Living Hope Fellowship
The Woman Who Had Had Enough
Sunday morning sermon
Locations & Times
Living Hope Fellowship
411 N Thompson Rd, Sun Prairie, WI 53590, USA
Saturday 5:00 PM
The Woman Who Had Had Enough!
This new year’s morning I want us to look at an interesting story drawn from deep in the Old Testament. It is an account of a man who had two wives; it is a tale of a barren woman who changed the course of a nation, a bully, a prayer from someone who was thought to be drunk, an amazing vow to God, as well as a miraculous birth.
This morning we are going to work our way THROUGH 1 Samuel 1:1-20.
1 Samuel 1:1-2, “There was a certain man from Ramathaim, whose name was Elkanah…. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.”
It is believed that Samuel wrote this passage somewhere between 1,000 to 1,100 years before the birth of Christ. As he opens the book, he gives us the name of his father as well as the names of his father’s two wives.
Samuel then moves to introduce us to the other main players in this story. Listen to verse 3:“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.”
The writer wants us to know that his parents were God-fearing people.They worshipped the one true God and offered sacrifices unto Him.
It is here that Samuel introduces us to Eli, the priest, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas.
So in the opening three verses of the chapter we find each of the major players listed as well as the faith of the parents. These verses are foundational to the rest of the story.
Let us move now to perhaps the most important passage in the entire narrative. It is this passage thatprovides the tension in the story. Listen to verses 4-6. “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.” (1 Samuel 1:4-6).
Did you take note of the twice-repeated phrase, “The Lord had closed her womb”?The passage clearly suggests that God was directly and actively responsible for Hannah’s barrenness. God had closed her womb for his own divine sovereign purposes.
Do you realize that today, nearly one out of two women between the ages of 18 and 44 – 48 percent – have chosen not to have children? That is a record high number.
The Huffington Post surveyed a number of childless women in 2015 in an effort to find out why so many ladies are opting not to bring kids into the world. Here are five of the top responses:
1. I like my life as it is (64%)
2. I don’t like children
3. I have a bad relationship with my parents
4. I want to prioritize my career
5. I don’t want the financial responsibility
Do you have any idea what it costs to raise a child born in 2013 up until age 18 for a middle-income family in the U.S.? According to the latest annual “Cost of Raising A Child” report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, dated August 18, 2014, it costs approximately $245,340 – not counting inflation.
If you have a child with you this morning, and he or she is sitting with you, I want you to look over at him or her. What do you see? If you don’t see dollar signs, you need to have your glasses checked! We are talking about the price of a nice house here or maybe a supercar! Some wise fellow once noted that if you wait to have children until you can afford to have children, you will never have children.
Obviously, a lot of factors go into deciding whether or not to have a child today. That was certainly not the case back in Hannah’s time. Not only were you to have children, you really needed to keep trying until you had a boy. You see, the male child would:
· Carry on the family name,
· Carry on the family trade,
· As well as assume the care of the family in the event of the husband’s/father’s death.
To not have a son was unthinkable.
· Those who were barren were thought of as being alive and yet dead at the same time.
· They were invisible.
· Often forgotten.
· And generally forsaken.
To make matters worse, to be barren was seen as a form of judgment from God. The individual had to have had some sort of personal hidden sin in their life.
Hannah’s barrenness, though, was not due to some personal sin. She was not under judgment. Rather God had closed her womb so as to define her priorities and faith. The Lord knew that her barrenness would prompt her to make commitments and vows that she would never have made otherwise.
Strangely enough, today we can look back over Hannah’s life and see the purpose behind Hannah’s great trial. Hannah, though, did not have that luxury. The Lord never did reveal the whys and the wherefores of Hannah's barrenness to the lady. Similarly, there are times when the Lord does not reveal to us the reasons behind our closed womb.
Our “closed womb” might not actually be a closed womb. Rather it might be:
· A failed relationship,
· Some chronic illness,
· Having to deal on a daily bases with a horrible boss,
· The death of a close friend or loved one,
· Having too much month and too little money.
A closed womb can be anything that weighs us down and refuses to go away.
In those instances when the Lord does not reveal to us the reason for our barrenness, we must simply trust Him knowing that He does all things well.
IN NEARLY ALL GREAT STORIES, WE WILL FIND A VILLAIN. In the story of Hannah, the villain was Hannah’s rival, the other wife. Some think that a better rendering of the word “rival” here would be “fellow-wife”.
“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.”(1
Samuel 1:6-7).
Have you ever had a toothache that refused to go away? Peninnah was that toothache. She was a source of constant irritation.
· She made it a point to show off her children and then she would go on to say, “Now Hannah, show us your sons.”
· Next, she used the children to imply that she was blessed of the Lord while Hannah, on the other hand, was under some sort of divine curse.
· Peninnah’s number one goal in life seemed to be, to make Hannah’s life as miserable as possible. One commentator wrote that it was Peninnah’s aim to literally “thunder against,” browbeat or bully Hannah.
Hannah was a good woman; a godly wife. And yet, her life was not turning out the way that she had planned. As I look at her situation, I can just imagine her saying to anyone who cared enough to listen, “Life is not fair!”
