Your Steadfast Love is Better than Life... and Motherhood, and.....

1 Samuel 1:19-27 and I Samuel 2:1-11
They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.2:1 And Hannah prayed and said,“My heart exults in the Lord;my strength is exalted in the Lord.My mouth derides my enemies,because I rejoice in your salvation.2 “There is none holy like the Lord;there is none besides you;there is no rock like our God.3 Talk no more so very proudly,let not arrogance come from your mouth;for the Lord is a God of knowledge,and by him actions are weighed.4 The bows of the mighty are broken,but the feeble bind on strength.5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.The barren has borne seven,but she who has many children is forlorn.6 The Lord kills and brings to life;he brings down to Sheol and raises up.7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;he brings low and he exalts.8 He raises up the poor from the dust;he lifts the needy from the ash heapto make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,and on them he has set the world.9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,for not by might shall a man prevail.10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;against them he will thunder in heaven.The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.”11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

I love what came out of Hannah earnestly seeking the Lord by pouring her heart out to Him sincerely in prayer in faith. He met her! He restored to her the joy of her salvation. He enabled her to trust Him and to see His character. He enabled her to worship Him. He enabled her to love Him and her husband. All of these things could not happen in Hannah’s own strength from her place of deep despair, but the Lord was faithful to do these things! Her heart was changed, not because she got what she wanted, but because the Lord changed her heart when she sought Him and He enabled Hannah to see His goodness and to experience His peace. Even more than the blessing of a child, this was the reward of earnestly seeking the Lord!

How do I know that seeing the Lord was her reward, independantly from acheiving motherhood? Hannah experienced joy and peace and reconciliation even before she received the blessing of a child! Before she knew that she would be a mother, she learned to trust God in the midst of her trial and she was enabled to worship God and love others (like her husband). The story of Hannah in the Bible ends with her beautiful song of praise, right after she gives up her only child for service to the Lord! Something in Hannah's heart must have changed! God revealed more and more of His character to Hannah through her trial, and seeing His character grew love in her heart for Him, producing great joy and peace for her!

How many times have we prayed for a child! What a day it would be if the Lord sees fit to bless us with a child too! Yet, if He never does, I want to still trust Him and His character—His Lovingkindness, His Mercy, His Righteousness, His Justice, His Perfect Goodness, His Faithfulness, His Sovereignty, His Might, etc. More than any other blessing, I want to know Him, I want to see His beauty in increasing measure, I want to love Him, I want to treasure Him above all else, I want to worship Him, and I want to love others because of Him. These are my primary desires. I want these primary desires to trump all of my other desires, and I want my desire for children to flow only from these primary desires. My only hope for this is to keep going back to Lord humbly and honestly, like Hannah did. I must earnestly seek Him like Hannah did. What does it mean to seek Him earnestly? http://www.dictionary.com/ defines earnest as: 1. serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous: an earnest worker; 2. showing depth and sincerity of feeling: earnest words; an earnest entreaty; 3. seriously important; demanding or receiving serious attention.–noun 4. full seriousness, as of intention or purpose: to speak in earnest.

This definition of "earnest" helped shed light on Psalm 63 for me as David earnestly sought the Lord in the wilderness and in the midst of his trials. In David’s earnest (serious, intentional, sincere, zealous, important) seeking, the Lord revealed His goodness and satisfied David’s soul, bringing him joy, peace, and trust in the middle of uncertain circumstances. Every time I have earnestly sought the Lord, He has been faithful to reveal Himself to me. The result is more joy, peace, and trust in Him! Oh, that I would more often and more naturally seek Him earnestly in all the circumstances of my life so that I might be satisfied with His steadfast love that truly is better than life!

Psalm 63
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,beholding your power and glory.3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise you.4 So I will bless you as long as I live;in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6 when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8 My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my lifeshall go down into the depths of the earth;10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;they shall be a portion for jackals.11 But the king shall rejoice in God;all who swear by him shall exult,for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Help in the Time of Need

