Given to God

Often as a child, we have a toy we desperately want. Perhaps it is something all the other kids have except us. We are finally given it for Christmas or our birthday only to be told to share it with our sibling or friends. It doesn’t seem fair. The toy is what we wanted and waited for. Why should we have to give it up?

As an adult, I can think of things I’ve wanted and prayed for, and things I’ve had to give up, but nothing that I really wanted, prayed for, waited for, and then had to give up. Maybe some of you have experienced that. Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 did. Toys pale in comparison to Hannah’s story. Take a couple minutes to read 1 Samuel 1.

In the opening verses of 1 Samuel 1, we discover a man named Elkanah who had two wives – Hannah whom he loved (5) but who was barren, and Peninnah who had children (vs 2). Being barren is difficult enough for a woman who longs to have children, but Hannah had the added hardship of “her rival” (Peninnah) provoking her grievously to irritate her (vs 6). It seems Peninnah did this particularly when the family would go to Shiloh each year to the house of the Lord to worship and present an offering. Not only does Peninnah taunt Hannah for being barren, but she is also trying to ruin Hannah’s yearly time of special worship at the house of the Lord. Imagine on your way to church your spouse, kids, or a friend are pushing all your buttons, poking all those “volcano-ready-to-rupture- spots. What is your frame of mind as you enter corporate worship? Where is your focus? This is what Peninnah did to Hannah.

Verse 5 informs us that the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb. This wasn’t a punishment for Hannah as some thought in those days. God had His purpose and His timing for His glory. Sarah was barren ninety years before she bore Isaac. Yet, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham through Isaac’s son Jacob. God used the time of barrenness and waiting for the promised son to grow Abraham’s faith. Jacob’s wife Rachel was barren. Her sister Leah, also married to Jacob, would provoke her as Peninnah did Hannah. God gave Rachel Joseph through whom He repeatedly displayed His sovereignty and provision. Elizabeth was barren, but at the right time, God opened her womb and blessed her with John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus. Likewise, God had His purpose in closing Hannah’s womb until due time.

One particular year during their time at the house of the Lord, Hannah was so upset by Peninnah’s provoking, that she wept and would not eat (vs 7). When everyone else was done eating, Hannah went to the tabernacle to pray. We read that she was deeply distressed, prayed again, and wept bitterly (vs 10). I don’t blame Hannah. Her hurt over her barrenness was enough to bear, but on top of that, Peninnah was mercilessly provoking her in the very thing that already was hurtful. However, Hannah didn’t let her bitterness fester. She gave her hurt and bitterness to God in prayer as well as her desire for a son.

Hannah began her prayer by addressing God as “Lord of hosts” which means Lord of the mighty armies. Perhaps Hannah had Peninnah in mind as she called on God as her protector. She then vowed that if God blessed her with a son, she would give that son to God “all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head” (vs 11). This means more than we might think at first glance. First, her son would be the son of a Levite, so he would already be dedicated to serving God. A priest’s service was from the ages of 30-50. Hannah was vowing that her son would be given to God all the days of his life not just the typical twenty years. She could have been satisfied with her son serving God for twenty years as a Levite, but her vow gave back to God beyond what was required.

Second, Hannah vowed that no razor would touch her son’s head. In other words, that he would be a Nazirite from birth. Among other distinctions, a Nazirite vow was typically made for a set and short period of time. Samuel and Samson stood apart as being Nazirites from birth (Judges 13:50). Again, Hannah’s vow surpassed the requirement.

Hannah “continued praying” (vs 12). Another way to phrase it is, “as she multiplied to pray.” Her prayer wasn’t a quick say it and move on. She labored in prayer. Eli the high priest watched as Hannah prayed silently in her heart but moved her lips. He rebuked her for being drunk (vs 12-14). Hannah respectfully explained that Eli was wrong. Whether or not Eli understood his own words, he answered with a blessing, with the words God intended him to say, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to Him”[1] (vs 17).

