The Birth Pangs of the King
The Lord does not give us heaven in this world. He tests our faith. He is far less concerned about our comfort than our conformity to Jesus Christ our Lord. His tests have consistent patterns. For example, our Lord’s first test is often ours: to trust our Father for bread, not launch out on our own and seek to provide outside our Father’s will. As we begin preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1 Samuel, we will see some major themes of God’s testing that apply to all generations. There is the pain of childbirth, as God’s people wait for him to fulfill his promises and cry: “How long, O Lord?” Then, the cross comes before the crown, as the life of David so vividly and personally teaches us. The Lord sifts each of his children on this point – will we grumble and despair or take up our cross and follow him? There is also the tragic theme of Saul’s reign. When we refuse to be ruled by the Lord’s word, sin’s chaos spreads in our lives. When a nation is ruled by a man not after the Lord’s heart, misery is coming to that land and its people. This was true in the world empires in the old covenant days, as Isaiah teaches (24:1-6). It is equally true today, now that the Lord Jesus has come and calls all kings and judges to bow the knee to him. We must be ruled by men who fear the Lord (2 Sam. 23:3), for only righteousness exalts a nation (Prov. 14:34). We learn righteousness from God’s word, not from our own heads and hearts.
To prepare Israel for the righteous King, the Lord established a school of prophets, beginning with Samuel. No longer would he allow his people to live out the blindness of the previous four centuries of the Judges – each man doing what was right in his own eyes. His people had his law, and now they would also have a great company to preach that word. The prophets teach us that righteous rulers govern for God’s glory according to his word. His word was established before the monarchy, for faith precedes knowledge and blessing. All kings and those in authority derive their legitimacy from the Lord of hosts, and it is the prophetic function of God’s ministers to remind them constantly of this fact. So, let us remind our elected officials today that they must fear God and honor Jesus Christ as the King of this and of every nation, or our national miseries will continue and intensify. This duty remains unchanged in our secularist environment, living as we do in the shadow of Babel reconstructed, the ruinous rise of statist totalitarianism. It will fall again. One little word will fell this beast, God’s word, the word of his gospel of grace, the sword coming out of our Savior’s mouth.
Hannah’s Wail of Distress (vv. 1-8)
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
Upside Down and Provoked…Even at Worship
The usual misery was present in this polygamous marriage: rivalry, mockery, and bitterness. Elkanah was a believing man, but his fertile wife, Peninnah (“Jewel”), constantly exulted over his barren and cherished wife, Hannah. Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion at the required feasts and constantly expressed his love for her. Even at worship, however, Peninnah did not allow Hannah to forget who was the blessed wife. Barrenness was falsely taken as a sign of the Lord’s displeasure. Hannah was probably around Peninnah’s children who were likely asking questions like, “Momma, why does Ms. Hannah not have any children?” Perhaps Hannah was helping raise Peninnah’s children! It was a bitter pill for Hannah to swallow. One would think there would be a truce at worship, but some do not come to the Lord’s house to worship but to aggravate others by insisting upon their way and opinions, or to insinuate their superiority over others. John warned the believers in Ephesus against Diotrephes, “Who loved to have the preeminence” (3 John 9). When we gather for worship, it is not to hear the latest news or argue current ideas and events but to worship the Lord and serve one another. This is the way we keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Peninnah gloated over her fertility, rather than blessing the Lord for it and encouraging Hannah to trust in the Lord. Here, at least, the unfit mother had many children, but Hannah had none. This was a great provocation for her.
All Human Comforters Fail…Even a Loving Husband
The years passed, and Hannah remained barren. Each year’s feast of tabernacles was a particular grief to her, for then Israel celebrated the Lord’s blessing upon his people to be their home and to give them a home. Hannah fretted over this reminder of her barrenness, and Peninnah provoked her constantly. Elkanah had enough of this. He became impatient with Hannah. I have given you an ample portion each year, and is not my love better than ten sons? No, not to a woman’s heart, for however much Elkanah loved Hannah, she felt her need of children. And her adversary was constantly prodding her. Now, to compound her grief, Elkanah blows up at her. She felt that he did not understand her at all – the bitterness of her soul, the constant irritation that Peninnah was to her, her sense of abandonment by the Lord. And now, she has lost her husband’s understanding. This was too much for Hannah. All her human comforters failed. She did not realize that this is one of the grandest battles of faith and the very preparation we must have before we will seriously turn to the Lord to help us. “Reproach has broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none (Ps. 69:20).