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

We pick up Hannah’s story after her husband talked to her about her all consuming sorrow. Although we don’t know if it happened immediately or easily, Hannah eventually responds to her husband’s rebuke with action. Verse 9 suggests that perhaps she finally emerged to participate in the worshipful feast by eating and drinking. More importantly, we do know that she finally poured her sorrowful heart out to God. Rather than remaining introspective or merely walking through the outward motions of participating in the feast, Hannah sought her Loving Father with a sincere and honest heart. In doing so, Hannah was living out Philippians 4:4-7:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Interestingly, this verse commands us to rejoice. Yet, we cannot muster up joy. This task seems particularly impossible sorrowful circumstances. We are simply powerless to obey this command to rejoice in ourselves! However, this section of Scripture does give us the solution to this dilemma. Firstly, we are called to rejoice in the Lord. Our joy is not tied to our circumstances. If we are believers in the good news of the gospel (that our Good and Gracious God loves us and paid the ultimate sacrifice for relationship with us despite our rebellion against Him and redeems us from our sin so that we can enjoy Him forever) there is always reason for thanksgiving and always reason for joy. Secondly, it tells us that the Lord is at hand. He is near to us always. Thirdly, it tells us that we have access to our Lord to receive help. Rather than being anxious, we can pray and present our requests with thanksgiving to God. Finally, this section of Scripture tells us that God is faithful to give us peace that rises above our understanding. This peace defies our circumstances! HE is the one to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! Although we cannot rationalize our way to joy, it is God Himself can supernaturally fill us with the fruit of His Spirit—love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. He delights to answer our prayers for this.

Luke 11:9-13: 9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

We should never underestimate the value of going to Him in our sorrow. I love this illustration from one of my favorite theologians, Dr. Bruce Ware. In a sermon I heard him preach (I couldn’t find the link online unfortunately), Dr. Ware told us to imagine if one of his young daughters was riding her bike in the street in front of his house while he was sitting on the porch watching. He told us to imagine that his daughter fell off of her bike, scraped her knee, and started crying. Seeking comfort from her pain, the daughter immediately runs past her loving, concerned, father who is right in front of her, and instead runs over to the neighbor mowing his lawn. This would grieve a father who wants to comfort and protect his daughter in a way that only a father can. In a similar way, God wants us to go to Him with our sorrows! Unlike an earthly father, our Heavenly Father created us, knows us completely, loves us perfectly, designed us to need Him and to be fulfilled in Him alone, has the answer to every problem we face, and can do all things. He is the only One who can help us in the way that we need!

Getting back to Hannah…. she doesn’t try to clean herself up before going to the Lord. She doesn’t pretend to have things “together”. Instead, she is honest before her Loving Father and she pours out her heart to Him. She respectfully and humbly presents her request before God with faith in God’s ability to do anything He pleases.

Additionally, Hannah makes herself vulnerable and receives help from God’s people. We are told that she was so focused on her conversation with God, that Eli the priest mistook her intensity for drunkenness. Rather than getting indignant, proud, or rude because Eli misunderstood her situation, Hannah responded graciously in humility. Rather than shrinking back from community when she was misunderstood and wrongly rebuked, Hannah patiently explained her situation to Eli, which enabled him to join her in her prayer for a child. This is not an easy response. How many times do I shrink back when I hear an insensitive or misunderstanding comment about my infertility! However, I can also testify to the great blessing it is to allow myself to be real and honest with Christian brothers and sisters who can in turn encourage and pray for me!

After pouring her heart out to the Lord and confiding in a Christian brother who joined her in prayer, Hannah experienced peace. She was able to eat and her face was no longer sad. She did not have the child for which her heart longed, but she did have peace that surpassed all understanding because she finally laid out her heart to the Lord and He was faithful to give her peace.

Isaiah 53 calls Jesus “a man of sorrows”. Jesus responded to sorrow perfectly, and His life serves as our perfect model. He suffered greatly, and His time in the Garden of Gethsemane tells us that He took His sorrows to the Father! We are told in Luke 22:44 that “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly”. He did not make demands of God to change His circumstances. He humbly asked for relief, but He sought, asked for, and ultimately desired that only the Father’s will to be done. Jesus loves the Father and therefore desired to obey the Father more than He desired relief from His circumstances. He was ready to accept what the Father would give, even if it would break His heart. He sought strength and power from the Father through the Spirit to endure the Father’s will. He had faith in His Father’s character and purposes. He anticipated the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross”). He was not immobilized by His pain, but rather moved forward in loving sacrificial service to others in the ultimate form. Because of this heart, the Father “highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:10-11)

