HANNAH
(1 Samuel 1:1-2:21)
The annual journey to worship at Shiloh must have been an arduous trip for Hannah. She was the favorite wife of her husband, Elkanah; but his other wife, Peninnah, had children. In addition to the agony of infertility, having sons determined a woman's worth. Having no son meant she was cursed by God and worthless. And, without a son, she would become a pauper when widowed.

Where was God? she may have wondered as her prayers went unanswered year after year. On these journeys to Shiloh, Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable. Imagine how Peninnah taunted her over the voices of her sons and daughters.

Hannah's husband, Elkanah, meant well, no doubt, when he asked, "Why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" (1:8). How could she explain?

Hannah found herself praying with such emotion in the presence of Eli the priest, that he assumed she was drunk and told her to "sober up!" (1:14). Can you imagine how Hannah must have felt? First, Peninnah taunted her; next her husband offered mindless comfort; and then the priest accused her of being drunk. Add this to her struggle with infertility, and you wonder how she explained herself to Eli without exploding. But she did, and Eli assured her God would answer her prayer. Not giving into cynicism, she felt much better.

Sure enough, Samuel was born. A few years later, she brought this boy—her only child—to Eli to be "the LORD's servant for as long as he lives" (1:28). Was it tempting to hold on to this boy she had prayed for? We can only imagine the strength of character and cultivated skill of gratitude she must have had to relinquish this child she wanted so badly.

Hannah then offered a song that became well known in Israel (2:1-10). The song shows her ability to see beyond herself to the struggles of people around her. It shows her understanding of God's ways. She sang not only about how God benefited her ("A woman did not have a child, and you gave her seven"—2:5), but also about God's work ("You set the world on foundations, and they belong to you"—2:8) and God's ways in the world ("You lift the poor and homeless out of the garbage dump and give them places of honor in royal palaces"—2:8). After a few more years, Hannah and Elkanah went on to have three sons and two daughters, but Hannah never forgot Samuel. She made him a special linen garment every year.

In personal struggles such as these—infertility, jealousy, child-related heartaches—it is easy to become self-focused and bitter. Hannah had an intriguing strength of character that compelled her to devote herself to God and to see beyond herself.

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21
Hannah Asks the LORD for a Child
1 Elkanah lived in Ramah, a town in the hill country of Ephriam. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephriam tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.

²Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.

³Once a year Elkanah traveled from his hometown to Shiloh, where he worshiped the LORD All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the LORD's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests.

⁴Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters. ⁵But he gave Hannah even more, because he loved Hannah very much, even though the LORD had kept her from having children of her own.

⁶Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children, ⁷especially when the family went to the house of the LORD each year.

One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat. ⁸So Elkanah asked, "Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

⁹When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship. ¹⁰Hannah was brokenhearted and was crying as she prayed, ¹¹"LORD All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I will give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut."

^12-13Hannah prayed silently to the LORD for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴"How long are you going to stay drunk?" he asked. "Sober up!"

^15-16"Sir, please don't think I'm no good!" Hannah answered. "I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the LORD about my problems."

¹⁷Eli replied, "You may go home now and stop worrying. I'm sure the God of Israel will answer your prayer."

¹⁸"Sir, thank you for being so kind to me," Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.

Samuel Is Born
¹⁹Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the LORD. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the LORD blessed Elkanah and Hannah ²⁰with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the LORD for him.

Hannah Gives Samuel to the LORD
²¹The next time Elkanah and his family went to offer their yearly sacrifice, he took along a gift that he had promised to give to the LORD. ²²But Hannah stayed home, because she had told Elkanah, "Samuel and I won't go until he's old enough for me to stop nursing him. Then I'll give him to the LORD, and he can stay there at Shiloh for the rest of his life."

²³"You know what's best," Elkanah said. "Stay here until it's time to stop nursing him. I'm sure the LORD will help you do what you have promised." Hannah did not go to Shiloh until she stopped nursing Samuel.

^24-25When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah took Samuel to the Lord's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull, a twenty-pound sack of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.

²⁶"Sir," Hannah said, "a few years ago I stood here beside you and asked the LORD ²⁷to give me a child. Here he is! The LORD gave me just what I asked for. ²⁸Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will be the Lord's servant for as long as he lives."

Hannah Prays
2 Elkanah worshiped the LORD there at Shiloh, and Hannah prayed:

You make me strong
and happy, LORD.
You rescued me
Now I can be glad
and laugh at my enemies.
²No other god is like you.
We're safer with you
than on a high mountain.
³I can tell those proud people,
"Stop your boasting!
Nothing is hidden from the LORD,
and he judges what we do."

⁴Our LORD, you break
the bows of warriors,
but you give strength
to everyone who stumbles.
⁵People who once
had plenty to eat
must now hire themselves out
for only a piece of bread.
But you give the hungry more
than enough to eat.
A woman did not have a child,
and you gave her seven,
but a woman who had many
was left with none.
⁶You take away life,
and you give life.
You send people down
to the world of the dead
and bring them back again.

⁷Our LORD, you are the one
who makes us rich or poor.
You put some in high positions
and bring disgrace on others.
⁸You lift the poor and homeless
out of the garbage dump
and give them places of honor
in royal palaces.

You set the world on foundations,
and they belong to you.
⁹You protect your loyal people,
but everyone who is evil
will die in darkness.

We cannot win a victory
by our own strength.
¹⁰Our LORD, those who attack you
will be broken in pieces
when you fight back
with thunder from heaven.
You will judge the whole earth
and give power and strength
to your chosen king.

Samuel Stays with Eli
¹¹Elkanah and Hannah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed to help Eli serve the LORD.

Eli's Sons
^12-13Eli's sons were priests, but they were dishonest and refused to obey the LORD. So, while people were boiling the meat from their sacrifices, these priests would send over a servant with a large, three-pronged fork. ¹⁴The servant would stick the fork into the cooking pot, and whatever meat came out on the fork was taken back to the priests. That is how these two priests treated every Israelite who came to offer sacrifices in Shiloh. ¹⁵Sometimes, when people were offering sacrifices, the servant would come over, even before the fat had been cut off and sacrificed to the LORD.

Then the servant would tell the, "The priest doesn't want his meat boiled! Give him some raw meat that he can roast!"

¹⁶Usually the people answered, "Take what you want. But first, let us sacrifice the fat to the LORD."

"No," the servant would reply. "If you don't give it to me now, I'll take it by force."

¹⁷Eli's sons did not show any respect for the sacrifices that the people offered. This was a terrible sin, and it made the LORD very angry.

Hannah Visits Samuel
¹⁸The boy Samuel served the LORD and wore a special linen garment ¹⁹and the clothes his mother made for him. She would bring new clothes every year, when she and her husband came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh.

²⁰Eli would always bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "Samuel was born in answer to your prayers. Now you have given him to the LORD. I pay that the LORD will bless you with more children to take his place." After Eli had blessed them, Elkanah and Hannah would return home.

²¹The LORD was kind to Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. But Samuel grew up at the Lord's house in Shiloh.

These excerpts are from The Bible for Today's Christian Woman. This Bible is no longer in print. But new this month is the Woman's Life Bible, which includes the same great features for today's busy woman. Click here to purchase the Woman's Life Bible.

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc. All rights reserved. Excerpted from The Bible for Today's Christian Woman, CEV, pages 291-294. Used by permission. For reprint information call 630-260-6200.