Word of Encouragement (07/18/2023)
And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head." (1 Sam. 1:11)
We are reflecting on Hannah’s votive prayer for a son.
The first thing we want to observe is Hannah’s humble attitude. Out of the four times she refers to herself in this vow, she uses “me” once and “your servant” three times. On the other hand, she addresses God as “LORD of hosts” and “LORD.” Despite, or because of, her deep sorrow, Hannah knows her place before God. God is the LORD of hosts, to whom the mighty hosts of angels in heaven give their absolute allegiance and obedience. She is but a woman in the Ancient Near Eastern society where women did not have a high standing. She is but one of the two wives of her husband. And she is barren while the other wife, Peninnah, has borne many children. Even though Elkanah her husband loves her, she is painfully aware that she is an object of pity, and even scorn, in the eyes of Peninnah and others. If she is so lowly and pathetic in the eyes of others, how about in the presence of the LORD of hosts? She is but a servant.
If so, what hope does Hannah have that she can have the attention of the LORD of hosts? She knows that there is nothing in her to demand anything from God. She can’t even bear a child, which is considered the most natural thing for a woman! What can she do for God? But notice how she addresses herself: she repeatedly refers to herself as “your servant”! She is relying on the covenant relationship God has established between Israel and Himself. This is something God took the initiative to do so. And it was not because Israel was better and greater than other peoples. God said, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7:7-8).
But the Israelites had come to pride themselves as God’s chosen people. They became so proud that they often treated this privilege like nothing; they forfeited their privileged status as God’s chosen people and chose to be second-class idol worshippers by imitating their pagan neighbors. But Hannah, in her deep distress and sorrow, recognizes her humble status before the LORD of hosts. This enables her to cling to God and His covenant mercy as her only hope. Such is the benefit of suffering—a clear vision of our frailty and our utter dependence on God. As we feel the walls of threat and danger and hostility and loss closing in on us, we are forced to look up to God and cry out to Him as our only hope. If God loves us and allows us to suffer, it is to this end. What a terrible waste of our suffering and pain it is if we do not lift our hands to God and entreat Him to pick us up!
Are you going through any suffering these days? Is it accomplishing God’s purpose of drawing you near to God in prayer or are you wasting this spiritual opportunity in despair and bitterness? May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing His gracious design for your suffering!