The account of Elkanah’s family in today’s reading is another example that shows that everyone was not “doing what was right in his own eyes” in Israel in those days. Such people were not visible to the writer(s) of Judges, but were quietly living as God intended for them to live, in the midst of the awful sin that came from each one doing what his selfish heart desired.
Any woman who knows what it’s like to suffer unfulfilled longings for children understands only a fraction of what Hannah suffered because of her infertility. On top of wanting helplessly to hold her own children, Hannah had to suffer the degradation of her personal worth for her lack of children, for in that culture the worth of a woman was measured in her ability to have children. Doubtless it was all the more difficult for her that the other woman in the home had children; where could Hannah find refuge from the hurt that confronted her even in her home? Then there was the added burden of that other wife’s “provoking her bitterly to irritate her”; could you imagine having to live with that? Can you imagine how worthless Hannah must have felt? How tortured her life must have been? Hannah’s example offers inspiration to women suffering infertility today.
I can’t imagine giving up a young child to live far away. As much as Hannah must have longed to keep that boy, waiting for him for so long and desiring so intensely to have him, she loved God more. She rejoiced in the blessings God had given rather than focusing on what she was losing by giving up Samuel. She doubtless wept for her loss as she left him in Shiloh, but her “heart exulted in the Lord.” What a witness! She testified that her strength “was exalted in the Lord.” She “rejoiced in His salvation.” She knew Him to be her firm foundation. She found all that she needed for self-worth in Him, for she recognized that all are subject to God: He can change the fortunes of anyone, so that the one exalted in society is brought low, and the low one exalted. Counter to what her culture taught her, she believed that one’s station doesn’t change one’s worth in truth. What of Hannah’s example might you need to put into practice today?
Eli was about to discover the same counter-culture truth that Hannah had discovered, because he did not esteem the office of High Priest as it merited, catering instead to his sons and allowing them to degrade the office to satisfy their sinful and selfish desires. Eli himself didn’t despise God, for he warned his sons, but the judgment was pronounced against him. Actually, as God sees it, failing to honor Him is the same as despising Him, and Eli definitely failed to honor Him in the way he allowed his sons to continue in their despicable actions. If you see any injustice in that, or anything else that makes you doubt God’s good character, please confess your doubts to Him and ask Him to enlighten you. If you are truly seeking Him, He will be found by you in a way that is unforgettable!
What a contrast Eli and Hannah are, and what a contrast their legacies are! Eli’s actions impacted his entire household and its future generations in a devastating way; Hannah has given encouragement and a godly example to countless women through the ages. Does it make you think about the legacy you are building?
Just as Samuel mistook God’s voice for Eli’s, we can miss perceiving His words to us if we’re not expecting to hear from Him. Do you expect to hear from God? He doesn’t often speak audibly, but He does communicate with us in many other ways. The problem is, He doesn’t speak loudly enough to be heard over the constant barrage of noise and/or activity with which we fill every minute of our days. If we are going to hear from Him, we must seek Him, ask Him, expect Him to answer in His way and not our own, and wait for Him in an atmosphere conducive to hearing from Him. That would be a prayerful atmosphere. What would that prayerful atmosphere look like for you? Would it be outdoors or indoors? Surrounded by nature or soft music or absolute silence? He says through the writer of Psalm 46, “Be still, and know that I am God.” If stillness is foreign to you, you are going to have to practice it to take advantage of this gracious opportunity to know God.