Hannah has given me such a wonderful picture of what absolute trust in the Lord looks like. It is just as true for us as it was for Hannah...no matter what the circumstances, whether it is kids.. our spouse... parents.... siblings... friends... work... loneliness... heartache... despair.... whatever it is. We need to trust, obey....and release.
Such good words, Virginia...the release is the hard part. I'll keep trying to look to and trust in "the WHO" I am releasing my life to. Love you, dear, deep friend!
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