I Samuel 2 and Luke 1
Life began by waking up and loving my mother’s face. George Eliot, writer
Her story is familiar, a woman living at the end of the era of the judges, in a polygamous marriage. Allow me to note that, although polygamy was not expressly prohibited to the Jews at that time, it seems to have been primarily practiced by kings. One writer notes: “Here, as elsewhere, it was the ruin of family life. In Christianity it was marked for final extinction (I Tim. 3:2,12).” Thankfully,
She endures taunting by the other wife, and we won’t digress to consider why her husband seems powerless to comfort her. The miracle and joy of motherhood is quite distinct from marital affection, especially to a Hebrew woman whose hopes are destroyed by barrenness. There is no record of her responding to the Mean Wife in any way. Which is remarkable, considering the ridicule she endured for years.
Spiritual barrenness is Israel’s condition, as well, with little prophetic activity.
We know from what follows that Hannah was familiar with the God’s Word as revealed and written at that time: the Law and portions of the Book of Job. Not just familiar, but she had committed significant passages to memory. When reading about Hannah, we often focus on her great need and God’s miraculous answer. But underlying the miracle were the spiritual practices of a godly woman. Hannah knew the writings handed down for generations, knew how to pray, and who refused to be hounded into bitterness.
And so her desperate prayer in the tabernacle at Shiloh results in the birth of her son. At around two years of age, she makes the journey back to Shiloh with the rest of the family to return the boy, Samuel, to the Lord. She then turns and flees from the tabernacle, sobbing.
No, actually she doesn’t:
So they worshiped the Lord there.
Her prayer is recorded, probably by Samuel many years later who may have heard it recounted by Eli, the priest. I include it here because it is a beautiful reminder of how the Word of God, when embedded in our hearts and minds, may rise to the surface and spill out in praise and thanksgiving:
My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because You rescued me.
No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God.“Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
He will judge your actions.
The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
The Lord gives both death and life;
He brings some down to the grave, but raises others up.
The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
He brings some down and lifts others up.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and He has set the world in order.He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to His king;
he increases the strength of His anointed one.”
There are references in her prayer to Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Job. And at the very end, Hannah speaks prophetic words that are the first mention in scripture of the coming Messiah—the anointed one.
In another thousand years, the young woman chosen to be the mother of the Messiah will sing her own song of praise. Mary’s words in Luke 1 are a reflection of Hannah’s prayer and include other numerous references to the Old Testament. Is she reading from a scroll? No. They pour from a heart and mind bathed in scripture.
We moms and grandmothers have the same precious privilege of passing on a legacy of love for the Word. I am praying for my readers that the joy of that work will bless you and your families. Happy Mother’s Day!