1 Sam 1:2-20
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.
20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.
Read a sign that said, “Drink coffee, do stupid things faster!” I done had 5 cups this morning.
In 1937 architect Frank Lloyd Wright built a house for industrialist Hibbard Johnson. One rainy evening Johnson was entertaining distinguished guests for dinner when the roof began to leak.
The water seeped through directly above Johnson himself, dripping steadily onto his bald head. Irate, he called Wright in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Frank,” he said, “you built this beautiful house for me and we enjoy it very much. But … the roof leaks, and right now I am with some friends and distinguished guests and it is leaking right on top of my head.”
There was a pause on the line, and Frank Lloyd Wright reportedly replied: “Well, Hib, why don’t you move your chair?”
Fred and Luke were standing in the road holding a sign that said "The End is Near! Turn around before it's too late!". One driver didn't appreciate the sign, and as he flew by them, he shouted, "Get out of the road you religious nuts!" A few seconds later they heard a big crash. Fred looked over at Luke and said, "Do you think we should just make a sign that says: 'Bridge Out' instead?"
Let me tell you why I became a minister of the Gospel. Here are some of the reasons that came to me:
• I became a minister so I wouldn't have to work more than one day a week.
• I became a minister because of the "big bucks" I earn.
• I became a minister because of the free house I get with utilities.
• I became a minister because then I have everyone kissing up to me.
• I became a minister because I have an overdeveloped ego that needs constant stroking.
• I became a minister so I can yell at people and tell them how bad and sinful they really are.
If any of these are the real reason I became a pastor – then I am in trouble and you are too.
There was this older man who would go to the altars and cry out to God, "Fill me again, Lord." He would get blessed and get all excited and then after a few weeks he would be back in the world. Over and over he came back. "Fill me again, O Lord." Finally, one little Grandma got tired of it. When He Cried out, "fill me again, Lord." She yelled out, "Don't fill him Lord. He leaks."
Folks, the sad thing is, we all leak, we were saved, sanctified, and satisfied. Day after day, we were thankful for what we had became satisfied with less and less, until the world crept in, and the spirit of God had slowly leaked out.
Other gods, had taken priority over the one true living God. We want more, but sadly, we have become satisfied with less, until one day, there will be no more passion, no more praise, and no more prayer from His people. And folks, when the passion, the praise, and the prayer goes – so does the power.
Folks, if we are going to keep the Devil out of our lives, and out of our church, we can be thankful for what we have but be satisfied with less.
How strange this text is for this preacher, at this place, in this time in the life of the Church. Did you hear where Hannah went to pray? At Shiloh! After the northern temple at Shiloh. We know about the temple at Jerusalem, but there was another one, for a time, at Shiloh. The town where it is said that God rested after creating the Universe. Shiloh which means "Tranquility".
But all is not tranquil at Shiloh, since Hannah is troubled; and if we are honest so are we. Hannah has no children, and she disparately wants to have at least one.
This is the story of Hannah and her desire for children. Every Hebrew woman longed to give birth to a male child, for since the time when Eve was given the promise of a Seed who would come from woman, there was a possibility that every son born could be the Messiah or in His line.
To make matters worse, Elkanah, her husband, has married a second wife. In her culture this was permissible, especially when one's first wife produced no children. So Hannah lives childless, with a younger wife who is fertile; the younger wife's name even means "fertility". And to top it off, the younger wife hates Hannah. She mocks her for not having children; she is a rival, even an enemy of Hannah. Could life be much worse?
You put two women in the same house; you're going to have trouble anyway. Now you put two women in the same house and have the husband love one of them, and you're going to have a lot of trouble. And if the husband happens to love the one who has no children, the one who has children will really mock the one who doesn't because that's how she'll get back at the husband. And that's what happened. And, of course, Hannah was a lovely, sensitive person and so it says, "And as he did so year by year when she went up to the house of the Lord, so Peninnah provoked her, therefore she wept and did not eat. Then said Elkanah, her husband, to her...Hannah, why weepest thou, and eatest thou not, and why is thy heart grieved and not I better to thee than ten sons?" See, he knew why she was crying, she was crying cause she couldn't have a child because he would hear Peninnah really laying that stuff on her. But he said, "Am I not enough, Hannah?"
It could; did you notice her husband's feeble attempt at comforting her. "Am I not worth 10 sons?" NO your not!? And it's not about you Elkanah! He at least might have said, "Hannah, YOU are worth more than 10 sons to me."
The barrenness of Hannah is especially difficult when they make the trek to the temple at Shiloh for their yearly offering and worship. It obviously is a joyous family affair, with gifts and celebration. Times like this are often difficult for the barren,
Giving a worthy portion, or we could translate it a double portion, was usually a gesture in the East and the Orient for an honored guest, a preferred guest. Elkanah loved her in a special way and his love was her security. You know, there are some women who are very jealous, very, very jealous and they even panic over women who are not in the household. Can you imagine what it would be like for your husband to also be married to someone else who was having all his children? Now I'll tell you, a woman who could tolerate that is a woman of great grace and understanding and forgiveness. And that's the kind of woman she was.
