Meditation on 1 Samuel 1: 1 - 2:11 (selected verses)
Bible Translation by Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg
& J.S. Bowden
Merritt Island Presbyterian Church
Nov. 15, 2015
1:1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim, of the
Zuphites, of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of
Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two
wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. And
Penninah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city
to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons
of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were priests of the Lord. 4 Now there was a day
when Elkanah sacrificed. And he used to give portions to Penninah his wife and
to all her sons and daughters, 5 but he would give Hannah one portion, the
portion of the face, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her
womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her sorely, to humiliate here, because
the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year; as often as she
went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah
wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, ‘Hannah, who
do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more
to you than 10 sons?” 9 But Hannah rose, after they had eaten the boiled meat
and had drunk, and went before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his
seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply
distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow
and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of the
maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to
thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his
life and no razor shall touch his head.’ 12 As she continued praying before the
Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her
lips moved, and her voice was not heard; therefore Eli took her to be a drunken
woman. 14 And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you be drunken? Put away your
wine from you. 15 But Hannah answered, ‘No, my Lord, I am only a woman sorely
troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring
out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman,
for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation. 17
Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition
which you have made of him.’ 18 And she said, ‘Let your maidservant find favor
in your eyes.’
Then the woman
went her way and ate with her husband and drank, and her countenance was no
longer sad. 19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord,
then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkhanah knew Hanah his wife,
and the Lord remembered her; and Hannah conceived, and in due time bore a son,
and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’
21 And the man Elkhana and all his house went up (again) to offer to the Lord
the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannak did not go up, for she
said to her husband, (I will remain here) until the child is weaned; then I
will bring him to see the face of the Lord and abide there for ever…
24 And when
she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a 3-year-old bull, an
ephah of flour, and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of the
Lord at Shiloh, although the child was still young. Then they slew the bull,
and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh, my Lord! As you live,
my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the
Lord. 27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me my petition which
I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives,
he is lent to the Lord. And they worshiped the Lord there…
2:11 And they
left him there before the Lord and went home to Ramah.
***
I enjoyed a lovely walk in my neighborhood
yesterday morning before I began work on my sermon. The walk was soothing for
me, a healing balm. I was hurting from an argument I had had with my mother the
day before. I was having trouble letting the hurt go. I needed God’s help.
I listened for His voice in
the breeze that whispered through the palms. I felt God’s love in the warmth of
the sun on my back. I remembered what God has done for me, giving me hope and
the promise of new and abundant life, as I trust Him each day. And as I submit
to Him. I remembered my gratitude--the foundation of our faith -- and the grace
that God has shown me. I gave Him my thanks and praise.
I thought about Hannah in 1
Samuel and how she persevered through years of hurt and disappointment. She
continued to seek God’s presence and trust in Him. Then one day, after she
shared the longings of her heart, “pouring out her soul to the Lord,” she
experienced a dramatic transformation.
Her sadness was turned to joy.
***
We who have struggled with
conflict and hurt in our families are inspired by the example of Hannah,
“sorely provoked” and “humiliated” by Penninah, her husband, Elkanah’s, other
wife. Yes, it was common for a man to have more than one wife in Biblical
times. This was a way the community looked after its members. Widows were given in marriage to brothers or
other kin of the deceased. When there were no other offers of marriage to an
“old maid,” she was sometimes given in marriage to her sister’s husband, such
as when Laban gave his daughter, Rachel, and her less attractive, nearsighted,
older sister, Leah, to be Jacob’s wives. Having more than one wife helped to ensure
the survival of the family, for children often died young; mothers frequently
died in childbirth. Rachel died giving birth to her second son, Benjamin, Joseph’s
younger brother, while journeying to Ephrath, later known as Bethlehem.
Maybe we feel a little
sympathy for Penninah when we find out that Hannah was the one Elkanah loved. We
read nothing about his feelings for Peninnah, who gave him sons and daughters, while Hannah gave him
none. We find no conversation between Elkanah and Penninah recorded. We do
find, however, loving dialog between Elkanah and Hannah, revealing his patience
and compassion while she was depressed, withdrawn, refusing to eat. He doesn’t
hold her barrenness against her, for it was the Lord that “closed her womb.” Still,
a woman’s identity and self-worth was found in giving birth and providing her
husband with sons to carry on the family name and religion, and to keep his
memory alive after his death.
