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Godly Women of Devotion
Hannah: Gracious Surrender

1 Samuel 1:1-8 (Monday)
“There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" (NIV)
1) This man, Elkanah, appears to have come from a very fruitful bloodline! Since Hannah is mentioned first, most commentators feel she was indeed the first and beloved wife. Rather than this being a matter of blatant lust, it is believed that Elkanah sought a second wife only in order to raise up children and continue the family bloodline! What does Psalms 123:2 tell us would have been a better choice for Elkanah?
2) What stigma did barrenness hold for a Israelite woman (Deuteronomy 7:11-14; Psalm 127:3?)
3) How do Psalms 113:9 and Isaiah 54:1 encourage those of us who may not yet be natural mothers? Are there other types of “children?”
4) Being the second choice for a wife could not have been very pleasant either! Especially if you knew it was only to bear children and that your husband’s devotion lay elsewhere! As we will learn, bigamy only results in misery for everyone in this family! Abraham, our spiritual father learned that lesson the hard way—with very similar results! (Genesis 16!) It pays to wait upon the Lord—oh, if only we would learn that one lesson!
5) You can see in verse 4-5, that Elkanah especially loved and cared for his wife, Hannah. So much so, that he offers up a double portion sacrifice to the Lord in her behalf! A double portion is only mentioned four times in all of scripture:
a) Here, a double portion of a sacrificial offering
b) 2 Kings 2:9, Elisha the prophet asks for a double portion of God’s Spirit from Elijah the prophet, his mentor
c) Isaiah 61:7, God promises His children a double portion of blessing and joy
d) Revelation 18:6, a double portion of God’s wrath will one day fall upon “Babylon the Great” (which lies approximately 56 miles south of Baghdâd, Iraq!) Babylon also speaks of the world system and beliefs which exists now and during the Great Tribulation.
6) Pretty interesting that the mention of “double portion” falls precisely in line with the word of God and His plan of salvation: The Sacrifice is offered up (Jesus Christ), the Spirit is given, God’s children are blessed both now and for all eternity, and those who reject God’s great salvation through Jesus Christ receive a double portion of God’s wrath! Thought provoking!
7) Her rival (wouldn’t want to be stuck with that title!) provoked Hannah to tears and to the point where Hannah could not eat! All just to irritate her—imagine! Why do you think Peninnah tried to harass her so especially before Hannah went up to the house of the Lord?
8) Doesn’t sound like Elkanah chose wisely in a second wife! Do you think motivate such behavior in Peninnah?
9) 9) Peninnah’s taunting went on year after year after year! Think of all the opportunities Peninnah had to provoke Hannah--everytime Hannah had her period and Peninnah did not; probably prior to the start of Hannah’s period and when Peninnah’s did not have a period, or simply was late; all the months Peninnah was carrying a child and we don’t know how many she had; while Peninnah nursed her babe; while Peninnah watched her own children laughing and playing; every time Elkanah laughed and played with Peninnah’s children, when Elkanah slept with Peninnah—the list could go on and on. What sustained Hannah? What would (does) sustain you under such bitterness of soul and cruel ridicule?
10) How do you think Hannah’s suffering, her soul wrenching longing and the personal attacks of Peninnah effected her relationship with God?
11) Scripture gives no indication that Hannah ever once struck back at Peninah, or thrust blame upon her husband, Elkanah. What a gracious peacemaker! We can learn much by her perseverance, patience and forbearance!
12) Take time to read Genesis 29. In what ways was Leah’s situation similar to that of Hannah? How did the circumstances differ? Do you see any type of spiritual progression taking place in Leah’s life? What were her final words?
13) Do you have your own personal Peninnah? Well, if not in the physical world, certainly in the spiritual realm and his name is satan! Peninnah is acting just like him—taunting, belittling, harassing, accusing, pointing out failures, causing Hannah to doubt God’s goodness, to doubt that He listens and hears! I want you to know you have someone interceding in your behalf—better than Elkanah, though, truly, he did everything he could. You have Jesus Christ! You are His bride! He loves you with an everlasting love and it is His desire that you be fruitful—in every way imaginable! Indeed, He is better than ten sons, ten husbands, ten houses, ten anything!