While I cannot do these things in my own strength, I can follow Jesus’ example in going to the throne of grace (through prayer and the Word) to receive the help I need! I can honestly say that every time I have earnestly poured my heart out to God, He has been faithful to meet me as I sought Him--through my study of His word, through the Body of Christ, through circumstances, or through a song, a sermon, a book, etc.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your faithfulness! Thank you that we have access to you through Jesus! Thank you that you give us your Spirit to guide and empower and equip us to live as you would have us to live. Thank you, Jesus, for your perfect example to us! Help us to follow that example by your Spirit, as we are powerless to do so without you! Thank you that you do not leave us as slaves to our sin or even to our emotions or circumstances. We believe your promises and truth about this. We come to you with our sorrow. We cry out to you for help, comfort, and peace. Protect us from sinning against you and against others. Reveal our sin to us and grant us repentance. Fill us with the power to endure patiently and lovingly. Give us joy in you despite our circumstances! Remind us of your faithfulness always. We are so grateful to you for the gospel! Help us to come around each other as the Body of Christ to give and receive love in sorrow. We also pray that you would grant our requests for our deferred hopes—whether that would be children, a spouse, a job, the salvation of a loved one, or whatever godly longing is in our heart. You are the giver of all good gifts. You are our Great Provider. All things are possible for you. Yet, we pray that your will would be done because we love and trust you, our Great Father. Please meet us in our time of need. In Jesus Name, Amen

All Consuming Sorrow

Dear Heavenly Father, Please reveal yourself to us as we open up your Word. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see and believe and live your truth. May your Word sink into our souls and change us. May you be glorified by in this study. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

1 Samuel 1:1-8 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

Hannah had it rough. Not only did she ache to be a mother, but she had to share her husband with another wife, and the other wife had his children and taunted her for her inability to conceive. We are told that this was a pattern in Hannah’s life year after year. I can imagine that with each year, it just got harder and harder for Hannah. Moreover, as often as Hannah faithfully went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her! I could just imagine how confusing that must have been—especially knowing it was the Lord who closed her womb. Perhaps she wondered, “Lord, I am trying to obey you and follow your ways, why would you withhold the blessing of a child from me while you bless Penninah who sinfully mocks me all the time?” Or maybe she asked, “Lord, isn’t it enough that I don’t have children and Peninnah does, why must I bear her provocations as well?”

Regardless of what she was thinking, we do know that Hannah’s pain overwhelmed her to the point of weeping and not eating. To further grasp the significance of this, it is helpful to have a little background here. Elkanah had gone to Shiloh to participate in one of three holy feasts to worship and offer joyful sacrifices to God. After the sacrifice was made, the offerer could eat of it and distribute it to those whom he chose. Theologian John Wesley's sermon notes on this passage tell us this: "Out of the sacrifice of his peace - offerings, the greatest part whereof fell to the offerer, and was eaten by him, and his friends or guests, before the Lord. And out of this he gave them all portions, as the master of the feast used to do to the guests. " Elkanah gave Hannah the gift of a double portion of this offering as a demonstration of love for her. It was to be eaten by her in joyful worship to God. Instead of accepting the loving gift from her husband and participating in this act of worship to God, Hannah was distracted by her sorrow. Her sorrow became all consuming. As Bible Commentator Matthew Henry describes, “It made her uneasy to herself and to all her relations. She did not eat of the feast; her trouble took away her appetite, made her unfit for any company, and a jar in the harmony of family-joy.”

Hannah’s husband tries to cheer her up. We don’t know what Hannah thought of her husband’s words initially. Maybe she thought, “Why can’t you just understand what I am going through?” Maybe she thought, “You are right, I should not allow myself to drown in my sorrow and introspection.” There does seem to be some rebuke in what Elkanah was saying to her about the way she was being consumed by this struggle. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says:

Elkanah, mindful of Hannah's grief, asked her, "Why are you downhearted?" (v.8). More literally the question is, "Why is your heart bad?" The only other precise OT parallel for this phrase is Deuteronomy 15:10: "Do so without a grudging heart" (lit., "May your heart not be bad when you do so!" [i.e., when you give generously to the Lord]). To do something "with a bad heart" means to do it resentfully (or grudgingly; so NIV on Deut 15:10). Thus Elkanah is not so much asking Hannah why her heart is sad ("Why are you downhearted?") but why her heart is bad ("Why are you resentful?"). Are you angry or full of spite because you do not have children? "Don't I"—your husband, who loves you very much—"mean more to you than ten sons?"

While the passage does not explicitly say so, I am inclined to agree with these commentators that there was something sinful in Hannah’s all-consuming response to her situation and that her husband was gently calling her out on it. Like Hannah, I sometimes find myself drowning in my own pain to the exclusion of all others. I compare my situation with others, and I often find that I have been given the short end of the stick—minimizing the pain of others and amplifying my own. I get self-absorbed and self-consumed to the extent that it interferes with my ability to love others—to rejoice with those who rejoice, to mourn with those who mourn, and to humbly and sacrificially serve. I lose sight of my blessings and instead zoom in on the circumstances that cause me pain. I think this was Hannah’s sin too.

