This is such a sweet and tender story,
such as we find occasionally, here and there, in the Old Testament. Amidst the
stories of violence and greed and all varieties of evil. Here, surrounded by
troubles of all kinds, struggles for power and domination, war and famine,
abuse and death, we have a little family.
The head of the household, Elkanah,
seems to be a good man, a godly man. You shouldn’t hold it against him that he
has two wives, because that was fairly commonplace at the time. And it seems as
though he tried to do right by both of them, Hannah and Peninnah.
Peninnah, apparently, has been blessed
with many children. She has a houseful of little Peninnahs and little Elkanahs
tumbling around, but Hannah has no children, and in the way that the scriptures
tell it, this is because God has closed her womb. Children, like all good
things, are special gifts from God. So important it is that we remember this,
that the biblical stories remind us frequently. They tell of numerous women who
are in similar circumstances: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, the wife of
Manoah, the Shunammite woman. There is Tamar, a less conventional member of
this club. In every case, we are to understand, God provides children in God’s
time and God’s way. Children are God’s special gift to us.
And we should know that. It is not our
birthright. It is not something we are entitled to. It is God’s special gift.
Even so, we have sympathy for these
barren women of the Bible, because we see their pain – the desolation, the
loneliness they feel. And sometimes, their suffering is made worse by the cruel
taunting of others. Peninnah, who never missed an opportunity to make Hannah
feel like less of a woman. Hagar, no longer the submissive slave of Sarah once
she gives birth to Abraham’s son. Co-wives become rivals. Childless women ache with
emptiness.
There were, of course, many reasons
for wanting children. The luxury of a little perfect being to love and hold,
who will burrow into our shoulder and love us back. A baby to dress up in cute
outfits and show off to our neighbors, who will ooh and aah at their little
faces. Who doesn’t enjoy that? There were also practical reasons for wanting to
have children: someone who will care for us in our old age. A widow in the
Bible is a woman who has no husband and no sons – no one to care for her.
Hannah wanted a child, probably for
all the same reasons anyone else wants a child of their own. But her wanting
was perhaps a little deeper than others. There was nothing that could distract
Hannah from this emptiness. Elkanah would gently tease her, “Oh Hannah, am I
not worth more than ten sons to you?” Perhaps Hannah smiled through her tears.
She did love her husband, but the love she had for him was not enough to fill
the space of childlessness.
When Elkanah went up to the sanctuary
to make sacrifices to God, Hannah and Peninnah would go with him and make their
sacrifices, too. It was something they did every year. Their sacrifice was
their act of worship, their offering to God, in thankfulness for all God’s
blessings.
On this particular journey, this
particular year, Hannah was filled with emotion. She left the feast, alone, and
went to the sanctuary of the Lord, and she prayed.
Her prayer rose up from the deepest
places inside of her, and came out in sobs of anguish and longing. We know what
Hannah was praying for. Even if the text didn’t tell us, we know what Hannah
prayed for: the one thing she wanted, the only thing she wanted – a child.
Hannah made a vow that day: O Lord,
she prayed, if you will remember me, and give me a son, I will give him back to
you.
If you will give me the only thing I
want and need, the only thing that is missing from my life; if you will fill
this emptiness inside of me, Lord, I will give your gift right back to you. And
so she did. Hannah went home with Elkanah and Peninnah. She became pregnant and
bore a son, whom she named Samuel. And when Samuel was weaned, she returned
with him to the sanctuary and gave him to God. Her offering, her sacrifice, to
God.
More than anything, this is puzzling,
bewildering, because when she at last receives what she has prayed for, she
returns the gift. And we feel the loss on her behalf. Hannah, you have this
beautiful little boy, a precious gift from God, why do you give him away? You
should have him by your side for years to come. You should help him choose a
wife, you should dote on his children, your grandchildren. Hannah, you should
bask in the glory of your perfect little family.
But Hannah gives him away. She offers
him back to the Lord.
Hannah knows that a child is a special
gift from God, that a child is given in God’s time, in God’s way, for God’s
purpose.
God’s purpose for Samuel was to become
a prophet, a priest, a leader of Israel through some very trying times. Samuel
was a very important man, he has two volumes of the Bible named for him. He was
a kingmaker, a royal consultant, a seer, all this because Hannah gave him back.
Hannah knew how to handle gifts from God.
Many of us know that everything good
we have, children included, is a gift from God. But not everyone does know
that. Some of us forget, and we think everything we have is ours by rights,
everything is owed to us to use as we please. Yet people of faith should
remember that everybody and everything in creation belongs to God. God gives to
us generously, and when we give back we have the chance to feel that same
feeling God has – generosity. Goodness. Blessing.
When we give back to God as Hannah did;
when we give our best, as Hannah did, we are not left with a feeling of
emptiness, but fullness. Giving makes us feel full.
Hannah did not go back to her former
state of aching loneliness. She gave birth to a son and she dedicated him to
the Lord. Hannah was full.
When we dedicate our lives to God –
becoming a member of the church, making our pledges of offerings, committing
ourselves to serving God in our service to others – we give up something, maybe
something big. But we do not feel loss. Giving our best to God leaves us
feeling full.
May you know the richness of God’s
gifts in your life.
May you give back, as you are called
to do, freely.
May you have that wonderful fullness that only comes from giving your best.
Photo by Billy Pasco on Unsplash
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