And do you want to know the truth? She was right. Life was not/is not fair; not even close. Again, as with Hannah, bad people succeed, and good people suffer. I recently saw a poster that said, “Many people don’t deserve what they get and many people don’t get what they deserve.”
1 Samuel 1:8, “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?’”This is where the narrative turns into a love story.
How many wives did Elkanah have? Two. And yet the writer emphasizes the special relationship between Hannah and Elkanah by attaching the description “her husband” to her name. He is never described as Peninnah's "husband," though he of course was married to her.
Peninnah had Elkanah’s children but Hannah had their husband’s love.
Elkanah then asks Hannah four questions. Let’s look at them one by one:
1. “Hannah, why are you weeping?”
The brother had been married to Hannah for a number of years and yet he obviously did not have a clue.
· Maybe he didn’t see the way that Peninnah was treating Hannah.
· Maybe he didn’t understand the ache in her heart over being barren?
· Maybe he didn’t sense her general frustration with life.
Regardless, I do think it is safe to say that the majority of husband’s do not do a good job of understanding their wives on a deep level – especially when it comes to understanding a woman’s tears. Ladies, can I get an amen?
As a result, there are disappointments and hurt feelings that never get resolved.
I read a true story about a man who made a private vow to try to be a loving, giving, unselfish husband for the two weeks of the family’s vacation.
· He worked hard at noticing his wife,
· of attending to her needs,
· of giving her compliments,
· of doing what she wanted to do, even if he really rather would have done something else.
It went great. Toward the end of the time, he made a new vow to keep on choosing to love his wife like this.
But on the last night of the vacation, his wife was obviously upset. Finally she blurted, “Tom, do you know something I don’t?” “What do you mean?” he asked. “Well ... that checkup I had several weeks ago ... our doctor ... did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me ... am I dying?” It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then Tom burst out laughing, took her in his arms, and said, “No, honey, you’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.” (Tom Anderson, “How Love Came Back,” Reader’s Digest [10/86], pp. 129-130.)
2. Next, the husband asked, “Why don't you eat?”
In an earlier verse we read where the husband had actually given Hannah a double portion of the meat. The extra portion was more than likely his own portion. He went without in order that Hannah might have more. He knew that she needed the food.
At the same time, while he failed to understand her tears, he also failed to discern the cause of her loss of appetite.
3. “Why are you downhearted?”
Hannah wasn’t just upset once a month, or every now and then. The Bible points out that her upset had stretched out over a period of years.
4. “Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I want to read verse 8 once again. This time I will read it from The Living Bible,“‘What’s the matter, Hannah?’ Elkanah would exclaim. ‘Why aren’t you eating? Why make such a fuss over having no children? Isn’t having me better than having ten sons?’” (1 Samuel 1:8, The Living Bible).
Ladies, I would imagine that most of you just rolled your eyes. Again, the fellow just did not get it!
The image of the barren wife is one of the Bible’s strongest images of desolation and rejection. In Proverbs 30:16 we find that one of the four things that can never be satisfied is “the barren womb”. Hannah’s husband wrongly thought that his love for her would remove her pain. However, nothing – except for a child – could take away her sense of desolation and lost.
1 Samuel 1:9-10: “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.”
Once a year Elkanah and family took a pilgrimage to Shiloh. Shiloh was the home of some sort of
religious shine. Some translations call the shine a temple. Regardless, the place was very special to
the Jews due to the fact that that Shire housedthe famed Ark of the Covenant.
Verse 9 points out that when the meal was finished“Hannah stood up.” These three words serve as the hinge on which this whole story swings. This was Hannah’s tipping point. She had had it up to here!
· She had had enough of being barren.
· She had had enough of the bullying of Peninnah.
· She had had enough of living with a husband who didn’t get it.
· She had had enough of being the object of people’s pity.
· She had had enough of pain to last a thousand lifetimes!
So Hannah stood up!
The Bible and history is awash with those “Hannah stood up” type moments:
· It is Moses standing before Pharaoh -- the strongest man of the face of the earth-- and saying to the king, “Let my people go!”
· It is Esther agreeing to appear before the king on behalf of her people, the Jews. And she says, “If I die, I die.”
· It is David, a mere shepherd boy at the time, facing down the giant Goliath while saying to King Saul,“’Your Majesty, this Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him myself!’” 1 Samuel 17:32 (Contemporary English Version).
· It is Jesus setting His face like a flint toward Jerusalem. At this point, he put the devil, the flesh and the world on notice. He was going to go to the cross, die there and then rise again victorious over death, hell and the grave.
What was the first thing Hannah did after she stood? This is a multiple choice question:
1. She kicked the rival wife and her kids out of the house.
2. She walked over to the bar and ordered a double.
3. She told her husband that he really didn’t mean more to her than ten sons.
4. She went before God in prayer.
The answer is number four. None of the other three options would have really solved anything. Therefore she prayed. She knew if her closed womb was to be opened, God would have to get involved in her situation.
The Bible contains literally hundreds of prayers. Rarely, though, does the Bible detail an individual’s prayer as it does the prayer of Hannah. Notice with me the key elements of Hannah’s prayer:
1. The Bible says here that Hannah prayed “in bitterness of soul.” 1 Samuel 1:10 (The New Living Translation) says, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.”
