A Soul Poured Out

A Soul Poured Out
1 Samuel 1:12-16

INTRODUCTION:
​Someone wrote: “It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they may be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be: it is fervency of spirit which availeth much!” (Heartwarming Bible Illustrations; Chattanooga, TN: AMG, 1998; page 621).

​A young mom named Hannah, in the midst of moral decadence, had her faith tested. When she persevered in prayer, God blessed her beyond her original request. Let’s look at Hannah and be inspired by her example.

​In the days of the judges, people were doing what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Illustrating the point, the last several chapters of Judges, after the life of Samson, descend into idolatry, fratricide, homosexuality, and murder. In the middle of that moral decadence, few people remained faithful to God - Ruth, Naomi, Boaz are examples - and so is Hannah, Samuel’s mom. But Hannah was barren. What is Hannah going to do and what connection does this have with the moral decadence in the land of Israel and living godly in an ungodly world?

​Elkanah was from the seed of Ephraim (1:1; but he was a descendent of Levi - 1 Chro. 6:33 - thus Samuel could be a priest). Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel and was the leading tribe in the apostasy that would come later (under King Jeroboam I - 1 Kings 12).

LIFE IS FULL OF MISFORTUNE - 1:1-6:
Elkanah had two wives – Hannah and Peninnah (1 Samuel 1:1-2). Hannah had a severe misfortune: she was barren (vs 2). But that was not her only misfortune! In addition to that, Peninnah provoked Hannah bitterly with the intention of irritating her, because Hannah was barren (vs 6). Perhaps it is the case that, although Peninnah had children while Hannah did not, Peninnah envied Hannah because Elkanah “loved Hannah” (vs 5) more than he loved Peninnah. So, Peninnah “provoked” Hannah bitterly (NASV); literally, “she provoked her through provocation.” Unfortunately there are people who take pleasure in irritating others - without any motivation.

​Hannah was barren “because the Lord had closed her womb” (NASV). This is said twice (verses 5 & 6). God closed her womb? Why would the Lord punish her that way? The Lord is the one who impeded Hannah from having children. David writes in Psalm 26:2: “Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.” God was testing Hannah. Would she have faith in the midst of an immoral culture? It may be easy to maintain our faith when others are suffering but what do we do when problems hit closer to home? In fact, Hannah’s misfortune lasted a long time: vs 7.

​Jesus asked this question that rings still in our ears: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

​Many young couples are stressed when they do not have children and many are stressed because they do have children! We were part of a three-couple mission team moving to Iași, Romania in July 2000. All three couples wanted to have at least one child before we left the states. The other two couples had either had a child or announced their pregnancies by the fall of 1998. Through those autumn months, Rachel and I felt the pressure. We knew that July 2000 was just around the corner and it took 40 weeks for a baby to conceive, grow, and be born. We were a little bit stressed over the matter. Thankfully, God blessed us with our first child in October of 1999. But we know a little about what Hannah was feeling.

So, “the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb” - it is said twice (vss 5, 6). In fact, the Hebrew in verse 6 says that the Lord completely closed Hannah’s womb. There were no fertility specialists in those days but they would have done absolutely no good. This was the Lord’s doing.

Yet, Hannah did receive the support of your husband, Elkanah. Elkanah loved Hannah and he too wanted children, especially, probably, a boy. But Elkanah’s love for Hannah could not fulfill her need for a child - vss 7-8. What could Elkanah do? A woman who earnestly desires a child can get very discouraged, even depressed. But what can a loving husband do? Nothing. Although a husband may love his wife with all his heart; although a wife may love her husband with all her heart, he is not a replacement for a child.

​When you and I confront problems, misfortunes in life, what do we do? When you have a problem which seems impossible to resolve, what do you do? When others irritate you, when others provoke you, when others mock you, what do you do? In the days of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18), the enemy of Israel, under the leadership of the Rabshakeh (military commander) from Assyria, mocked Israel, saying: “ Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ …Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’” (vss 30, 35). When your heart is under tension, what do you do?

​What will Hannah do? If Hannah had had the New Testament, she would have found comfort in the words of Jesus that we “ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). How strongly do you desire something? How strongly do you pray to God? The Bible condemns vain prayers (Matthew 6:1-6) but it encourages us to persist in prayer. Thus Paul enjoins us to “devote ourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2).

