Hannah

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.  He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

  Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD.  Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.  But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.  Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.  This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.  Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

~I Samuel 1:1-8

What sort of response does Hannah's childlessness cause in each of the people involved in Hannah herself?  In Peninnah?  In Elkanah?

• For Hannah, it was despair
• For Peninnah, it was greed
• For Elkanah, it was concern

How have you reacted to disappointments or failures in your life?

• Either with concern or dispair

What impact did the reactions of those around you have on you?

• I would say a good impact because most people have been concerned for my feelings, so it shows me that a lot of people around me care for me.

 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house.  In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.  And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

  As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.  Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk  and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

~I Samuel 1:9-14

Hannah stood in this very public place and poured out her pain to the Lord.  Notice Eli's reaction.  Do you think she was unaware of the reaction others might have, or do you think she just didn't care?

• It may not have mattered to her as to what other people thought about what she was doing because she was only lifting up her own concerns to God

“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.  Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

  Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

  She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

~I Samuel 1:15-18

What caused the change in Hannah recorded in verse 18?  Is there anything here that would make her sure she would now bear a son?  If not, why then was she comforted?

• the fact that she was comforted by Eli's words
• her strong faith in the Lord and that Eli wished taht God would grant her what she wanted

When has God answered your prayers after a time of disappointment or difficulty?  When have your prayers gone unanswered?  How did God provide in those troublesome times?

• He answers our prayers when we are willing to give up our troubles to Him and are ready to be patient for what we hope for most in our life.   I don't believe that God leaves any prayers unanswered.

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.  So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

~I Samuel 1:19-20

How did God answer Hannah's prayer?  What is the significance of the name Samuel?

• by opening her womb and giving her a son to bear
• Hannah had asked God to give her a son

When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,  Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”

  “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

  After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.  When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,  and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.  I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

~I Samuel 1:21-28

These verses recored Hannah's fullfillment to her vow, recorded in verse 11.  What would have made Hannah's vow difficult?  What would have made it necessary?

• the difficulty would be that she would be separated from her son for a long time
• the necesity of the vow would be that Hannah would be sure to have brought up a religious man in her family

 But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.  Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.  Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD.” Then they would go home.  And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

~I Samuel 2:18-21

Describe Hannah's actions during the years when Samuel was going up to the temple.  What do you think those years were like for her?

• I think Hannah was elated to have such a good son that cared so much about the Lord

How did God reward Hannah for her faithfulness?

• By giving her the chance to bear three more sons and two more daughters.

Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord by giving him up to the Lord and to the work in the temple.  Are your children dedicated to the Lord?  If so, what are you doing to help them grow up in him?

• This question doesn't exactly apply to me right now, however, if I did have kids, I do hope that they wouild be dedicated to do the Lord's work.