1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2:1-2, 18-21, 26
Daring Devotion
In my research this week, I was able to uncover some words from mothers of very important people in history:
COLUMBUS'S MOTHER: I don't care what you've discovered, Christopher. You could have written.
MICHELANGELO'S MOTHER: Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?
NAPOLEON'S MOTHER: All right, Napoleon. If you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it.
GOLDILOCKS'S MOTHER: I've got a bill here for a broken chair from the Bear family. Do you know anything about this, Goldie?
ALBERT EINSTEIN'S MOTHER: But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?
THOMAS EDISON'S MOTHER: Of course I'm proud you invented the electric light bulb, Thomas. Now turn off that light and get to bed!
HUMPTY DUMPTY'S MOTHER: Humpty, If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? No!
(http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/saints/mothers_day_jokes.htm)
Today let’s look at the mother of another famous person. This mother literally gave her son away. What kind of mother does that? Actually, Hannah is one of the great heroes of the Old Testament, and she plays a similar role to a woman in the New Testament. Just before the birth of Jesus, the elderly Elizabeth miraculously gave birth to John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for the coming King of kings. Likewise, in today’s story, the barren Hannah miraculously gave birth to Samuel, the great prophet who would appoint the first and second kings of Israel.
Even though Hannah gave her son away, she never stopped being a mother to him. Hannah brought gifts every year to Samuel. But even more than the special clothing items she made, Hannah imparted to Samuel gifts of character. She gave him a heart for prayer, a heart for praise, and a heart for service. Consider each of these. First, Hannah gave Samuel ...
1. A heart for prayer. Before Samuel, Hannah was barren. She could not have children. And for a young married Jewish woman, this was the worst. Even though her husband was kind to her, Hannah carried an emptiness that Elkanah could not fill. Oh, how Peninah, the other wife, ridiculed her. Talk about bullies! In today’s scripture Hannah was so upset that she left the feast and went to the Tabernacle to pray alone. She prayed a promise to God: “If you give me a son, I’ll give him back to you.” Verse 13 says, “Hannah was praying in her heart.” In fact, she was praying so fervently that the local priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. Hannah explained that she had not had any wine, but that she was desperate for God. Eli told her, “God will answer your prayer,” and she left there, walking by faith with her chin high, believing that God would indeed come through for her.
The Ryrie Study Bible notes, “Hannah left behind her grief, not when her circumstances changed—they hadn’t—but after she poured out her soul to the Lord. Because of her grief, she connected with the Lord on a level she had never known.” Please don’t doubt that some of your greatest accomplishments may come from times when you are absolutely desperate for God. Charles Stanley quips, “Fight all your battles on your knees and you win every time.”
Hannah conceived her baby not long after. No doubt Hannah often told her precious son the story of his miraculous birth, evidence that God hears our prayers. And when Samuel was around three years old, the weaning age back then, Hannah brought him to stay with the elderly priest Eli. Sometime later, the young lad, Samuel, maybe 4 or 5 now, was trying to sleep one night, but kept hearing a voice in the night. He kept thinking it was Eli speaking to him. But finally Eli said, “Next time you hear the voice, say, ‘Yes, Lord, here I am your servant.’ And then listen carefully to what he says.” That was when Samuel discovered a God who communicates through prayer. (1 Samuel 3)
Samuel had been raised by a mother who took God seriously, so he developed a strong prayer life like his mom. As the little boy grew, the end of chapter 3 tells us, “The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word” (1 Samuel 3:21). As Samuel prayed and read God’s word, God showed up! A few chapters later, we see all of Israel threatened with mass destruction by the Philistine Army. They begged Samuel the man to pray for the nation. So he did. 1 Samuel 7:9 says, “He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.”
That thirst for prayer would do Samuel well later in life when God guided him where to find Saul, the first king of Israel, and after that, when God showed him which one of Jesse’s sons would become the next king of Israel. How important was it for Samuel in that moment to listen clearly to God? Very! And because he did, he anointed the young shepherd boy David to become the next king of Israel.
Hannah passed on to Samuel a heart for prayer, fervently depending upon God. She also gave him ...
2. A heart for praise. We know that Hannah had a heart for praise because of the name she chose for her miracle child. “Samuel” in Hebrew means “heard by God.” Hannah was so thankful that God had heard her prayer. Every time she called Samuel’s name, she would remember how the Lord had listened to her, and her heart would grow in praise. She was so thankful, in fact, that she kept her vow to give Samuel back to the One who gave him to her.
Immediately after she returned him to God, Hannah worshiped God. What an amazing attitude after giving up her only son! And in her worship, she left us with a very powerful psalm in the process. It is so significant, in fact, that thousands of years later, the virgin Mary would use parts of it in her own psalm of praise, after she was told she would birth the Messiah. Hannah began her psalm with the words, “My heart rejoices in the Lord.” What an unusual response following her sacrifice. Yet, Hannah knew what the best parents learn, that her child ultimately belongs to the Lord. Children are only on loan to us for a time. We invest in them, and pray for them, and so quickly they are all grown and gone. And all we can do is thank God for the opportunity we had to shape their lives.
Hannah gave Samuel a heart for prayer and a heart for praise, and lastly, she gave him ...
3. A heart for service. Hannah served God first and foremost by offering up her miracle son to a life of service. She told Elkanah she would stay home with him until her son was weaned. Perhaps she didn’t trust herself to make the round-trip pilgrimage to the Tabernacle with her son, so she waited until he was old enough to live apart from her. When he reached that age, she took him to live with the elderly priest and serve God for the rest of his life.
And Samuel caught the lesson of service. Chapter 2, verse 11 tells us, “Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.” His proud mother even made him a little ephod, a priestly outfit (verse 18). Every year she would bring him a robe one size larger (verse 19). The Lord blessed Hannah with several more children—you can never out give God, after all. But she always remembered her little priest. And verse 26 tells us, “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.”
In fact, Samuel would become the last judge of Israel and the first of the great prophets. He would anoint the first two kings of Israel. Samuel would become so famous that whole towns quaked in fear when he arrived. They knew he spoke for God and his words carried the power of God. And it all started with a mother who sought the Lord, who praised the Lord, who served the Lord.
Hannah never held a public office. She had no leadership role other than with her children. She didn’t even pray out loud. Yet, God used her sufferings—her harassment, her barrenness, her depression—and brought about his plans in his timing. Hannah’s praise reflects trust in God’s plan, through thick and thin, in good times and bad. And we would do well to follow her example. Let us pray...
Lord, thank you for this shining example of persistent faith, a woman named Hannah who became an awesome mother even as she gave up her child to you. Help us to pray like Hannah, with fervent dependence upon you. Help us to praise like Hannah, to thank you regardless of the outcome, and to learn to thank you in advance of the blessing. And help us to serve like Hannah, to find ways to honor you as we serve one another. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