Hannah’s trial was part of something far bigger than her personal grief. She is a picture of Israel in the time of the judges – some good judges, some questionable ones, but all proved inadequate. None could unify or guide God’s people in the righteous enjoyment of their inheritance or equip Israel to be the light of the world God intended. Hannah was a picture of something even broader than this – the utter failure of the world’s kingdoms to establish peace and prosperity for their peoples. In the millennia until Hannah’s great Child was born, the world would face this lesson repeatedly – no kingdom, no philosophy, no military might, no human relationship ultimately satisfies. There is no human comforter for the misery and chaos that sin has brought into our lives. The Lord saw all this, and ordained it to prepare the world for his Son: “For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; in transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yes, truth fails; and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him” (Isa. 59:12-16). In the absence of faith in the Savior of the world, this cycle of misery continues and intensifies, as we see in our own land, which once knew the way to salvation, but has now chosen the way of unbelief, and therefore of pain.
Hannah’s Wrestling with Adversity (vv. 9-11)
9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
The Lord Closes the Way to Every Broken Cistern
But there was something glorious in Hanna’s barrenness and brokenness. In her provocation and grief, she prayed. The Lord closed the way to every broken cistern in Hannah’s life. She looked for water, even a trickle, in one of them – a little peace with Peninnah, a little understanding from Elkanah, even an open womb. No, no, no. All Hannah received were disappointments. But it was necessary for her to find all these wells of human happiness empty, as it is necessary for us. If we are full of the world, do we feel our emptiness and need of the Lord? If we get what we want and have not a care in the world, does heaven on earth truly satisfy? No, but we try to make it satisfy. It is dangerous for us to have all heart could wish and never feel that we are “poor, blind, and naked.” The Lord might give us what we want, but then send leanness to our souls to rebuke our idolatry (Ps. 106:15).
This is the reason the Lord often bars the way to the things we feel are necessary for our happiness. He topples many idols in our heart and lives, nice things and lucrative work, even spouses and children – or he withholds them for a season – or he diminishes the enjoyment we find in them and the trouble we have because of them. Without him, even his best gifts would be broken cisterns and empty wells. He also wants us to know the deceitfulness of our hearts. By his hard providences, he holds up a mirror to our hearts and shows us who we are and our need of him, that there is no other deliverer, no other comforter, no other helps unless he helps us, and nothing and no one else who truly satisfies. He is the living water. All else is a dry desert. Hannah was brought to this earthly desert, as we are, by grief and loss, by disappointment and even by the provocation of others who ought to encourage us but do not fulfill this precious office of love. The Lord brought her there to show her the oasis of his grace.
Hannah, Broken, Prays: Lord, Give Me a Son…for You
In this crucible, Hannah learned that the Lord was better to her than ten sons. Now, in the bitterness of her soul, when she prays and weeps, she does not ask for a child for herself. She vows to give that child to the Lord all its days. Nazirite vows were typically for a season and specific purpose. Hannah is brought to something deeper. I need a child, Lord, not to complete me as a woman or silence my adversary or please my husband. I want a child for you. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of consecration anywhere in the lives of all the saints. Like Mary washing our Lord’s feet and wiping them with her tears and hair, Hannah’s prayer and gift to the Lord should be told everywhere the gospel is preached. We tell it now! Like the Father who gave his Son for us, Hannah wants to give her son for God’s glory and the service of others. And this is the way we know that her trials profited her and glorified the Lord in the end – she is not thinking of getting something for herself. She wants to be blessed so that she can give the blessing back to the Lord. She is giving away everything to Him even before she receives anything from Him.
This is a truth for the ages, the Lord’s working in the sinner’s soul as a model for his tenderest and most beautiful work of grace. Why does he leave us empty, not answer our prayers, even for good things? So that we are cast back upon him alone, and not simply so that we get what we want or feel better. He casts us back upon him because he is our good. He leaves us empty so that we will look to him to fill us. He closes the path to all the good we think we need or will make us happy, for even good things can become idols, if they are substitutes for the Lord himself. We must be broken before the Lord and want him alone for our good and our life. We must thirst for him as the only water that satisfies. This is where Jesus Christ brings all his disciples – my grace is sufficient for you. I am sufficient for you. Take away everything else, withhold everything else. If you have me, you have enough. I am your life.
