The Empty Womb Series

I ran across a list of different life experiences that can create stress, and amongst all these life experiences creating stress were these: Death of a spouse; Divorce; Being sentenced to Jail; Personal injury or illness; Being fired at work; Retirement; Pregnancy; and a change in financial circumstances.

Oddly enough, in that extensive list, there was no reference to the stress of a woman who was unable to get pregnant. It’s almost like it’s not THAT important an issue.

And yet, the Bible tells us several stories of the frustration. Women had who had trouble getting pregnant. There was Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and of course the woman in our story today: Hannah.

Commenting on that, one source I read: “During the biblical period, bearing children was highly valued and women’s primary role was that of mother.” (https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/barren-women-in-the-bible#:~:text=There%20are%20six%20stories%20of,of%20Shunem%2C%E2%80%9D%20also%20called%20the)

In other words – it was a big deal back then… but not so much now.

Well, apparently it STILL IS a big deal. As I searched the internet I ran across an article from a British woman named Jody Day. She gives TEDx talks to people on this very issue, and she says: “I’m a childless woman. And I’m here to tell you about my tribe – those one in five women without children hidden in plain sight all around you… Childless women have to wade through grief to get to that place, and many of them remain stuck in it for decades, maybe even for their whole lives.”

So, Jody Day began to reach out to women who have struggled with this. After she posted her first blogpost –the response was enormous. Her blog, “Gateway Women”, flourished into a huge online community, and then became a book for women struggling to find meaning in a life that was supposed to be filled with children. That blog developed into more than 100 Gateway Meetup groups for involuntarily childless women in Britain, and there are another 100 such websites all around world. In addition, she runs workshops for women struggling with childlessness. (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/02/the-desire-to-have-a-child-never-goes-away-how-the-involuntarily-childless-are-forming-a-new-movement)

On another website I read this: “The yearning to have children isn’t something you can turn on or off. Today and throughout history, there are many women who are living with this unmet natural craving, the untamed life force within that calls for us to reproduce and nurture our young. This natural hormonal feminine energy is passed down through our DNA. It is hard to escape... Women who are involuntarily childless are often quietly nursing a wounded heart, doubting their worthiness and questioning the meaning of life.” (https://alisoun.com/terms-involuntarily-childless/ )

The pain is real. The grief is real. And that is where we find Hannah… a woman who cannot have children. She nurses a wounded heart and she doubts her … worthiness. But in her pain and grief, she turns to God.

Now Hannah’s story is a little different than other women we may know. We’re told that Hannah couldn’t have children “because the LORD had closed her womb” 1 Samuel 1:6

ILLUS: I read a sermon by a one preacher who implied that God really didn’t close up her womb it was just one of those comments people make when they don’t know the cause of a tragedy or a natural disaster. In fact, on the news, when a tornado has swept through a town you’ll hear it called an… “act of God”. They don’t really think God caused the tornado. It’s just what people say… and this preacher said he didn’t think God caused Hannah’s womb to be closed

Now, I have a couple of problems with his conclusion: 1st - The Bible tells me “God closed up her womb.” It doesn’t say “Hannah THOUGHT God closed her womb.” Or that “her husband Elkanah thought…”; Or that “the people around her thought…”; It just says “God closed up her womb.”

Now, if the Bible tells me God closed her womb - that’s probably what happened.

2nd – the Bible only uses this phrase (closed a womb) one other time, and it happened way back in Genesis.

In the days of Abraham, the King of Gerar (Abimelech) had a nasty habit of killing men so that he could gain their wives for his harem. Apparently, Abraham’s wife (Sarah) was desirable, and since Abraham had no desire to be killed by the king, he passed Sarah off as his sister. And sure enough - Abimelech took her into his harem.

BUT before the King of Gerar can take Sarah to his bed, God appeared to him in a dream and explained the situation. He told Abimelech that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, that Abraham was His prophet, and that if the King ever touched Sarah – he was a dead man. This dream appropriately frightened the King and that he returned Sarah to Abraham and pled for Abraham pray for him.