_HANNAH'S FAITH REWARDED._
1 SAMUEL i. 19-28.
In all the transactions recorded in these verses, we see in Hannah the
directing and regulating power of the family; while Elkanah appears
acquiescing cordially in all that she proposes, and devoutly seconding
her great act of consecration,--the surrender of Samuel to the perpetual
service of God. For a moment it might be thought that Hannah assumed a
place that hardly belonged to her; that she became the leader and
director in the house, while her proper position was that of a helpmeet
to her husband. We are constrained, however, to dismiss this thought,
for it does not fit in to the character of Hannah, and it is not in
keeping with the general tone of the passage. There are two reasons that
account sufficiently for the part she took. In the first place, it was
she that had dealt with God in the matter, and it was with her too that
God had dealt. She had been God-directed in the earlier part of the
transaction, and therefore was specially able to see what was right and
proper to be done in following up God's remarkable acknowledgment and
answer of her prayer. The course to be taken came to her as an
intuition,--an intuition not to be reasoned about, not to be exposed to
the criticism of another, to be simply accepted and obeyed. As she gave
no heed to those impulses of her own heart that might have desired a
different destination for her child, so she was disposed to give none to
the impulses of any other. The name, and the training, and the life-work
of a child given so remarkably were all clear as sunbeams to her godly
heart; and in such a matter it would have been nothing but weakness to
confer with flesh and blood.
And in the second place, Elkanah could be in no humour to resist his
wife, even if he had had any reason to do so. For he was in a manner
reproved of God for not being more concerned about her sadness of
spirit. God had treated her sorrow more seriously than he had. God had
not said to her that her husband was better to her than ten sons. God
had recognised the hunger of her heart for a son as a legitimate
craving, and when she brought her wish to Him, and meekly and humbly
asked Him to fulfil it, He had heard her prayer, and granted her
request. In a sense Hannah, in the depth of her sorrow, had appealed
from her husband to a higher court, and the appeal had been decided in
her favour. Elkanah could not but feel that in faith, in lofty
principle, in nearness of fellowship with God, he had been surpassed by
his wife. It was no wonder he surrendered to her the future direction of
a life given thus in answer to her prayers. Yet in thus surrendering his
right he showed no sullenness of temper, but acted in harmony with her,
not only in naming and dedicating the child, but in taking a vow on
himself, and at the proper moment fulfilling that vow. The three
bullocks, with the ephah of flour and the bottle of wine brought to
Shiloh when the child was presented to the Lord, were probably the
fulfilment of Elkanah's vow.
But to come more particularly to what is recorded in the text.
1. We notice, first, the fact of the answer to prayer. The answer was
prompt, clear, explicit. It is an important question, Why are some
prayers answered and not others? Many a good man and woman feel it to be
the greatest trial that their prayers for definite objects are not
answered. Many a mother will say, Why did God not answer me when I
prayed Him to spare my infant's life? I am sure I prayed with my whole
heart and soul, but it seemed to make no difference, the child sank and
died just as if no one had been praying for him. Many a wife will say,
Why does God not convert my husband? I have agonized, I have wept and
made supplication on his behalf, and in particular, with reference to
his besetting infirmity, I have implored God to break his chain and set
him free; but there he is, the same as ever. Many a young person under
serious impressions will say, Why does God not hear my prayer? I have
prayed with heart and soul for faith and love, for peace in believing,
for consciousness of my interest in Christ; but my prayers seem directed
against a wall of brass, they seem never to reach the ears of the Lord
of hosts. In spite of all such objections and difficulties, we maintain
that God is the hearer of prayer. Every sincere prayer offered in the
name of Christ is heard, and dealt with by God in such way as seems good
to Him. There are good reasons why some prayers are not answered at all,
and there are also good reasons why the visible answer to some prayers
is delayed. Some prayers are not answered because the spirit of them is
bad. "Ye ask but receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume
it upon your lusts." What is asked merely to gratify a selfish feeling
is asked amiss. It is not holy prayer; it does not fit in with the
sacred purposes of life; it is not asked to make us better, or enable us
to serve God better, or make our life more useful to our fellows; but
simply to increase our pleasure, to make our surroundings more
agreeable. Some prayers are not answered because what is asked would be
hurtful; the prayer is answered in spirit though denied in form. A
Christian lady, over the sick bed of an only son, once prayed with
intense fervour that he might be restored, and positively refused to
say, "Thy will be done." Falling asleep, she seemed to see a panorama of
her son's life had he survived; it was a succession of sorrows, rising
into terrible agonies,--so pitiful a sight that she could no longer
desire his life to be prolonged, and gave up the battle against the will
of God. Some prayers are not answered at the time, because a discipline
of patience is needed for those who offer them; they have to be taught
the grace of waiting patiently for the Lord; they have to learn more
fully than hitherto to walk by faith, not by sight; they have to learn
to take the promise of God against all appearances, and to remember that
heaven and earth shall pass away, but God's word shall not pass away.