Hannah’s Triumph and Comfort (vv. 12-18)
12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!" 15 And Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 "Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now." 17 Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him." 18 And she said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
The Lord Blesses When We Pray
Eli, the high priest who brought such reproach upon God’s worship, saw Hannah praying. As usual, his judgment was completely wrong. Seeing Hannah move her lips but make no sound, he thought she was a mumbling drunk. This is the way the world views praying, for Eli was a worldling. The world thinks praying is for lunatics. It mocks our hope, even while we plead for its soul. But here is something we should remember about praying. What the world mocks is the chief means by which the Lord blesses us. Why do we pray? It is the rule of our Father’s kingdom. Ask, and you will receive. It is the place of refuge to which his pressures drive us. Whether it is the hard circumstances that threaten our ruin, or the guilt over sin that gives us no peace, or the pain we feel over the state of the church, it is by prayer that we dig up the promises that the Lord has revealed to us in his word. Real prayer is the broken soul turning to the Father, trusting the Father’s love and wisdom, coming to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus our Advocate and trusting the help and wisdom of our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. In this way, prayer is the blessing, for in turning to the Lord and away from our sorrows, we obtain the greatest prize of all – the Lord himself.
The Lord Relieves Discouragement and Gives Peace When We Turn to Him
Eli accuses her, but Hannah boldly defends herself. She has poured out her grief and complaint to the Lord. When she cast her burden upon the Lord, she found relief. Her sadness was gone, and her appetite returned. Relief does not always come this quickly, but we must fervently cry to him for relief. When his time is ripe, he will raise our burdened spirits and give us peace. We must never stop calling upon the Lord and recognize that even if relief does not come quickly, the Lord has appointed our days in the house of mourning. He knows how long our vexations and his chastening must last so that we will learn holiness and be broken of self-reliance and worldly loves. He knows when our idols are shaken sufficiently to fall over so that he alone is our Lord. Then, our grief and trials can be safely relieved, without making us presumptuous so that we begin again worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. No, the fires will last as long as we need them to last, and we must keep praying while they rage. If necessary, we must pray all the way to heaven, for this is our warfare – to keep calling upon the Lord until he brings us home to heaven. Unless we are in the fire and feel the burden of our sin and need, we quickly fall asleep in Gethsemane rather than watching with our Lord for the dawn.
The Lord will soon answer Hannah’s prayer and relieve her trial far beyond what she could have imagined. Before doing so, however, we must remember, first, that he lovingly broke her down by long delay, domestic conflict, and her husband’s frustration. These fires apply to each of us, especially a godly woman, who wants her home and marriage to be peaceful. However, this is not always the Lord’s will. In the swirl of life, which is swirling in the wheels of the Lord’s higher providences in the world and in the unseen realm of spirits, we must trust and wait upon him. He is working out far higher purposes than we can possibly understand. Hannah wanted a son; the Lord was preparing a school of prophets, a line of kings, and the Savior of the world! If we complain against his workings and delays, we dishonor him and bring nothing but misery to ourselves.
Always remember, second, that Hannah found relief before the Lord gave her a son. Think what you would like more than anything else: not something base and worldly, but a promised blessing or some spiritual good. Perhaps you are earnestly praying for the conversion of a wayward child or relief from a besetting sin. Will you refuse to be happy until the Lord gives you what you want? Perhaps you think your sadness is justified, but moroseness dishonors him. It is a bad witness to the world and especially to those around you. The Lord may or may not grant your heart’s desires, but there is one thing he will give you. He will give you himself. If you say, this is not enough – uh-oh – more rough testing times are coming, and you are far closer to kindergarten in your trials than graduation day. The Lord has a way of satisfying even in the absence of some legitimate good – like Joseph in the dungeon, Paul in prison, Hannah barren, our Lord in Gethsemane. He satisfies us with himself when we believe that he is our good, love him, and cast our cares upon him. Do this now and do this daily. It is the way we find constant relief from our sadness and hope in our pilgrim way. It can be very dark at times, perhaps lonely, and a little scary. But the Lord Jesus is in the boat with us; he is steering the boat. He may seem to be sleeping or disinterested but go now and awaken him. Tell him about your storms, and he will come and rescue you. “It is I,” he will say to you. “Do not be afraid."
Please understand, finally, that this is no American fairy tale with everything turning out well and all crises resolved. The Lord will give us no relief that does not lead us to rest in him. The Lord Jesus will be preeminent in our trials and in our lives. He will not be used or manipulated, as some sort of master therapist. He will be loved and have his love satisfy us, for this is his heart toward us. He will be adored and trusted when we are in the fiery furnace, even if it burns us up. Thus, our relief is Jesus Christ himself. Like John on Patmos, we must see his glory and learn that his grace is sufficient. Rather than complaining and hanging back from serving him until your life is “perfect,” be like Hannah and be sad no more. Go ahead and smile at your Lord. It greatly honors him for his disciples to smile while in tatters, struggling with sin, hated by the world, diseased, or confused – but joyful in him. He will be our all, and this is seen most clearly when we are satisfied with him. He satisfied Hannah like this before she had Samuel. The Lord was her relief. He will be the same for us, for he is our life.
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