I want to note the increasing intensity in Hannah’s prayer as found here in chapter one:
1. Verse 10 -- Hannah prayed.
2. Verse 10 – Hannah wept before the Lord.
3. Verse 11 -- She made a vow
4. Verse 12 – She kept on praying
5. Verse 15 -- She was praying in her heart
6. Verse 15 – She poured out her soul to the Lord.
7. Verse 16 – She prayed out in great anguish and grief.
This is a picture of a woman desperate to get a remedy for her pain, her shame, her barrenness.
All too often we try to handle life’s challenges with simple “God is great; God is good. Let us thank Him for this food” type prayers. Rarely do such prayers stir us much less move God. When Hannah prayed, she got down to business. She didn’t just pray from her mouth; she cried out from the depths of her very soul.
James 5:16 (New Living Translation) says in part, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” The New Century Version says, “When a believing person prays, great things happen.”
Author and pastor Jim Cymbala wrote, “Desperate and soul-stirring prayers result in answers. When God is sought in desperation, He responds.”
Before I go to my next point, I must tell you of a conversation that took place between two fellows over lunch.
· The first challenged the other, "If you are so religious, let's hear you quote the Lord's Prayer. I bet you $10.00 you can't ."
· The second responded, "Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."
· The first pulled out his wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill, muttering, "I have to admit, I didn't think you could do it!"
2. Hannah prayed “to the Lord.”
Given the circumstances of her day, she might have been tempted to follow the lead of many of her countrymen and address her prayer to some fertility goddess. However, she did not yield to any such temptation.
Like the psalmist of old, she knew that her help came from the Lord; from the One who made the heavens and the earth (Psalm 121:2).
This past week I finished a book written by one of my favorite authors – Philip Yancey. The book is entitled, “Reaching for the Invisible God.” As I was reading, a simple line jumped off of the page. I want to share that quote with you. Yancey wrote: “God has not promised a state of constant bliss or a problem-free existence, but has promised to be present in the silence and in the dark, to exist alongside us, within us, and for us.”
Hannah was sure that in spite of the deafening silence of God; in spite of her longstanding barrenness, God was still her God and that He was still with her and that He was still for her.
3. Hannah prayed while standing.
Verse 9 seems to indicate that when Hannah stood up, she stood up to pray.
What are some of the postures of prayer noted in the Bible?
· Standing
· Lifting the hands
· Sitting
· Kneeling
· Bowing down
· Placing the head between the knees
· Pounding on the breast
· Lying face down on the floor.
Perhaps you have heard this little poem:
THE PROPER WAY TO PRAY
“The proper way for a man to pray,”
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes
“And the only proper attitude
is down upon his knees.”
“No, I should say the way to pray,”
Said Reverend Mr. Wise,
“Is standing straight with up-stretched arms,
And solemn upturned eyes.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” said Elder Snow,
“Such a position is much too proud;
A man should pray with eyes fast closed
And head contritely bowed.”
“It seems to me his hands should be
Serenely clapped in front,
With both thumbs pointing to the ground,”
Said Reverend Mr. Blunt.
“Last year I fell in Hodgkin’s well
Head first,” said Farmer Brown,
“With both my feet a-stickin’ up
And head a-pointin’ down:
“And I prayed hard, right then and there,
Best prayer I ever said.
The prayin’est prayer I ever prayed
Was standin’ on my head.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing.” To pray without ceasing means we are to be in a constant state of God-consciousness. That seems to imply that one can pray while driving down the freeway (eyes open please), while working on an assembly line, while taking a test a school, or while moping the kitchen floor. The posture isn’t nearly as important as is the deed.
4. Hannah prayed silently.
1 Samuel 1:12-13, “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.”
As a young person, I was taught that in order for a prayer to be heard, that prayer had to be audible. Indeed, the louder the prayer, the more effective the prayer. It took me years to get to the place where I could comfortably pray a so-called silent prayer.
So does the Bible require us to pray loud prayers or silent prayers? Does the Lord prefer the one over the other? Here are the rules that I generally observe:
· When I am praying for someone, I like to pray out loud. I want the other person to know that I was paying attention when they told me their request and that I am praying in faith according to their personal need.
· When I am praying a public prayer at some community event, I pray out loud. That is expected and accepted.
· In my private times of prayer just between myself and the Lord, I pray out loud – sometimes, depending on the intensity of the prayer, I can pray deep and loud!
· When I am praying at the altar or at a kneeling bench, with others praying nearby, I prefer to pray silently. I may be praying about some pressing need in another person’s life, or some private matter than I prefer to be kept between myself and God. I have heard people break confidences in prayer.
· In a moment of public crisis, such as at an auto accident, for instance, I will pray silently.
· When I am praying with a patient in a hospital room, I pray out loud. I do not seek to embarrass the one who is sick, nor do I feel it necessary to yell so as to shake the rafters, but I do pray so that the patient -- and for that matter -- anyone else in the room – doctors, nurses or family -- may hear me.
· In a courtroom or when I am before some governmental agency, I will pray silently again.
As you can see, there is no one size fits all. The situation dictates the nature and volume of my prayer.
Why do you think Hannah prayed silently? I believe that it was due in part of the private nature of her prayer.