Can you hear the comfort Elkanah
offers his favored wife? He asks, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not
eat? Any why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than 10 sons?” He also
gave her preferential treatment over Peninnah and her children. The climax of the pilgrimage is a sacrificial
meal at which the pilgrims rejoice before Yahweh with eating and drinking. The
head of the household divides the portions. Elkanah gave Hannah the “portion of the face,” perhaps a portion of
honor, presumably much larger than the portion he gives to Penninah and her
sons and daughters. But the fact that the women and children were present with
him at the table, sharing the feast together, reveals an unusual kindness in
Elkanah. Women and children usually remained in the background during the feast
and waited to eat after mealtime was over.
How do you feel
about the priest’s reaction to Hannah’s praying--accusing her of being drunk? It
may be one of those moments of rare comic relief that we find in Scripture. But
notice a pattern in God’s Word--that often the most “religious” people, the
people we expect to have all the answers, are the ones who don’t understand
what is happening in the spiritual realm. They don’t have eyes to “see”! God
uses ordinary people to accomplish His work! The Lord is already using you and
me!
Does it seem like
the writer uses more words than necessary to describe Hannah’s silent prayer? In
verse 13, we read Hannah “speaking in her heart;” “with only her lips moving”,
“without making any sound.” Well, people didn’t pray silently back then--or at
least it wasn’t common. Silent prayer is a spiritual practice that became more
popular--but was still not universally accepted-- after a 16th
century Carmelite nun named Teresa of Avila, Spain, wrote books about something
called “mental prayer.”
What I don’t want
you to miss is the turning point for Hannah in this passage. She endures many
years of disappointment, shame and humiliation, worsened by Penninah’s
provocation. She gives the Lord the longings of her heart every year that she
and Elkanah make the pilgrimage to Shiloh. She never gives up. She always hopes
in the Lord. She is always gracious--even to Eli the priest. She says respectfully,
“No, my lord, I am only a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor
strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.”
Eli responds with
a common “formula” blessing that doesn’t reveal whether he believes that God
will give Hannah what she desires--or not. I don’t think he knows she has asked
for a son when he says, “Go in peace, and (may) God grant your petition which
you have made to him.” Hannah hears a promise, though, and responds in
humility, submitting to God’s will for her life. There is NO trace of any of
the “vexation”--(anger) -- or “great anxiety” that she had shared in her silent
prayer, when she “poured out her soul before the Lord.” She reminds us of the
Virgin Mary after the angel tells her that she will conceive by the Holy Spirit
and give birth to Jesus, who will be Son of the Most High. Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be
with me according to your word.” Hannah says essentially the same thing. “Let
your maidservant find favor in your eyes.”
She is no longer
sad; her grief is gone! Now she eats and drinks with her husband, celebrating
the promise of God granting her the longing of her heart.
She soon gives birth
to Samuel, a name that means, “He over whom the name of God has been said.” What is lost in translation is the wordplay
on the root “sa al.” When Eli uses “sa al” two times as he speaks to Hannah,
the word means simply “to ask.” When Samuel anoints Israel’s first king “Saul,”
the name means, “he who is asked.” When Hannah keeps her promise to the Lord
and gratefully brings Samuel to be raised by the priest in the temple, she uses
the same root word, “sa al,” which now becomes, “he who is lent.” When
something is “lent,” if you think about it, it is usually “given” for a time,
with the expectation of return.
But Hannah knows
that Samuel, asked for in faith and given by God--in His time, belongs to the
Lord--forever. She gratefully returns to the Lord what is most precious to her,
saying, “I have lent him to the Lord; as
long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”
***
Friends, do you
know that you are a precious gift from God? That we and all of our family
members belong to Him? We are, as Hannah says, “lent to the Lord,” as long as
we live.
Are you feeling anxious or angry--like Hannah,
who was sorely provoked by Penninah for many years? Seek the Lord. Trust Him
with the longings of your heart. Pour out your soul before Him! Be patient!
Hold onto your faith as you persevere through your trials. Hannah waited for
many years on the Lord, without giving up hope. In fact, I think her years of
suffering made her cling to Him even more.
And one day, her
sadness turned to joy.
Let us pray.
Holy One, thank you for your love, a love that led you to
give up your Son for our sakes! Thank you for listening to our prayers, for
beckoning us to come to you and pour out our souls before you. Give us the
longings of your heart, Lord. Help us to trust in your will, your plan for our
lives, and your timing for all things. Move us to gratitude for what you have
done for us so that we will be content no matter what happens in our lives. Help
us to have grace for one another. In your Son’s name we pray. Amen.
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