Hannah: A Model of Faith

May 12, 2019                   NOTES NOT EDITED

Hannah:  A Model of Faith

1Samuel 1:1-2:11

SIS—Hannah is just one of many women in the Bible who is a model of great faith for all people of faith—man or woman.

Today is Mother’s Day.  We honor the second-best gift God has ever given to the world.  I’d like for us to take just a moment to recall how much we have learned from our mothers.  Our mother’s taught us:

1. RELIGION. "You'd better pray that will come out of the carpet."
2. TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
3. PLANNING. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
4.  CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
5.  WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado hit it!”
6.  JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you".
7.  CONFUSION. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.

None of us would be here today without our mothers.  Whatever faults they may have had, we still own them for our lives.  One mother in the Bible, and there are many, displays five characteristics every Christian should demonstrate in our lives.

1.  Great Mothers have real PROBLEMS (1:1-8)

Hannah is a Bible hero.  Like all Biblical heroes, she had problems.  The Bible never whitewashes the lives of its heroes.  Noah was a drunk, Moses had anger issues, Rahab was a prostitute, and Hannah was a “barren woman.”  The Bible is the real story of God dealing with real people facing real struggles.  Hannah is one such hero.

Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives.  The portrayal of Elkanah in the Bible is that of a “devoutly religious, God-fearing man.”  Many of the characters during the time of the judges, including kings and priests, were moral failures.  Verse 3 says this of Elkanah:

³ This man would go up from his town every year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh.

Shiloh was the center for Israelite worship before Jerusalem was established as the Holy City years after this time.  Elkanah was a devout, God-fearing man but he was not perfect.  He had two wives.  Hannah is mentioned first so she was probably Elkanah’s first wife.  Polygamy was one of the many sins that plagued Israel in the O.T. It was used to gain an heir when a wife was wife was barren or childless.  But, make no mistake about it—God’s design for marriage from the beginning was “one man, one woman for a lifetime.”  The N.T. unequivocally denounces polygamy (Mt. 19:4-5; 1Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6 to name a few places).  Elkanah had faith but it was not perfect faith by any means.  He tried to “help God out” by taking a second, fertile wife.  This gave him a divided family.  Elkanah is yet another example of a Bible hero that was far from faultless. 

Hannah had a big problem.  Apart from sharing a husband with a a nagging, hurtful second wife, Hannah was childless.  This meant that she was considered, “damaged goods,” and was looked down upon by society as demonstrated by the actions of her “rival wife,” Peninnah.  Verse 6 says,

⁶ Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving.

Motherhood is a highly esteemed and greatly valued station in life, even in our day—though motherhood, gender, and marriage are under attack today.  The fact that we have a special holiday to honor motherhood speaks to the fact of the importance of this experience in life.  Hannah had not experienced the blessing of motherhood.

There are more than a few women that desperately want to bear children but cannot.  I’m sure such women—perhaps you are one such woman here this morning—feel that “Mother’s Day” is a cruel joke.  I’m sure Hannah would have felt that way.  So heavy was this burden upon Hannah that verse 10 says,

¹⁰ Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord
and wept with many tears.

When we experience problems, such as Hannah’s bareness or any number of challenges in life, we tend to think that God has forgotten us.  Or worse, we feel that God is punishing, even ridiculing us.  Many atheists assert that with so much evil and suffering and problems in this world there could not possibly be a god—and especially not the All-loving, All-powerful God of the Bible.

Regardless of the theological issues of evil in our world, it is clear to all of us, that all people have problems—Hannah was no different.  So, if you are experiencing great troubles, trials, and problems in life, then you just might be a Bible hero like Hannah.  People of faith have real problems.

2.  Great Mothers pray fervent PRAYERS (1:9-18)

Elkanah did what many of us do when faced with problems—we take action to help God out.  While we must always be looking for ways to put ourselves in a place where God can bless us, acting too quickly without fervent praying always makes things worse.  I have explained this many times over the years—moving forward without first praying to receive God’s direction never works out well.

Hannah took the right approach to her problem—she prayed.  Perhaps it was motivated by desperation, but she prayed.   Hannah didn’t pray the trivial prayers we so often pray. She prayed fervently.  Fervent prayers are prayers so deep they exceed the capacity of our human language.  Her prayers were more like crying out in anguish, or as the literal translation says, “Vowing a vow,” which the HCSB translates as “pleading.”  The best prayers are often motivated by desperation.

Notice in verse 12 the description of Hannah’s praying,

¹² While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her lips. ¹³ Hannah was praying silently,  and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and scolded her, “How long are you going to be drunk?  Get rid of your wine!” ¹⁵ “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.  ¹⁶ Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;  I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”

People who pray fervently, as Hannah did, go to a place with God that transcends human language and exceeds human understanding.  Many who pray fervently have been accused of “being drunk,” that is, under the influence of alcohol.  When the disciples prayed themselves into the Presence of God at Pentecost, they too were accused of being “drunk.”  (Acts 2)

Fervent praying is Holy Spirit assisted praying.  In fact, being deep into God through the Holy Spirit is compared to being “drunk”:

^{Ephesians 5    18} And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.

We all know what it means to be “DUI,” (Driving Under the Influence)  but what we need in the church from people of faith today are those who are “PUI”—PRAYING UNDER THE SPIRIT.”

Hannah is a model for all people of faith because she “prayed fervently.”  What does it take to “express fervent prayers to God.”  Well, as I said, for one it takes “praying under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit.”  But it takes something else to express fervent prayers.  Vs 15:

 “No, my lord . . .“I am a woman with a broken heart.