But whatever be the reasons for the apparent silence of God, we may rest
assured that hearing prayer is the law of His kingdom. Old Testament and
New alike bear witness to this. Every verse of the Psalms proclaims it.
Alike by precept and example our Lord constantly enforced it. Every
Apostle takes up the theme, and urges the duty and the privilege. We may
say of prayer as St. Paul said of the resurrection--if prayer be not
heard our preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. And what true
Christian is there who cannot add testimonies from his own history to
the same effect? If the answer to some of your prayers be delayed, has
it not come to many of them? Come, too, very conspicuously, so that you
were amazed, and almost awed? And if there be prayers that have not yet
been answered, or in reference to which you have no knowledge of an
answer, can you not afford to wait till God gives the explanation? And
when the explanation comes, have you not much cause to believe that it
will redound to the praise of God, and that many things, in reference to
which you could at the time see nothing but what was dark and terrible,
may turn out when fully explained to furnish new and overwhelming
testimony that "God is love?"
2. The next point is the name given by Hannah to her son. The name
Samuel, in its literal import, does not mean "asked of the Lord," but
"heard of the Lord." The reason assigned by Hannah for giving this name
to her son is not an explanation of the word, but a reference to the
circumstances. In point of fact, "heard of the Lord" is more expressive
than even "asked of the Lord," because it was God's hearing (in a
favourable sense), more than Hannah's asking, that was the decisive
point in the transaction. Still, as far as Hannah was concerned, he was
asked of the Lord. The name was designed to be a perpetual memorial of
the circumstances of his birth. For the good of the child himself, and
for the instruction of all that might come in contact with him, it was
designed to perpetuate the fact that before his birth a solemn
transaction in prayer took place between his mother and the Almighty.
The very existence of this child was a perpetual witness, first of all
of the truth that God exists, and then of the truth that He is a
prayer-hearing God. The very name of this child is a rebuke to those
parents who never think of God in connection with their children, who
never thank God for giving them, nor think of what He would like in
their education and training. Even where no such special transaction by
prayer has taken place as in the case of Samuel's mother, children are
to be regarded as sacred gifts of God. "Lo, children are the heritage of
the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." Many a child has had
the name Samuel given him since these distant days in Judaea under the
influence of this feeling. Many a parent has felt what a solemn thing it
is to receive from God's hands an immortal creature, that may become
either an angel or a devil, and to be entrusted with the first stage of
a life that may spread desolation and misery on the one hand, or joy and
blessing wherever its influence reaches. Do not treat lightly, O
parents, the connection between God and your children! Cherish the
thought that they are God's gifts, God's heritage to you, committed by
Him to you to bring up, but not apart from Him, not in separation from
those holy influences which He alone can impart, and which He is willing
to impart. What a cruel thing it is to cut this early connection between
them and God, and send them drifting through the world like a ship with
a forsaken rudder, that flaps hither and thither with every current of
the sea! What a blessed thing when, above all things, the grace and
blessing of God are sought by parents for their children, when all the
earnest lessons of childhood are directed to this end, and before
childhood has passed into youth the grace of God rules the young heart,
and the holy purpose is formed to live in His fear through Jesus Christ,
and to honour Him for evermore!
3. Hannah's arrangements for the child. From the very first she had
decided that at the earliest possible period he should be placed under
the high priest at Shiloh. Hannah's fulfilment of her vow was to be an
ample, prompt, honourable fulfilment. Many a one who makes vows or
resolutions under the pressure and pinch of distress immediately begins
to pare them down when the pinch is removed, like the merchant in the
storm who vowed a hecatomb to Jupiter, then reduced the hecatomb to a
single bullock, the bullock to a sheep, the sheep to a few dates; but
even these he ate on the way to the altar, laying on it only the stones.
Not one jot would Hannah abate of the full sweep and compass of her vow.
She would keep the child by her only till he was weaned, and then he
should be presented at Shiloh. It is said that Jewish mothers sometimes
suckled their children to the age of three years, and this was probably
little Samuel's age when he was taken to Shiloh. Meanwhile, she resolved
that till that time was reached she would not go up to the feast. Had
she gone before her son was weaned she must have taken him with her, and
brought him away with her, and that would have broken the solemnity of
the transaction when at last she should take him for good and all. No.
The very first visit that she and her son should pay to Shiloh would be
the decisive visit. The very first time that she should present herself
at that holy place where God had heard her prayer and her vow would be
the time when she should fulfil her vow. The first time that she should
remind the high priest of their old interview would be when she came to
offer to God's perpetual service the answer to her prayer and the fruit
of her vow. To miss the feast would be a privation, it might even be a
spiritual loss, but she had in her son that which itself was a means of
grace to her, and a blessed link to God and heaven; while she remained
with him God would still remain with her; and in prayer for him, and the
people whom he might one day influence, her heart might be as much
enlarged and warmed as if she were mingling with the thousands of
Israel, amid the holy excitement of the great national feast.