I love this observation by Matthew Henry about the state of Hannah’s mourning: “… it was her infirmity so far to give way to the sorrow of the world as to unfit herself for holy joy in God. Those that are of a fretful spirit, and are apt to lay provocations too much to heart, are enemies to themselves, and strip themselves very much of the comforts both of life and godliness.”

Our sorrows should not overshadow our joy in the Lord if we believe the good news of the Gospel and if we desire and worship the Lord above all things. Our desires for changed circumstances should not overshadow our desire for the God and for His good and perfect will. Our suffering should not distract us from loving those around us. Our feelings do not entitle us to “let go” and behave however we feel to the neglect of God and others.

I want to be clear about what I am not saying though--I am not saying that there is something wrong with grieving. We see this picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus anticipated: bearing the full weight of the sins of the world, absorbing the full wrath against those sins, being separated from the Father with whom He enjoyed perfect relationship, enduring the mocking scorn of the creation He rightfully ruled, being abandoned by His friends, and suffering the excruciating pain and brutality of it all. Matthew 26:37 tells us that Jesus was sorrowful “even to the point of death”. Luke 22:44 tells us that in His agony, Jesus’ sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. Jesus did not sin in any of the emotions He experienced.

We have much to learn in what Jesus did do in His sorrow. We’ll talk more about that next time. In the meantime, I’ll close with this quote from John Piper:

If there were no afflictions and difficulties and troubles and pain, our fallen hearts would fall ever more deeply in love with the comforts and securities and pleasures of this world instead of falling more deeply in love with our inheritance beyond this world, namely, God himself. Suffering is appointed for us in this life as a great mercy to keep us from loving this world more than we should and to make us rely on God who raises the dead. "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
There is no other way. Do not begrudge them. They are hard to bear. I know they are. But if you keep your inheritance before you, and if God gives you the grace to see what Paul calls "the riches of the glory of his inheritance" (Ephesians 1:18), then will you not say with the apostle, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us"? –John Piper, from his sermon, “Children, Heirs, and Fellow Sufferers,” available at: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2002/89_Children_Heirs_and_Fellow_Sufferers/

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your Word and the way it speaks to every circumstance in our lives. Thank you that there is purpose in suffering and that you do not leave us alone in it. Just as Jesus wept with Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus, I know you weep with us in our pain as well. Please make us faithful in the way that we suffer. May we never desire anything or anyone more than we desire you! Please forgive us for our lack of desire for you and fill us with an all consuming hunger for you. Forgive us for being self-absorbed and demanding. Forgive us for excusing our sins on the basis of the emotions we feel. Sometimes it feels so overwhelming. Clearly we do not have the power to do this on our own. Please give us the strength and the power of your Spirit to resist our sinful inclinations. By your Spirit, may we keep our eyes on you rather than on ourselves or our circumstances. Please fill us with love for you to endure our circumstances with patience. Please fill us with love for others so that we can humbly and sincerely serve others out of love. I ask all of this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Hope Deferred

Psalm 127 calls children “a heritage from the Lord” and “the fruit of the womb a reward.”

Psalm 128:3 says of the man who fears the Lord, “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.”

I want to be a fruitful vine. I want to know the blessing of children. I want to teach my children to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and might as Deuteronomy 6 instructs.

But for many of us--for reasons we cannot understand--our Gracious, Loving, and Mighty God has closed our wombs. Each month, our hopes of welcoming and nurturing a new life into this world are exchanged for cramps and bleeding. We do not know when or whether we will be given the gift of children. We experience the pain and sickness that comes with the “hope deferred” that is described in Proverbs 13:12. We fight against sins like bitterness, anger, jealousy, and discontentment that rise up within us. Yet in Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God promises us a deeper joy and a name that is better than sons and daughters. God calls us to be fruitful in every season of life, whether or not we have the blessing of motherhood. He even empowers us to resist the temptations of sin that comes along with each of our trials.

Last year, I led a ministry for infertile women at our church. As part of this ministry, I took a deeper look at the story of Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel. This passage of Scripture has so much encouragement for women undergoing infertility (and really for anyone with any kind of hope deferred). Hannah experienced the pain of infertility. While Hannah’s infertility eventually ended with pregnancy, her story tells us that there is an even greater blessing than motherhood. Her painful journey brought her to a place of much joy. In my next couple blog posts, I plan to discuss this in greater detail. I pray that the Lord would reveal Himself to us as we read this passage of Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:1-28 and 1 Samuel 2:1-11

There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”

21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

2:1 And Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 “There is none holy like the Lord;
there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princesand inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.
9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
against them he will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his kingand exalt the power of his anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.