TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER PASTOR ROB O’BERG MAY 19, 2019

“THE GREAT MOTHERS OF THE —HANNAH, MOTHER OF ” 1 SAMUEL 1—SELECTED VERSES

Today we continue our series looking at the great mothers of the Bible; and, next up, is Hannah. Hannah is the mother of Samuel—the last judge of Israel. You might remember Israel originally has no earthly king because Israel’s king is . But, you have to have somebody, right? So, during the period when the are settling the Promised Land, the judges serve in place of kings, interpreting God’s will to the people and leading them in their confrontations with hostile tribes.

That’s what judges do. Among their number is—you might be surprised—a woman, Deborah. And, there’s also a superhero, Samson. Well, Samuel is the last one and he oversees Israel’s transition from having judges to having kings. After a crushing defeat at the hands of the Philistines, Israel clamors for a king like everybody else has, figuring that will improve their fortunes on the battlefield. And Samuel is the one who shepherds them through the process of going from judges to kings. Which is what makes him the last of the judges of Israel.

But we’re talking about Hannah so enough with Samuel right now. Hannah’s story in a of ways parallels ’s story. Sarah is the wife of but isn’t able to have children so she gives her slave, Hagar, to Abraham and Hagar produces . And, the story goes, Hagar lords it over Sarah because she has produced the son for Abraham Sarah couldn’t.

Well, Hannah finds herself in basically the same spot. She’s the first and favored wife of Elkanah but she is without children. Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah, produces children for Elkanah and, like Hagar, decides to rub it in a little bit. What does Hannah do? She goes to the shrine at Shiloh and prays to God for a son, promising to give that son back to God. It’s a bold prayer. God answers it. And Hannah, for her part, fulfills her vow.

A lot has been made about Hannah’s prayer and her desire to have a son she could give to God. And a lot should be made about it. It’s a big deal for a mom to relinquish her child for any reason. Last week we watched as Jochebed put three-month-old in a basket among the reeds of the river . Here, Hannah turns Samuel over to the Eli when he’s 3 or 4 years old. Giving your child to God is a huge thing at any age.

But before she gives Samuel to God, she has to do something first. She has to give herself to God. Which she does. And this is key to her whole story. Hannah entrusts herself completely to God. It shows up in a couple of ways. First, think how it must have been for Hannah to bear the shame and endure the derision she suffered because of her inability to have children. That’s heartbreaking enough today for women who want children. Back in Hannah’s day, there was no such thing as choice. Your was to have children—to populate Israel according to God’s command. Infertility was seen as failure and, even worse, a sign that you were out of favor with God. Then throw in wife #2 ridiculing her about it, making fun of her. It could have gotten real ugly real fast. But it doesn’t.

Hannah knows how to respond with grace, by not responding to Peninnah’s taunts. During a family trip to the shrine at Shiloh, Hannah doesn’t fight fire with fire. She doesn’t lash out against anyone because of the things they’re saying or the shame she’s feeling. She doesn’t need to take out her frustrations on anyone because she knows she can take her troubles to God. Which she does. Confident in God’s love for her, she pours herself out to God. And then she trusts.

This sets Hannah apart from the other women in the Bible who experience infertility. Before Hannah, three women have been where she is. We’ve already talked about Sarah. She’s followed by Rebekah and then . When Sarah is promised a child, she responds with disbelief (Genesis 18:12). Rebekah reacts to her pregnancy with a little complaining.

As her twins are contending with one another in her womb she asks, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” (Genesis 25:22) Rachel has the best reaction of all—she blames her husband! (Genesis 30:1) Can you blame her? Only Hannah puts her situation in God’s hands without condition or commentary. And this is because she has entrusted herself to both God’s will and his care.

It’s then that she can make her vow to give her son to God. And mean it. And what a vow it is! She’s vowing a lot for herself and a lot for the son she doesn’t even have yet. She’s vowing to do much the same thing Jochebed did with Moses—once weaned, at about three or four years old, she’s vowing to walk little Samuel into the shrine at Shiloh and give him into the care of the who will train him to be one of their own. No small thing, right moms?

But even more than that, she vows to give Samuel to God for life. She prays: O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a Nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head [1 Samuel 1:11].