· She didn’t want some naysayer to tell her that God would not open her barren womb.
· She didn’t want her cries to be a matter of public discussion at the water well the next morning.
· She didn’t want others to hear her personal and private conversation with God.
· She was talking to the Lord about matters that were deeply personal.
Psalm 139:4, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.”Nothing we do, say, or think is hidden from God. He has access to all prayers directed to Him, whether they are spoken or unspoken.
5. Hannah prayed sacrificially.
1 Samuel 1:11, “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….’”
For your information, according to the law of Moses, Hannah was duty bound to report this vow to her husband. As head of the family, he had until sundown to cancel the vow if he did not agree with it. The fact that the terms of this vow were in fact fulfilled, indicates that her husband, in effect, agreed with his wife in this vow.
As a Levite the son normally would serve at the tabernacle from age twenty-five or thirty to fifty. Hannah, however, proposed a dedication which would be for all the days of his life.
· She would not be able to hear his laughter as he was out playing.
· She would not be there for him when he was sick.
· She would not be the one who would teach him the things of God; the values and lessons of life.
She would forfeit all of that and more. Again, think of just how hard that had to have been.
6. Hannah prayed specifically.
She wanted a son.
· The latest and greatest chariot would be nice, but that would not be the answer that she craved.
· A bumper harvest would also be wonderful, but that wasn’t what she was after.
· A sizable check in the mail might have come in handy, that that wasn’t what she was praying for either.
Hannah was asking God for a little baby boy.
I love this illustration. It comes from Dick Eastman: In the year 1540, Martin Luther’s close friend, Frederick Myconius, became extremely ill. Myconius was so convinced that he would die that he wrote Luther a farewell letter. The reformer’s response was most interesting. He sent back this bold reply, “I command you in the name of God to live because I still have need of you in the work of reforming the church…. The Lord will never let me hear that you are dead, but will let you survive me. For this I am praying….”
History reveals that when Luther wrote the letter, his friend’s condition had deteriorated beyond hope. He had even lost his ability to speak. Death was imminent. Then, a miracle happened. Slowly new life began to flow into Myconius and soon he was completely well. And most amazing, his friend actually outlived Martin Luther by two months. Was Luther’s prayer specific? The answer is obvious! Was Luther’s prayer answered? Again, the answer is obvious.
All too often we are guilty of trying to make our prayers easy on God.
· We make little if any demands.
· We limit any risk to our faith.
· We give God a thousand outs.
I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to the Lord, but Hannah didn’t give the Lord any wiggle room.
· She was all in.
· It was a son or nothing.
· Only a baby boy would remedy the pain that was in her house, her marriage and in her womb.
Therefore Hannah specifically asked for a son.
Notice now 1 Samuel 1:12-14 (English Standard Version), “As she continued praying … Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’”
Let me remind you, Eli was the priest. How would you like it if a pastor were to come up to you while you were praying and accuse you of being drunk? “Put away your wine, lady!” “Go home and sleep it off.”
Hannah explained the fact that she had been praying before the Lord while in distress of soul. Later in the chapter, Eli accepted her explanation, however we have no record that he ever apologized.
7. Finally, Hannah prayed expectantly.
1 Samuel 1:18 (English Standard Version), “Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Hannah knew that she had called out to the Lord and that He had heard her. All was well.
1 Samuel 1:19-20, “Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home…. 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.’”
As a side note, I think you would want to know, that after the birth of Samuel, Hannah had five more children. 1 Samuel 2:21, “And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.”
Hannah gave the Lord one child, He gave her six and she kept five.
Here is what I know.
When Hannah and family left for Shiloh, Israel was in a bad way. The Bible teaches us that the days were evil; everyone did that which was right in their own eyes. Even the priesthood under Eli had become corrupted. Not only was Hannah barren, but Israel was barren too. Israel had lapsed into its dark ages.
But then a barren woman, an invisible lady, a bullied victim, a person who was accused of being drunk “stood up to pray.” And when Hannah stood to pray, all heaven came to attention. Not only did the Lord open her womb, but He eventually opened a fountain of blessing on Israel through her son.
Again, the Bible tells us that “Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.”
· He was a man of prayer.
· He heard the voice of God.
· He started the school of the prophets – think an ancient Bible college.
· In time, all Israel would come to testify that “Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.”
· It was Samuel who would anoint David to be king over all Israel. And eventually from David would come an even greater King -- the Lord Jesus Christ; the Savior of the World!
Earlier, I drew attention to the fact that twice the Lord laid claim to closing Hannah’s womb. No doubt, there were any number of ladies in Israel back then that were barren. However, there was only one that we know of who stood up and confronted her barrenness, and that was Hannah.
The Lord knew the kind of stuff that Hannah was made of. He knew that if He closed her womb eventually her patience would run out and she would stand up to her barrenness. And He knew that when Hannah stood up, everything would change! And change it did! That little lady’s prayer literally changed the course of history.
· One oppressed lady.
· One barren womb.
· One powerful prayer.
· One amazing son.
That is the story of Hannah in a nutshell.
As I noted earlier in this message, no doubt some of you are suffering with an area of barrenness in your life today. Is it possible that, liker Hannah, you are barren for a reason? Maybe the Lord is waiting for you to stand up and confront your barrenness in a place of prayer and tears. Maybe He is simply waiting to move until you move; until you have had enough!
