June 10, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 23
FAMILY BIBLE SERIES:
God provides comfort during life's hardships
___1 Samuel 1:1-2, 4-7, 10-17, 19-20
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___What do you do when in a situation leaves you vulnerable to abuse by others? When the situation is one where you have done nothing to create it but are helpless to change it? How can you keep from being bitter, angry or vindictive? How can you stay true to the Lord in such times?
___The story of Hannah pictures a woman who endured intolerable circumstances with grace, humility and courage.
___Hurting and harassed
___Hannah, the wife Elkanah loved, was barren, and that was the cause of her deep and abiding hurt. Her childlessness also provided the opportunity for Peninnah, Elkanah's other wife, to provoke her, taunt her and hurt her even more. Peninnah was not barren, and she never let Hannah forget that fact. Some commentaries say bitter rivalry existed between the two wives, but the rivalry seems to be one-sided--from Peninnah to Hannah (v. 6).
___Elkanah did his best to treat each of his wives fairly (v. 4). Each year when he took the family to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice, he gave equal portions to each wife. Peninnah took these occasions to taunt Hannah even more (v. 6). Year after year, Hannah endured the taunts. Hannah wept and could not eat during these times. Elkanah did his best to comfort her, asking if his love could not make up for her lack of children (v. 8).
___The answer was, "No." Hannah yearned for a child. In the world in which she lived, Hannah's barrenness was considered to be a judgment from God. There is no indication this was so. However, the social perception only added to Hannah's misery.
___
___Hannah appeals to the Lord
___One year when the family went to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice, Hannah's heartbreak over her barrenness became unbearable. After the family had finished eating and drinking, Hannah could endure it no more.
___Hannah apparently left the family worship to pray to the Lord about her childlessness. In her prayer, she made a vow to the Lord that if he would give her a son, she would dedicate the child back to the Lord for all his life and would rear him as a Nazarite (v. 11). In effect, what she promised the Lord meant she would give up any guarantee of care in her old age.
___From his vantage point by the temple doorpost, Eli the priest observed Hannah as she prayed. Her lips moved, tears flowed freely, but no sound came from her mouth. Eli assumed she was drunk, so he approached her and chided her, telling her to put away the wine (v. 14). Hannah then told him of her anguish and of her vow to the Lord (vv. 15-16). Eli responded with compassion and blessed her, saying, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition" (v. 17). Hannah rejoined the family celebration with a happier heart (v. 18). She was more at peace than she had been for a long time.
___God answers Hannah's prayer
___The next morning the family participated in worship again before returning to their home in Ramah (v. 18). In simple words, the biblical writer tells the conclusion to this part of this story: "And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her; and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called him Samuel, for she said, 'I have asked him of the Lord'" (vv.19-20).
___Hannah keeps her vow
___The next year when Elkanah prepared to take the family to Shiloh to worship, Hannah told her husband she would not go back to Shiloh until the child Samuel was weaned. She said, "When he is weaned, I will present him before the Lord" (v. 22). And so she did.
___When Samuel was probably about 3 years old, Hannah joined the family for the pilgrimage to Shiloh. She took a bull to sacrifice, and once the sacrifice was made, she brought Samuel to Eli and reminded him of who she was and the vow she had made to the Lord (v. 26). She said to Eli: "I prayed for this child. God answered my prayer, and I now give him to the Lord for as long as he lives" (vv. 27-28).
___Hannah had endured her years of barrenness and borne the taunts of Peninnah with agony of heart. She now gave this child for whom she had longed for back to the God who had given him to her, the God who had enabled her to persevere in difficult circumstances.
___Learning from Hannah
___Every person I know has faced or will face hardships and situations that seem impossible to bear. God stands ready to help us in such times. We need to commit to him the hardships we face, the troublesome relationships with people, the disappointments that come with life.
___A friend of mine realized, after looking for an answer to give her daughter as to why her baby had been born with severe Down syndrome--that God does not promise to remove from our lives the hardships and hurts, but he does promise to be with us in all things. His presence can help us stay true.
___Question for discussion
___
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