The Book of Samuel is divided into two parts: I Samuel and II Samuel.
1:1 We are introduced to Elkanah a man of Ephraim. The name Elkanah means: God has created.
1:2 Elkanah has two wives: Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah and Elkanah have children but Hannah has none.
1:3 Elkanah goes from his home to worship and sacrifice to God in Shiloh each year. Along with him go the two sons of the priest Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. This is a traditional of the children of Israel established in Exodus 34:23 and Deuteronomy 16:16.
1:4 When Elkanah makes an offering to God, he gives portions for each of his children and Penninah. Elkanah's sacrifice to God is gratitude for all of the blessings in his life and family.
1:5 When Elkanah makes an offering in gratitude for Hannah, he gives a double portion for she is his beloved. Even without children, Elkanah cherishes Hannah. In the context of their time, men sometimes added a wife to bear children. Abraham had Hagar but loved Sarah; Jacob had Leah but loved Rachel.
1:6-7 Hannah is tormented by Penninah for not having children. Penninah is so harsh in her treatment of Hannah that Hannah becomes depressed; in weariness or in fast, Hannah stops eating. Surely it is not only Penninah's cruelty that bothers Hannah. Hannah wants to be a mother; she wants to share a child with her husband.
1:8 Elkanah is dismayed by Hannah's depression because he loves her so much. A better translation for this verse is: Do I not take care of you as if you birthed ten sons for me? It is unlikely that Elkanah means to be insensitive; he wants very much to be adequate enough to make Hannah happy and cure her of her sorrow.
Elkanah and Hannah are faithful people; more importantly, they love the Lord. They have traveled to sacrifice to Him and worship Him. In gratitude and reverence Elkanah serves the Lord, bring his family along to celebrate His presence.
Elkanah and Hannah are faithful people; more importantly, they love the Lord. They have traveled to sacrifice to Him and worship Him. In gratitude and reverence Elkanah serves the Lord, bring his family along to celebrate His presence.
1:9 After the meal, Eli the priest sits by the doorpost of the tabernacle as Hannah enters to pray.
1:10 Hannah enters the tabernacle to pray. There is something to learn from the depth of Hannah's prayer to God. She gives her whole self, broken and desperate as it is, she gives her soul to Him. While she prays the weeps. God wants our raw, honest emotion. He does not want us to hold anything back. He understands that we have moments of sorrow and anguish and He claims it all with empathy.
1:11 In prayer, Hannah makes a vow to God:
1:12 Eli the priest can see Hannah make her vow but he cannot hear her words; Hannah's communication with God is private.
1:13-14 She prays so emphatically that her lips move but the prayer takes place in her soul. The priest mistakenly believes that Hannah is inebriated. Remember that your communication with God is private, other may not understand your love for Him or your servitude but God understands.
Hannah's faith is so powerful that even the priest, who should be at least as emphatic as her, does not understand the magnitude of her faith. The subtle reminder here is that titles do not make a person holy, soul-bearing to God does.
1:15-16 Hannah explains herself: rather than imbibing, Hannah has poured. She has poured herself out to her spiritual Father. She tells Eli that after pouring herself out, she has released her abundant grief; God's peace has restored her. Fervent prayer is powerful. God listens to His children, He can feel the emotion and absorbs it as His own.
1:10 Hannah enters the tabernacle to pray. There is something to learn from the depth of Hannah's prayer to God. She gives her whole self, broken and desperate as it is, she gives her soul to Him. While she prays the weeps. God wants our raw, honest emotion. He does not want us to hold anything back. He understands that we have moments of sorrow and anguish and He claims it all with empathy.
1:11 In prayer, Hannah makes a vow to God:
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.Hannah's prayer to God reveals her character and her faith. Hannah asks God for a child so that she may dedicate the child to God. Hannah continually refers to herself as His maidservant; with humility Hannah lives as a servant of God. She promises a Nazirite vow over her unborn child; she dedicates the child's entire life to serving God.
1:12 Eli the priest can see Hannah make her vow but he cannot hear her words; Hannah's communication with God is private.
1:13-14 She prays so emphatically that her lips move but the prayer takes place in her soul. The priest mistakenly believes that Hannah is inebriated. Remember that your communication with God is private, other may not understand your love for Him or your servitude but God understands.
Hannah's faith is so powerful that even the priest, who should be at least as emphatic as her, does not understand the magnitude of her faith. The subtle reminder here is that titles do not make a person holy, soul-bearing to God does.
1:15-16 Hannah explains herself: rather than imbibing, Hannah has poured. She has poured herself out to her spiritual Father. She tells Eli that after pouring herself out, she has released her abundant grief; God's peace has restored her. Fervent prayer is powerful. God listens to His children, He can feel the emotion and absorbs it as His own.
1:17 Eli wishes Hannah Godspeed; his own hope is that Hannah's voice will be heard by God.