This new year’s morning I want us to look at an interesting story drawn from deep in the Old Testament. It is an account of a man who had two wives; it is a tale of a barren woman who changed the course of a nation, a bully, a prayer from someone who was thought to be drunk, an amazing vow to God, as well as a miraculous birth.
This morning we are going to work our way THROUGH 1 Samuel 1:1-20.
1 Samuel 1:1-2, “There was a certain man from Ramathaim, whose name was Elkanah…. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.”
It is believed that Samuel wrote this passage somewhere between 1,000 to 1,100 years before the birth of Christ. As he opens the book, he gives us the name of his father as well as the names of his father’s two wives.
Samuel then moves to introduce us to the other main players in this story. Listen to verse 3:“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.”
The writer wants us to know that his parents were God-fearing people.They worshipped the one true God and offered sacrifices unto Him.
It is here that Samuel introduces us to Eli, the priest, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas.
So in the opening three verses of the chapter we find each of the major players listed as well as the faith of the parents. These verses are foundational to the rest of the story.
Let us move now to perhaps the most important passage in the entire narrative. It is this passage thatprovides the tension in the story. Listen to verses 4-6. “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.” (1 Samuel 1:4-6).
Did you take note of the twice-repeated phrase, “The Lord had closed her womb”?The passage clearly suggests that God was directly and actively responsible for Hannah’s barrenness. God had closed her womb for his own divine sovereign purposes.
Do you realize that today, nearly one out of two women between the ages of 18 and 44 – 48 percent – have chosen not to have children? That is a record high number.
The Huffington Post surveyed a number of childless women in 2015 in an effort to find out why so many ladies are opting not to bring kids into the world. Here are five of the top responses:
1. I like my life as it is (64%)
2. I don’t like children
3. I have a bad relationship with my parents
4. I want to prioritize my career
5. I don’t want the financial responsibility
Do you have any idea what it costs to raise a child born in 2013 up until age 18 for a middle-income family in the U.S.? According to the latest annual “Cost of Raising A Child” report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, dated August 18, 2014, it costs approximately $245,340 – not counting inflation.
If you have a child with you this morning, and he or she is sitting with you, I want you to look over at him or her. What do you see? If you don’t see dollar signs, you need to have your glasses checked! We are talking about the price of a nice house here or maybe a supercar! Some wise fellow once noted that if you wait to have children until you can afford to have children, you will never have children.
Obviously, a lot of factors go into deciding whether or not to have a child today. That was certainly not the case back in Hannah’s time. Not only were you to have children, you really needed to keep trying until you had a boy. You see, the male child would:
· Carry on the family name,
· Carry on the family trade,
· As well as assume the care of the family in the event of the husband’s/father’s death.
To not have a son was unthinkable.
· Those who were barren were thought of as being alive and yet dead at the same time.
· They were invisible.
· Often forgotten.
· And generally forsaken.
To make matters worse, to be barren was seen as a form of judgment from God. The individual had to have had some sort of personal hidden sin in their life.
Hannah’s barrenness, though, was not due to some personal sin. She was not under judgment. Rather God had closed her womb so as to define her priorities and faith. The Lord knew that her barrenness would prompt her to make commitments and vows that she would never have made otherwise.
Strangely enough, today we can look back over Hannah’s life and see the purpose behind Hannah’s great trial. Hannah, though, did not have that luxury. The Lord never did reveal the whys and the wherefores of Hannah's barrenness to the lady. Similarly, there are times when the Lord does not reveal to us the reasons behind our closed womb.
Our “closed womb” might not actually be a closed womb. Rather it might be:
· A failed relationship,
· Some chronic illness,
· Having to deal on a daily bases with a horrible boss,
· The death of a close friend or loved one,
· Having too much month and too little money.
A closed womb can be anything that weighs us down and refuses to go away.
In those instances when the Lord does not reveal to us the reason for our barrenness, we must simply trust Him knowing that He does all things well.
IN NEARLY ALL GREAT STORIES, WE WILL FIND A VILLAIN. In the story of Hannah, the villain was Hannah’s rival, the other wife. Some think that a better rendering of the word “rival” here would be “fellow-wife”.
“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.”(1
Samuel 1:6-7).
Have you ever had a toothache that refused to go away? Peninnah was that toothache. She was a source of constant irritation.
· She made it a point to show off her children and then she would go on to say, “Now Hannah, show us your sons.”
· Next, she used the children to imply that she was blessed of the Lord while Hannah, on the other hand, was under some sort of divine curse.
· Peninnah’s number one goal in life seemed to be, to make Hannah’s life as miserable as possible. One commentator wrote that it was Peninnah’s aim to literally “thunder against,” browbeat or bully Hannah.
Hannah was a good woman; a godly wife. And yet, her life was not turning out the way that she had planned. As I look at her situation, I can just imagine her saying to anyone who cared enough to listen, “Life is not fair!”
And do you want to know the truth? She was right. Life was not/is not fair; not even close. Again, as with Hannah, bad people succeed, and good people suffer. I recently saw a poster that said, “Many people don’t deserve what they get and many people don’t get what they deserve.”
