Heroes: Hannah

1 Samuel 1:9-20

We have been looking at some characters from the Old Testament. Some are true heroes of the faith. Others have demonstrated how flawed and sinful humans are. In today’s text, we begin a new chapter in the story of God’s people. They have lived through the times of the judges, times where Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. But the book of 1 Samuel provides a transition to the times of the kings. The immediate context of what we read this morning is this: There was a man named Elkanah who had two wives. Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was barren. In those days, it was customary for a husband to take a second wife if his first wife could not give him a son/heir. The second wife, Peninnah, had sons, and she tormented Hannah day and night. Hannah was greatly grieved. So at the point of this scripture, the entire family went to the Tabernacle in Shiloh for worship. 

Hannah goes to pray. When she goes, we meet Eli, the high priest. Here he sits, at the entrance to the Tabernacle, in his high-priest chair. This chair was a sign of great honor, as most people sat on the floor. 

Can you see the contrast between Hannah and Eli? He sits on the chair, showing his dignified position, his high social standing. He is the big man. It doesn’t seem like he’s even doing anything. Instead, he just sits there. We will get to Eli next week. In the meantime, let’s look at Hannah. Her name even means “grace” or “favor.” 

But Hannah is in great anguish. At this point, I’m sure she isn’t feeling that grace or favor. We have a phrase “ugly crying” meaning it’s not just a single tear rolling down a cheek, but the kind of crying where your makeup runs all down your face and your eyes are red and puffy. That’s what the Bible means when it says she was crying bitterly.

Surely Hannah is not the first anguished person who has come to pray to God, to pour out her heart to Him. But Eli thinks she is drunk. He does not recognize that she is praying.

Sometimes we elevate priests or pastors or prophets above lay people. We create a separate class for so-called professional Christians. Eli was the top of this class, the high priest of Israel. Hannah is a barren woman. She is a nobody. But I want to show you something. When Hannah prays, she doesn’t just pray “to” the LORD, but she prays “before” the Lord. Verse 12 shows us that Hannah continues to pray “before the LORD.” This is an important distinction. It shows that she is fully in the presence of the LORD, pouring her heart out to Him. There is a difference in simply praying to God and praying before the LORD. Actually, this is the first time that this kind of positional prayer has been mentioned in the Bible. Hannah, the nobody, is positioned before the LORD, while Eli, the high priest who should be “before the LORD” is sitting in a chair, enjoying his position as the Big Man.

Another contrast between Hannah and Eli is a little difficult to see in our translations of the Bible. When we read the word “LORD” that describes who Hannah prays to, the actual word is not lord. It is Yahweh, the Holy Name of God. She is calling God by his Holy Name. But notice that when Eli finally does bless her, he blesses her, saying, “May the God of Israel grant your request.” Not “My God.” Not “Jehovah Jireh, God is our Provider.” Not even “Our God” or “the God of Our Fathers.” Instead he invokes a generic and impersonal title “the God of Israel.” 

Even so, Hannah shows great faith. As soon as she receives an answer from Eli, she was no longer sad. She immediately got up and ate, which shows a contrast with verse 7, where she was so grieved she could not even eat.

This faith reminds me of my friend Evan. Evan is a young man with Down Syndrome. Some years back, we were celebrating Easter Sunday with an early service at sun rise. Evan came in, looking miserable. I asked him how he was, and he said, “Pastor Brian, I’m sick. You need to pray for me.” So I stopped what I was doing and prayed for him. Then he left. Later, we had our regular Easter service, and here comes Evan. I asked him, “How are you feeling?” He looked at me as though I had asked a really stupid question. I clarified to him, “You were feeling sick this morning.” Again, he looked at me like I had grown a second head. He responded, “I’m fine. You prayed.”

Evan understood completely. I prayed for him. Of course, God answered the prayer! No question! Why would I even ask? This is one of the reasons why I love Evan so much. He has such a trusting faith and it teaches me.

This is the kind of faith Hannah has. The priest blessed her in the name of God. God said it, it will happen. END OF STORY. Hannah believed and behaved as if God had already answered. She ate again. She worshiped God. Then they went home, and, in due time she had a baby boy, Samuel.

And in two weeks we will look at who Samuel was — God’s prophet who would anoint kings to lead God’s people, including King David. And we know that David’s most famous descendent would be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This was an ordinary woman living an ordinary, if not miserable, life, and God used her — including her great faith — as an important link in God’s salvation.

If an incident in a woman’s ordinary family life could be such a significant step in the eternal plan of a saving God, each day can be just significant for us to accomplish God’s plan and purpose.