4. Elkanah's offering at Shiloh. When Elkanah heard his wife's plan with
reference to Samuel, he simply acquiesced, bade her remain at Shiloh,
"only the Lord establish His word." What word? Literally, the Lord had
spoken no word about Samuel, unless the word of Eli to Hannah "The God
of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him" could be
regarded as a word from God. That word, however, had already been
fulfilled; and Elkanah's prayer meant, The Lord bring to pass those
further blessings of which the birth of Samuel was the promise and the
prelude; the Lord accept, in due time, the offering of this child to His
service, and grant that out of that offering there may come to Israel
all the good that it is capable of yielding.
The cordiality with which Elkanah accepted his wife's view of the case
is seen further in the ample offering which he took to Shiloh--three
bullocks, an ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine. One bullock would
have sufficed as a burnt-offering for the child now given for the
service of God, and in ver. 25 special mention is made of one being
slain. The other two were added to mark the speciality of the occasion,
to make the offering, so to speak, round and complete, to testify the
ungrudging cordiality with which the whole transaction was entered into.
One might perhaps have thought that in connection with such a service
there was hardly any need of a bloody sacrifice, A little child of two
or three years old--the very type and picture of innocence--surely
needed little in the way of expiation. Not so, however, the view of the
law of Moses. Even a newborn infant could not be presented to the Lord
without some symbol of expiation. There is such a virus of corruption in
every human soul that not even infants can be brought to God for
acceptance and blessing without a token of atonement. Sin has so
separated the whole race from God, that not one member of it can be
brought near, can be brought into the region of benediction, without
shedding of blood. And if no member of it can be even accepted without
atonement, much less can any be taken to be God's servant, taken to
stand before Him, to represent Him, to be His organ to others, to speak
in His name. What a solemn truth for all who desire to be employed in
the public service of Jesus Christ! Remember how unworthy you are to
stand before him. Remember how stained your garments are with sin and
worldliness, how distracted your heart is with other thoughts and
feelings, how poor the service is you are capable of rendering. Remember
how gloriously Jesus is served by the angels that excel in strength,
that do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word. And when
you give yourselves to Him, or ask to be allowed to take your place
among His servants, seek as you do so to be sprinkled with the blood of
cleansing, own your personal unworthiness, and pray to be accepted
through the merit of His sacrifice!
5. And now, the bullock being slain, they bring the child to Eli. Hannah
is the speaker, and her words are few and well chosen. She reminds Eli
of what she had done the last time she was there. Generous and
courteous, she makes no allusion to anything unpleasant that had passed
between them. Small matters of that sort are absorbed in the solemnity
and importance of the transaction. In her words to Eli she touches
briefly on the past, the present, and the future. What occurred in the
past was, that she stood there a few years ago praying unto the Lord.
What was true of the present was, that the Lord had granted her
petition, and given her this child for whom she had prayed. And what was
going to happen in the future was (as the Revised Version has it), "I
have granted him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he is granted to the
Lord."
It is interesting to remark that no word of Eli's is introduced. This
Nazarite child is accepted for the perpetual service of God at once and
without remark. No remonstrance is made on the score of his tender
years. No doubt is insinuated as to how he may turn out. If Samuel's
family was a Levitical one, he would have been entitled to take part in
the service of God, but only occasionally, and at the Levitical age. But
his mother brings him to the Lord long before the Levitical age, and
leaves him at Shiloh, bound over to a lifelong service. How was she able
to do it? For three years that child had been her constant companion,
had lain in her bosom, had warmed her heart with his smiles, had amused
her with his prattle, had charmed her with all his engaging little ways.
How was she able to part with him? Would he not miss her too as much as
she would miss him? Shiloh was not a very attractive place, Eli was old
and feeble, Hophni and Phinehas were beasts, the atmosphere was
offensive and pernicious. Nevertheless, it was God's house, and if a
little child should be brought to it, capable of rendering to God real
service, God would take care of the child. Already he was God's child.
Asked of God, and heard of God, he bore already the mark of his Master.
God would be with him, as He had been with Joseph, as He had been with
Moses--"He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him
in trouble, I will be with him and honour him."
Noble in her spirit of endurance in the time of trial, Hannah is still
more noble in the spirit of self-denial in the time of prosperity. It
was no common grace that could so completely sacrifice all her personal
feelings, and so thoroughly honour God. What a rebuke to those parents
that keep back their children from God's service, that will not part
with their sons to be missionaries, that look on the ministry of the
Gospel as but a poor occupation! What a rebuke, too, to many Christian
men and women who are so unwilling to commit themselves openly to any
form of Christian service,--unwilling to be identified with religious
work! Yet, on the other hand, let us rejoice that in this our age, more
perhaps than in any other, so many are willing, nay eager, for Christian
service. Let us rejoice that both among young men and young women
recruits for the mission-field are offering themselves in such numbers.
After all, it is true wisdom, and true policy, although not done as a
matter of policy. It will yield far the greatest satisfaction in the
end. God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labour of love of His
children. And "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My
name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting
life."