1 Samuel 9-18 (Tuesday)
“Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple. In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” (NIV)
1) A lot of people get into “tight” situations and begin to bargain with God. Truthfully, I’ve been there. Is that what Hannah is doing here? Explain your reasoning.
2) I love what my Bible Reader’s Companion has to say about Hannah’s vow:
“Was this offering God a “pay-off”? While it might be so understood, the biblical vow is better seen as an _expression of thanksgiving, offered to God in the expectation that He intends to bless the worshiper. At the same time, a vital spiritual principle infuses Hannah’s promise. Before we are ready to receive many of God’s blessings, we must commit them to Him. Surrender purifies and prepares us so we are not harmed by God’s good gifts.”
3) Let’s look at some of the aspects of Hannah’s prayer and vow to God:
a) In faith, Hannah humbles herself by acknowledging God as Sovereign and submits herself to Him as His servant (KJV: handmaid, see Luke 1:48)
b) In faith, Hannah asks God to remember her and look upon her suffering (see Luke 23:39-43!)
c) In faith, Hannah makes her very specific request known (she didn’t just ask for a child—she asked for a son!)
d) In faith, Hannah offers her son back to the Lord! Read 2 Samuel 24:24. Oh, this vow bears a hefty price tag! What would be the cost to Hannah? To her husband? To her son?
4) 4) The KJV of James 5:16-17 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” In what way(s) would you say that Hannah’s prayer was effectual and fervent?
5) What was Hannah telling God when she made the promise that no razor would be used on his head (Numbers 6)?
6) By the way, there is no mentioned that Hannah ever consulted with her husband prior to this plea. According to Numbers 30:3-9, Elkanah could have revoked this vow. We can only suppose, but why do you think he did not assert his authority in this situation?
7) What does it mean to be a Nazarite?
8) These were not the best of times in Shiloh. The priesthood is in shambles—the prophets of God had left the land. Eli, the high priest, had become old and feeble while his sons, also temple priests, are eating the portions of the sacrifices reserved only for God! They are offering up unacceptable, blemished sacrifices and leading the people into further sin by taking part in it themselves! Eli has failed to disciplined his sons—putting them before pleasing his God! All this has led to the spiritual decay of the land. At this point, Eli is no longer hearing from God and he is so spiritually blind that he has no concept of a woman in pain—pouring out her soul to God! He accuses Hannah of drunkenness!
9) Hannah had prayed for a son, year after year—her husband, too. Yet, now we see that her prayer has changed, progressed to vowing her son would be a Nazarite! What has God done in Hannah’s heart? Why this prayer at this time in her people’s history? Do you think that seeing the spiritual decline of her people had anything to do with Hannah dedicating her son to the Lord? What do you think was her hope for her son and God’s people?
10) Finally, the light bulb comes on--Eli gets it! While Eli has greatly displeased the Lord by failing to lead His people into righteousness and has been failed as a parent by allowing sin to continue in their lives and in their office as priests, , Eli remains a priest of the Most High God (Romans 11:29!) It is because of God’s irrevocable calling that Eli is able to fulfill his priestly role and intercede in Hannah’s behalf. Beloved, regardless of how “spiritual” we feel we are, or how spiritual we actually are, we have no excuse not to pray for one another and for those without God!
11) You know, in all the years that Elkanah went up to sacrifice, there is no mention that Eli spoke to him or interceded for this family—nothing! It’s amazing that it was Eli’s misjudging another’s intent and heart that catches his attention, finally causing him to take notice of this family! Isn’t that so human! We always see the sin (or what we think is sin) in others long before we recognize it in ourselves! Self-righteousness keeps us from seeing ourselves as we really are—as God sees us!
12) Not so with our Lord, Jesus Christ! He has every tear you have ever shed recorded and stored away in His bottle (Psalms 56:8 KJV!) No detail of your life goes unnoticed! Unlike Eli, the priest—Jesus, our High Priest never once displeased God, nor was He ever unfaithful to God’s purpose in His life! He alone can be fully trusted because He alone is fully Faithful!