Here’s something I learned too late in life:  you will never have a real breakTHROUGH, until you have a total breakDOWN!

Why do we not see Elkanah expressing such deep and powerful prayers?  Because, he was not totally broken by the circumstances of life.  He trusted in his own ingenuity—taking a second wife—instead of trusting in God’s grace.  Hannah, on the other hand, prayed fervently because she was “totally broken by her circumstances.”  God cannot fill us with Himself until we are empty of OUR self.  It is a simple principle of fervent, effectual praying that we must first come to the end of ourselves to experience the fullness of God.

Hannah faced an insurmountable problem.  Instead of letting her circumstances go to her “feet” and send her running away in despair, she let her circumstances drive her to her knees in fervent prayer.

Hannah is a model of Christian faith through her fervent prayers.  Never underestimate the power of a praying woman—or man.

3.  Great Mothers experience God’s PROVISIONS (1:19-20)

¹⁹ The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.  Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.  ²⁰ After some time,  Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,  because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”

God will meet your needs.  Provisions are what God provides in response to our faithfulness. God will ALWAYS meet your needs with His provisions.  We are all familiar with the 23^rd Psalm.  It says,

 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

God is not good some of the time.  God is good all of the time! Until you understand this principle in Scripture you will never have the sense of the overwhelming satisfaction of God’s innumerable provisions.  The N.T. expresses the “promise of God’s provisions”:

^{Matthew 7    8} For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

From beginning to end we see God revealing Himself to us as the “One Who Provides.”  In Hebrew He is called, “Yaweh jireh,” God Who Provides.

Do you recall the story of Abraham’s test to take his only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah?  Abraham was faithful to God’s command.  But, remember, that an angel from heaven prevented Abraham from carrying out the sacrifice.  Instead, there was heard the bleating of a lamb in the thicket.  Here’s how that story ends:

^{Gen. 22:  14} And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, [Yahweh yireh] so today it is said: “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

God will ALWAYS provide what you need when you need it in response to your faith and fervent prayer.  Now, that is an absolutely incredible promise and truth of His Word, but one that not many people really understand—or even believe.

God will never, and I mean never, fail to give you what you need just at the time you need it.  He is absolutely trustworthy to provide for you.  He’s not like Ralph.  A teacher was trying to help Myles with his math with a problem from real life.  The teacher said, “Suppose your friend, Ralph borrows $10 and agrees to pay you back $1 per week. After 7 weeks, how much would you have?”  Myles answered, “Nothing.”  “Nothing?” the teacher repeated somewhat disgusted.  “You sure don’t know very much about math.”  Myles replied, “No, Sir, that’s not it.  You just don’t know very much about Ralph.”  God is not like Ralph.  He can always be trusted to provide.

Hannah is a model for what it means to be a person of faith.  People of faith have problems.  People of faith express fervent prayers.  People of faith experience God’s provisions.

4.  Great Mothers excel in keeping PROMISES (1:21-28)

²⁷ I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for, ²⁸ I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”

Hannah made a promise, and she kept it as difficult as it must have been hard to leave her three-year old son in the Temple to serve God the rest of his life. 

The Bible talks a good deal about “making vows” or promises.  In Psalm 15 the Holy Poet describes a person who can dwell in God’s Presence as one: ⁴ who keeps his word whatever the cost. The Bible also warns about “making promises you don’t intend to keep”: ^{Eccl. 5:5} Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

Our word is a sacred trust.  Words are powerful which is why “promises are so powerful.”  We live in a nation where a “man’s word means very little.”  We see corporate CEO’s cheating people out of billions, large corporations reneging on debt and seeking government bailouts; we see marriage vows broken at a rate greater than they are made; and of course, every two and four years we are subjected to the “empty promises” of politicians.

We live in a nation where a person’s word means very little.  Now, here’s where it may get a bit personal.  Every person that gets saved has promised to make Jesus Christ the Absolute Lord of Life. Yet, very soon after the blush of the moment of salvation fades and the hair dries from the baptism, people go back to living their own way.

So many people who have promised to make Jesus Lord barely even think about Him much from day to day.  They completely skip out on their promise and vows.  Hannah was a model of Christian faith because she kept her promise.

People of faith have problems.  People of faith express fervent prayers.  People of faith experience God’s provisions.  People of faith excel in keeping promises.  But, just as importantly:

5.  Great Mothers EXPLODE in PRAISE (2:1-11)

Chapter 2, verses 1-10 is called, Hannah’s Song, a beautiful song of praise.  When you live as a person of faith, praise will be the natural expression of your life.  You won’t be able to hold in your praise any more than a stick of dynamite can keep from exploding once its fuse is lit.  Hannah praised God saying,

2:1  My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord [proud animal with its head lifted high]. My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.² There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You!

In the next nine verses Hannah explodes with praise to God for not only meeting the needs of the faithful, but for exceeding those needs. I can’t help but think today that if more of us would follow Hannah’s example of faith as a godly mother, then our lives would regularly and enthusiastically explode in praise.

Praise is as powerful as anything else we practice in life.  Praising God brings us into His very Presence.  The Bible tells us (Psa. 22:3):

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.

This verse paints the picture of God sitting on His throne eagerly anticipating the praises of those He has redeemed.  Praise brings us into the very throne room of heaven.  Praise is powerful!

There is so much more we could glean from this passage, but time will not permit.  Let is suffice to say that Hannah is not only a great model of motherhood, but she is also a great model for people of faith—but men and women.  Great Christians, like great mothers, live lives of full and enthusiastic devotion to God, in spite of problems.

Let’s seek to follow Hannah’s example.