You see Hannah was very thankful for her husband’s love, his double portion that he would give her. She appreciated all the nice things that he would buy her, she was thankful for everything, but she was not satisfied.
I just heard the men of the church murmur, “Sounds just like a typical woman.
Give them everything, and they still want more.
William Law said, “For it is certain that whatever calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing.”
If we develop a habit of being thankful at all times, we will open the door so God can provide divine assistance during life’s tragedies and disappointments.
But for the human, thankfulness does not come easily; thankfulness is actually against our very nature. In fact the habit of thankfulness is a learned behavior on the part of the Christian…we must develop this habit by ‘learning how to do it.’
The first thing is that when disappointment or tragedy does come our way our first reaction is to complain and be depressed. I know that is my initial reaction to distressing news.
However, instead of reacting with complaining and depression, we need to take inventory of the things for which we can be thankful!
I agree with you, we must be thankful in all things, we shouldn’t complain, we shouldn’t throw fits, I agree!!
But her double blessings weren’t enough to satisfy.
So there was Hannah in a hard place to raise a child, in a hard place to be secure, in a divided family and yet she had a right relationship to her husband because they shared worship, and they shared love and those two things eliminated conflict. Now I don't care what the conflict around you is, there's no circumstance that is so severe that a shared love of God and a shared love of each other can't overcome it.
The first thing then about a godly woman is she has a right husband relationship. The second one, she has a right heavenly relationship...she has a right heavenly relationship. When she has a problem she doesn't lash out at her husband, when she has a problem she doesn't lash out at her adversary, Peninnah, she doesn't lash out at the children in the house, she doesn't lose her cool all around, she goes directly to whom? To the Lord.
Listen, ladies, not only do you need a right heavenly, or rather a right husband relationship but a right heavenly one, too. It's needful that when you have some problem you go to the Lord with it. She vowed a vow, she said, "O Lord of hosts, O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt..." and she began to pray.
Now what do we see in this right heavenly relationship? Number one, she had a passion for God's best...she had a passion for God's best. And you know what God's best was? Children, children...the fact that she didn't have children she felt...meant that she didn't have God's best. Children are an heritage from the Lord. She says in verse 11, "If You'll just look on my affliction and remember me and not forget me," and all of that means...give me a child, give me a child, give me a child. That's why she wept, she had a passion for God's best.
You say, "Are children God's best?" Absolutely. People say, "Oh, I don't know if I want to bring a child into this world." This world is no worse than that one was for her. They are an heritage from the Lord. They are a blessing. She was not selfish. She didn't want a child so she could prove her womanhood. She didn't want a child so she could show them off to everybody. She wanted a child because she believed that a child was God's best gift. She was willing to accept the responsibility. I say curse abortions for those are God's best gift. A truly godly mother is not a reluctant mother. A truly godly mother is one with a passion for children, who sees them as a gift from God, a fulfillment of the divine intention for woman, not to indulge yourself and not to prove her womanhood but because they are God's best gift.
This is where Shiloh is at, if we tell the truth. We long for children; yes we have children, but, I mean, we long that its mission will have a future. We no longer have a strong core of volunteers, seems like only the 3 or 4 same people volunteer week after week to do the churches bidding, the endowment funds are drying up. Our building, despite to the best efforts of a few, needs more than we can provide. We no longer have a Sunday school of 30 plus kids, although we still have a small youth group, although it is not as strong as a couple of years ago, because of a bunch of adults couldn’t keep their mouths shut. Being an honest pastor, I suspect the talk is not whether we have a future but how long we can survive.
The church was never meant to just survive and just barely make it along, and crawl at a snail’s pace.
There is an old saying that we said when someone was making fun of our hand me down clothes, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, that was a lie, because I got off of the school bus plenty of times and go to my room and cry from the hurtful things that were said.
I am very thankful for where God has brought this church to. We went from the side road to the front road, and I do not believe he brought us here, to run 30 people, but I believe that this church could be greatest soul saving station in Arkansas. That’s why this morning you can be thankful, but you cannot be satisfied.
And yet, if this text about Shiloh is true, and I think it is, might we not cry out to God for a future? Should we not pour out our desires before God and ask, trusting in hope that God will respond. You see, the truth about Churches is that they often are the most faithful when they are in situations like Shiloh. Gone is trusting in full Sunday Schools, full pews, and full bank accounts; gone is self reliance and being able to plan our own futures. Where else is left that we turn to but to God's power to provide a future.
And like Hannah, and a host of others, it is when we get to "the end of our own ropes" and we have to "let go" and fall into an uncertain future or even what looks like our death, that God can begin to use us.
Every time you pray, it costs you something. Effective prayer cost Hannah something. Hannah was intense, childless, and completely committed.