THINGS GET WORSE BEFORE THEY GET BETTER - 1:7-19:
​On one occasion, Hannah went to the temple to worship. While there, she was continually provoked by Peninnah. Because of Hannah’s mental condition, she could not even eat (vs. 7, 10). Verse 10 says, literally, that she was “bitter of soul.” Have you had (or still have) a problem that God hasn’t resolved? Sometimes do you want to cry, frustrated perhaps even at God because He has not yet answered your prayer? Hannah prayed to the Lord with a bitter soul (much like Naomi - Ruth 1:20). As far as Hannah was concerned, the situation was desperate. What was she going to do?

​We rejoice, under the law of Christ, that we have the Holy Spirit who helps us in our prayers (Romans 8:26-27). Hannah suffered until she made an oath to God (1:11) and promised to God that she would give the boy back to Him, if she could be given the privilege of bearing a child. Hannah felt miserable. Yet, she promised that the boy would take the “Nazarite vow” from Numbers 6.

​“Remember me” (vs 11) has a special understanding in the Old Testament. It often carried the idea of “be attentive to” or “give attention to” with a resulting action. Hannah wanted God to be attentive to her and to open her womb.

​Eli, the high priest, sees her and believes she is drunk: 1:12-14. In the middle of these verses, we see the meaning of prayer: It is a conversation with God in your heart; it is a pouring out of your heart’s desires to the loving Father in heaven (1:15). So, primarily, prayer is an individual matter between us and God. Only her lips were moving; she was praying in her heart. But Eli thought she was drunk.

So observe Hannah’s answer and the plea from her heart: 1:15-16. She says she was “a woman troubled in spirit” (ESV). Peninnah was making Hannah’s yoke harder to bear, irritating her and provoking her. “I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation,” (NASV) Hannah says. If we have a brother or sister with a burden, let’s not increase their burden – let’s help them to bear their burden (Rom 12:14-15; Gal 6:2). We weren’t created to irritate others! Let’s encourage and help one another.

​Eli blessed Hannah and gave her hope: 1:17-18. After his talk, “the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Prayer gives us hope because we know that God hears the prayers of the righteous (James 5:16). However, along with prayer, we have the responsibility to encourage others. We are not in the discouragement ministry.

​So when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Here, in the account of Hannah, we see that when the going gets tough, the tough go to God in prayer! Even if no one else helps bear our burdens, God will help us. Psalm 27:10 - “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.” (cf. 1 Peter 5:7).

​Will God give Hannah a response? Will He open her womb?

HANNAH FULFILLS HER OATH - 1:20-23:
​In the end, Hannah received a response to her prayer and was blessed: 1:19-20. Elkanah did what he could; He “had relations with Hannah his wife” (vs 19). After we have done what we can do and we pray that the Father will resolve the problem, we then linger in hope. God gave her a response: “The LORD remembered her (vs 20).” Hannah gave the boy the name “Samuel”, which means “God hears.” Hannah gave birth to a son, dedicated him to the Lord God. Then Samuel becomes the last judge and first in a long line of prophets dedicated to teaching the message of God.

How difficult it would be to leave your son, whom you had desired so strongly for so long! Now Hannah has a child, a son - according to her wishes. What will she do? Will she remember her oath? God remembered her. Will she remember God? Hannah prepared Samuel and left him at the temple, fulfilling her oath - vs 24. Later, God blessed her even further, giving her three more boys and two girls (2:21). When it seems that our hopes are barren, do we persist in prayer? When it seems that all hope is lost, do we maintain our faith? When someone else receives a blessing, do we irritate them?

​“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col 4:2). If we persist in prayer and we do not lose hope, God will bless us beyond our expectations – even in the midst of moral decadence!

CONCLUSION:
When it seems that our hopes are “barren,” what do we do? Do we persist in prayer? When it seems that all hope has gone, what do we do? Do we keep our faith? When someone else receives a blessing, what do we do? Do we provoke them?

​After God gives a response to our prayers, do we fulfill what we have promised God? Are we people of integrity? If we persist in prayer, let us also persist in fulfilling our responsibilities relative to that prayer.

​Take home message: If we persist in prayer, let’s not lose hope. The Lord will bless us beyond what we can imagine!