So, a Nazirite is someone who takes a temporary religious vow. The word ‘Nazirite’ means separated. For the length of their vow, Nazirites refrained from wine and haircuts and some other things so they could devote themselves completely to the service of God. This was a very serious vow, but it wasn’t forever.

Another judge of Israel had taken a Nazirite vow—Samson. You might remember how Samson was imbued with superhuman strength. So, the Philistines get the temptress Delilah to learn the secret of Samson’ strength and it turns out to be his long hair. Once Samson gives up his secret and falls asleep, Delilah signals her accomplices to cut off his hair. No hair, no strength. This is a way of talking about the bond between God and those who ‘separate’ themselves for special service to God.

The Nazirite vow is a hugely big deal—but not forever. Except in Hannah’s case. She’s going over and above by committing Samuel to a lifetime of Nazirite service. With our modern sensibilities, we can quibble all we want with the justice in that; but, it’s included here to emphasize the depth and strength of Hannah’s devotion.

It’s one thing to make a vow and it’s quite another to keep that vow. For as long as Hannah was childless and suffered abuse for it, you can imagine what it took for her to walk little Samuel to the priests and watch him toddle off into a life largely apart from her.

How many of us have bargained with God and hedged a little bit when it came time to come through? ‘O God, if you’ll only help me with ABC I’ll never XYZ again…or always XYZ for the rest of my life…’ or whatever it is. It’s what we do. Even St. Augustine hedged with his famous prayer, “Lord, give me the ability to resist all temptation…but not yet.” Probably the most honest prayer ever prayed, right?

Hedging is what we do. But not Hannah. You can throw Martin Luther in the ‘no hedging’ column, too. You might remember it was during that famous thunderstorm when, in fear for his life, he promised St. Anne to become a monk if she would spare his life. Luther survived and…became a monk. Well, Hannah gets what she asks of God, and fulfills her promise to give away the very thing she most desires.

How could she do it? I think it’s because Hannah knows something it would be good for all of us to know—what you give to God is not lost to you. The Bible goes on to say how Hannah would make a new robe for Samuel and give it to him every year when she and Elkanah would travel back to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and visit him. Samuel was still her son and she was still his mother.

We tend to think that it’s either our time or God’s time. It’s either our money or God’s money. I do it either for me or for God. But, why can’t it be both? What we give to God, says, comes back to us, blesses us, enriches us (Luke 6:38). Hannah’s faith in God’s faithfulness results in her having a son, getting to see that son grow to be a great man of God and she has five more children besides—three sons and two daughters.

I don’t mean to suggest God is a big vending machine and you just need to know what levers to pull and when. What I am saying is how much less stressed-out we’d be if we believed the way Hannah did when we’re making decisions about how deeply we’re going to participate in the life and work of God. How much do we do? How much do we give? How much do we hold back? How much do we hedge our bets in case things don’t work out the way we want or expect? How much do we invest in our plans for us? How much do we invest in God’s plans for us? Do those things have to be different? Should they be? Hannah answers that question by going all-in. She bares her soul to God. She commits her cause to God’s care and keeping. And then something happens. Before she has any inkling whether God would answer her prayer the way she hopes, the Bible says she returns home, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer [1 Samuel 1:18].

Her fear, pain, suffering, regret and anxiety don’t disappear when she gets what she wants from God. It disappears when she gives herself to God—when she gives her cause to God. Her prayer of praise makes not one mention of a child or even the promise of one. Her prayer of praise is to a God who listens and lifts up. And in that faith, she rests easy, knowing that—no matter what happens—male child or not, God’s perfect will is on her side.

I wonder how many people are alienated from God and his family, the church, because of some perceived failure on God’s part—a promise not kept or a tragedy not averted or a cold shoulder or condemning word from a Jesus-follower instead of a shoulder to cry on and a warm heart? When it was needed most?

I wonder how may people would find their way to the family of God—or back to the family of God—or be able to live deeper into the life of God if they could live with God the way Hannah did? In the rock-solid belief that, come what may, God is on their side?

It’s really hard to know that about others. But we can know that about ourselves. And if we know God is on our side, we can live with Hannah’s faith that God is always with us and for us. And when we live that truth we can share that truth with others and encourage them to commit their whole lives to God, trust him for everything and give thanks for whatever comes, just like Hannah did.