Hannah received this word of God with faith as she “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad” (vs 18). The next morning, Hannah (and the rest of Elkanah’s family) worshipped before returning home (18-19). Hannah gave her desire for a child, her hurt, and her bitterness to God through prayer in faith. Like Philippians 4:6-7, as we give our anxiety to God in prayer with thanksgiving, He gives us a peace that passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds.

Like Sarah, Hannah did not conceive immediately, but she waited patiently in faith on God’s promise. “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” (vs 20). Hannah did not forget her vow to God but told Elkanah that she was waiting until Samuel was weaned (2-3 years) to take him to Shiloh and give him back to God. Elkanah didn’t argue with her. I imagine he wanted a little time with his son before giving him back to God. Whatever his thinking, he said to Hannah, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish His word” (vs 23). “This was wonderful counsel from Elkanah. He said, ‘do everything in obedience to God so we may see His word established among us.’”[2] Hannah and Elkanah submitted to God’s purposes.

The day came to take Samuel to Shiloh to give him back to God for the rest of his days. Hannah kept her vow, but this was at great personal cost to herself and Elkanah. Hannah gave to God the son that she had longed and waited for over many years. At Shiloh, they slaughtered one bull for the cleansing and dedication of Samuel and took Samuel to Eli (vs 25).

Hannah’s words to Eli, “I have lent him to the Lord” have a fuller meaning than we may get from the English. “The idea is not that Hannah ‘owned’ the child and ‘lent’ him to the Lord. Instead, the idea is that the child is her ‘prayer,’ or the fulfillment of her prayer to the Lord.”[3] Hannah could have gone back on her vow when she finally had the son she had waited so long for, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t cling to him as an idol. Samuel was given to God as a fulfillment of her prayer to God. If we continue reading in chapter 2:1-10, Hannah prayed again and worships God. She wasn’t bitter about giving up Samuel. She gave him back to God in faith.

Hannah gave God her deep desire, her hurt, and her bitterness. She trusted Him. When God gave her her deep desire, a son, she gave back to God the precious gift He had given her. This may seem strange to us. Hannah would see Samuel only once a year when they returned to Shiloh to worship (2:19), but her shame had been lifted, she had been given a son, and she knew that just as God had given her Samuel, He was using and growing Samuel (2:21b) for His good purposes and His glory. Doesn’t it bring most parents joy to see their children growing in their faith and serving God? God used Samuel in mighty ways because Hannah was willing to give him back to God.

Giving up Samuel wasn’t the end for Hannah either. Because Hannah was willing to give Samuel back to God, in recognition that God had given Samuel to her, God blessed Hannah with three more sons and two daughters (vs 2:21a). Hannah’s life wasn’t empty because she gave Samuel back to God. It was more blessed than she would’ve imagined.

God gave up His one and only Son Jesus who took on flesh, suffered, died, and rose again for our sin. Jesus willing gave His own life to save us. If Jesus willing gave everything for us, how can we not willing give back to Him the things He has blessed us with to be used for His good purposes and His glory?

Reflection

1. Do you give to God your deepest desires, your hurts, and even your bitterness? If not, why? What is keeping you from trusting God with them? If yes, how have you seen God grow your faith and provide for you? Note: God’s provision and answer to prayer may not come in the form you asked for like Hannah’s did, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t answering and providing.

2. Are you waiting for your “due time”? Are you waiting in faith or are you discouraged? Is hurt, bitterness, or discouragement creeping in? How can God’s work in Hannah’s life encourage you to wait in faith and patience? Did you know that Samuel sounds like the Hebrew word for “heard of God”? Do you have faith that God has heard you and cares for you as He cared for Hannah?

3. Is there a blessing you have received from God that you are holding too tightly too? Has it become an idol of your heart? What do you need to give back to God? What do you need to trust back to Him for His good purposes and His glory?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Sa 1:17. [2] David Guzik, 1 Samuel, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), 1 Sa 1:21–23. [3] David Guzik, 1 Samuel, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), 1 Sa 1:24–28.