1Samuel 1:2-7 “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. 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. And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. 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.”
Hannah was a woman that felt things very deeply. Elkanah’s other wife mocked her that she was childless and it stung for the Bible clearly teaches that it is God who openeth and closeth the womb. Psalms 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
There was the normal jealousy between women and I am sure that Penninnah reminded her that she did not have children as if she was defective or cursed. That is the way the mind and the tongue works.
Hannah pleaded with the LORD to give her a child and promised to lend him to the LORD for his entire life. God heard her and she bore Samuel who was the child of the promise that Eli made to her when he saw her anguish in the place of prayer.
In life we see people, especially mothers, who love their children and welcome each one of them into their life with joy. Not all do, though. In my past, I was a church planter, which means I went into areas that had not Bible teaching church and started one. Was there other churches? Yes, but they were filled with ceremony instead of scripture. They were a man made religion of works instead of grace.
In my life as a church planter I had to take a job to support myself and my rapidly expanding family. At one point I was a letter carrier and filled in for all the other carriers days off or their vacations. Now in any large city there are many people of less means than others in the suburbs. They gather in the inner city to take over the housing that the more affluent people left behind. Some call these slums, some call them depressed areas, some call them the projects. There are many names. I carried all the routes in the “inner city”, which is how I always spoke of them.
I saw mothers galore and children everywhere. With the state’s stand on welfare, the more children you had, the more money they gave you. Many a night I’d finish my route with a heavy heart because of what I had witnessed while carrying a inner city route. In many home in those areas, it was obvious that the only reason there were babies in the house was to increase their monthly check. The children were dirty, and many times completely uncared for. Many a time I heard a mother cursing at her child for simply being a child.
At a baccalaureate service, a couple of years ago I heard a conversation between two senior girls. One asked the other, “What are you going to do now that you are out of school?” I actually saw the twinkle in the eyes of the girl who was asked that. She replied in a deadpan voice, “I am going to have a baby and live on welfare.” The other girl’s shock at the answer was hilarious. Her mouth and eyes flew open to their maximum. It caused the other girl to laugh like crazy and I had to join in, but in many inner cities that is the only hope and expectation for young woman.
Hannah was not like that. She blessed the LORD for His gift of Samuel and at an early age, she brought him to the tabernacle and gave him to Eli the priest to raise in the LORD. As we continue to read in 1 Samuel we will see that he did a much better job with Samuel than he did with his own sons and Samuel became a prophet and judge over Israel.
Hannah wanted a child to love and care for, yet she honored her promise and gave him up. The LORD being a faithful and loving God allowed her womb to stay open and she had other children to love and nurture, yet she never forgot Samuel for each year at the time of sacrifice, she brought him new clothes she had had stitched for him.
How about you? Do you love your child enough to dedicate him or her to the LORD? Do you want them to be blessed of God or simply cared for. If you love your child, you will want the very best for them. Being a preacher, I am a little biased, but I am pretty sure that a life given to God is a life well spent as they live that life for God.