1 Samuel 1:8, “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?’”This is where the narrative turns into a love story.
How many wives did Elkanah have? Two. And yet the writer emphasizes the special relationship between Hannah and Elkanah by attaching the description “her husband” to her name. He is never described as Peninnah's "husband," though he of course was married to her.
Peninnah had Elkanah’s children but Hannah had their husband’s love.
Elkanah then asks Hannah four questions. Let’s look at them one by one:
1. “Hannah, why are you weeping?”
The brother had been married to Hannah for a number of years and yet he obviously did not have a clue.
· Maybe he didn’t see the way that Peninnah was treating Hannah.
· Maybe he didn’t understand the ache in her heart over being barren?
· Maybe he didn’t sense her general frustration with life.
Regardless, I do think it is safe to say that the majority of husband’s do not do a good job of understanding their wives on a deep level – especially when it comes to understanding a woman’s tears. Ladies, can I get an amen?
As a result, there are disappointments and hurt feelings that never get resolved.
I read a true story about a man who made a private vow to try to be a loving, giving, unselfish husband for the two weeks of the family’s vacation.
· He worked hard at noticing his wife,
· of attending to her needs,
· of giving her compliments,
· of doing what she wanted to do, even if he really rather would have done something else.
It went great. Toward the end of the time, he made a new vow to keep on choosing to love his wife like this.
But on the last night of the vacation, his wife was obviously upset. Finally she blurted, “Tom, do you know something I don’t?” “What do you mean?” he asked. “Well ... that checkup I had several weeks ago ... our doctor ... did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me ... am I dying?” It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then Tom burst out laughing, took her in his arms, and said, “No, honey, you’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.” (Tom Anderson, “How Love Came Back,” Reader’s Digest [10/86], pp. 129-130.)
2. Next, the husband asked, “Why don't you eat?”
In an earlier verse we read where the husband had actually given Hannah a double portion of the meat. The extra portion was more than likely his own portion. He went without in order that Hannah might have more. He knew that she needed the food.
At the same time, while he failed to understand her tears, he also failed to discern the cause of her loss of appetite.
3. “Why are you downhearted?”
Hannah wasn’t just upset once a month, or every now and then. The Bible points out that her upset had stretched out over a period of years.
4. “Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I want to read verse 8 once again. This time I will read it from The Living Bible,“‘What’s the matter, Hannah?’ Elkanah would exclaim. ‘Why aren’t you eating? Why make such a fuss over having no children? Isn’t having me better than having ten sons?’” (1 Samuel 1:8, The Living Bible).
Ladies, I would imagine that most of you just rolled your eyes. Again, the fellow just did not get it!
The image of the barren wife is one of the Bible’s strongest images of desolation and rejection. In Proverbs 30:16 we find that one of the four things that can never be satisfied is “the barren womb”. Hannah’s husband wrongly thought that his love for her would remove her pain. However, nothing – except for a child – could take away her sense of desolation and lost.
1 Samuel 1:9-10: “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.”
Once a year Elkanah and family took a pilgrimage to Shiloh. Shiloh was the home of some sort of
religious shine. Some translations call the shine a temple. Regardless, the place was very special to
the Jews due to the fact that that Shire housedthe famed Ark of the Covenant.
Verse 9 points out that when the meal was finished“Hannah stood up.” These three words serve as the hinge on which this whole story swings. This was Hannah’s tipping point. She had had it up to here!
· She had had enough of being barren.
· She had had enough of the bullying of Peninnah.
· She had had enough of living with a husband who didn’t get it.
· She had had enough of being the object of people’s pity.
· She had had enough of pain to last a thousand lifetimes!
So Hannah stood up!
The Bible and history is awash with those “Hannah stood up” type moments:
· It is Moses standing before Pharaoh -- the strongest man of the face of the earth-- and saying to the king, “Let my people go!”
· It is Esther agreeing to appear before the king on behalf of her people, the Jews. And she says, “If I die, I die.”
· It is David, a mere shepherd boy at the time, facing down the giant Goliath while saying to King Saul,“’Your Majesty, this Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him myself!’” 1 Samuel 17:32 (Contemporary English Version).
· It is Jesus setting His face like a flint toward Jerusalem. At this point, he put the devil, the flesh and the world on notice. He was going to go to the cross, die there and then rise again victorious over death, hell and the grave.
What was the first thing Hannah did after she stood? This is a multiple choice question:
1. She kicked the rival wife and her kids out of the house.
2. She walked over to the bar and ordered a double.
3. She told her husband that he really didn’t mean more to her than ten sons.
4. She went before God in prayer.
The answer is number four. None of the other three options would have really solved anything. Therefore she prayed. She knew if her closed womb was to be opened, God would have to get involved in her situation.
The Bible contains literally hundreds of prayers. Rarely, though, does the Bible detail an individual’s prayer as it does the prayer of Hannah. Notice with me the key elements of Hannah’s prayer:
1. The Bible says here that Hannah prayed “in bitterness of soul.” 1 Samuel 1:10 (The New Living Translation) says, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.”