13) Hannah asks for favor—grace! In asking it of God’s high priest, even one who has failed to measure up to his priestly role, Hannah was asking for grace from the Lord! Grace to accept whatever God had in store for her!
14) Hannah has been changed by her encounter with the Lord—she ate and was no longer downcast! Have you had this type of revelation of who God is? How has it changed your countenance, your peace, your hope for a future?
1 Samuel 1:19-23 (Wednesday)
“Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him." When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always." "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.” (NIV)
1) Oh, in my pitiful, sinful, and yes, sometimes rebellious state how I dare to long for the Lord to remember me! Don’t you? Child of God, that is favor—that is grace! That Almighty God would pity my frailness, my humanness, my sin! Hannah may not have been in such a place, but she was needy, too! Desperately and our Lord had compassion! Aren’t you glad that God is love!
2) In the course of time? Samuel’s conception could have been immediate or Hannah may have had to wait upon the Lord yet again! I wonder if her waiting was somehow different this time?
3) Normally, a child was fully weaned by the age of 3. We know that prior to Samuel’s birth, Hannah went up every year with her family to Shiloh to sacrifice and worship. Why do you think Hannah stayed home with her son for those three years?
4) Elkanah said to his wife, “…only may the Lord make good His word.” Why would he say that when Hannah had indeed conceived and birth the son of her heart?
1 Samuel 24-28 (Thursday)
“After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.” (NIV)
1) Oh, my goodness! Hannah has to remind Eli who she is! Still so spiritually blind! Yet, Hannah is faithful to fulfill the vow she made to the Lord! We see Hannah, finally a mother, turning her precious, much longed for son over to an ungodly priesthood! What enable her to give her baby over to these ungodly men?
2) Just a little sidebar here: God does not require that we all turn our children over to anyone, much less someone who cannot see or hear from the Lord! We must understand that God had His handprints all over this circumstance in Hannah’s life and they had already been predestined by God! Hannah knew this, and it is God that Hannah is trusting her precious Samuel to, not Eli and his sons! God’s purpose for Samuel was being fulfilled so Hannah had the strength of heart, courage and confidence that God would guard His chosen servant!
1 Samuel 2:1-11 (Friday)
“Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.” (NIV)
1) What? No tears—only a song of praise from her heart? Here we are able to witness the extent of Hannah’s confidence in her God! She walks away from her baby singing praises to her God! Hannah is overflowing with thankfulness! Bible commentator, Warren Wiersbe puts it this way:
2) “God’s people can sing their way into sacrifice and sacrifice their way into singing. “And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also.”
3) Is any prayer complete without thanksgiving and praise? How about those answers we do not yet see, or those that God chooses to answer in a way that is different than what we had hoped or expected? How often do we receive our requests from God and simply walk away, forgetting to thank Him for his loving kindness towards us?
4) Do you see the increase and completeness of Hannah’s faith and joy! How is this possible when she is losing her son?
5) What does Hannah mean in saying, “…my horn is lifted high?”
6) Hannah speaks of her enemies and God’s deliverance—His salvation! How what way had God brought salvation to Hannah?
7) Has God ever delivered you out of the hand of your enemy(s)? Share a seemingly insurmountable circumstance where God delivered you?
8) There are several things Hannah has learned about God from her circumstance:
a) God alone is God
b) God is holy
c) God is a Rock—He cannot be moved! A rock is steadfast, solid!
d) God knows and judges all things
e) God arms us with strength to endure anything that may come our way
f) God satisfies the hungry, so they hunger no more
g) Finally! Hannah comes to the realization that in reality she was anything but barren
h) God brings death and makes life, yea, our God even raises life
i) God brings poverty and wealth
j) God humbles and exalts
k) He is the deliverer of the poor and needy—making them princes seated in thrones of honor
l) The earth is the Lord’s—with this tiny planet earth being His unique treasure
m) He guards His saints
n) He silences the wicked
o) Hannah has learned that our own strength is nothing, but God’s grace always prevails
p) Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered and God Himself will come against them fro heaven
q) Hannah even prophesies at this point in her praise offeing—God will give strength to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed One—Jesus the Christ!
9) I know it is an extremely sad picture of Hannah walking away from her son, but read 1 Samuel 2:19! Oh, our God is so good!