It’s a Heart Thing 1 Samuel 1:1-18. “Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb. And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!” But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Over the last few weeks on Wednesday nights, our Church has been studying 1 Samuel. As we came to verse 15 our Pastor asked, “How many times do you think Hannah prayed for a child?” He wondered if we thought she knew this prayer by heart. I was sure she prayed it daily. What interested me most was what made this time of prayer different that day. Why did Eli think she was drunk? The scriptures tell us she was crying and that Eli was watching her mouth, so why did those two things mean she had been drinking? I needed more. So, I started digging. By the end of this study, you will know why this one took 2 weeks! As I read the first few verses, I noticed that when He named the wives of Elkanah, that Hannah was named first. After a few years of studying the Word, you see that God places names of people in a certain order for a reason. Therefore, I think Hannah was the first wife and then once her husband realized that the Lord had closed her womb, then came wife number two. My mind immediately went to Sarai and Hagar. (Genesis Chapters 16-18) you need to know a little about the customs of those days to fully grasp her pain. (Keep in mind these customs were man made and NOT God ordained.) The people put a lot of importance and pressure on woman having children back then. Most people thought that if a woman was barren it was because of some sin she or her parents had committed. Now not only did her husband marry a second woman, this one bore him many children. On top of that, the other woman was cruel. She made Hannah miserable. No wonder she had bitterness of soul. Her spirit and heart were broken. Hannah was in deep pain. She must have also been angry. One of the definitions for provoked, in Hebrew, is the stirring of the heart to a heated condition. If you have ever felt this way, I am sure you did not feel like eating either. It could not have been easy watching your husband with another woman. It could not have been easy to watch him play with her children. Remember the other woman was rubbing it in her face all the time. I tried to imagine Hannah sitting outside her tent watching this day in and day out. Not doubt she was miserable. No doubt, her pain eventually turned into wild anger. Her heart growing more and more hard, walls going up. Can you feel her desperation? I know I can. I am going to ask you a question now. I want you to really search your heart and be honest. Whom do you think Hannah was most upset with? Was it her husband, the other woman or herself? Let me tell you I did not have to search long. The Lord showed me who I would be most upset with right away. See I can relate to consuming grief. Not the grief of wanting a child, but the grief of losing someone I love. Someone I thought I would die without. When I realized that I could and had to live without them, I allowed my grief to turn to bitterness. This is not an easy confession for me. It is an even harder reality. My bitterness was toward God. As I, sit here weeping in anguish myself. The Lord is here. Wanting to wipe away my tears, to comfort me and wanting more than anything to heal my broken heart and spirit. This is almost overwhelming. I am going to let Him have His way today. I truly believe that Hannah came to the same realization. Maybe she realized that she wanted a child for all the wrong reasons. Maybe she realized that she placed having a child above seeking God. I believe on that day, the Lord finally broke through the walls she had built and she was free. Free to experience the awesome power that comes from being in the Presence of her Father. Free to feel His love for her wrap itself around her and quiet her tears. She was free to let go and pour herself out before the Lord like a drink offering. I believe He wept with her. This is what Eli saw. He saw a woman laid bare before her God. A woman who did not care if others were around. She did not care what they would think of her. I am sure she was unaware of anyone except her and the Lord until Eli grabbed a hold of her. His reaction to her leads me to believe that this was a rare occurrence. That makes me sad. However, there must have been something about her response to him, because he believed her when she said she had not been drinking. Maybe he could see in her countenance that she had truly been in the presence of the Lord. He told her to go in peace, and he hoped God gave her what she had asked for. I really love the last part of verse 18. “So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Praise the Lord! Freedom will do that to you my sisters. We know that with God, it is always about the heart. We cannot go before the throne of grace with a divided heart. We must have a heart that seeks God more than getting a yes to our petition. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 kept coming to mind as I studied this. “pray without ceasing.” I looked up the meaning of ceasing in Hebrew and this is what it said, “ceasing - without ceasing, uninterruptedly, without omission.” So, the next time you go before our Father in prayer, let it go. Lay it all out at His feet. Hold nothing back. There is safety and freedom there my sisters. And there is peace. Pour out your soul before Him, and your face, your heart, your soul with no longer be sad. And people, who see you after, will know you have been with Jesus. By the way, I looked up what the Hebrew meaning was for Hannah. Her name means “Grace of God” *More Scripture references 1 Samuel 16:7b Jeremiah 17:9-10 Matthew 6:21 Philippians 4:7 **Study notes from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible Provoked - to be disturbed, fretful, angry, vexed, indignant, grieved. It is the stirring up of the heart to a heated condition. Bitterness - bitter (literally or figuratively) sad, fierce, violent, wild. Sorrowful - hard of spirit, hard, difficult, severe, unfeeling, cruel, harsh, stubborn, heavy, sadness in spirit. It has the nuance of a deliberate stiffening. Poured out - to spill, shed, to pour out, to bare one’s soul in sorrow or anger. Profusely spent, like money. In a literal sense it is often used of pouring out the contents of a vessel such as water. It is used to describe the helpless condition of the psalmist in Psalm 22:14 (and Jesus on the cross) Complaint - to ponder, muse, to declare, speak, talk, converse (aloud or to oneself) utter with the mouth, to complain, to pray, to talk despairingly, to meditate especially on divine things. to sing, celebrate something in song, to consider, think upon something, it conveys going over a matter in one’s mind, rehearsing it, whether inwardly or outwardly.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 21:40:30 +0000