I want to note the increasing intensity in Hannah’s prayer as found here in chapter one:
1. Verse 10 -- Hannah prayed.
2. Verse 10 – Hannah wept before the Lord.
3. Verse 11 -- She made a vow
4. Verse 12 – She kept on praying
5. Verse 15 -- She was praying in her heart
6. Verse 15 – She poured out her soul to the Lord.
7. Verse 16 – She prayed out in great anguish and grief.
This is a picture of a woman desperate to get a remedy for her pain, her shame, her barrenness.
All too often we try to handle life’s challenges with simple “God is great; God is good. Let us thank Him for this food” type prayers. Rarely do such prayers stir us much less move God. When Hannah prayed, she got down to business. She didn’t just pray from her mouth; she cried out from the depths of her very soul.
James 5:16 (New Living Translation) says in part, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” The New Century Version says, “When a believing person prays, great things happen.”
Author and pastor Jim Cymbala wrote, “Desperate and soul-stirring prayers result in answers. When God is sought in desperation, He responds.”
Before I go to my next point, I must tell you of a conversation that took place between two fellows over lunch.
· The first challenged the other, "If you are so religious, let's hear you quote the Lord's Prayer. I bet you $10.00 you can't ."
· The second responded, "Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."
· The first pulled out his wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill, muttering, "I have to admit, I didn't think you could do it!"
2. Hannah prayed “to the Lord.”
Given the circumstances of her day, she might have been tempted to follow the lead of many of her countrymen and address her prayer to some fertility goddess. However, she did not yield to any such temptation.
Like the psalmist of old, she knew that her help came from the Lord; from the One who made the heavens and the earth (Psalm 121:2).
This past week I finished a book written by one of my favorite authors – Philip Yancey. The book is entitled, “Reaching for the Invisible God.” As I was reading, a simple line jumped off of the page. I want to share that quote with you. Yancey wrote: “God has not promised a state of constant bliss or a problem-free existence, but has promised to be present in the silence and in the dark, to exist alongside us, within us, and for us.”
Hannah was sure that in spite of the deafening silence of God; in spite of her longstanding barrenness, God was still her God and that He was still with her and that He was still for her.
3. Hannah prayed while standing.
Verse 9 seems to indicate that when Hannah stood up, she stood up to pray.
What are some of the postures of prayer noted in the Bible?
· Standing
· Lifting the hands
· Sitting
· Kneeling
· Bowing down
· Placing the head between the knees
· Pounding on the breast
· Lying face down on the floor.
Perhaps you have heard this little poem:
THE PROPER WAY TO PRAY
“The proper way for a man to pray,”
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes
“And the only proper attitude
is down upon his knees.”
“No, I should say the way to pray,”
Said Reverend Mr. Wise,
“Is standing straight with up-stretched arms,
And solemn upturned eyes.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” said Elder Snow,
“Such a position is much too proud;
A man should pray with eyes fast closed
And head contritely bowed.”
“It seems to me his hands should be
Serenely clapped in front,
With both thumbs pointing to the ground,”
Said Reverend Mr. Blunt.
“Last year I fell in Hodgkin’s well
Head first,” said Farmer Brown,
“With both my feet a-stickin’ up
And head a-pointin’ down:
“And I prayed hard, right then and there,
Best prayer I ever said.
The prayin’est prayer I ever prayed
Was standin’ on my head.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing.” To pray without ceasing means we are to be in a constant state of God-consciousness. That seems to imply that one can pray while driving down the freeway (eyes open please), while working on an assembly line, while taking a test a school, or while moping the kitchen floor. The posture isn’t nearly as important as is the deed.
4. Hannah prayed silently.
1 Samuel 1:12-13, “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.”
As a young person, I was taught that in order for a prayer to be heard, that prayer had to be audible. Indeed, the louder the prayer, the more effective the prayer. It took me years to get to the place where I could comfortably pray a so-called silent prayer.
So does the Bible require us to pray loud prayers or silent prayers? Does the Lord prefer the one over the other? Here are the rules that I generally observe:
· When I am praying for someone, I like to pray out loud. I want the other person to know that I was paying attention when they told me their request and that I am praying in faith according to their personal need.
· When I am praying a public prayer at some community event, I pray out loud. That is expected and accepted.
· In my private times of prayer just between myself and the Lord, I pray out loud – sometimes, depending on the intensity of the prayer, I can pray deep and loud!
· When I am praying at the altar or at a kneeling bench, with others praying nearby, I prefer to pray silently. I may be praying about some pressing need in another person’s life, or some private matter than I prefer to be kept between myself and God. I have heard people break confidences in prayer.
· In a moment of public crisis, such as at an auto accident, for instance, I will pray silently.
· When I am praying with a patient in a hospital room, I pray out loud. I do not seek to embarrass the one who is sick, nor do I feel it necessary to yell so as to shake the rafters, but I do pray so that the patient -- and for that matter -- anyone else in the room – doctors, nurses or family -- may hear me.
· In a courtroom or when I am before some governmental agency, I will pray silently again.
As you can see, there is no one size fits all. The situation dictates the nature and volume of my prayer.
Why do you think Hannah prayed silently? I believe that it was due in part of the private nature of her prayer.
· She didn’t want some naysayer to tell her that God would not open her barren womb.
· She didn’t want her cries to be a matter of public discussion at the water well the next morning.