1:18 Hannah departs from the tabernacle, lighter, without the weight of her grief. She has been restored by her faith and hope in God. For God's children trust Him to take a vehement interest in their concerns. Hannah knows that God has heard; she knows that God will answer.
The journey of development of faith is the most transformation endeavor an individual could ever take on. As we become familiar with the nature and character of our empathetic Father, we begin to trust Him. The deeper our trust, the more permission we give Him to enter deeper into our lives, into the details. Hannah is restored not because her prayer was answered in that very moment, no, there is no son yet in her arms. Hannah is restored because she knows that God has heard her, that God loves her, and that He will be devoted to creating joy in her soul.
1:19 The family, Elkanah, Hannah and company awake early in the morning to return home to Ramah. In their home, God remembers Hannah's prayer and enables her to conceive a child.
Many mothers in the bible are unable to conceive until the precise moment God allows. Like much in life, God places us into the particular circumstances which encourage us to make the prayer we truly need to make. Hannah might have had a child years ago, but the child's life would not have been dedicated to God. Hannah's circumstances taught her of the condition she would like to raise her son in - because of that, her son will live an entirely different life. Her son will be blessed from conception as a prophet of God.
The moments of our lives give us opportunities to draw deeper into the living waters of God. Hannah could have walked away, turned away from God. She could have become angry or empty. Instead, she brought herself to God. She told Him: I am week; I need you. She gave Him permission to take over. She dedicated herself as well as the thing she wanted most in the world to His service.
1:20 Hannah gives birth to a son whom she names Samuel, her gift from God.
1:21-22 Elkanah prepares his family to travel for the yearly sacrifice but Hannah remains behind with Samuel. Hannah explains that she is nursing the child until he is weaned, and then she will give Samuel to the Lord's service. Samuel will be raised away from his family as a prophet of God.
It is beautiful that Hannah wanted to give birth to a lover of God. Hannah did not ask the Lord for a son so that she could parade him around Penninah as vengeance. Instead, she wanted to create a new life, another soul to love and serve God in gratitude and humility.
Many mothers in the bible are unable to conceive until the precise moment God allows. Like much in life, God places us into the particular circumstances which encourage us to make the prayer we truly need to make. Hannah might have had a child years ago, but the child's life would not have been dedicated to God. Hannah's circumstances taught her of the condition she would like to raise her son in - because of that, her son will live an entirely different life. Her son will be blessed from conception as a prophet of God.
The moments of our lives give us opportunities to draw deeper into the living waters of God. Hannah could have walked away, turned away from God. She could have become angry or empty. Instead, she brought herself to God. She told Him: I am week; I need you. She gave Him permission to take over. She dedicated herself as well as the thing she wanted most in the world to His service.
1:20 Hannah gives birth to a son whom she names Samuel, her gift from God.
1:21-22 Elkanah prepares his family to travel for the yearly sacrifice but Hannah remains behind with Samuel. Hannah explains that she is nursing the child until he is weaned, and then she will give Samuel to the Lord's service. Samuel will be raised away from his family as a prophet of God.
It is beautiful that Hannah wanted to give birth to a lover of God. Hannah did not ask the Lord for a son so that she could parade him around Penninah as vengeance. Instead, she wanted to create a new life, another soul to love and serve God in gratitude and humility.
1:23 Elkanah accepts Hannah's plans and asks God to remain with Hannah in the unfolding of it. These are faithful people and parents; so in love with God that they trust not only their lives in His hands but also their precious child's.
1:24 True to her word, Hannah weans Samuel and travels with him and offerings for God to Shiloh. Samuel is still a young boy.
1:25 The family makes an offering to the tabernacle and brings Samuel to Eli the priest.
1:26 Life transformed by the bearing of her soul before God years before, Hannah returns to the place of her prayer.
1:27 Hannah makes awed acknowledgment of her answered prayer. Indeed, God heard, listened and answered. The Lord remembered Hannah in her time of sorrow and Hannah remembers God in her time of joy.
1:28 More aptly translated, Hannah returns Samuel to the Lord. As Elkanah's name reminds us: God has created. Women are the vessels through which life enters the Earth but God is the creator of all. The vessel, the soul and the earth. Hannah dedicates her beloved child to God. Since before conception, God had plans for Samuel to serve as a prophet.
The family worships God in that moment. Imagine the faith! Hannah dedicates the joy of her life to God. Hannah understands that Samuel's most blessed and purposeful life will occur under the hand of God. Even though he will grow up away from her, Hannah worships God. For she knows the best place for her child is with God.
The family worships God in that moment. Imagine the faith! Hannah dedicates the joy of her life to God. Hannah understands that Samuel's most blessed and purposeful life will occur under the hand of God. Even though he will grow up away from her, Hannah worships God. For she knows the best place for her child is with God.