· She didn’t want others to hear her personal and private conversation with God.
· She was talking to the Lord about matters that were deeply personal.
Psalm 139:4, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.”Nothing we do, say, or think is hidden from God. He has access to all prayers directed to Him, whether they are spoken or unspoken.
5. Hannah prayed sacrificially.
1 Samuel 1:11, “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….’”
For your information, according to the law of Moses, Hannah was duty bound to report this vow to her husband. As head of the family, he had until sundown to cancel the vow if he did not agree with it. The fact that the terms of this vow were in fact fulfilled, indicates that her husband, in effect, agreed with his wife in this vow.
As a Levite the son normally would serve at the tabernacle from age twenty-five or thirty to fifty. Hannah, however, proposed a dedication which would be for all the days of his life.
· She would not be able to hear his laughter as he was out playing.
· She would not be there for him when he was sick.
· She would not be the one who would teach him the things of God; the values and lessons of life.
She would forfeit all of that and more. Again, think of just how hard that had to have been.
6. Hannah prayed specifically.
She wanted a son.
· The latest and greatest chariot would be nice, but that would not be the answer that she craved.
· A bumper harvest would also be wonderful, but that wasn’t what she was after.
· A sizable check in the mail might have come in handy, that that wasn’t what she was praying for either.
Hannah was asking God for a little baby boy.
I love this illustration. It comes from Dick Eastman: In the year 1540, Martin Luther’s close friend, Frederick Myconius, became extremely ill. Myconius was so convinced that he would die that he wrote Luther a farewell letter. The reformer’s response was most interesting. He sent back this bold reply, “I command you in the name of God to live because I still have need of you in the work of reforming the church…. The Lord will never let me hear that you are dead, but will let you survive me. For this I am praying….”
History reveals that when Luther wrote the letter, his friend’s condition had deteriorated beyond hope. He had even lost his ability to speak. Death was imminent. Then, a miracle happened. Slowly new life began to flow into Myconius and soon he was completely well. And most amazing, his friend actually outlived Martin Luther by two months. Was Luther’s prayer specific? The answer is obvious! Was Luther’s prayer answered? Again, the answer is obvious.
All too often we are guilty of trying to make our prayers easy on God.
· We make little if any demands.
· We limit any risk to our faith.
· We give God a thousand outs.
I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to the Lord, but Hannah didn’t give the Lord any wiggle room.
· She was all in.
· It was a son or nothing.
· Only a baby boy would remedy the pain that was in her house, her marriage and in her womb.
Therefore Hannah specifically asked for a son.
Notice now 1 Samuel 1:12-14 (English Standard Version), “As she continued praying … Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’”
Let me remind you, Eli was the priest. How would you like it if a pastor were to come up to you while you were praying and accuse you of being drunk? “Put away your wine, lady!” “Go home and sleep it off.”
Hannah explained the fact that she had been praying before the Lord while in distress of soul. Later in the chapter, Eli accepted her explanation, however we have no record that he ever apologized.
7. Finally, Hannah prayed expectantly.
1 Samuel 1:18 (English Standard Version), “Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Hannah knew that she had called out to the Lord and that He had heard her. All was well.
1 Samuel 1:19-20, “Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home…. 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.’”
As a side note, I think you would want to know, that after the birth of Samuel, Hannah had five more children. 1 Samuel 2:21, “And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.”
Hannah gave the Lord one child, He gave her six and she kept five.
Here is what I know.
When Hannah and family left for Shiloh, Israel was in a bad way. The Bible teaches us that the days were evil; everyone did that which was right in their own eyes. Even the priesthood under Eli had become corrupted. Not only was Hannah barren, but Israel was barren too. Israel had lapsed into its dark ages.
But then a barren woman, an invisible lady, a bullied victim, a person who was accused of being drunk “stood up to pray.” And when Hannah stood to pray, all heaven came to attention. Not only did the Lord open her womb, but He eventually opened a fountain of blessing on Israel through her son.
Again, the Bible tells us that “Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.”
· He was a man of prayer.
· He heard the voice of God.
· He started the school of the prophets – think an ancient Bible college.
· In time, all Israel would come to testify that “Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.”
· It was Samuel who would anoint David to be king over all Israel. And eventually from David would come an even greater King -- the Lord Jesus Christ; the Savior of the World!
Earlier, I drew attention to the fact that twice the Lord laid claim to closing Hannah’s womb. No doubt, there were any number of ladies in Israel back then that were barren. However, there was only one that we know of who stood up and confronted her barrenness, and that was Hannah.
The Lord knew the kind of stuff that Hannah was made of. He knew that if He closed her womb eventually her patience would run out and she would stand up to her barrenness. And He knew that when Hannah stood up, everything would change! And change it did! That little lady’s prayer literally changed the course of history.
· One oppressed lady.
· One barren womb.
· One powerful prayer.
· One amazing son.
That is the story of Hannah in a nutshell.
As I noted earlier in this message, no doubt some of you are suffering with an area of barrenness in your life today. Is it possible that, liker Hannah, you are barren for a reason? Maybe the Lord is waiting for you to stand up and confront your barrenness in a place of prayer and tears. Maybe He is simply waiting to move until you move; until you have had enough!